South Dakota Coverage
Lewis and Clark Duck Migration Forecast
Yankton, Vermillion and the Missouri confluence. The last open water in the state most years, and the latest hunting in the Low Plains South zone.
See today’s live scoreAll of SD
Season dates: South Dakota duck season 2026-27, dates and migration timing
Where Lewis and Clark is
Lewis and Clark is drawn from 11 counties in South Dakota: Aurora, Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Clay, Davison, Douglas, Hanson, Hutchinson, Turner, Union and Yankton. Those are the counties its shape on the DuckCast map is built from, so a hunter in any of them reads this region’s score.
When Lewis and Clark peaks
DuckCast’s season model puts the mallard peak here around mid November. Lewis and Clark carries its own mallard timing rather than the statewide curve, because the season here runs on a different clock from the rest of the state. That is a modelled typical curve, not a prediction for any single year. The actual push depends on cold fronts and freeze-up upstream, which is what the daily score tracks. Always confirm season dates with the state wildlife agency, linked below.
What DuckCast watches upstream of Lewis and Clark
3 upstream stations feed this region's freeze line, nearest first: Fargo, ND, about 275 miles north, Jamestown, ND, about 285 miles north and Bismarck, ND, about 315 miles northwest. When those stations ice over, the score here starts climbing before anything changes in the local sky.
Radar over Lewis and Clark
Each morning DuckCast reads the night’s NEXRAD data from KFSD, the National Weather Service radar at Sioux Falls, about 60 miles northeast of the region’s weather point. That puts the radar just outside the region, near enough to see birds lifting off and passing close by. Radar sees every bird in the air, not only ducks, so it confirms or questions the score rather than moving it.
Locations stay generalized
Hunter reports for Lewis and Clark are always shown at the region level. DuckCast never collects or displays exact coordinates, so filing a report here never burns a spot.
Also covered in South Dakota
Nearest first. Distances run between the regions’ weather points.
- Big Sioux Corridor, about 70 miles northeast
- Mid James Valley, about 120 miles north
- Glacial Lakes, about 140 miles north
- Prairie Coteau, about 165 miles north
- Oahe and the Missouri, about 180 miles northwest
- Sand Lake and the Upper James, about 190 miles north
- Cheyenne River and the Hills, about 290 miles west
- Grand River Country, about 300 miles northwest
Across the state line
- Niobrara Country, Nebraska, about 80 miles west
- Missouri River, Nebraska, about 90 miles southeast
Season dates and regulations change. Always verify with SD Game, Fish and Parks. DuckCast forecasts conditions, not legal seasons.