Northeastern South Dakota

[fishdart]

I'm headed back to South Dakota this fall with my dad and my dog to chase pheasants on public-access lands and hopefully we are drawn for ducks as well (we each have 1 preference point).

Previously we stayed at the Bird dog Bunkhouse in Gettysburg. To be sure, it was a nice place to stay and was good for us finding pheasants, but seemed that there isn't as much water around for duck hunting opportunities on walk-in etc. I also generally like the idea of trying new territory/hunts when I get chance to head out of state, though I know we can get into good ring-neck ground if we were to go back there.

I've been poring over the SD atlas as well as OnX and it looks like there is a nice amount of WIA/CREP/WPA land in that space north and east of Aberdeen to where we could do well on a mixed-bag hunting week.

I guess what I'm trying to ascertain without being THAT guy looking for Lat/Long coordinates is if this thought process is sound or if I'd be splitting the baby by trying to get into more ducks ans that it isn't as much a pheasant-rich environment.

We're looking at the non-resident opening week for pheasants as our time frame. Pheasants are still the number 1 goal of the trip, but we'd like to take advantage of the 10am start time and get out early a few mornings to shoot some ducks.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[SuperDUECE22]

I've been drawn 10+ for the SD waterfowl and I could give you lots of help BUT we only hunt corn fields when the feeds are in the thousands and all the small lakes & sloughs are froze solid and its nothing but big fat northern birds. No experience hunting public water, we knock on doors and basically stricly hunt private farmland. Feel free to PM me if you'd like.

 

[KurtR]

You can set up on any of those potholes thats what i did as a kid and kill ducks. It will be a mix of everything. A dozen floaters and a spinner or 2 and you are in good to go. The weather will be the main consideration of how many will be around. Now with the snow this year pheasant numbers could be tough out there and not near as many as in the gettysburg area.

 

[sodaksooner]

I have friends up there but they don't allow anyone that isn't family to hunt. That said, find an open slough on public, sit on it, wait 5 minutes, shoot your ducks in 10 minutes and be done. Most of the locals I know don't even hunt them anymore. They are like maggots to a lot of folks. It is amazing if you are not from there though. Probably not hard to get permission however.

 

[fishdart]

You can set up on any of those potholes thats what i did as a kid and kill ducks. It will be a mix of everything. A dozen floaters and a spinner or 2 and you are in good to go. The weather will be the main consideration of how many will be around. Now with the snow this year pheasant numbers could be tough out there and not near as many as in the gettysburg area.

The way we hunt in northeast PA is all water for ducks and a lot is on our river. I can say I've never once killed a duck over a field here. We are all for shooting a mixed bag of stuff we don't see much here. We did similar out in North Dakota a couple of years ago, and shot a goodly amount of birds in what was widely regarded as a poor drought year. The draw to water hunting is just as you say - minimal gear needed to haul along with our upland stuff we'll already have with us.

It's the pheasant numbers and general habitat I can't get a good read on in that N/E area.

I appreciate the input. Thank you.

 

[spur60]

SD resident here.
First off to address the pheasants - Yes, lots of public land and private land open to public access in Brown County region, but it gets hit hard. Especially opening week; as Aberdeen is one of the busiest and well promoted towns in the pheasant range when it comes to marketing to hunters. With recent drought, and now a severe winter, bird numbers aren't going to be great, but if you work hard you will likely get some shooting if you're willing to work hard for your birds.

The farther east of Aberdeen you get, the less pheasants there will be generally, but likely more waterfowl though; but there still might be pheasant numbers that impress you not knowing what you're used to seeing.

Now to the waterfowl - In mid-late October in the northeastern part of the state, you can expect a mixed bag of local ducks and early migrators. Depending on weather, that could mean shooting redheads and gadwall, in t-shirt weather or that could mean fresh mallards in a corn field dusted with snow.

