First, I haven` hunted SD now for four years, but had hunted there, out of Redfield, stayed at the Wilson, for more than 30 yrs. so have some idea..
Can you and your brother walk? Maybe 5-7 miles a day? If so, walk the ditches along the back roads, next to good cover. It`s free, you can call your place to hunt, and you really don`t need a dog, tho they do come in handy. By walking the ditches, the birds are confined to the ditch..tho not always..so you can cover it very well. IME, birds tend to sit close, and can flush right under your feet. Should you drop a bird on private land, you do an unarmed retreive. My brother and I have hunted this way for years..no pressure from other hunters either.
I`ve walked for 5 minutes and filled, and I`ve walked for 8 miles, sections, and not. Depends. Hop-scotch with the truck, drop your brother at the end of a section, park at the other end, walk that section while your brother drives past and parks at the next. Tell one another which way your going.
In the morning, if the sun is out, walk West or North..you can see colors better that way, after noon, walk East and North.
Good Luck.
Good posts from everyone. This accurately describes our hunting style. Not many deep ditches here because of local farming practice. We also stay out unless it is clearly marked with a walk-in sign. We often leap frog where one of us will walk, and the other will drive and block. Walking isn't an issue. I have to admit though...walking picked corn with deep furrows is a chore I wouldn't want to do all day.
I understand stocking birds and hunting pressure. I'd rather go home without a bird than have someone plant one. A planted bird who survives a bit on their own probably wises up quickly and isn't tame by any means.
We've also had a bit of success in larger fields. The shouldn't be any cover in the adjacent fields. First, walk up the center effectively bisecting it. As we are walking through the center, we rarely see birds. The goal is to get the birds to move to the edges but not flush. When we reach the end of the field,we then follow the edges around and have success flushing those birds who are now reluctant to go back to the safety of the center of the field. Not perfect by any means, but it works.
Lot of excellent information from everyone and thanks again. I'll get some dates in mind and will try to PM some people if possible.
