Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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Catfishing continues to be good on the Red River in and around Grand Forks but has slowed some over the past week. The heat and a water color variation have made fishing a little tougher but it is still outstanding. There are still many big fish around to be caught with many in the 14-to-16-pound range with some running even bigger. Since it got hot over the weekend, the fish have moved deeper during the day. They seem to be liking the slower currents in the morning and then moving into the fast...
The summers of my junior high school years were memorable ones, punctuated with week-long trips at the lake cabin spent with cousins, classmates and friends from the small houses that lined the sandy shores. Among all the contests we held – paddle boat races, sand fights, pick-up football games that spanned the front lawns of four cabins – those where we seemingly threw ourselves to the mercy of gravity and surface tension in our efforts to make the best belly flops were the most memorable. On...
Outdoor notes: *July 29: Halloween in July, Lake Metigoshe State Park, Bottineau. Tournaments: *July 23: Devils Lake, Creel Bay; Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing. *July 30: Devils Lake, Woodland Resort; Devils Lake, launch from East Bay, 6-Mile Bay, or Henegar Landing. Fishing: *Devils Lake elevation, July 12: 1,450.74 feet above mean sea level (MSL). *Stump Lake elevation: 1,450.71 MSL. *Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,837.69 MSL; 20,800 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily...
The neat thing about labs is they never want to quit. Whether it's in the field or on a summertime swim, it most often comes down to their owners to know when to say "when." On about the twenty-seventh stick thrown from the end of the dock yesterday morning, the mounting blue clouds on the far side of the lake signaled the end of the sunrise swimming session for both Ole and me. One last time in the hazy light of the rising sun behind us, he jumped in after the stick which had been chewed on...
This week, the walleyes are still biting across Lake Sakakawea. Some areas like the mid-section or the Van Hook Arm can be better, but that doesn't mean the eastern edge can't be dynamite! Key depths have been 12-to-18 feet. Now, some days with the right winds and water clarity they move up shallower, some days they stay deeper. We are still keying in on the water temperatures, and the lake is fluctuating around 68 to 72 degrees. If you are seeing it in this range, you are good to go! Crawlers...
With the lottery application process wrapped for this fall's firearms deer season, many hunters' minds are already turning to the cool days of autumn, despite the confirmation from a warm, sweaty suggestion that summer has just started. In this time of preparation, no other tool is more important in the process of previewing what's to come than the trail camera. With the right deployment and a few tips, and some considerations for a changing landscape, getting the best pictures of the herd to...
Tournaments: *July 15 & 16: Lake Sakakawea, Fort Stevenson State Park. *July 16: Devils Lake. *July 23: Devils Lake, Creel Bay; Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing. Fishing: *Devils Lake elevation, July 5: 1,450.71 feet above mean sea level (MSL). *Stump Lake elevation: 1,450.74 MSL. *Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,836.7 MSL; 20,900 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases. *N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: No east-central area lakes or Devils Lake reports....
Whether it's taking my pick of one out of 10,000 lakes on my Independence Day holiday road trip, or floating down the Missouri River back home, the presence of freshwater is a major part of my summer and presumably that of any other boater or angler enjoying the warmer temperatures of the season. Casting for bass, trolling for walleyes or fly fishing for trout and sunfish all require access to a stream, river, or lake and involve access to that water. On top of abundance, that water must be...
The walleye fishing is on fire up here on Sakakawea. On certain days, it's truly remarkable. A mix of slow death, PK prop rigs, and a plain old live bait rig with crawlers is hard to beat. The fish are still really shallow on days depending on conditions, but average depth to catch them in seems to be 10 to 18 feet of water. Watch your electronics closely and the current the lake has right now with all the runoff coming in. Night crawlers on a slow death hook and or plain hook pulled behind...
Since last week, the Red River in Grand Forks has fallen over five feet. After just a few days off the water for the Independence Day holiday, it is like a totally different world out there as far as how things look. Looks are one thing, catfishing is another. The catfish bite has stayed very good even with the fast-falling water and now that things are leveling off again, things should actually get better than they already are. Right now, the catfish are beginning to move from the shelf close t...
With the Fourth of July in the rear-view mirror, it won't be long until birds take to the skies in front of hunters across the northern plains. Keeping shooting form and eye function at their peak requires practice during the off season and one of the best ways to do it is on a sporting clays course. Through the presentation of a variety of targets thrown in ways that simulate any one of the dozens of flushes and incoming birds in the field or along a slough, sporting clays provides a fun and ex...
Into the back half of summer is when crappie fishing really gets fun. The evenings are warm, the fish are on the feed, and save for the occasional swatting of a mosquito, the outings are often both pleasant and productive. Targeting crappies in this stretch of the season requires some searching, but keying in on structure and food sources will help up the odds and the weight of the panfish basket filled with a few specks for a weekend fish fry. Pointing the Way Crappies are known rovers,...
When it comes to angling, I’m a huge fan of matching the hatch to catch more fish and will often start with something natural on that first cast if I know what bass, walleyes, pike and other species I pursue are eating. Silver jig-and-twister patterns shine for walleyes when the spottails are running in the creek. Perch crankbaits are dynamite when those three-to-four-inch schools are available in a water for predator fish. A trolled spinner or slow death rig with a deep blue, purple, or h...
