Anyone going to South Dakota too?

[castmaster]

Someone mentioned it will be interesting to see if NR hunters still come to support the small SD towns that depend on huntign season in many ways. I hope they will.

I also think it will be interesting to see over the next several years whether SD residents will be willing to pony up for increases in resident licenses to offset the loss in NR license sales. Seems SD G&F has been funded to a large extent by NR license sales. If those #'s drop either funding will be cut or the $ will need to come from the folks who live there.

[brittman]

Someone mentioned it will be interesting to see if NR hunters still come to support the small SD towns that depend on huntign season in many ways. I hope they will.

Why would they return ? Many of those people need to find out how to support the growing ag use in their areas.

The carrying capacity of hunters in South Dakota will surely change. I was killing birds in SoDak before CRP, but far fewer NRs visited SD then. Hunted mainly private land, but we would visit a WPA or GMA and often were the only people to hit that place that day, maybe that past week.

[walleye18]

We use to go to Sd and Nd shooting ditch parrots. Had 150 to 250 bird years from 2003 thru 2010.

As was written prior, those days are gone....prolly never to see them again!

I will still hunt - but only because of my wifes' relatives and family in those states.

There are birds to be had but you gotta put on lots of miles with your legs and feet - and with your dogs pads!

[Stcloudangler]

T-24 hours and I am just as excited to get out there as I was a few years ago... I dont mind working for birds, and I am sure they will be in the areas they were last year. Too much good cover on the land that we hunt for them not be. Even the fact that the road side cover will be there is a benefit compared to last year...

Will report back in about a week, good or bad. Finished packing except for a couple things last night, now will have to drink a stiff one to help get me to sleep tonight.

[ChrisT]

Just got back from Central SoDak and found if very difficult. The combination of very low numbers coupled with about 70% crops still up made it difficult to find birds. Last year I could take the 15 mile trip into town at dusk and see 100-300 birds along the road, this year you would be lucky to see 5-10. Again there still is a ton on crops in the fields, but places where we were flushing 10-50 birds per push we were lucky to get a couple birds to jump. If anyone is flexible with trips out there I would wait for a couple weeks until the crops are out and you may have a bit more sucess.

[BLACKJACK]

My report from the SoDak opener is miles and miles of corn and soybeans!!! We did see and shoot a few birds but once we got thru all the spots that weren't by standing corn it was tough. We even cut our hunt down to 4 days.

The bright spot is that we did see birds, quite a few when the corn had been picked, with quite a few young 'unidentifiable' birds so they had a late hatch. By the time we get back out there before Thanksgiving it should be better - provided they get some of that crop out. Rain and snow forecast for mid-week

Birds are definitely down!!! In the evening you can normally drive around and see birds all over, not this year.

[Stcloudangler]

Well, after 5 days of pretty hard hunting I can say I agree with the previous two posts. We rolled in at normal time on Thursday and was greeted by new shiny posted signs at the place we stay. Turns out, he signed a lease with a guide from Aberdeen to give the hunting rights away for the place we stay at.... Would have been nice if we could have been given some warning as it really put a damper on the spirits when we got there. So, theres 600 acres we cant hunt. Then go down the road to a farmer that we give a little money to hunt his land for the last 10 years, and find he has done the same... Theres another 1000 private acres we cant hunt.

We struggled to find birds, and with the crops still up everywhere, that didn't make things better. Worst year hunting out there, and the birds are definitely down all of the 64% or whatever the SD says they are. On a nice calm evening near what I would call pheasant utopia, I heard only 5 cackles. In the past you would have heard them all around you.

I may give it another try in early December, hope to get whatever birds are left and bunched when the crops are harvested, but I can say with one certainty...

Money is king out there and this is no longer a DIY hunters paridise

[Stcloudangler]

Oh, the final totals were 19 birds for 7 guys... missed/lost about 10 birds as well. I feel like I could have done as well in SW Minnesota.

[mwal]

Why I stopped going its a money thing. Can't afford to pay $1,000 for a 3 day outfitted hunt. Been doing some public land MN and more game farm trips. Thinking of switching to Grouse and giving up the roosters altogether. At least you have access to land to hunt in MN and WI

Mwal

[rundrave]

Bummer you didn't have a better report. Did you see much pressure on public lands or come across many other hunters using them?

Money is king out there and this is no longer a DIY hunters paridise

Its a shame that the sport is getting commercialized, its unfortunate but I hear the same stories like yours about leasing land all the time.

[reddog]

I'm headed out on Wednesday or Thursday, for as long as I can stay, which will be a week for sure.. There will be state hunting, reservation hunting and probably some fishing involved..

[Stcloudangler]

Bummer you didn't have a better report. Did you see much pressure on public lands or come across many other hunters using them?

We didn't come across many hunters altogether. Interesting thing though was we did talk to a group that was from close to where I live in MN, and they were staying in Aberdeen. They were told to come out west by us to find birds as that area is even worse. Grasslands are at a premium moreso there. If that WPA or walk-in doesnt have food nearby (and I mean bordering) then do yourself a favor and keep driving.