My suggestion would be if you're coming out to do a combo trip, come out 2 days before your license starts and put serious miles on the truck. Come up with public land options A, B, and C for ducks. Take the time to put your waders on and make sure you can set up properly, as well as retrieve downed birds if you don't have a retrieving dog. Scout those two evenings to see if there's any honker or duck feeds that you might be able to ask permission on, or at least make note of their flightlines and roost locations and try to get under them in another field or water body. 2 dozen duck floaters, 6 canada floaters, 5 dozen canada silhouettes, a couple layout blinds or back boards, and 2 spinners will set you up for fields, potholes, sheet water, sandbars, or mudflats. Just like pheasant hunting, the harder you work - whether that's walking in farther, dragging a canoe a 1/2 mile to get to deeper water that nobody else is hunting, knocking on 100 doors to get permission once, or whatever, you'll kill more ducks and geese on your trip.

 

[roosterdown]

I know that area NE of Aberdeen reasonably well and have shot some roosters there, probably on some of those lands you're eyeing on the map.

I'd be parked there at least an hour before start time, maybe even earlier, to get first crack at 'em. That part of SD is reachable in 4.5 - 5 hours from MSP, which accounts for a high % of the NR licenses that SD sells...you'll see lots of MN plates in Brown and Marshall counties when you are there.

 

[Cornhusker]

I've hunted near Aberdeen for the last 8 years and most of what you're hearing in my opinion is correct. I probably should get away from opening weekend but I just hate to give that up. I prefer to hunt alone with just my lab who does very well on pheasants. The advice on get to fields you will hunt early is very accurate and saying that, you will have people walk in on you as you are hunting a field. I try not to get to upset about it as it is public land and some people just have no sense. Just have in mind that a lot of people get crowded on the public land as I think it really gets hit hard on the opener. I have shot a limit everyday I've hunted for the last 5 years except for 2 days. Overall it's a great hunt every year for me or I wouldn't go back. I usually go back in November or early December for the 2nd 5 days and I have good luck with a lot less people but obviously there are also a lot less pheasants.

I've also hunted ducks on the public potholes and have done well depending a lot on the weather. Last year on the opening week of ducks it just seemed like the number of ducks was really down. Most of the other hunters I talked with thought most of the ducks were on the reservoirs. I really like the area and the town of Aberdeen and the people that I've met there through the years. Good luck ,if you see a lone hunter with a yellow lab it may be me.

 

[NebraskaStickHunter]

I agree with the above statements. Pheasants will be hit with the harsh winter up there. I grew up and still occasionally hunt south of Aberdeen. Ducks are more weather dependent but locals can be had. When pheasant hunting, I kicked up groups of 4-5 dozen mixed bags off creeks and sloughs walking for pheasants. Pheasant numbers were still terrible in comparison to where they once were but actual birds are only part of the hunting equation. Find a flexible time to go later and hunting pheasants in snow will be fun and easy to locate, ducks will be easy to find if water isn’t froze up yet. Pm me if you want some more specific locals to hit up.

 

[fishdart]

SD resident here.
First off to address the pheasants - Yes, lots of public land and private land open to public access in Brown County region, but it gets hit hard. Especially opening week; as Aberdeen is one of the busiest and well promoted towns in the pheasant range when it comes to marketing to hunters. With recent drought, and now a severe winter, bird numbers aren't going to be great, but if you work hard you will likely get some shooting if you're willing to work hard for your birds.

The farther east of Aberdeen you get, the less pheasants there will be generally, but likely more waterfowl though; but there still might be pheasant numbers that impress you not knowing what you're used to seeing.

Now to the waterfowl - In mid-late October in the northeastern part of the state, you can expect a mixed bag of local ducks and early migrators. Depending on weather, that could mean shooting redheads and gadwall, in t-shirt weather or that could mean fresh mallards in a corn field dusted with snow.

My suggestion would be if you're coming out to do a combo trip, come out 2 days before your license starts and put serious miles on the truck. Come up with public land options A, B, and C for ducks. Take the time to put your waders on and make sure you can set up properly, as well as retrieve downed birds if you don't have a retrieving dog. Scout those two evenings to see if there's any honker or duck feeds that you might be able to ask permission on, or at least make note of their flightlines and roost locations and try to get under them in another field or water body. 2 dozen duck floaters, 6 canada floaters, 5 dozen canada silhouettes, a couple layout blinds or back boards, and 2 spinners will set you up for fields, potholes, sheet water, sandbars, or mudflats. Just like pheasant hunting, the harder you work - whether that's walking in farther, dragging a canoe a 1/2 mile to get to deeper water that nobody else is hunting, knocking on 100 doors to get permission once, or whatever, you'll kill more ducks and geese on your trip.

