South Dakota 2025

[160andup]

Anyone plan to chase roosters this fall in SD? Wasn’t able to make the trip last fall, but looking to go the week after Christmas this year. But I’ve never been that late in the season. Anyone have any words of wisdom or despair for public that late in the year besides planning for the cold?

A couple of dog pics for good measure…

 

[Fatcamp]

Be stealthy and come in from the side no one else does.

Pay for private access. Not sure how, but thats where the late season birds are.

 

[KurtR]

Find cover and find birds. I don’t usually hunt till then most people are gone and public is all yours

 

[Wheels]

Get as far away from Sioux Falls as possible.

 

[dcreiss]

Be prepared for birds either getting up 150 yards away or not getting up at all. They will be very educated by that point and often fly away when they hear vehicles rolling up. But you can get some great exercise hunting fast and/or in the snow.

 

[spur60]

Public land pressure varies wildly across SD, but put some work in and you'll kill birds. Start with heavier cover near corn stubble if it's cold, but if it's milder or sunny the birds will spread out to the grass. I hunted deer or pheasants 3-4 evenings a week in December all on public, all within 75 miles of Sioux Falls and only ran into other hunters on Fridays or Saturdays. There were plenty of nights sitting with my muzzleloader I'd watch 50-100 birds move around in that last 1/2 hour of sunlight. Shoot me a PM when you start tossing around locations and I can share some intel. By December I'll have hunted in 6 or 7 different counties.

 

[huntineveryday]

Be a little flexible with your plan to accommodate for weather. I've hunted SD several years the week before Christmas, winter storms affected us a little each year. Left a day early twice, stayed through some white-outs to hunt the day after once.

We shot birds on public, but they are pretty flighty. Get a little unconventional, don't just pull up to a field, hop out, and go right at the same thick cover everyone sees first. Pushing towards each other from opposite sides of a property worked well for us, but you need to know your partner and be careful.

 

[jmez]

Just plan on it being cold and windy. Dress accordingly. I love hunting later season. You won't have much competition. Will the birds be educated? Yes. They are educated in October, June, August, February...............

I train dogs year round here, other than the closed months, pheasants are pheasants. They run, they flush wild, they hold, they don't hold. They are tough on dogs.

You will need to put in work. Plan on taking all day to kill your three birds. That time of year, cattails are king. Hunt every slough you find on public ground. There will always be pheasants in cattails, unless someone beat you there and ran them out that day. Walk slow and pause often. Start on one edge and go back and forth all the way through unless you have enough guys to cover the whole thing in one swipe. Wherever you hunt, most of the birds are going to be within 30 yards of the edge or break in the cover. Hunt accordingly.