Fish & wildlife area · Newton County
Willow Slough Fish & Wildlife Area
10,175 acres · 40.970, -87.465 ↗
Live · updatedWhitetail Deer
Legal light: 7:12 AM – 8:09 PM ET · 30 min before sunrise to 30 min after sunset
2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source
Good day to hunt Whitetail Deer.
GOOD conditions
- 46°F Right in the comfortable activity band
- Falling barometer (1020 mb) Feeds and moves ahead of a pressure drop
- 10 mph wind A steady breeze covers your movement and noise; deer stay on their feet
- Wind out of the NNE Pick a stand that keeps your scent off the bedding and approach
- Bright moon Heavy nighttime feeding under a full moon can slow midday movement
- Ground Cultivated Crops · 667 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)
Wild Turkey
Legal light: 7:12 AM – 7:39 PM ET · ½ hour before sunrise to sunset (all day — no noon closure)
2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source
Wild Turkey season is closed at this spot today.
GOOD conditions
- 46°F Right in the comfortable activity band
- Falling barometer (1020 mb) An incoming front shuts gobbling down
- 10 mph (light) Calm, quiet air; gobbles carry and birds relax
- Wind out of the NNE Set up so a called bird approaches without the wind in your face
- Clear morning Bluebird calm mornings are classic gobbling weather
- Full moon Birds feed at night and fly down late; mornings can start slow
- Ground Cultivated Crops · 667 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)
Ducks
Legal light: 7:12 AM – 7:39 PM ET · ½ hour before sunrise to sunset
2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source
Ducks season is closed at this spot today.
GOOD conditions
- 46°F (warm) Above the comfortable band; activity tails off midday
- Falling barometer (1020 mb) Birds move ahead of a front
- 10 mph wind A good breeze keeps birds flying and makes the decoys look alive
- Wind out of the NNE Set the spread so birds finish into the wind, coming over the guns
- Ground Cultivated Crops · 667 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)
Canada Geese
Legal light: 7:12 AM – 7:39 PM ET · ½ hour before sunrise to sunset
2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source
Canada Geese season is closed at this spot today.
PRIME conditions
- 46°F Right in the comfortable activity band
- Falling barometer (1020 mb) Birds move ahead of a front
- 10 mph wind A good breeze keeps birds flying and makes the decoys look alive
- Wind out of the NNE Set the spread so birds finish into the wind, coming over the guns
- Ground Cultivated Crops · 667 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)
Mourning Dove
Legal light: 7:42 AM – 7:39 PM ET · sunrise to sunset
2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source
Workable day for Mourning Dove.
FAIR conditions
- 46°F (cold) A cold snap and the doves are gone south
- Falling barometer (1020 mb) An incoming front will push the doves out overnight
- 10 mph wind A light breeze keeps doves trading between fields
- Wind out of the NNE Doves decoy into the wind; set up with it at your back
- Fair weather Warm, settled days keep doves working the fields
- Ground Cultivated Crops · 667 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)
Squirrel
Legal light: 7:12 AM – 7:39 PM ET · ½ hour before sunrise to sunset
2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source
Prime day to hunt Squirrel.
PRIME conditions
- Mast dropping Squirrels are cutting nuts hard; the best weeks, and you can hear them working
- 46°F Right in the comfortable activity band
- 10 mph (light) Calm and quiet; you can hear them cutting and spot the shaking limbs
- Clear & calm Bright, still mornings; squirrels move and you can spot them
- Ground Cultivated Crops · 667 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)
Cottontail Rabbit
Legal light: 7:42 AM – 7:39 PM ET · sunrise to sunset
2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source
Cottontail Rabbit season is closed at this spot today.
GOOD conditions
- 46°F Right in the comfortable activity band
- Falling barometer (1020 mb) A change in the weather gets rabbits moving
- 10 mph wind A light breeze is fine
- Bright day A clear day after a cold night gets rabbits out sunning
- Ground Cultivated Crops · 667 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)
Conditions at the pin
Dawn/dusk low
46°F
the cool hunt window the score uses
Daytime high
71°F
today
Wind
10 mph NNE
plan your scent
Barometer
1020 mb
falling · -0.7 hPa/3h
Moon
100%
full
Patchy Fog then Sunny
The ground
County herd density
2.85 deer/sq mi
Newton County took 1,144 deer last season
Habitat
Cultivated Crops
food + cover edge across the tract
Elevation
667 ft
USGS surface elevation
Access: Marsh, timber and fields near the Illinois line in Newton County; noted waterfowl and upland area.
Where it is
Scout a different spot → All Indiana land How this score works
Public-land data: Indiana DNR — Property (verified 2026-07-27). Conditions from the NWS, USGS and NLCD, recomputed each rebuild.