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Lake Erie and Presque Isle

Erie County: Presque Isle Bay, the open lake and the shoreline. The last water in the state to ice, where late mallards and black ducks hold into January.

2.1

Stable / Staging

Stable Birds / Staging

3.2

Conditions

0.1

Birds here

High confidence→ 0.0 last 24hWood Ducks 4.0

Conditions here are scoring 3.2 this morning, and that number is the same for every duck on this water. The pintails score is held at 2.1 because the pintails numbers in this region read 0.1 out of 10 for the date. A good morning on birds that have not arrived is still a quiet morning.

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

Lake Erie and Presque Isle

2.1

Steady temps

Legal light 5:25 AMSunrise 5:55 AMSunset 4:13 PM🌗 Last quarter · 40%

5AM10S · 57°
6AM10S · 56°
7AM10S · 57°
8AM10SSE · 56°
9AM11S · 61°
10AM11S · 64°
11AM10SSW · 66°
8.1Decoy score · Prime decoy dayWorking wind: 10 mph through the morning · Low overcast keeps birds low and honest · Midweek rest: birds have settled since the weekend crowds

Best window: Legal light (5:25 AM) to 10:00 AM

No push wind forecast; first light is the best bet

Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the pintail numbers here this time of year

Season dates · North Zone October 10-24, 2026 and November 17, 2026 to January 9, 2027. South Zone October 10-17, 2026 and November 18, 2026 to January 18, 2027. Northwest Zone October 10 to November 27, 2026 and December 21, 2026 to January 9, 2027. Lake Erie Zone November 2, 2026 to January 9, 2027. Sundays are closed to all migratory bird hunting statewide in 2026-27.

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

Ponds, marshes and beaver swamps: OpenLakes and impoundments: OpenBig rivers and Lake Erie: 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: Water on the landscape is in decent shape (1% of Pennsylvania in drought, US Drought Monitor).

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  • Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the pintail numbers here this time of year
  • Persistent south winds are holding birds to the north
  • Off-season: the main migration window has not opened yet

Poor

Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the pintail numbers here this time of year. Persistent south winds are holding birds to the north. Strongest window: Mon into Tue.

Pintails
2.1Mon22.1Tue3

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
1.1

Warming ~4°F, no push trigger

Wind direction + speed17% weight
2.0

Persistent south winds, migration-suppressing

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
9.0

Waters open, birds can stay and feed

Season timing17% weight
0.1

Outside the main migration window

Crop harvest / field feed10% weight
6.5

Corn ~55%, beans ~64% (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
SSW 10 mphwind
↓ 1°next 24h, falling
DayHi / LoWindSnow
MonNov 269° / 50°S 11 mph
TueNov 368° / 56°S 14 mph
WedNov 470° / 54°S 18 mph
ThuNov 565° / 50°SW 17 mph
FriNov 652° / 41°WSW 12 mph
SatNov 742° / 34°W 13 mph
SunNov 852° / 31°S 11 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.