# Water Levels of Pot Holes?



## FSUPhil (May 7, 2007)

I hunt each year south of Carrington. I was wondering how the water levels where in this area as they were very low last year. Sure looks like there was a lot of rain this past weekend.

Thanks!


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Areas got between 1/2 inch to 9 inches of rain (I heard Aberdeen).

I'm not sure about Carrington but I'm assuming it got at least an inch or two considering the heavy stuff went up the HW 281 corridor.


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## Phil The Thrill (Oct 21, 2005)

My friend drove from brookings to aberdeen yesterday and said that almost everyfield was flooded once he got around the groton sd area. There should be plenty of water around for the ducks. It is probably a good thing that they will re-nest becuause im sure that a ton of nests were flooded out in northern sd this weekend.


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## jaydogg (Feb 19, 2007)

what pot holes we have here are actually in pretty good shape. I am suprised for the lack of snow we had.


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## northdakotakid (May 12, 2004)

Guys I know we are all intersted in how well the potholes are fairing... but to be honest the most important thing this spring was the fact that we had a little snow pack and some good spring rains to help the grass grow for the little fellas in late June to eat. The critical times for water will be in July... which traditionally are hit or miss up here. These rains are what solidify the water levels and thus the ecosystems for "finishing" out a good crop of young birds.

So in short yes there was a ton of rain in the south-central part of the state and large portions of the state did receive a good spring shower but in the grand scheme of things this is only one storm out of an entire summer. Mcuh more will be needed to help replenish the potholes in my neck of the woods.


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## deerhunternd05 (Mar 1, 2007)

yes we recived rain s of carrington but only 1 to 2 inches and it is the only rain this spring


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## FSUPhil (May 7, 2007)

Deerhunter05, Thanks for the info and how are the water levels in this area?


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## h2ofwlr (Feb 6, 2004)

http://www.intellicast.com/IcastPage/Lo ... odnav=none

I wish that band was 75 miles west where they really needed it, as the heart of last years drought was over the MO river are of Sd and ND.


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## gundogguru (Oct 7, 2003)

where I hunt in Woodworth the rancher told me that all his potholes are full and there are ducks every where. now if they will just stay there till Oct. I'll be happy


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

gundogguru said:


> where I hunt in Woodworth the rancher told me that all his potholes are full and there are ducks every where. now if they will just stay there till Oct. I'll be happy


thats true but big water is still way down from even last fall


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## northdakotakid (May 12, 2004)

I can give you a great report since I will be moving home in exactly 355 hours... just in time since the heat here is 106 now...


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## Sean Ehmke (Jan 4, 2006)

I live just east of Omaha and if you are planning any hunts down the Missouri River this year the rain fall this month has been 6-12 inches here and there. We recieved about 6" just the other day. This has been creating alot of new habitat areas.

Sean


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

We have been getting rain here and there. I don't think the ground is saturated yet but we will take every little bit we can get.


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

PorkChop said:


> We have been getting rain here and there. I don't think the ground is saturated yet but we will take every little bit we can get.


Looks like its raing cats and dogs up there right now


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

It is just south of Minot and north of Bismark. It seems to be riding a line east to west but is slowly creeping up this way.


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## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

I've already had more rain days working construction this year than all last summer. I am driving down to Colorado this weekend and I am going to cut across the entire state and check out water levels. I mean every morning I watch the doppler and it looks like the whole state is getting rain not just the valley here.


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## Oguard (May 28, 2007)

How are the water levels in the potholes around Devils Lake and northwest of there toward the Edmore area. We make a yearly trip to this area and last year the water was gone. We have had alot of rain in MO this year and just wondering if the rain has traveled that far north.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

That area always gets rain so it's a safe bet. 

The state has a whole is better than last year, but there's a lot of summer left.

Chris


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

> but there's a lot of summer left.


Exactly, it only takes one to two weeks of 100+ degree days and 40mph winds to do as much damage as not getting a flake of snow during the winter.

Pretty heavy storm went through the pothole area last night/this morning-we've had a good 4 inches up that way in the last 1.5 weeks


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## fungalsnowgoose (Sep 11, 2004)

Local duck production will most likely still be down this fall in those areas even with the wet conditions. It was so dry earlier that I think a lot of birds moved to wetter areas to nest. I did quite a bit of back country driving this last weekend and there aren't the number of ducks around one would expect. Plus you don't have to go that far North across the border into Manitoba to find areas that were wet all spring.


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

Im not trying to give out hot spots or anything for this fall but this spring in the area we live/hunt, it is the most ducks and geese we have ever seen in a long time in the pothole region. Conditions were wet all spring


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Getting some light rain today and it is suppose to last a day or two. I think the west is suppose to get at least an inch which I think is probably good news for them.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Hard to tell bird numbers this time of year with so many on the nest. I did see more ducks this spring in some of my traditional areas than I have in a long time. I've been talking to some from the USFWS and Delta Waterfowl and there is a lot of optimism this year....but water is only one of the ingredients.

All I know is there are honker furballs everywhere right now.


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## Phil The Thrill (Oct 21, 2005)

Ive been seeing a few broods (of ducklings) while doing creel surveys in the Webster, SD area. Seems as if most hens are still on nests though. The geese didnt seem to have a very good production year because on about 1 out of every 5 flocks of geese I see has goslings with them.


