A Hunter’s Paradise Stop on any country road in Southeast South Dakota and you’ll
be stopping in a hunter’s paradise. South Dakota’s state bird, the Chinese Ringnecked Pheasant, thrives in the excellent habitat provided by the South Dakota landscape. Thousands of hunters descend upon the Southeast Region of the
state in the fall for their chance at the wily pheasant. Hotels and restaurants gear up for the season with special menus and friendly people to make your stay enjoyable. Hunting is a year-round spor t in southeast South Dakota.
Though pheasant and deer are the most popular, hunters will find a wide variety of abundant game.
Pheasant Traditional season: Mid-Oct. to early Jan. Season Opens Oct. 20,
2012. Preserve season, Sept. through March. Range and Habitat: Although pheasants are found statewide, the
main pheasant range encompasses the eastern two-thirds of the state. Pheasants prefer agricultural fields, wooded draws, tree strips, wetlands and set-aside acres. Most of South Dakota is privately owned and permission is required to hunt, but public lands such as Game Production Areas and Walk-In Areas offer choice habitat for pheasants. Early in the season, pheasants are scattered in small flocks, but winter’s fury pushes birds into heavy cover and concentrates them. Tree strips, cattail sloughs and dense weed patches hold pheasants this time of year. Search for small, out-of- the-way pockets that may have escaped the hunting pressure of large groups. Small sloughs, plum thickets or even fence line vege- tation hold pheasants. Prepare for weather. Fall weather conditions range from 70 degrees to snow and below-zero wind chills.
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Ducks Traditional Season: Late Sept. to Dec. Range and Habitat: More than 15 million ducks migrate annually
through South Dakota. They include mallards, gadwall, pintails and teal. Along the Missouri River, the migration peaks in mid-Nov. with 600,000 ducks, primarily mallards.
Geese Traditional Season: Sept. to late-Dec. Range and Habitat: The Missouri River corridor is the main route
for more than 400,000 migrating Canada geese, and eastern South Dakota attracts 350,000 snow- and blue-geese migrants.
East River Deer Traditional Season: Firearm, mid-Nov. thru early Dec. Archery,
late Sept. thru Jan. Range and Habitat: Crops such as corn, oats, wheat, sunflowers
and soybeans attract the whitetail deer population. Mule deer hunting is limited to counties bordering the Missouri River. Rolling pastures, tree strips, river bottoms and cattail sloughs provide escape cover for the deer.
Prairie Turkey Traditional Season: Spring firearm and archery, early April to
mid-May. Fall prairie turkey, early Oct. through Jan. Range and Habitat: Turkeys prefer the woods and brushy hillsides of rivers, as well as tree belts.
www.southeastsouthdakota.com
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