October 25, 2007A special pheasant hunt in South Dakota
Dad grew up in Aberdeen, a town of about 27,000 in northeast South Dakota -- in the heart of pheasant country. According to state officials, the pheasant population is at historic highs, and the Aberdeen area is Ground Zero. The kill in the surrounding county last year was something like 136,000 birds. Dad and Uncle Jeff spent a lot of days knocking arounds those fields back in the late 50s and early 60s. But while Jeff still lives there and runs the family business (a seed supplier) Dad bolted west to Oregon in the summer of 1966 and hadn't been back to hunt since. The pheasant opener in South Dakota is almost surreal. Not only is it huge with the locals, but it's a huge tourist draw. Last year the state had nearly 100,000 non-resident pheasant hunters, about 10,000 more than residents. Most businesses in Aberdeen displayed "Welcome Hunters" banners. I think there might be some local resentment towards out-of-staters in certain circles. In fact, that might have contributed to my uncle getting bumped from two areas he planned to take us on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Personally, the hospitality I experienced was incredible all the way around and I think that's normal. A hunter I met on the plane yesterday told me he was asking directions to a public hunting area on opening day when the landowner he was asking invited him to hunt his property. When our weekend plans fell through we had to scramble and the results weren't pretty. Fortunately I was able to hook up with lifelong Aberdonian Casey Weismantel, who works for the Aberdeen Conventions and Visitors Bureau. He invited us to hunt his family's property on Monday and Tuesday and it was quite an experience. We had to work pretty hard for our birds on Monday, but we got them. Tuesday's hunt was even better. At one point we were working a food plot and the pheasants were just pouring out of the thing. I shot some pictures and video and hope to get some of that stuff up here in the next few days. A big part of the fun was meeting new friends. One of the guys in the party was Dino Athanasiadia, a doctor from Greece who hunted the area for the first time last year and loved it so much he came back with his dog for 20 days of hunting this fall. The trip wasn't just about hunting, of course. I hadn't seen my uncle for nearly 20 years and it was great to reconnect with him. My cousin Ashley also came in for a couple of days with her three young ones. As always, it was great to spend time with Dad, too. I hope we can do something like this again, and sooner than later. |
About this blog
While growing up in rural Southern Oregon, Mark Taylor developed a passion for the outdoors while he and his younger brother tagged along with their father on fishing, hunting and camping adventures. Graduating from Northwestern University in 1988, Taylor spent four years as an officer in the U.S. Navy based in Norfolk before moving into journalism. After five years writing about the military for a Norfolk-based publishing company, he became the outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times in 1998. He lives in Roanoke with his wife and twin daughters. .....Advertisement.....
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Comments
[October 29, 2007 5:10 PM]
Buddy Seiner : →http://www.HuntinSD.comGlad you had a good hunt up here Mark! Hope to see you here again soon. Maybe next time you can try a cast and blast. Fishing in the morning, hunting in the afternoon.
[October 30, 2007 5:18 PM]
Mark TaylorThanks, Buddy. I just may take you up on your offer, and sooner than later.
I'll be in Bismark in June for the Outdoor Writers Association of America conference and plan to scoot down to visit Jeff for a day or two and would love to squeeze in a walleye/varmint combo.