2011 Pheasant Season Underway

The season is underway in South Dakota. According to the Outlook Report from South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, the central part of the state is in good shape. And that’s where we are located. Here’s what Jeff Vonk, Secretary of the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department, had to say about our area.

“On the other hand, we were pleasantly surprised how well pheasants responded in central South Dakota, where abundant moisture from winter snow and spring rain allowed grasslands to flourish and provide the essential habitat for excellent pheasant production,” Vonk said.

The counts in the main pheasant range are similar to or higher than the counts in 2002 when hunters bagged 1.2 million pheasants. Pheasant hunters harvested 1.8 million pheasants in 2010.

We’ve already had a couple of parties who have done well, with more booked in. We’ll provide another report soon.

Mystic Prairie Partner Lodge Gets Initiated

As we mentioned earlier, Mystic Prairie now has a partner property available even if our main lodge is booked.

Our first group tried it out this past weekend. The group got its limit each day!

Photos are uploaded to an online photo album.

2010 Hunting Season Off To Great Start

Mystic Prairie has had a great start to the 2010 pheasant hunting season.

Here is a group of happy hunters at the end of a limit out day. The group contained one set hunters from 3 generations of the same family!

Photos from an afternoon of their hunt can be found in the 2010 Mystic Prairie Hunting Experience Photo Album.

Mystic Prairie Opens Partner Property – Book Now

With the 2010/2011 Pheasant Hunting Season just around the corner, Mystic Prairie is excited to announce the opening of our first partner property, another great option in which to experience classic South Dakota wild pheasant hunting while enjoying first class accommodations.

This new lodge was built in 2009, and is situated just down the road from Mystic Prairie in the midst of over 500 acres of prime prairie switch grass habitat. Private guestrooms, fully stocked kitchen, satellite TV and quiet, peaceful surroundings are just part of this property’s charm.

For this inaugural season only, we are offering access to this new property at extreme discounts.

The following dates are available groups of 6 to 10:

October 29-30-31
November 5-6-7-8
November 13-14-15-16
November 19-20-21-22

To experience Classic South Dakota pheasant hunting with all the comforts of home at prices never to be seen again give us a call at 612-554-8078 .

Winter Hunting at Mystic Prairie A Delight

The winter of 2010 was a wild experience for guests from California’s Grimmway farms. They were surprised to find the stories of South Dakota weather are as true as the stories of the huge number of native pheasants.

Despite snow cover of over 3 feet across the vast amount of land at Mystic Prairie these hunting where still able to harvest their limit of pheasants with the aid of snow shoes. While not a typical situation you encounter during a classic pheasant hunt. The staff at Mystic Prairie did not let a little thing like night time temperature at 10 below zero and snow drifts over 10 feet tall stop this warm weather team from having a great time. With the help of snow machines and a ton of good old fashion cooking and flocks of pheasants at every turn these guest had the hunt of a life time.

Note: The guys from Greenway are returning again this hunting season to Mystic but have traded in their March hunting date for one in October. If you would like to experience hunting huge pheasant population with the added challenge of doing it from snow shoes give us call. Discounted snow hunting rates are available.

You can see a few more photos from their hunt in the Mystic Prairie 2010 Winter Hunt Photo Album.

2010 Pheasant Season Upon Us

It’s that time of the year. Hopefully you’ve booked your Mystic Prairie hunt.

If you haven’t then give us a call to find out what’s new at Mystic Prairie. Our new lodge got a workout last year and is ready for 2010 action.

See what the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks has to say about this year’s season.

This autumn, hunters in South Dakota will enjoy pheasant numbers that continue to be some of the best in the state’s history. The 2010 brood survey count shows a small increase from the 2009 survey.

Pheasant OutlookThe Game, Fish and Parks Department completed its annual pheasant brood survey in mid-August, and tallied a statewide pheasants-per-mile count that is up about 3 percent from last year.

“We had a very good year in 2009, and this peek as we go into fall tells us that hunters can look forward to some great opportunities in the coming pheasant season,” said Game Fish and Parks Secretary Jeff Vonk.

Preserve Permit Hunt 2009

Here’s a photo of the first hunting party at Mystic Prairie this fall. We decided to take advantage of Mystic Prairie’s preserve permit which allows pre-regular season hunting on selected acres. The weather was very warm and windy but as you can see, we did pretty good this day.

You can see photos from our hunt that include the new hunting lodge which was finished just in time for our arrival. It’s very comfortable with double rooms and large dining and entertainment areas. The food as usual was unbelievably good!

So if you haven’t booked your hunt then get on the phone and git ‘er done!

2009 Pheasant Outlook

2009 is looking like another great year for pheasant hunting in South Dakota. You can see what the South Dakota Division of Wildlife thinks below:

Survey indicates another good year for S.D. pheasants

* The annual pheasant brood survey calculates “pheasants per mile” over 110 30-mile routes driven over a three week period in late July and early August. For details on how the brood route survey is conducted, click HERE.
* The 2009 statewide pheasant per mile index is down 26% from 2008 (8.56 to 6.32).
* 2009 will still have the fourth highest count in the past 45 years. South Dakota has harvested over 1 million pheasants each of the past 11 years, and close to 2 million the past four years. For a historical look at South Dakota pheasant statistics, click HERE.
* If you are interested in the full survey report, click HERE.
* To view the 10-year pheasant per mile index trends, broken down for each of the 13 areas of the state that are monitored, click HERE.

