Ina Nektar Fly Fishing

Ringneck Pheasant

The pheasant season opened at noon on a Saturday in South Dakota. I spent the morning in a rural farm home with my in-laws. Although most see this time spent as survival in purest form, I've always found it to be one of the better ways to begin the season. Late in the morning, all of the family had arrived and lunch was served. We got a late start (1:00pm) but none of us worried, we knew where we were hunting, South Dakota.

This particular day, ten of us had bagged twenty-eight birds by about 3:30pm. There is no doubt we could have continued on to drop the final two birds to limit out, but we felt it a better idea to get back to the house, clean the birds, and enjoy a cocktail. While this hunt ranked high in my all-time outings, similar stories are common from those who frequent South Dakota hunting lands in the fall.

What is at about this area that makes it such fantastic habitat for the Ringneck Pheasant? Some say that it is the native grasses and brush cover. Others will tell you it is the food supply, the grain this farmland produces. More will simply proclaim that the sparsely populated state of South Dakota allows for pheasants to reproduce in large numbers. I'd say that it's a combination of all of the above.

In South Dakota, you'll find well managed public lands and carefully developed private habitat. One will discover areas so dense with native growth that you will need multiple dogs adjacent to areas where you could actually get by without a bird dog. Hunters will no doubt find areas where they have to choose which of the many males to take a shot at. They will come to appreciate the hospitality of some of the most accommodating hunting lodges in the country. So practice your shot before you show up, because with this many birds, there may be a shortage of shotgun shells.

Remember: Communicate with your group, know where all members of your party are at all times, watch for your blockers, take careful shots, teach young hunters the safety fundamentals and enjoy a drink after the hunt has ended.

South Dakota is the Pheasant Capitol of the World. It's almost unfair....almost.

Greg is an avid outdoorsman and especially enjoys hunting and fishing. He can be reached at [http://www.thepheasanthunt.com] or via his blog at http://www.sdpheasanthunting.blogspot.com

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