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## FSUPhil (May 7, 2007)

Chris, You mention water levels as only one of the factors to high duck numbers. what are the others? I assume a mild Spring but live in Georgia so I am at a loss.

Thanks!


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

I assume he means other factors like predation, loss of or gaining of important habitat, though everything does basically revolve around the lack of or surplus of water, there aree several other things that can produce a great year in reproduction or not so good.


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

I have been seeing a lot of green heads around so it will be intereesting to see when all the hens come off the nest. I have also been seeing a lot of small groups of Canadas 10 -15 here and there. I am assuming they are the non breeders. I would say from my short time here its the most I have seen.


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## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

I came up from CO Springs up 85 through Bowman and cut across from the SW corner to the NE corner. This is how things looked as of right now. From Bowman to Bismarck things were green and you could tell they had rain, with the sloughs I saw looking healthy. At about Sterling you could visibly see things were wetter. This is the first area I started seeing standing water, than traveling north through Wing to Denhoff it seemed all the small potholes and cattail stands were full of water. The biggest sloughs were still short of the level 3 years ago. The Goodrich area looked real good and I was extremely excited for this upcoming season. Going east things got even wetter at about Sykeston and on the east side of Carrington there was a lot of fields that were looking pretty damaged. Then at Juanita things started to dry up, that area drains a little better. Cooperstown to Aneta looked healthy the first band of potholes looked good for fall. The Red River valley is really moist and there were some fields that were solid water around Northwood. Overall though I was extremely impressed with the way things looked, especially further west.

Ducks: there were more ducks than I could believe, it was incredible and resembled the mid 90's with all the water and all the ducks. I was wondering if there is enough moisture and food, will the breeding drakes stick around to molt? If they do this fall will be incredible if the conditions can hold. If it stays wet I am thinking about forgetting geese and enjoying one solid year of some of the best duck hunting imaginable.

I understand things can change a lot in 3 months, I am just reporting with a lot of hope. I am sure a lot of the NRs like to know how it looks when they are planning trips.


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## Pluckem (Dec 26, 2002)

Easy now. Things are going good compared to the past few years, but are no where near what they were. You drove through the state right after most places received 2 inches or more of rain. The sloughs look full because what used to be mud flats now have grass or cattails growing in its place. This spring has helped keep things from further going downhill but I dont think you can make the comparison of waters levels being what they were in the mid 90's.


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

The only thing that is lower is big water and its the small ponds that produce the ducks


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## Hunter_58346 (May 22, 2003)

Don't get your hopes up quite yet. These rains did nothing more than put some water in sloughs that were bone dry and most has soaked in since then. Most of the nesting puddle ducks had already split looking for habitat closer to their liking. There seems to be a few more mallard pairs showing up but nothing like there should have been.


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## SJB (Jul 2, 2003)

From the looks of Intellicast weather loop, there were more showers in Nodak today. Moisture is a good thing!


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## Springer (Dec 21, 2004)

Not if you live in the SE part of the state, over 9" in less than a week.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

3.5 inches in the rain gauge from the rain the past few days here in Bismarck. I drove from Fargo to Bismarck yesterday and most of the way it was raining so hard I could barely drive.

Good to have spring rains again, although some areas it is definitely overkill.


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## Oguard (May 28, 2007)

Was there any rain west of Grand Forks toward Devils Lake. Seems that all the rain is in the southern part of the state from what I have read. A current update is always welcome.


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## headshot (Oct 26, 2006)

Here in central Sask the potholes are overflowing. We had another 2 inches today. Lots of baby geese and ducklings, hopefully we get some heat cause the "crop" seems to be a bit behind.


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Looks like tonight could bring some down pours with some of the predicted thunderstorms. I think there has already been 2 confirmed tornados in the last couple hours and it is supposed to get worse.


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## SJB (Jul 2, 2003)

8:45 PM. From the Intellicast radar, looks like it went north of you PorkChop.


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Yup! I think this is the third time in a row they have said we are going to get hammerred and nothing. Looks like the CAP as they call it is holding on strong. Still a chance in the wee hours of the morning but I doubt it. More rain would have been nice but I am glad the base ball size hail did not show up!


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

0319 and its coming down baby! WOW so much for sleep!


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## SJB (Jul 2, 2003)

PorkChop,
What did the rain guage say today?
Looks like it was Devils Lake turn tonight.


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

I think the town of Minot received a little over an inch. Most of the stuff slid east again. But in Minot it came down so fast it flooded a lot of streets. There was some pretty cool footage on the news. I think there was minimal hail and there was a few tornados. I think the severe stuff is about over.


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## Oguard (May 28, 2007)

So Minot got some rain, what about east toward Devils Lake and that area. I haven't had a chance to talk to anyone in the last few days.


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

East got a lot more rain and I think it is suppose to be raining out there today as well.


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## jawn (Jan 3, 2007)

with all this new rain i can finally take a shower. thank you mother nature


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Yup and that is a shower that is long over due!


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## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

It rained every single weekday last week. When can we say that it is wet?


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## headshot (Oct 26, 2006)

Here in Sask we had 3-4 inches last week and it is pouring again. If I didn't own a boat allready I would build an "Ark" real quick. Bring your waders if you are planning a trip up here this fall.


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## SJB (Jul 2, 2003)

Yesterday's (Sunday) radar loop had many colors of the rainbow in it. How much did ND get on Father's day?


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