Unusual Weather Reshapes Late-Season Pheasant Hunting

For decades, late-season pheasant hunters in South Dakota have relied on predictable winter patterns that usually push birds into the thick stuff. This year, Mother Nature had other plans.

Warm temps and no snow forced hunters to break away from typical late-season tactics.

What a weird year. South Dakota's 2024-25 pheasant season was anything but typical. Unseasonably warm temperatures — often pushing into the 40s and even 50s — and a lack of snowfall dramatically altered traditional hunting strategies. Due to the "brown-out" conditions most of the state experienced December and January — especially in the southern half of the state where I normally hunt — the birds weren’t bunched up in cattail sloughs and tree belts that normally provide essential thermal cover during harsh South Dakota winters.

While these areas still served as crucial roosting sites, I noticed over and over that the birds' daytime behavior shifted significantly. Simply stated, the birds weren’t where they were supposed to be during the second half of the state’s pheasant season. Quite literally, they stuck to more early season habitat.

Traditional late-season hotspots such as dense cattail sloughs and shelterbelts didn’t produce the consistent action they typically do when winter weather forces birds to concentrate on sturdy, thermal cover near reliable food sources. Instead, I kept finding birds along habitat edges and fringe habitat, such as a narrow band of reed canary surrounding a cattail slough. I also consistently picked off birds that were spread out across big blocks of public ground, such as CREP lands and WPAs with plenty of grassland habitat.

For example, on the closing day of pheasant season, I was able to sneak out of work early and take Gauge, my 9-year-old yellow Lab, on one last run for fun. We drove west an hour to hunt an hour, targeting a 10-acre slough surrounded by grass. Temps were nearing the 50-degree mark, and by this time of season, I had learned my lesson that trudging through cattails wouldn’t produce. Instead, we were going to hunt the edges.

We worked our way east with the late-day sun at our back. I followed Gauge, who happily nosed his way through the grass. After kicking up a couple hens here and there, the dog’s pace quickened as we neared the eastern end of the slough. Suddenly, he spun 180 degrees and froze. A second later, a rooster burst skyward from the grass. I gave the bird a warning shot before connecting on the second. After a quick retrieve, we crossed the fence and tried our luck hunting a 5-acre stand of CRP adjacent to a soybean field.

In a normal winter, most of this grassy cover would have been flattened by snow and too drifted in for birds to even think twice about loafing there. However, the warm temps made me think a bird or two might be favoring the grass instead of the cattails as a roosting spot for the night.

We had only taken a couple steps when a rooster flushed wild from the northeastern corner of the CRP. Hoping another bird or two was holding tight, the dog and I kept heading in that direction. As we neared the fence line, another rooster power-flushed at my feet. I knocked the bird down with the first shot. I thought I had hit it pretty hard. However, Gauge came up empty-handed when he arrived where the bird fell. Fifty yards and five minutes later, that old pheasant dog finally locked the wounded bird down.

Check out the video of the last bird of our 2024-25 season.

With two birds in the vest and about 10 minutes of daylight left, we started our way back to the Suburban. As we walked west, I watched about 20 birds fly in from parts unknown into the grass a quarter-mile ahead of us. Not a single bird flew into the cattails.

All in all, this season served as a reminder that successful pheasant hunting requires adaptability — constant adaptability. While time-tested winter hunting strategies remain valuable knowledge, being willing to adjust your tactics based on current conditions is essential. As climate patterns continue to vary, the ability to read the landscape and understand how weather affects pheasant behavior becomes increasingly important for consistent success in South Dakota's legendary pheasant fields.