Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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I'll be the first to tell you that I'm a homebody when it comes to the outdoors. It doesn't take much for me to get lost chasing walleyes along the river winding through town; casting after trout in the nearby lakes; or picking off a few hungry largemouth or smallmouth bass, as summer progresses on nearby waters. In the fall, I don't travel far for hunting, heading a few minutes northeast for a readily available shot at sharpies in September, and southwest about a tumbler's worth of coffee, to...
The evolution of the fishing net in the past few decades has leapt from the one-size-fits-all model of an aluminum hoop with a nylon basket of one-inch squares into the branches of an evolutionary tree reaching out across the horizon of angling options. From ergonomic grips for more stable solo landings, to extendable handles allowing for greater reach from shore or high floating boats, to oversized baskets to cradle today's growing trophy-sized fish such as muskies and sturgeon, there's a...
Pulling the pheasant dummy down from the rafters from under the deck in the backyard, I whipped it twice in a circle before launching it across the greening grass, and it bounced with a clank against the metal fence. On the rebound, my lab jumped up and snared the foam-and-plastic bird and returned it to my hand for the second of four dozen throws. By the time we were done, I could feel the delayed onset muscle soreness from the previous day's arm workout and realized as my dog sat panting at...
A shellacking. A beatdown. A butt-whooping. All these terms paled in my young mind when describing a drubbing on the baseball field, when compared to the term "getting creamed." That descriptor suggests that the opposing team had swung their bats so mightily, so frequently and with such success, that they converted our pasty-white, pre-summer milky makeup into slow-moving whipped cream on the diamond. While disappointing to be on the end of such a creaming, it made the idea of a slice of apple...
North Dakota's upland bird populations came out of the mild winter relatively well. With above average temperatures from December to March, and below average snowfall, sharptailed grouse and ring-necked pheasants made it to spring with no significant mortality, according to RJ Gross, Upland Game Biologist with the North Dakota Game & Fish Department (NDG&F). However, the lack of meltwater, limited spring rains and lingering drought conditions from the summer and fall of 2020 may pose a major...
We buzzed along the inside of the breakline, my buddy Kevin and I, watching the rhythmic ticking of the tips of the trolling rods strung out alongside his Alumacraft, with a second eye toward the graph behind the console he was manning, watching for the blips and arcs, which symbolized the post-spawn walleyes lurking below. In the blue-green waters of the Missouri River, our firetiger crankbaits bumped and scraped along the beige bottom as things got shallower, and then swung back to their...
There's an encounter each spring that reminds me of how lucky we are to have ugly fish. They don't glisten in gold like walleyes, sparkle with silver like a white bass, or even bring up the base of the podium like a smallmouth bass bedecked in bronze. Instead, they fight hard, provide fast action, and often remind us of the basics of angling and where many of us got our start. These not so pretty fish also reinforce the idea that beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. Whether it's a carp...
Stocked trout don't take long to acclimate to their surroundings. Within a week or two of the recent dumps of rainbows and browns across the state, these fish spread out and stalk the water column for just about anything edible. Whether that's the first rising midge populations of the year, small nymphs on the bottom, or other prey items, trout find most of what they need below the surface. On those still evenings early on as they pick off rising insects, my all means, have a few dry flies at...
Amidst all the discussion of global warming, climate change, and pollution on a level so great that a second landmass made of plastic floating in the Pacific Ocean can be seen from outer space, it’s the smaller areas where I encounter garbage that stick with me each spring. After a winter under ice, and snow-covered shorelines opening up to spring anglers, the water is where our impact – hopefully not so much as fishermen, as I like to think we have a special connection with the water, but as...
When fish are active in the warming waters of spring, triggering a reaction strike can be one of the most exciting ways to explore new areas, locate fish quickly and create some memorable outings. A classic lure that can be customized for all species from trout, to smallmouth bass, to pike and muskies is the inline spinner. From options with blades as big as a fingernail to those that would cover the palm of a hand, the pulse of a turning blade, and a hook that can be dressed in flash, fur, feat...
I can recall my first smallmouth bass as clearly as the blue skies of the late spring day on which it came to my jig. Sitting on the shoreline casting the eighth-ounce ballhead out over the small muddy point on the Sheyenne River just a few days after school had let out for the summer, an endless supply of slime-covered bullheads came to the nightcrawler-tipped offering I dragged up the break. In the middle of the two dozen or so spiny creatures was the odd sensation of a non-circular dash by...
The warming waters of spring herald a movement for largemouth bass into the shallows of the lakes and reservoirs in which they reside. Often, those dark bottoms releasing the first green-and-red curls of lily pads or sandy stretches with verdant spikes of emergent reeds and those locations' elevated temperatures are the first sites that largemouth stake out as the spawning season sets up in the coming weeks. While getting in casting range without spooking these fish can sometimes be a...
