WEBSTER, South Dakota — As I have done nearly every year for 15 years, I am on the road in South Dakota. The South Dakota duck season opened Saturday (Sept. 27) and this is my annual Fall duck hunting adventure in the Mt. Rushmore State. If you have been a NewsChannel9.com Outdoors reader for very long, you have probably read about some, or many, of those previous road trips.

The potholes of South Dakota – left behind by receding glaciers at least 10,000 years ago – are where many of the country’s ducks are hatched before they begin their southerly migration. It is a great place for duck hunters to get “first shot” (pun intended) at waterfowl every year.

However, when it comes to duck hunting, South Dakota is stingy. Following World War II, many South Dakotans came home from battle only to find rich, out-of-state duck & goose hunters had bought or leased their favorite hunting areas.

The Legislators responded by dramatically limiting the number of licenses they will issue to non-resident waterfowl hunters. Each year out-of-staters are required to apply months in advance in a lottery-style drawing in hopes of getting a duck hunting license.

Many people, even in South Dakota, admit it is an antiquated tradition, but one that holds fast to its roots.

Since South Dakota is the only state in the country that does that, most duck hunters don’t bother figuring out the system and applying for the required license.

That means those of us who do apply generally have about a 70 percent chance of being drawn.

This year I am joined by fellow Chattanooga waterfowler, Mark Hydas and his retriever, Minnie.

Mark’s sons, Zach and Hunter Hydas, will be flying out to meet us in a couple of days.

I’m doing something different to share our experiences this year.

Rather than words and still pictures alone, I plan to do my best to post a daily VLOG – a short video (3 minutes or less) to summarize each day’s hunt.

Hopefully it will be a little different spin on our outdoor adventures.

There might be some time lag in posting because, “Hey, I’m busy hunting.” (Grin) But here goes “2025 South Dakota Duck Hunting VLOG – Day 1.“