Thank you for all that info. I'd been looking into spots that would be a little over an hour drive from Aberdeen so I thought that I may be on the edge of that crowd; perhaps I'm wrong about that.

Would you say that closer to the Missouri River, like Gettysburg, Mobridge, etc has fared better with regards to the drought and now the harsher winter?

When we were out to Gettysburg in '20, we DID see ducks on public land water and it looks as though no one out that way gave a rip as far as pursuing them.

I appreciate your suggestions on all that info related to the duck hunting strategy. We really are conditioned as hunting over water for ducks and we found in Nodak in '21 that the pressure from other hunters also hunting over water was very light. I'd probably bring an A-frame as I know my dad can't do the layout blind thing.

I honestly would not target Canada geese on such a trip; we have plenty of those sky rats out here to hunt.

Thank you.

 

[fishdart]

I know that area NE of Aberdeen reasonably well and have shot some roosters there, probably on some of those lands you're eyeing on the map.

I'd be parked there at least an hour before start time, maybe even earlier, to get first crack at 'em. That part of SD is reachable in 4.5 - 5 hours from MSP, which accounts for a high % of the NR licenses that SD sells...you'll see lots of MN plates in Brown and Marshall counties when you are there.

I hadn't taken into account the "semi-local" out of state hunters. This is a good nugget of info to chew on. Thank you.

 

[KurtR]

Thank you for all that info. I'd been looking into spots that would be a little over an hour drive from Aberdeen so I thought that I may be on the edge of that crowd; perhaps I'm wrong about that.

Would you say that closer to the Missouri River, like Gettysburg, Mobridge, etc has fared better with regards to the drought and now the harsher winter?

When we were out to Gettysburg in '20, we DID see ducks on public land water and it looks as though no one out that way gave a rip as far as pursuing them.

I appreciate your suggestions on all that info related to the duck hunting strategy. We really are conditioned as hunting over water for ducks and we found in Nodak in '21 that the pressure from other hunters also hunting over water was very light. I'd probably bring an A-frame as I know my dad can't do the layout blind thing.

I honestly would not target Canada geese on such a trip; we have plenty of those sky rats out here to hunt.

Thank you.

I live I Mobridge and we just got piss pounded with snow. If we can get decent temps should be ok. Drought was worse over here than as you go east but best years we ever had were drought years in the middle 2000’s. I would just bring seats and set up on the edge of the slough a frame would be lots to carry in. Also there are no waterfowl north of Gettysburg Webster is the best

 

[fishdart]

Also there are no waterfowl north of Gettysburg Webster is the best

Looking at where Webster is located, this seems like a way to keep me out of your slough. Well played, good sir.

 

[fishdart]

Thanks again to all who contributed. We decided to roll the dice on trying a new area and join the public-access melee in the northeast section of the state. Good luck to all who head out this fall, and perhaps I may run into you on the prairie.

 

[JBWinter]

The winter we are having and are forecasted to continue to have at this point is really really smacking our pheasant population. Personally have been out in the last week and seen dozens upon dozens of dead birds in slough edges and groves. They are running out of energy and the weather has been unrelenting. I would not expect very good pheasant hunting this fall. And they will likely be very much in pockets where they could pull through the winter. Now that can change based on hatch success, but with the habitat that is generally around and the melt we are likely to have....hatches could be late or unsuccessful due to weather. As for waterfowl...could be very good, because our potholes will fill up. That is a very popular area for waterfowlers, and there are some guides that lock down land in that area for private land, so can run into some headaches there. Start of pheasant season is usually a good time for ducks, but can be a little early depending on the fall. Its a good idea to try and keep tabs on harvest out here more than season start. IF you wait to come for a combo hunt until the bulk of the corn is off....you will have a better trip for both IMO. Live just south of Aberdeen so have some local knowledge of the state of things.

 

[KurtR]

I was just in Columbia today and there is a shit ton of snow. Saw lots of birds all trying to pick grit im sure there are some dead ones all over