It's a good thing we bagged one bird this morning. That
saved us from getting skunked for the day. This afternoon, we hunted at the GPA
near Faulkton from 2:45 - 4:15. This is the GPA that we hunted a few days ago
but wanted to give another try because the habitat there looked so good. For
whatever reason, after 90 minutes, we had flushed only 3 hens & 1 rooster -
but it was out of range. Since we weren't finding birds in the numbers we were
expecting, we decided to switch places and head to the Casanova GPA, closer to
Aberdeen.
After the 45 minute drive to get there, we had only 35 minutes left to hunt & didn't find any birds to shoot during that time. Both Winnie and Mag were birdy a lot & Winnie pointed a couple times, but we only saw 1 bird - it was a hen that flushed about 70 yards ahead of us.
After the 45 minute drive to get there, we had only 35 minutes left to hunt & didn't find any birds to shoot during that time. Both Winnie and Mag were birdy a lot & Winnie pointed a couple times, but we only saw 1 bird - it was a hen that flushed about 70 yards ahead of us.
The most positive news I can report is that Scott (our landlord) came up here from Sioux Falls where he lives & spent the day scouting for waterfowl to hunt tomorrow. He sent me a text around 5pm saying that he found a field with 5000 mallards feeding in it & he has permission for us to hunt it tomorrow morning. I'm not sure if 1 spectacular hunt could salvage the trip, but it sure wouldn't hurt.
Below is a picture of one of the cattail sloughs at the Fulton GPA. In the foreground, you can see Dan (& 1 of the dogs -if you look closely).
Hi Guys, Lance here. I finally had a chance to catch up with your blog. I am shocked by the lack of pheasant where you are hunting. All of the forecasts I read for SD indicated that bird numbers were higher than last year and really strong. Also, how in the world did you get three dogs and three humans with all of your hunting gear in a Suburban? I barely have room for three dogs, all my gear and just myself!
ReplyDeleteWe are shocked too. We've spent many hours (& many more to come, I'm sure) trying to figure out why we aren't seeing birds (not even seeing them along the roadsides. As far as the Suburban - we're pulling a 16' boat that is acting as a trailer for all our stuff... Even with that, we are packed to the gills!
ReplyDeleteHow far south have you hunted? Have you met any hunters that are finding Phez? Have you visited the local SD GF&P office? When I wasn't finding birds out there, I found that a visit with a local Conservation Officer got us going in the right direction and we were into birds for the rest of the trip.
ReplyDeleteWe've been as far south as the Faulkton area. Since were staying in a rental house, we haven't really been interacting with anyone... we have spoken with a neighbor and our landlord and gotten you some advice, but it hasn't really panned out. We have also been talking with several local PF contacts including two PF biologists. If tomorrow wasn't the day we are heading home, we would absolutely be doing as you suggest and visiting the local conservation officer.
ReplyDelete