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Cheyenne Bottoms

Forty-one thousand acres of shallow marsh in the Smoky Hills, plus the Kanopolis and Wilson country east of it. The best pintail water in Kansas, and the first to lock.

6.2

Moderate Movement

Moderate Movement

Moderate confidence↓ -1.0 last 24hMallards 6.0

Pintails score, conditions as of Tue, Nov 3, 8:00 PM

Cheyenne Bottoms

6.2

Falling 14° vs yesterday

Legal light 6:33 AMSunrise 7:03 AMSunset 5:33 PM🌗 Last quarter · 40%

5AM22NNW · 56°
6AM24NNW · 55°
7AM26NNW · 53°
8AM27NNW · 52°
9AM27NNW · 51°
10AM28NNW · 51°
11AM27NNW · 51°
7.2Decoy score · WorkableLow overcast keeps birds low and honest · Gusts to 48: decoys will look wrong on open water · Midweek rest: birds have settled since the weekend crowds

Best window: 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Built around the strongest northwest wind of the morning

Temperatures falling about 8°F over the next 48 hours

Season dates · High Plains Unit October 10, 2026 to January 3, 2027 and January 22-31, 2027. Low Plains Early Zone October 10 to December 6, 2026 and December 19, 2026 to January 3, 2027. Low Plains Late Zone October 31, 2026 to January 3, 2027 and January 23-31, 2027. Low Plains Southeast Zone November 7, 2026 to January 3, 2027 and January 16-31, 2027.

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

Playas and sheet water: OpenMarsh and creek bottoms: 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: Water on the landscape is in decent shape (21% of Kansas in drought, US Drought Monitor).

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  • Temperatures falling about 8°F over the next 48 hours
  • Northwest winds building to 15 mph
  • Corn harvest roughly 93% complete, heavy field feed available

Good

Temperatures falling about 8°F over the next 48 hours. Northwest winds building to 15 mph. Strongest window: Tue into Wed.

Pintails
6.2Tue35.3Wed4

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 trend20% weight
5.1

Temps falling ~8°F into the next 48h

Wind direction + speed17% weight
8.3

NW winds to 15 mph across 23 of the next 48h

Freeze north of region14% weight
1.5

0% of upstream hours below 28°F

Snow advance upstream9% 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
8.1

Inside the prime migration window

Crop harvest / field feed10% weight
8.7

Corn ~93%, beans ~86% (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.

50°Fnow
N 7 mphwind
↓ 2°next 24h, falling
DayHi / LoWindSnow
TueNov 361° / 46°NNW 28 mph
WedNov 458° / 41°NW 12 mph
ThuNov 555° / 40°NNW 15 mph
FriNov 657° / 39°NE 6 mph
SatNov 758° / 43°ESE 6 mph
SunNov 863° / 41°SSW 10 mph
MonNov 968° / 44°SSW 16 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.