So, if you want to get in on some great action in the field give us a call you book your Mystic Prairie Hunting Experience.

2009 Season Dates

This year Mystic Prairie has obtained a special preserve permit that allows hunts on a portion of our land prior to and after the regular season. Please contact us for more details. Here’s the official season dates though for your information:

Statewide season Oct. 17, 2009 – Jan. 3, 2010

DAILY LIMIT. 3 cock pheasants

POSSESSION LIMIT. 15 rooster pheasants, taken according to daily limit. The limit accrues at the rate of 3 birds a day, and 15 birds may not be possessed until after the 5th day of hunting.

SHOOTING HOURS. 12 noon, Central Time, to sunset October 17 through Oct. 23; 10 a.m., Central Time, to sunset the rest of the season.

NOTE: Central Time is used for opening shooting hours, statewide.

Future Opening Dates: South Dakota’s pheasant season traditionally opens the third Saturday in October.

More Great Pheasant Hunting Fun

Another group that has hunted at Mystic Prairie this year had a great time. They sent in some photos which have been put into a new photo album which you can find with this link. Here’s their message.

Our groups’ 5th season at Mystic Prairie was another great success. The weather was a little warmer than usual and no one was able to burn off all of Barb’s great cooking. Limits were the norm and everyone enjoyed the beautiful days on the South Dakota prairie. The bird hunting was great this year, but the high point of the trip is always the time spent with the Slunecka Family and friends.

Dennis Kelly
State Affairs Team Lead
Syngenta Crop Protection

A Great Day In The Field

Although tired, we were all smiles after a day of hunting at Mystic Prairie.

We started our day with a great breakfast as usual and then did some practice shooting. It was a good thing too!

After that we walked through sunflowers, sorghum, grass and corn. Birds were everywhere. Our group came from some diverse locations including Missouri, Florida, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. Daytimes are filled with hunting and evenings include great meals and lots of fellowship.

Hunting Into The Wind

The first full week of the 2008 Pheasantennial hunting season is now over and it was a good one at Mystic Prairie.

This past Sunday presented a special challenge with sustained winds of 45 mph and gusts up to 60 mph! It was even difficult to stand much less walk. However, my group was up to the challenge. We weren’t sure what the conditions would mean for the bird activity but when we walked our first sorghum field we found plenty of them.

There’s now a photo album from this season you can look at to see what a few days at Mystic Prairie is like: Mystic Prairie Pheasant Hunting 2008 Photo Album

Morning Flight

Hello from opening week at Mystic Prairie. I’m your Mystic Prairie blogger for a couple of days as my group is here on location and itching to get out in the field during this Pheasantennial.

I got up early this morning and wandered out back of the lodge and flushed quite a few birds. It’s very foggy and the light isn’t strong yet but I did get 3 with this shot from a distance.

So, over the next couple days I’ll try to post a few times and after I get to some high speed access I’ll be uploading a new photo album from the best place to hunt pheasants.

Pheasantennial Underway

The 2008 Pheasant hunting season is on. Opening day of the “Pheasantennial” got off to a great start. This is the 100 year anniversary of pheasant hunting in South Dakota. Here’s an excerpt from the Argus Leader:

Losses in the stock market, a strangled credit market, talk of a recession, the high cost to travel – nothing, it seems, was going to stop in-state hunters and those from around the world from taking a shot at Phasianus colchicus, South Dakota’s state bird: the pheasant.

“You know, people may spend less on the alcoholic beverages or maybe a meal or two, maybe they didn’t buy a new shotgun this year, but hunting pheasant in South Dakota is a tradition, and nothing stops a tradition,” said Buddy Seiner, outdoor media representative for the state Tourism Office. “I know Aberdeen is booked for three weeks solid, Redfield is booked, Mitchell is booked, all the craziness coming into Sioux Falls. But for good reason – this year is going to be amazing.”

You can read more about the Pheasantennial here.

First Rooster of 2008 Season

Well the 2008 season has officially started and the first cock pheasant at Mystic Prairie has been bagged.

This is John and Chloe proudly showing off their accomplishment from this past weekend’s SD Youth Season.

Of course this should get you adults anxious to get out in the field yourself and show what you can do.

If you haven’t already booked your hunt then make sure to give us a call. Roosters are waiting on you!

Looking Ahead to the 2008 Season

This is what you want to see when you’re taking a lunch break at Mystic Prairie.

I’m still featuring some pictures from one of last year’s hunts but the idea is to whet your appetite for this season which is coming up in just a couple weeks.

In the meantime, I’ve added some links over in the sidebar to things like recipes, guns and a website called, “Pheasant Country,” which has lots of interesting information for you first timers or even if you’re a veteran pheasant hunter.

A Successful Morning In The Field

Here’s a happy bunch of pheasant hunters after a very productive morning in the field last fall.

You can see a whole album of photos from their hunt last year using the links in the sidebar or this one.

There’s more than one way to shoot a pheasant and sometimes our “hunters” come with cameras. Even if you do bring your shotgun, make sure to bring a camera so you’ve got some lasting memories of your hunt.

Welcome To Mystic Prairie

A Mystic Prairie sunset can be a beautiful thing. Spending a day or more hunting at Mystic Prairies provides some soothing time away from the frantic pace of today’s business lifestyles.

Here on the Mystic Prairie blog you’ll find photos, ideas, suggestions and more from different hunts that take place in the middle of the best pheasant hunting country in the United States.

We hope you enjoy it and have a chance to come visit for yourself!