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| 2025 Pheasant Forecast Courtesy of Pheasants Forever |
| Hunt the Greatest, Hunt in Aberdeen, SD |
| PHEASANTS FOREVER 2025 PHEASANT HUNTING FORECAST: ABERDEEN, SOUTH DAKOTA South Dakota Poised for a Great Pheasant Season By Andrew Johnson The pheasant news coming out of South Dakota is overwhelmingly positive. For starters, the 2024 pheasant season was one of the best in recent memory, with hunters bagging north of 1.3 million roosters according to a South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) press release published June 3. Plus, for the second year in a row, winter hardly made a dent in bird numbers. Even better, habitat conditions for spring nesting were average or better across most of the state’s prime pheasant country, with a few exceptions here and there. All things considered, most people in the know believe this fall could be even better than last year. “Other than a couple big rain events that might have washed out a couple nests, things should be about as good as we could hope for,” says Matt Gottlob, Pheasants Forever’s state coordinator in South Dakota. “Not trying to be too overly optimistic, but what we are hearing from all the field staff is that they are seeing birds, both grouse and pheasants, everywhere,” says Gottlob. “The habitat conditions should be really good, and I’m as excited as I’ve been for quite a while. We should certainly be on track to be even better this year.” Those same thoughts were echoed by Alex Solem, South Dakota GFP’s senior wildlife biologist and upland bird guru. “We had very strong bird numbers going into the nesting season,” Solem states. “After such a great spring and summer, folks should really be excited for what they are going to see when they hit the fields come pheasant season.” Regional Reports Here are regional field reports from around The Pheasant Capital. Aberdeen Area Brown, Edmonds, Day and McPherson Counties The Aberdeen region is poised for an exceptional pheasant season according to Casey Weismantel, executive director for the Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. Weismantel admitted the area was dry heading into spring, thanks to a dry fall and a winter with no snow, but he says the region caught timely spring rains that bolstered bird production. “The nesting cover we had this season is the best we have seen in quite some time, and we’ve continued to catch timely rains as needed throughout the summer,” Weismantel reports. “As a result, the habitat in our region is ideal heading into fall, and we’re hearing reports of broods. Broods everywhere!” “Last year, the report was seeing large numbers in the broods,” continues Weismantel. “This year we are seeing large numbers of broods. I spoke to some guides and outfitters that are seeing multiple broods per mile. Personally, in all my years I’ve never been given reports like this.” Weismantel knows excitement for the fall season is building both at home and abroad, and one tip he has for hunters is this: Consider hunting later in the season. “Seasoned hunters know the prime time to chase roosters starts around the middle of November at the earliest,” says Weismantel. “The crops should be harvested by then — and the harvest might be even later than normal this fall in some areas that have received lots of rain. Also, it is cooler then for the hunting dogs, there is a lot less hunting pressure, and the hotel and accommodations usually run a little cheaper. All of these factors can elevate your hunt if you can plan your trip a little later in the season.” To learn more about the Aberdeen Pheasant Coalition click here. Visit HuntFishSD.com for information on public land and private land featuring guides, outfitters, and landowners. All the hotels in Aberdeen are also pet friendly. |
