Your Combo Hunt-Fish License May Have Updated Today

Hunting and fishing in South Dakota have never been easier. Growing up in Central South Dakota, I remember the ordeal that outdoorsmen and women had to go through in order to secure a deer hunting license. You might stop into a local store and pick up an application in early summer. That's where it got tricky. You had to 'carefully' fill that application out and get it sent back before the due date. If you were hunting with a group of hunters, the process grew arms and legs.

Pheasant hunting licenses were also a bit of a chore to secure. I remember standing in line at stores holding a box of shells and a pair of gloves waiting to get my license before heading out to the field. [Area businesses may say 'they miss' this part of the licensing process]

Technology has changed almost everything we do. Yes, hunting is probably the most primitive 'back to nature' thing we can do but the licensing part has radically changed how easy it is to apply for a license.

For instance, this past season, I pulled up my smartphone (that I use courtesy of Sprint/Sioux Falls) tapped the SDGFP app, and in a couple of clicks, had not only my pheasant and small game tag, but also applied for a Statewide Archery tag which would automatically show up within two days.

If you applied the same way I did last year, you know that there was a box you could check on the application. That box would automatically update your small game stamp for 2021. How awesome is that? Let this serve as a reminder though to remember to check your credit card bill to make sure it came out. And a reminder that you chose this convenience to have that money taken out. Those monies come out on December 15, 2020.

Happy hunting and fishing in South Dakota as we close out 2020 and enter into the New Year.

Thank you for sharing this story with your friends who hunt and fish in South Dakota.