Well I wish that I could lie and say that the pheasant hunting in South Dakota was terrible this year and that everybody should just stay at home. However, that would be a huge lie! Once again the pheasants were plentiful and offered an enjoyable hunt. We arrived in Elkton, SD early in the morning and were greeted to a billboard surprise.
This is my 5th year of hunting in South Dakota and as in years past I was not disappointed. Our hunting started out slowly. The area that we hunt was hit with over 6†of rain since the first of October, making it nearly impossible for the farmers to get there crops out. When we arrived, they had just started to cut the corn, but with a bunch still standing and it only being Stormy, myself, and our dog Chase the hunting was difficult.
We were forced to walk mostly weed patches because the corn was so vast that we just couldn’t cover it ourselves, but the birds were sticking to the standing corn.
By the third day of hunting a few more of the crops were out of the fields. We headed north to Lake Norden to hook up with Stomy’s Uncle Larry and his brothers.
Here is a picture of Larry and his brother Darwin walking some CRP.
In the background you can see the combine getting after it. By the end of our fifth afternoon of hunting we could already see the progress the harvesters were making. The grain bins at the COOP were already filled to capacity and they had already started storing the dry corn anywhere they could. Even right across the street from the diner!
Overall it was a successful hunt. The more corn comes out of the fields in the next few weeks the better the hunting will be. As advertised, South Dakota truly is the Pheasant Mecca of North America. I’ve got the birds and sore feet to prove it!