Goose Hunting in South Dakota
- There are two primary goose migration routes in South Dakota. Geese migrate through other parts of the state, but are most concentrated in these two areas. The first of these follows the Missouri River. Geese stop over all along the Missouri River, but the largest flocks are found between upper Lake Sharpe in the area south of Pierre, all the way to the North Dakota border along Lake Oahe. Geese in this area tend to concentrate in large flocks and are hunted all along the shorelines of both lakes, usually within 10 to 15 miles of the lake itself.
- The second major migration route through the state includes the area east of the James River, to about the Big Sioux River. This includes the towns of Sioux Falls, Brookings, Watertown, and Sisseton. Geese in this area tend to scatter, using the numerous lakes, ponds and sloughs as resting areas and feeding in the surrounding grain fields.
- The largest flocks of Canada geese migrate along the Missouri River system. Tens of thousands of Canada geese move through this area every fall. The large flocks offer pass shooting opportunities and field hunting over decoys. It is legal to shoot geese from a public road in South Dakota, and many geese are taken by hunters from roads along Lake Oahe every fall. Canada geese also move through the eastern part of the state, but the flocks are smaller and the numbers are lower, making scouting very important.
- White-fronts also migrate through the state, although in lower numbers than Canada or snow geese. White-fronts migrate earlier than other geese, and usually are gone from the area after the second or third week of the season. Often found mixed in with flocks of Canada geese, white-fronts are classified as a dark goose, and are included in the bag limit for Canada geese.
- Snow geese migrate in very large numbers through eastern South Dakota. Flocks stretching for miles across the sky, containing thousands of birds, are a common sight during the peak of the migration. By the time snow geese arrive in South Dakota, they have been hunted for months by hunters in the south and are quite wary. Large spreads of 500 to 1,000 decoys are most successful at decoying these cautious birds. Many hunters choose to pass shoot snow geese as they move between resting and feeding areas.
- South Dakota has a spring hunting season for snow geese as well. Since the mid-1990s, snow goose populations have exploded allowing a more liberal harvest. The spring migration is usually quicker than the fall migration, as geese move north as snow melts opening up grain fields for them to feed. Snow geese move through the eastern part of the state during late March and April and are hunted in the same locations as the fall season.