Pheasant hunting-2006

[harvey lee]

Years ago I would drive over and do some bird hunting each fall.In the last 10 years Ive been deer hunting so hard looking for tropy whitetail that my bird hunting has been put on the side burner.

It is now time to start chasing the wily ringneck again and I'm wondering what area of the state would have a good bird count and also a area where it is not all pay to access? Thanks for any info.

[ifishsd]

Some of the best hunting is out near Chamberlian or down by Winner, SD. Those areas are always high on the birds when the state does their roadside counts in August. Hunting is getting better south of Watertown in the Lake Ponisett area. Quite a few public places to hunt in that area. The best thing is to get a walk-in area book from SD. This book shows all the public places in the state to hunt. They update it every September with new places to hunt. The GFP HSOforum is a good place to start looking.

Send me an email and I can send you the link to get the books sent to free in the mail.

If you plan on hunting public ground on opening weekend you better get to your spot early.

[Tyler Holm]

Tom,

Being born and raised in Aberdeen, I'll have to put a plug in for that area. The last pheasant count I've seen put Aberdeen / Brown County as the 3 highest bird population in the state.

South of Aberdeen towards the Redfield area is a great place to find birds. Groton and south of there are great. I always hunt the opener near Ipswitch and boy oh boy are there birds around there. South of Ipswitch and Mina are several pheasant farms that release hundreds (even thousands) of birds in that area.

[rundrave]

I dont hunt public land to often, but I do know that if you go on a weekday you will more than likey be hunting something that hasnt been walked through that day and not have to fight the crowds.

As mentioned I believe the further North eastern part of the state is great for numbers. I mostly hunt south and west of the mitchell area and never have trouble limiting out on birds. That doesnt mean there arent birds in other areas, I have hunted areas just outside of sioux falls, and found birds, just isnt near the number of birds you can find in other areas.

One word of advise, expecially for out of staters that have to split up their 10 days into 5day hunts, opening weekend is always a blast just because its opening weekend. However it is key to know when crops are coming out as that can play a big roll in how succesful your hunts will be. Less crops in the field will make for less area for birds to hide in, and once crops go out it will push birds into the grassy areas etc in the walk in areas.

Also dont be afraid to hunt late into november and december, some of those late season hunts can be a blast regardless of how cold it gets.

[Rost]

NE SD is a really nice area. You should consider pulling the boat out for a "cast and blast" vacation. Fish in the morning hunt in the after noon.

[Team Otter]

"Cast and blast"...

Now that has a ring to it.

[harvey lee]

Tyler

The last time I hunted in South Dakota,Redfield was the area that I hunted and it was also very good then.Looks like it will be my area again this year.Is there anywhere to fish in this area also?

[walleyewacker]

Or if you dont want to put the miles on there are plenty of doors to knock on further east. If you do some homework and get a plat book there is plenty of private ground with birds to keep you busy. Obviously most of the big stuff is hunted and you dont have a prayer to get into it but you have a great chance if you just drive around and ask about the small groves, ditches, and shelterbelts that dont look like they get attention. If you are out here for the five days you will figure out pockets of birds and what you can and cant get into. I actually know a couple locals that only hunt public ground and kill a ton of birds so that is not out of the question. There are a ton of birds on some of public ground mentioned but hunting them can be a different story, I personally like to shoot one rooster than chase hundreds all day. If you come just ask around and we should get you going in the right direction.

[Tyler Holm]

Tom,

I've personally never fished around Redfield. There are some lakes with fish, but I can't steer you towards something I've never tried.

[percherman]

I have had great hunting on public lands around the Faulkton area and to the east and Se. It has usually been later in tthe season and I have never run into another hunter. Plenty of great CRP walk in areas in the past but good to check every year. Also after the big ice storm that roared through the state it would be good to check this spring for hatch counts with GFP. I spoke with a rancher from Platte who said he had close to 100% loss. Things could be tough through the middle of the state where the ice storm hit, Time will tell. The western part of the state and mitchell east might be our best bet if we took a hit from the ice.

[harvey lee]

Thanks for all the replies.