South Dakota hunt results.......

bswiv · November 8, 2009, 09:55 AM

Spent 5 days last week on 6000 acres owned by a old SD farmer. Had the whole place to ourselves, just me and Louann. The farm consisted of a mix of CRP land, hay fields, some milo and sorgum, and a good number of draws and creek bottoms, all situated on land that rose and fell I would guess about 200 feet total.

In the draws he had about 15 small stock ponds that were formed by setting earthen dams across the draws. There is a picture of one of them here. Dams were from 50 feet to about 50 yards long.

For the ducks we would get on the dam side of the ponds, slip up to the top of the dam where the ducks, if they were there, could not see us and then pop up. Got a few mallards and gadwall this way. Saw some geese on one pond but they were on the far end and no way to get to them.

The pheasants we walked up. There were plenty of 'em and we got most simply by me and Louann walking the creek bottoms and edges of fields and a couple of old homesteads along with a tree row or two. Good thing there were plenty as the dogs he had were not trained all that well.

In fact on 2 occasions we shot pheasants that dropped on the other side of the small, maybe 15 foot wide, creeks we were hunting and the darn dogs just would not get them without a lot of effort. Took about 30 minutes to retrieve one that was dead and in full view. Very frustrating!

Weather was PERFECT. Slight frost in the morning and high 50's in the afternoons. Not a clowd the whole time............

The last picture of the cars is interesting. We asked why they were out there and what the farmer said is that it was common practice way back to use old cars as part of the dams. They would set the cars right in the dirt and cover them up just as if they were rocks. The ones in the picture just never made it into the dam you see in the background.

fisherman66 · November 8, 2009, 10:01 AM

That looks like it was a ton of fun. A well trained bird dog is a joy to behold, but looks like you did just as well with what you had available. Cool pictures.

Dragon55 · November 8, 2009, 10:02 AM

Beautiful!

shortwave · November 8, 2009, 11:08 AM

bswiv, Again thanks for the pics. Looks as though you had a great trip(other then the non-retrieving dogs). I`m assuming its cockbird hunting only, is that correct? Also what is the dailey bag limit?

November 8, 2009, 09:55 AM	#1
bswiv Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: NE FL....... Posts: 1,081	South Dakota hunt results....... Spent 5 days last week on 6000 acres owned by a old SD farmer. Had the whole place to ourselves, just me and Louann. The farm consisted of a mix of CRP land, hay fields, some milo and sorgum, and a good number of draws and creek bottoms, all situated on land that rose and fell I would guess about 200 feet total. In the draws he had about 15 small stock ponds that were formed by setting earthen dams across the draws. There is a picture of one of them here. Dams were from 50 feet to about 50 yards long. For the ducks we would get on the dam side of the ponds, slip up to the top of the dam where the ducks, if they were there, could not see us and then pop up. Got a few mallards and gadwall this way. Saw some geese on one pond but they were on the far end and no way to get to them. The pheasants we walked up. There were plenty of 'em and we got most simply by me and Louann walking the creek bottoms and edges of fields and a couple of old homesteads along with a tree row or two. Good thing there were plenty as the dogs he had were not trained all that well. In fact on 2 occasions we shot pheasants that dropped on the other side of the small, maybe 15 foot wide, creeks we were hunting and the darn dogs just would not get them without a lot of effort. Took about 30 minutes to retrieve one that was dead and in full view. Very frustrating! Weather was PERFECT. Slight frost in the morning and high 50's in the afternoons. Not a clowd the whole time............ The last picture of the cars is interesting. We asked why they were out there and what the farmer said is that it was common practice way back to use old cars as part of the dams. They would set the cars right in the dirt and cover them up just as if they were rocks. The ones in the picture just never made it into the dam you see in the background.

November 8, 2009, 10:01 AM	#2
fisherman66 Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2005 Location: The Woodlands TX Posts: 4,679	That looks like it was a ton of fun. A well trained bird dog is a joy to behold, but looks like you did just as well with what you had available. Cool pictures. __________________ la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!

November 8, 2009, 10:02 AM	#3
Dragon55 Senior Member Join Date: March 15, 2009 Location: East Tennessee Posts: 811	I am so jealous.......... Beautiful! __________________ sailing ... A way to spend lots of money and go real S L O W

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November 8, 2009, 11:08 AM	#4
shortwave Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2007 Location: SOUTHEAST, OHIO Posts: 5,970	bswiv, Again thanks for the pics. Looks as though you had a great trip(other then the non-retrieving dogs). I`m assuming its cockbird hunting only, is that correct? Also what is the dailey bag limit?