Weather

[honker11]

Looks like some of the mid to smaller potholes may tighten up next week,highs in the low 30s,and lows in the lower to mid teens!

 

[Crew_ChiefND]

That's not a 'might', it's a 'will' freeze up the small shallow waters from about Sunday night onward. I had skim ice on the edges of a shallow slough I hunted 3 weeks ago. Big water will hold for awhile, but if it stays down in the teens for lows and not above freezing for highs, that won't be for long. Hopefully the upcoming deer season openers in the 2 states to the east of us thin out the crowd.

 

[prairie hunter]

WI deer season does not start until the Saturday before Thanksgiving. MN deer season parallels ND season pretty closely.

 

[zoops]

Looks like it might be a year where it goes from being too warm for there to be much around to mostly frozen up in less than a week.

 

[recker999]

Looks like some of the mid to smaller potholes may tighten up next week,highs in the low 30s,and lows in the lower to mid teens!

Lows are looking to hit between 10- 20 every night starting next Wednesday and stay that way. After next weekend the only open water will be the big big water like Devils Lake and even that will not last too long with temps like that. By next Saturday I am guessing 90 to 95 percent of the water will be frozen stiff. Just returned yesterday was able to manage limits most day but it took several hunts each day. Birds are scatterend and potholes are dry or very low. I am guessing there may be some movement mid last week but it may only be a one or two day deal before it freezes.

 

[recker999]

Looks like it might be a year where it goes from being too warm for there to be much around to mostly frozen up in less than a week.

Sadly yes. If I was going again I would go on Monday and try and hunt til next weekend as if it gets good it will not last long.

 

[honker11]

Agreed to all posts,I'm no expert,just a veteran,have hunted north central nodak since the 80s,and when most, if not all the water/roosts are frozen,that area becomes a flyover area for sure.You may get a few flocks stagging here and there on the ice,but the majority of the birds will be southbound!

 

[recker999]

Agreed to all posts,I'm no expert,just a veteran,have hunted north central nodak since the 80s,and when most, if not all the water/roosts are frozen,that area becomes a flyover area for sure.You may get a few flocks stagging here and there on the ice,but the majority of the birds will be southbound!

If you have access to alot of corn fields like some guides around Devils Lake you can probably still get into some birds because Devils Lake is so big it will not all freeze next week. But most lakes will even be frozen by the end of next weekend. I was in South Dakota hunting on a perfect front day in late October 2019 watched constant flocks migrating overhead all day long. Thought for sure some would stop and barely any did. Within two days most everything was froze and even the biggest open water barely held any birds. Seems like more and more they hang in Canada until the end and we freeze when Canada does so that creates flyovers which seem to happen alot now.

 

[prairie hunter]

Migrating birds often fly for several hours if not considerably longer ... they often do not stop at the first open water ... I suspect many have a predetermined destination imprinted in their brain.

 

[#1WATERFOWLER]

WI deer season does not start until the Saturday before Thanksgiving. MN deer season parallels ND season pretty closely.

Yep. A freezer with a few ND mallards snuggled next to a fresh Wisconsin deer is always a welcome sight! I love November!