Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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If you follow me on my Snapchat you know there are two things I absolutely hate. One is the beet juice they use on our streets in Bismarck in the winter, the other is wind. As you can guess by the time of year, I haven't been complaining about the beet juice yet. The wind on the other hand, that's another story. It's been a battle trying to guide with the heavy winds we have had the last month or so. Now for this week's fishing report. Even with the heavy winds, both Devils Lake and Lake...
The nights have been cold over the past week, and we are losing just about a degree per night in water temperature on the Red River. Right now, we are just under 60 degrees, meaning there really isn't much time left for the good catfish bite of 2022. Not much has changed in pattern over the past week, however. The fish are hanging out in the deeper off-current holes. Fish off the drop off of the inside bends where the current is pushing away from you. In the morning plan on at least a 30-minute...
With the youth pheasant weekend on tap in just a few days on Sat. Oct. 1, and the general pheasant opener just a week later on Oct. 8, hunters are checking their boots, loading shells in their vests, and figuring out which parcels of their favorite hunting grounds they'll hit when their opportunity opens and the first rooster flushes. According to North Dakota Game & Fish (NDG&F) Upland Game Biologist RJ Gross, a general increase across the board in all four major pheasant categories – brood s...
Outdoor notes: *Hunters reminded to put identification on tree stands and blinds when set up on N.D. Game & Fish Dept. WMAs. *Applications such as Onyx now have updated electronic posting information for the 2022 hunting season. *Sept. 29: Valley City Ducks Unlimited banquet, Valley City Eagles Club, 5:30 p.m. *Oct. 1: Nonresident waterfowl season opens. *Oct. 1 & 2: Youth pheasant season. *Oct. 6: Finley Fire & Ice Ducks Unlimited, Rumors Tavern, Finley, 5 p.m. *Oct. 8: Fall Luminary...
Outdoor notes: *Hunters reminded to put identification on tree stands and blinds when set up on N.D. Game & Fish Dept. WMAs. *PLOTS guide now available online at the Game & Fish Dept. website with printed editions also available at vendors. *Anglers reminded to follow ANS regulations, including draining live wells and removing plugs. *Applications such as Onyx now have updated electronic posting information for the 2022 hunting season. *Sept. 16: Youth deer season opens. *Sept. 17: Youth waterfo...
The rolling hills around Big Detroit Lake in western Minnesota typically kick off my autumn, but it isn't the scattering of ruffed grouse in its surrounding woods that elicit my echoing footfalls and that of hundreds of others on the weekend after Labor Day. Instead, the woodland birds, whose Minnesota opener is still a week off, have it easy for at least another seven days as I hit the pavement surrounding the water in the crisp, clear morning air of early September for the annual Dick...
There is a lot of transition happening on Devils Lake right now, and I’m guessing this is the story for most of our waters in North Dakota. It’s just that time of year! Water temperatures fall at night and warm during the day. Weed growth begins to die off, and lots of food becomes available. I will say this from the last week on the water, Devils Lake’s future is super bright! Record hatches of pretty much everything that swims took place this spring with the rising water. Lots of fresh new t...
What a difference few cool nights can make in the catfish bite on the Red River. It is that time of year, and when things change like this, the fish can get moody. The cold fronts bring the water temperatures down and that can shock the fish in the short term. A few days ago, the pattern took a major turn because of the change in the weather, and we have had to move off current and sit on the fish to get them to bite. "Off current" means finding the same holes as we were but setting up on the...
The next few weeks present a unique overlap of just about everything as September turns into October. From summer festivities and back to school activities, to baseball, football, and even a hint of pre-season basketball and hockey intersecting, it's an exciting time for everyone, but especially hunters and anglers. This month and into the next often offers up the chance to make the most of the outdoors, with a combination of hunting and fishing opportunities that can be tacked together in a...
Outdoor notes: *Hunters are reminded to put identification on tree stands and blinds when set up on N.D. Game & Fish Dept. WMAs. *PLOTS guide now available online at the Game & Fish Dept. website with printed editions also available at vendors. *Anglers reminded to follow ANS regulations, including draining live wells and removing plugs. *Applications such as Onyx now have updated electronic posting information for the upcoming 2022 hunting season. *Sept. 16: Youth deer season opens. *Sept. 17:...
Often now it seems that summer extends past Labor Day weekend. Where I used to be sprinting around the front yard at the cabin in blue jeans and a sweatshirt, tracking down a lofted spiraling football in my youth, the warmth of the elongated summer has been more conducive to board shorts and tank tops in the sunshine. The fish too hold on to their summer habits, as bluegills remain around the dock, the forest of lake grass stays green and tall in the depths and species such as walleyes and bass...
In this week's fishing report I'm going to change course just a tad. With my recent cancellations, it has given me an opportunity to scout the upper stretches of the Missouri River near my hometown of Bismarck, N.D. I like to get out on the river a few times in the late summer and early fall just to see some of the changes before the flows are cut back. As you may or may not know, this stretch of the river is where I cut my teeth in the fishing world. I've often wondered if it's possible that...
