DuckCast
LIVE CONDITIONS|Real current weather. In the off-season, quiet scores are the system being honest.Preview the push demo →

Missouri River

DeSoto Bend and Boyer Chute north through the Knox County bottoms. The last open water in the east most winters.

6.2

Moderate Movement

Moderate Movement

Moderate confidence↑ +1.1 last 24hMallards 6.9

Pintails score, conditions as of Mon, Nov 2, 3:00 PM

Missouri River

5.7

Falling 11° vs yesterday

Legal light 6:30 AMSunrise 7:00 AMSunset 5:18 PM🌗 Last quarter · 40%

5AM18N · 56°
6AM19N · 56°
7AM18N · 55°
8AM20NNW · 53°
9AM18N · 53°
10AM20NNW · 52°
11AM20NNW · 52°
7.3Decoy score · WorkableWorking wind: 19 mph through the morning · Low overcast keeps birds low and honest · Gusts to 39: decoys will look wrong on open water

Best window: 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM

Built around the strongest northwest wind of the morning

Temperatures falling about 15°F over the next 48 hours

  • Drier than normal: water is patchy

Season dates · Zone 1 October 24 to December 6, 2026 and December 19, 2026 to January 17, 2027. Zone 2 October 3 to December 15, 2026 and January 6-27, 2027. Zone 3 October 24, 2026 to January 5, 2027 and January 6-27, 2027.

Times shown for the region center. Season dates and limits change yearly and by zone: verify with Nebraska Game and Parks.

Playas and sheet water: OpenSandhill lakes and marsh: OpenReservoirs and river: Open0 freezing degree-days over the last 6 days, counting the next 2 at half (estimated from air temps until the satellite ice feed lands)

Water on the landscape: Drier than normal: water is patchy (35% of Nebraska in drought, US Drought Monitor).

Download share card
  • Temperatures falling about 15°F over the next 48 hours
  • Northwest winds building to 22 mph
  • Corn harvest roughly 84% complete, heavy field feed available

Good

Temperatures falling about 15°F over the next 48 hours. Northwest winds building to 22 mph. Strongest window: Mon into Tue.

Pintails
6.2Mon25.7Tue3

Days 8 through 14 sit beyond the reliable forecast window and lean on season history. Read them as a trend, not a promise.

The score is a weighted blend of the drivers below, each rated 0 to 10 from current conditions. No black box: this is the whole model.

Cold front / temp trend19% weight
7.6

Temps falling ~15°F into the next 48h

Wind direction + speed17% weight
9.9

NW winds to 22 mph across 39 of the next 48h

Freeze north of region16% weight
1.5

0% of upstream hours below 28°F

Snow advance upstream10% weight
1.5

Little to no snow upstream

Local open water / holding12% weight
8.9

35% of the state in drought: water is patchier than normal

Season timing17% weight
4.4

Shoulder of the migration window

Crop harvest / field feed10% weight
8.9

Corn ~84%, beans ~96% (typical-progress estimate)

Hunter reports0% weight
5.0

No reports in the last 72h, so this factor is not counted

Pro

The freeze line across the stations upstream of this region, station by station, so you see shallow water locking up before the birds arrive on it.

Pro

Last night's NEXRAD read on whether birds actually moved: how much lifted off after sunset, which way it tracked, and how fast it flew under its own power once the wind at that altitude is subtracted out.

67°Fnow
S 21 mphwind
↓ 18°next 24h, falling
DayHi / LoWindSnow
MonNov 267° / 58°SSE 25 mph
TueNov 358° / 46°NNW 22 mph
WedNov 454° / 45°WNW 18 mph
ThuNov 555° / 42°NNW 13 mph
FriNov 654° / 38°E 8 mph
SatNov 763° / 44°W 22 mph
SunNov 849° / 38°NNW 23 mph
Pro

What other hunters reported in this region over the last 72 hours: species, how hard they were feeding, and whether the birds looked like new arrivals. Filing your own report is free and counts toward this region's score either way.