Dragging my jig over the subtle pull of the shifting river bottom, I felt a dead weight sensation and lifted the rod tip to see the slight bend confirm what my cold and glove-covered hands could barely detect. I completed the raise with all due haste, and the point of the hook on my parrot-colored jig found its place in the upper jaw of the walleye at the other end. Soon the splashing, flipping, golden-sided fish made its way to the net under the gray early-afternoon skies, like the one a few...
With lakes and rivers in the southeastern portion of North Dakota coming down from record high water levels in the fall and winter of 2019-2020, fishing for a variety of species in the region should still be good according to BJ Kratz, North Dakota Game & Fish Department (NDG&F) District Fisheries Supervisor. Across a wide range of species, he advises anglers that these may be "the good old days" for the district from the small lakes within it which are stocked with walleye,s to good...
As the Red River Lake Sturgeon Restoration Program closes out the first phase of its efforts in 2021 and 2022 fisheries biologists and staff are eyeing up new goals of establishing natural reproduction for the fish which were once extirpated from the border water between North Dakota and Minnesota. With a reproductively mature population now existing and turning up in the sampling efforts of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and tribal partner surveys each spring, opening more...
I can't tell you what I was reaching for in the boat when I set my rod down. Likely, in the chill of the start to an otherwise perfect Saturday, it was the blue coffee tumbler I had borrowed from my mom, when meeting my brother and a buddy for a drift down my home flow of the Sheyenne River. It could have been one of the tiny, krystal flash jigs I had been taking from the small pile for the soft-biting walleyes we were pursuing, which had required me to downsize to that ultralight rod with...
Hunting and fishing license sales by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDG&F) increased by more than 10 percent across the board in the most recent licensing year of Apr. 1 2020 to Mar. 31 2021. With the addition of approximately 5,000 firearms deer tags and about 800 spring turkey tags, total purchases were up by over 45,000 when compared to the same time frame a year ago, according to a recent report issued by the agency. While part of the increase was due to more people looking to ge...
Coming over the rise and down the gravel road to the boat launch, the early morning sun reflected off the sprawling lake, which was only slightly dappled by a light and variable breeze. It was the first time I had arrived at the water this season where a chop wasn't already rolling across the surface. I knew the two or three hours my buddy John and I would have to cast, to what remained of the spawning crappies with our fly rods, would be prized in what has been a windy spring, and one that has...
As spring turkey hunting season kicks off across North Dakota, the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) is looking through its Save the Habitat, Save the Hunt program to continue advancing its missions of improving habitat for the birds in the state, putting more hunters on the landscape and increasing their access to those huntable acres. According to Clayton Lenk, NWTF District Biologist for North Dakota, along with Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota, the organization is blowing its...
With the early spring and a fast ice out this season, fishing options are opening quickly, and trout angling provides a chance at bigger holdover fish from last year's stockings. Those trout that remain in lakes across the upper Midwest are active in cold water and they're usually quite a bit bigger than they were when they were stocked last spring. What follows are some tips to locate these April opportunities before this season's stockings start and get a chance at some big rainbows and browns...
The past week has been my busiest in the outdoors, more than it has been for the last eight years. There’s been more to get done than just loading up for pheasant opener at the farm. The checklist is far longer than the one leading up to the start of firearms deer season. Fishing, now simply the grabbing of a rod and a handful of tackle, and maybe towing the boat somewhere (compared to all the forethought I used to pour into the process), pales in comparison to the efforts I, and several d...
The great underwater mystery - despite all science and biology can tell us about what fish see, smell, taste and sense in ways that humans can't – remains as to what sets them off and turns on their instinct to feed. While the modern tackle industry has reached a new apex in providing both those lures that imitate nature to trigger that feeding reaction and those forms and colors that stray far from it yet still entice a strike, the mystery continues. Each season, each outing, even each h...
There's a curlytailed grub that's getting tougher and tougher to find, to the point where I have to order it directly from the manufacturer's site to ensure I have enough for the season. While it comes in standard white and yellow, two must-have colors for my spring fishing, along both sides of the twisting plastic tail of the thread-on body are three black dots. My theory is that these dots symbolize eyes underwater, and based on my research, serve as a predatory cue built into all aquatic...
As anglers, we proudly display our passions on our sleeves, quite literally. Sweatshirts emblazoned with Rapala, Vexilar, Huk and Humminbird logos are a standard issue amongst our ranks, as camouflage is within the armed forces. Whether it's due to brand loyalty, or just some clothing picked up with a purchase, or as part of a rebate program - these well-known names in the outdoors, stand out in the photographs we take along springtime shorelines. Against the vast open waters of summer, with...
With this weekend's news of the N.D. state walleye record falling, and the conditions aligning for early angling opportunities, it is a picture-perfect time to catch some huge spring fish. If you plan to take some photos of your angling success this spring, or any time during the open-water season, here are some tips for ensuring a safe release for your subject matter, and for getting some quality pictures to detail the event. Fish handling Before the fish is even landed, proper care should be...
