Cheyenne River and the Hills
Belle Fourche, the northern Hills and the Cheyenne breaks. The driest ground DuckCast scores, hunted on impoundments rather than marsh.
Stable / Staging
Stable Birds / Staging
6.1
Conditions
2.5
Birds here
Conditions here are scoring 6.1 this morning, and that number is the same for every duck on this water. The gadwall score is held at 4.5 because the gadwall numbers in this region read 2.5 out of 10 for the date. A good morning on birds that have not arrived is still a quiet morning.
Gadwall score, conditions as of Mon, Nov 2, 3:00 PM
Tomorrow's Hunt · Tuesday, Nov 3
Cheyenne River and the Hills
Falling 8° vs yesterday
Legal light 7:01 AMSunrise 7:31 AMSunset 5:40 PM🌗 Last quarter · 40%
Best window: 5:00 AM to 7:00 AM
Built around the strongest northwest wind of the morning
Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the gadwall numbers here this time of year
- Drier than normal: water is patchy
Season dates · High Plains October 10, 2026 to January 14, 2027. Low Plains North and Middle zones September 26 to December 8, 2026. Low Plains South Zone October 24, 2026 to January 5, 2027.
Times shown for the region center. Season dates and limits change yearly and by zone: verify with SD Game, Fish and Parks.
Water Status
Water on the landscape: Drier than normal: water is patchy (52% of South Dakota in drought, US Drought Monitor).
Why this score is moving
- Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the gadwall numbers here this time of year
- Temperatures falling about 14°F over the next 48 hours
- Northwest winds building to 30 mph
- Corn harvest roughly 81% complete, heavy field feed available
48-Hour Outlook
Fair
Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the gadwall numbers here this time of year. Temperatures falling about 14°F over the next 48 hours. Strongest window: Mon into Tue.
14-Day Score Outlook
GadwallDays 8 through 14 sit beyond the reliable forecast window and lean on season history. Read them as a trend, not a promise.
Inside the model
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.
Temps falling ~14°F into the next 48h
NW winds to 30 mph across 35 of the next 48h
0% of upstream hours below 28°F
Little to no snow upstream
52% of the state in drought: water is patchier than normal
Outside the main migration window
Corn ~81%, beans ~97% (typical-progress estimate)
No reports in the last 72h, so this factor is not counted
North of you
ProThe 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.
Radar check
ProLast 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.
Local conditions
| Day | Hi / Lo | Wind | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| MonNov 2 | 55° / 42° | NW 33 mph | |
| TueNov 3 | 47° / 35° | NW 25 mph | |
| WedNov 4 | 55° / 33° | NW 13 mph | |
| ThuNov 5 | 56° / 40° | WNW 9 mph | |
| FriNov 6 | 57° / 42° | W 12 mph | |
| SatNov 7 | 54° / 40° | NW 28 mph | |
| SunNov 8 | 53° / 36° | SW 18 mph |
Hunter intel
ProWhat 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.