By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Cheyenne Bottoms is a long was from being full, but at least there's water. Last week, Wildlife Manager Jason Wagner reported there was still 14 inches of the liquid gold in Pool 3A, 10-11 inches in Pool 4A, and 17-18 inches in 4B. The refuge pools are still holding around 30 inches, and Wagner says there is a reason he's holding onto that.
"Teal season is nine days, then we have our regular duck season coming up, so there's 72 days," he said. "I didn't want to use all the water all at once. What happens is, let the ducks use the habitat that's flooded and available, and the food that's there for them. Right before regular duck season, I'll start bringing the water levels up again."
Teal season kicked off on Sept. 20 and winds down on Sunday. Wagner said those first nine days are usually a good indicator of the hunting numbers to come.
"We had about 300 people out there, which, I would say, is about the right amount of people for the conditions we had," he said. "Many more and it could have been crowded. There was plenty of room for people to space out."
Rains continue to fall across the Golden Belt, including areas that feed into the Bottoms. Approximately half an inch of rain fell near Ness City Monday night, and more than half an inch fell in that area last Friday. Duck season in the low plains early zone that includes Cheyenne Bottoms kicks off in full on Oct. 11 and runs through Dec. 7.