First time I've been... and if I'm still kickin' each year going forward it won't be my last. I went with a TX buddy and eventually met up with some locals that I know through a different mutual friend. We spent three days hitting about half public and half private spots in the SE and NE parts of the state. I thought Texans were by and large some of the friendliest people I've ever met, but the Dakota folks were incredible.

The best part by far, even as good as everything else was, was watching it click for Rosie. Even though we've been on a few phez hunts we never really got into them so I don't think she really had much of a chance to figure it out. The best thing that happened was when we met up with one of the locals that had a little black lab that was friggin' incredible. It's what he does every weekend and you could tell. It ramped Rosie up big time. After an hour or two of hunting with him, she got dialed in. By the second day of the trip she worked like a seasoned veteran. Enough so that even the local guys were impressed, and that's sayings something.







Turkeys struttin' around in the middle of Sioux Falls

I've been a very few times, but have had a blast every time. Always hope to go again. We've talked about renting a place up there for years, to get out of the Texas August. Well done!

Nice, that is a very cool dog too

Looks like a great time! I love seeing a pup get into birds. I had heard South Dakota was great this year. Wish I had made the trip. What were the locals saying about the bird population this year?

Nice! Sounds like you made a dog on that trip!

Fantastic ,nothing better than a good hunt with a good dog !

Awesome bud, thanks for sharing this!

Pure greatness. I made a similar trip with a friend from Houston. We met with three friends from Kansas. We hunted pheasant, sharpies, and Hun. We got the best dog work over the Huns. They were the most scarce.

My fried and I flew home. The friends road hunted their way back to Kansas.

Well done Larry. I love seeing a talented dog assimilate how to handle various birds. Handling Pheasants teach a dog how to deal with runners. If they don’t drift the track with their head up and relocate on their own, the dog will not be nearly as productive. The push and pull dance of a dog that knows it’s business putting enough pressure on a runner to make it sit without flushing it is a thing of beauty. The sight and sound of a brilliantly colored and cackling wild rooster erupting from in front of a pointing dog is probably my favorite flush in the uplands. That is a special place to be a bird hunter!

thanks for sharing, love Rosie

Larry, did you notice any large prairie dog towns? I am thinking of making a trip to SD next summer and have been told of huge PD towns. Thanks Daniel

They said that their area didn't have a fall off at all. The drought was further north and west so it was about normal. I found that hard to believe after the first private spot we went on a pretty short walk and kicked up about a dozen. Mostly hens, but still was impressive to me after my not so exciting adventures in Kansas.

The one thing they did say repeatedly is that the numbers have been down as of 10 years ago. Apparently there was some big shift in agriculture around there at that time... but again, to me it felt loaded up LOL.

I didn't notice any where I was, but one of the locals dang near broke his ankle walking the edge of some cattails. When he came up he was cussin' prairie dogs so they were around for sure.

Other thing they said was that CWD is taking a huge toll on the whitetail. Rosie found a dead little buck in the first public land we hit. No obvious injuries/exit wounds, it was seems pretty bad up there.

What kind of dog. Looking good