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Advice on South Dakota trip?


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I am going to South Dakota hunting this year taking with 1 maybe 2 others, plus the dog. At first I was just going to do the public land hunt and where ever we can get on. Now thinking of paying for a couple of days, and since these forums are awesome I would love some advice on places to check out, where you had a good a experience at. Again thanks for the help and advice!

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Do you have an area, you would like to hunt? That would help. I have many friends who own ground that allow hunting for pay, but they are varied throughout the state. If you have an area in mind it would help.

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Indirect answer, but in my experience you need to be flexible as to the time you go and where you go. Last year the week after opener was horrible in large part because there was still so much corn in the fields. I've also learned that an area can have a lot of birds or not many at all depending on the conditions the chicks were exposed to during July and August. If there isn't any rain there aren't any bugs and the chicks don't make it. A PF biologist told me that you can go 5 miles from a bad spot and find birds just becuase the seond place had a bit more rain.

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The Galley in Webster (changes names every year) is about $70 a night for a double with three people. It's not fancy but it's clean. We paid $10 for the kennel access and they only took the 10 for 3 dogs and 3 nights. It was very clean, warm and the dogs had a chance to rest up a lot better than stuck in the back of the truck in a kennel. BTW the cafe on the south end of town has great breakfasts - I don't think you can eat $5 worth of food there.

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That's a bit North of my territory. I hunted a couple of years around Willow Lake North of DeSmet. But it has been a few years. Most of my hunting is now in Southern SD

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I don't know if any one here might be looking for a place to stay at in SD but I have house that I rent out daily/weekly in Florence, SD 20 miles NW of watertown. Very reasonably priced. Give me a call if you might have any question. 605-651-0083 ask for justin

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Like was just said, bring your vet receipts with you to document that your dog is up to date on shots.

During hunting season, just about any hotel in town here in Aberdeen will accomodate dogs. Super 8 (three of them) and the White House Inn will probably be the cheapest. But you can find just about any name-brand hotel in town.

For hunting season, get your reservations in early (now) or you may be out of luck until later in the season.

You can get a public hunting map from SD Game, Fish and Parks. There is an office on the east side of Aberdeen, and many hotels may also have copies of the map book. There is a great deal of public land in the area, as long as you are willing to drive an hour or so.

Access to land is going to be quite dependent on when you are coming. Opening weekend? Good luck. Private land will be spoken for, and public land will be crowded. Later in the year, after mid-to-late November...knock on a farmhouse door, and you will have decent luck getting access.

My advice...from Aberdeen, don't be afraid to go west (northwest or southwest) to hunt pheasant.

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Good link, Tom7227. One word of caution...that is last year's atlas. The new one won't be out until mid-September, and some of the public areas change from year to year.

But that does give you a good start to see where there are significant amounts of public land, and where there are not.

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Anyone else have advice on a place to stay around Aberdeen or 50 miles out from that town that would also accommodate a dog as well? Thanks

I have been hunting North of Aberdeen for the last 3 years and the bird numbers are great IMO better later in the year too. I have not experience the real deal in the prime areas of South Dakota so I don't know much but you should find birds N, W, E, S of Aberdeen. Good Luck!

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Anyone else have advice on a place to stay around Aberdeen or 50 miles out from that town that would also accommodate a dog as well? Thanks

I would head out there around maybe the 3rd week in November. It should be warm enough yet for your dog to stay in the truck in a kennel if you cannot find a hotel. Otherwise, Ask for a end room on the lower lever where the office can't see you. That's usually what I do. Can sneak the dog in and out no problem.

Public land in Aberdeen is ok. I guess it will all depend how many birds survived winter and how the spring hatch went. My father travels a lot and he was recently up there. Said there were birds running around everywhere.

You should do fine hunting public land. Not only that you can road hunt in South Dakota as well. I would rather work hard at it all day and not get my limit than, pay someone to hunt and get my limit.

One tip I suggest to you is keep your eyes open for really small areas. Most people will look at an area that is small and think ah! there are no birds there. its to small we need something bigger. I have had more luck finding small spots. I recall a slough that was 30-40 yards in diameter. I sent the dog in and was blown away by how many pheasants were coming out of the slough! I actually sat down and watched the dog chase all the birds out for 10 minutes and didn't even fire a shot! There had to be literally 200 pheasants in this tiny slough.

Good luck! if you have any other questions let me know

Nick

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