Recent content by jags

Writing this based on a bad event with my lab from several years ago. I was of the opinion (based on reports of others) that I would not feed my lab in the morning prior to duck hunting because of the possibility of her stomach turning due to the food. Problem with not feeding in the morning...

JMuller....I had a more detailed conversation with my buddy who just got back from Hecla. He reflected the same sentiments as I have personally seen in 3 trips out to Eureka this fall....bird numbers are not great, lots of water, closed roads and lots of standing corn for the birds to hide...

Most, if not all, of the corn is still standing near Hecla west of Britton. Just got off of the phone with a buddy with a place out in Hecla who stated there are seas of corn still standing which made his four days of hunting very difficult.

Hunted our family farm in Eureka from Nov 1-5. 7,000 private acres of pheasant nirvana, the past 23 years at least. This was my third visit to the farm since Dove opener on Labor Day where I saw 7 pheasants in 3 days. During a mid-October archery deer and duck hunt I saw a few more pheasants...

Family group of 8 hunted opening weekend and shot 15 birds, all private land around Eureka. Limits from opening weekend till the close of the season are typically easy. I did not even bother to cash in the remaining 5 days of my non-resident license, I instead chose to chase ducks around the...

Although the bird counts and first hand knowledge of pheasant density is dismal this season, I will still go out there. The heavily saturated ground will lead to certain areas being inaccessible as in normal years, and the late harvest during the early to mid portion of the season will make...

In the past SD roadside counts I do not recall them posting precipitation and snowfall amounts. The snowfall amounts in McPherson County and the eastern portion of Campbell County were significant, thus leading to adult mortality rates.

I was hoping I was wrong as well. The evidence does not lie though. We did not hear the normal cackling after the birds flush in the distance at the abandoned farm like normal, it really bummed me out while we were out there this past weekend. We will definitely still go out there because I...

The 2019 roadside count has been published. -49% in the Mobridge area, 1.38 birds pm. My first hand observations were right. Gonna be a tough year.

I am hoping for the sake of South Dakota tourism that only certain parts of the pheasant belt were hit hard by last years winter and poor nesting success this spring. I am finding it very odd that SD Game & Fish has yet to release the brood counts. My memory tells me that the brood count was...

I was in shock and highly disappointed by the lack of pheasants we saw and heard. I think the brutal winter they had out there mixed with the abundance of rain this spring that flooded the nests out really did them in. We have had only one marginal year out there in recent memory, and that...

My son and I just returned from the Eureka area after a dove hunt. My approach for the trip was three fold....shoot doves, scout deer and pheasants. We had two great dove shoots, filling limits easily. We saw plenty of deer as well. Now the real bad news. I have hunted the 7,000 acre family...

19th year hunting 6700 acres of private family ground near Eureka. Took my two boys out to shoot roosters and fill rifle doe tags. Farmers just starting on the beans. Hunted all of the normal spots...grass, shelter belts and dried up sloughs. Bird numbers were dismal at best which was to be...