If you can believe it catfishing got better that it already has been on the Red River. The pattern has remained mostly the same from the past two weeks and fish can be found right in the middle of the river at the heads of holes. They are in the areas that are three to six feet deeper than the flat running into them. Faster current has been the key to bigger fish. Sit times must be at the very least a continued honest 20 minutes and don't be afraid to stick around longer if you feel you need...
With the completion of the roadside brood surveys for North Dakota's upland game, and the sharptailed grouse and Hungarian partridge season opener set for this Saturday, hunters may find a better crop of younger grouse in comparison to 2021 and might likely encounter more Hungarian partridge in their walks this fall. North Dakota Game & Fish Department (NDG&F) Upland Game Management Supervisor Jesse Kolar suggests that while early nesting efforts by grouse may have been hampered by weather,...
Outdoor notes: *Hunters are reminded to put identification on tree stands and blinds when set up on N.D. Game & Fish Dept. WMAs. *PLOTS guide now available online at the Game & Fish Dept. website with printed editions also available at vendors. *Anglers are reminded to follow ANS regulations, including draining live wells and removing plugs. *Applications such as Onyx now have updated electronic posting information for the upcoming 2022 hunting season. *Blue-green algae updates, N.D. Dept. of En...
Hunts are best viewed in hindsight. The thrill of the flush and the clamor of the shot often overpower the memory of the longer, quieter stretches of the walk leading up to those moments. But it is in that prologue to the excitement where we begin to realize what came together to make those thrilling instants happen. This autumn, as upland game season starting dates begin to peel off the calendar – starting with this week's mourning dove opener on Sept. 1 – keep in mind the big four for all upl...
Walleye fishing up on Lake Sakakawea remains insane this week, and Devils Lake also remains good. I keep waiting for a major slow down, but it just hasn't happened yet. Like I've talked about in past reports, the bulk of the walleyes are deep on Lake Sakakawea. Not all, but a vast majority are. If you are worried about the deep water walleyes, in the river section, the fish are shallower. The Aim Walleye and the Last Chance tournaments were both held on Sakakawea last week and the good results...
North Dakota's populations of mule deer heading into the start of archery season are doing well after weathering the rigors of this spring's late snow storms and the drought of 2021, and it is likely that a strong population of mature muley bucks will be available for those patient and cautious enough to spy them and sneak up on them, according to North Dakota Game & Fish Department (NDG&F) Wildlife Division Chief Casey Anderson. "Obviously with that drought we were a little skeptical on what wo...
It has been a good week for channel catfish on the Red River once again. There are lots of fish that are willing to play. Fish right in the middle of the river at the heads of holes or back in the middle of them. The catfish seem to not be liking the biggest deepest holes but more the ones that are three to six feet deeper than the flat running into them. Sit times must be at the very least an honest 20 minutes, even 30 to be safe. We have seen many spots that there are no bites at all until...
Excitement is building for the upcoming hunting seasons, from archery deer and grouse just around the corner, to pheasant opener and the firearms big game seasons starting later in the autumn, and anticipation grows for these fall events that cannot be contained by the four lines which bound their square on the calendar. Undoubtedly, much planning has gone into each of them already, as phone calls exchanged by friends setting up traditional morning-of meetings and sweaty summer evenings at the...
Outdoor notes: *Hunters reminded to put identification on tree stands and blinds when set up on N.D. Game & Fish Dept. WMAs. *First-come, first-served leftover deer licenses for antlerless either species available in units 3A1 and 3F2 and antlerless whitetails in 3F1, 3F2, & 4F. Go to the N.D. Game & Fish Dept. website, (gf.nd.gov) for information and application. *PLOTS guide now available online at the Game & Fish Dept. website. Printed editions available in late August. *Anglers reminded to...
I'm a fan of numbers and statistics to a point where they fascinate me. Not just what the numbers say but how the numbers are generated. When I took my college statistics course, I knew going in I was about to experience a learning curve in the most real time. Thankfully, the professor weighed the statistics with a human element beyond actual scores, teaching us firsthand how attendance and hitting deadlines contributed to our grades. What I took from this was the importance of how the numbers...
Fall Turkey season set, apply online North Dakota’s fall turkey season is set with 3,975 licenses available to hunters, 150 more than last year. Unit 21 (Hettinger and Adams counties) remains closed because of a low turkey population. Fall turkey hunters, including gratis applicants, interested in applying can submit an online application through the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov. The deadline is Sept. 7. Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply in the first lottery. Nonresidents can apply for rem...
It is hard to believe it's late August already. Kids are back in school, football season is starting, and the seasons are about to change. This means a few things for me. One, I don't stop guiding. In fact, I'm guessing since I guide for walleyes on the Missouri River in spring and fall, on Devils Lake all winter, and on both all summer, I probably log more time on the water than most. I love being able to change bodies of water all year long! I'm not done on Devils Lake or Sakakawea quite yet....
A winter filled with heavy snows across southeastern North Dakota is a distant memory, as the moisture packed in those drifts gave way to growing fields of grass and a greening landscape following the drought of 2021. This, along with spring and early summer rains, helped provide nearly ideal fawning habitat for the region's whitetail deer as ground cover grew tall to help conceal the young from predators and provide a boost to forage to help the herd recover from winter's stressors, according...