Significant conservation bill clears major hurdle Wildlife conservationists in North Dakota and elsewhere applauded the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act earlier this month, lauding the landmark legislation as the most significant investment in wildlife conservation in a generation. If approved by the Senate, RAWA will provide unprecedented levels of funding for states, along with tribal nations, to conserve and recover imperiled wildlife and plant species. According to the Association o...
The single most important factor in maintaining or growing wildlife populations – ducks, deer, pheasants, you name it – is habitat. If you’d like more deer tags available, find more pheasants in the field or ducks in flight, habitat is where the conversation begins. Often, we connect habitat to the conservation reserve program and for good reason. CRP acres have been a key component of habitat for 35 years. It’s easy to say, “we just need more CRP.” While that’s not incorrect, the means of crea...
Outdoor notes: *Fireworks prohibited on U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Nat’l. Wildlife Refuges and N.D. Game & Fish Wildlife Mgmt. Areas (WMA). Tournaments: *July 9: Devils Lake, Creel Bay. *July 9 & 10: Devils Lake. *July 15 & 16: Lake Sakakawea, Fort Stevenson State Park. *July 16: Devils Lake. Fishing: *Devils Lake elevation, June 28: 1,450.83 feet above mean sea level (MSL). *Stump Lake elevation: 1,450.81 MSL. *Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,835.24 MSL; 20,900 cubic feet per second (CFS) Garriso...
Once again the wind seems to be giving us problems up here in North Dakota. Recently, one out of every three days the winds are strong enough to keep us off the water. When you can get on the water and things are right, the bite is on! One thing I have learned these last two weeks up here on Sakakawea is make sure you have bait and different types of bait. One day crawlers work great, the next day minnows or leeches. It's kind of goofy, but the water temps keep changing and we have pretty good...
My what a difference a few days can make for catfishing on the Red River. We went from sluggish fishing with a big fish from time to time to GAME ON! Big fish are biting fast and often. Right now, the fish are on fire and it really does not matter what the bait is. The water has come up some from Grand Forks and north, meaning there is a lot of current and floating debris so you will want to be very careful with that. The best areas to fish are out of the current, such as on the back of inside...
This spring's decrease in crowing counts for rooster pheasants was not unexpected according to North Dakota Game & Fish Department Upland Game Biologist RJ Gross. And while the statewide decrease of 22 percent year-over-year of roosters heard marking their territories in the early morning hours on the countryside seems large, he points to the fact that in terms of actual numbers, the decrease isn't as significant. Additionally, with the spring's moisture and habitat projects hitting the ground...
As fishing lures went, the bait I found buried among the myriad muskie offerings on the wall in the old boathouse was a first generation bucktail. The fluted Indiana blades came from a bulk order I placed when I was first tying up the in-line spinners for muskie fishing more than a decade ago when the fever bit my brother bad, and I indulged his early passion by supplying him with the lures to pursue the fish of 10,000 casts, while joining in on occasion. The slip-on coil adorned with white...
Two months ago today, it snowed and snowed and snowed; and it wasn’t just for a day, but for nearly four straight days that the skies remained gray under a stalled low-pressure system, where the wind howled, and drifts of ten feet in depth – that blocked traffic into and out of my neighborhood for nearly a week – were left in the wake of the continuous northwest gusts. That was the start of our so-called spring. This weekend’s state high school clay target league tournament on the cusp of the...
Outdoor notes: *Fireworks prohibited on U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Nat’l. Wildlife Refuges and N.D. Game & Fish Wildlife Mgmt. Areas (WMA). *July 1: Deadline for electronic “no trespass” posting. Go to the N.D. Game & Fish Dept. for information. Tournaments: *July 9: Devils Lake, Creel Bay. *July 9 & 10: Devils Lake, AIM Tournament. Fishing: *Devils Lake elevation, June 20: 1,450.82 feet above mean sea level (MSL). *Stump Lake elevation: 1,450.69 MSL. *Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,832...
No other season seems to go by as quickly as summer. In these northern tiers, the warmth often feels like it's here and gone in a matter of days, as opposed the three months the seasonal calendar actually allots. With the heat and the warming of the region's waters - the fish too move quickly and capitalizing on their chase for food that mirrors our own sprints from May graduation buffets, to Fourth of July barbecues, to Labor Day's last hurrah pig roast on the beach - is key in finding summer...
The big news this week is the ramps in the Fargo/Moorhead area are opening up. Grand Forks where I am fishing is nearly perfect for boating by my standards. All three ramps are now open. No docks yet but I suspect they will be coming shortly. Fishing is fairly tough as it appears we got on the water just in time for the spawn. Water temperatures are above 75 degrees so it is time for that to happen. It has been hot enough that the spawning process should be somewhat quick, at least I hope....
Outdoor notes: *July 1: Deadline for electronic “no trespass” posting. Go to the N.D. Game & Fish Dept. for information. Tournaments: *June 24 & 25: Devils Lake, Grahams Island State Park. *June 25: Lake Audubon, cabin sites. Fishing: *Devils Lake elevation, June 14: 1,450.65 feet above mean sea level (MSL). *Stump Lake elevation: 1,450.6 MSL. *Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,831.17 MSL; 18,900 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases. *N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game war...
