Dakota Recreation Report for January 29, 2018

Outdoor notes:

*Ice is never completely safe. Avoid areas with vegetation, moving water, pressure ridges, and springs. Check conditions as you go along on the ice.

*Feb. 8: Mule Deer Foundation National Convention, Salt Lake City, Utah.

*Feb. 9 – 11: Fishing rod building workshop taught by Chuck DeRemer, N.D. Game & Fish Dept. auditorium, Bismarck. Cost - $150. Class size limited to 12. Email DeRemer, ([email protected]) to register.

Fishing:

*Devils Lake elevation, Jan. 23: 1,449.62 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,449.55 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,839.32 MSL; 25,000 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: No reports from Devils Lake or east-central area lakes. Work a lot of areas and punch multiple holes to locate fish throughout many Barnes and Stutsman County lakes. Try locating structure in mid-range depths out to deeper water for better walleye success rather than shallow water areas. Best success is in the early morning or late evening. No real pattern to the nice bite on area perch lakes. Pike anglers and speared continue finding fair success. No Lake Sakakawea or Lake Audubon reports.

*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Work any structured area in 7 to 15 feet for walleye. East Devils Lake, East Bay, or Black Tiger Bay continue producing the best perch success in 30 feet.

*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Consistent walleye and perch success. Work east in deeper water for perch, including East Devils Lake or Black Tiger Bay. Best walleye success is in the morning or evening low light hours on smaller feeder lakes north of Devils Lake.

*Devils Lake, West Bay Resort, Minnewaukan: No new reports.

*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Best perch bite remains east around East Devils Lake, Black Tiger Bay, or Stump Lake. Continued walleye success throughout the northern chain of feeder lake. Try buckshots or jigging Raps for walleye with minnows. Work flooded trees for pike using tip-ups.

*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Lots of activity on area lakes with fair to good success. Try jigs and minnows for walleye.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Lots of activity with warmer weather. In general, smaller area perch lakes producing nice activity with continued crappie success on Jamestown Reservoir. Look for good pike spearing activity throughout area pike lakes.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Warm weather bringing a lot of anglers out throughout area lakes. Look for fair to good perch success on small perch lakes. Jamestown Reservoir continues producing crappie.

*Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing, Luverne: Bait shop open Wednesday through Sunday.

*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Increasing activity with good access although overall success remains somewhat slow on Lake Ashtabula.

*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Lake Sakakawea slowed on the east end for walleye and pike with a nice walleye bite throughout much of Lake Audubon. Improving Missouri River walleye activity.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Mediocre walleye bite on both Lake Sakakawea and Lake Audubon with best success during dark hours. Lots of anglers, though. Anglers are also on the Missouri River but no reports on success.

*Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: No new reports but look for lots of activity on area lakes.

*Pipestem Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Continued pike spearing success with some nice-sized fish coming in. Good crappie activity, as well.

*Pipestem Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Continued crappie and pike success.

*Spiritwood Lake, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Limited reports.

*Spiritwood Lake, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: No new reports.

Downhill skiing:

*Bottineau Winter Park, Bottineau: 8- to 18-inch groomed base. 1 chair, 2 carpets, and 1 handle tow with 8 ski runs and 7 tubing lanes open.

*Buena Vista Ski Area, Bemidji, MN: No report

*Frostfire Ski Area, Walhalla: 18- to 24-inch machine groomed base. Tube, beginner ski, and Terrain Park with Magic Carpet open. Ski area open Saturday and Sunday.

*Huff Hills Ski Area, Mandan: 18- to 25-inch base with 2 lifts, bunny tow, and 8 groomed runs open.

Snowmobile N.D.:

*Red River North (Pembina & Walsh counties): Trail CR 4 open Oakwood to Warsaw, Trail CR 11 open Grafton to Warsaw, Trail 15 open Warsaw to Minto, trails 9, 12, 17, 18, 66, 81 north and south, and Minnesota Trail open with 3- to 5-inch base. All other trails closed.

*Red River South (Grand Forks & Walsh counties): East and West Loops open, Alberta Clipper Loop open from Gilby to Manville, and Turtle River Loop open from Manville to Oslo.

*Snow Trails (Bottineau, McHenry, Renville, & Ward counties): Minot trail open from Surrey to the clubhouse. Surrey Trail open from Surety to Granville. Trails thin in spots but ditches OK with 3- to 6-inch base.

*All other trails closed.

N.D. Parks & Recreation Dept. trails:

*Grahams Island, Devils Lake: Trails open and in generally fair to good condition.

*Icelandic, Cavalier: Trails open but in fair condition.

*Lake Metigoshe, Bottineau: Trails open and in fair to good condition. Lots of activity with improved weather. Ski rentals available.

*Turtle River, Arvilla: Cross-country ski rails in fair to good condition. Fat tire bike and snowshoe trails also open but at user discretion for conditions. Sledding hill somewhat icy. Conditions could deteriorate with continued warm weather. Warming house open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Numbers to know:

*N.D. Game and Fish Department, main Bismarck office: (701) 328-6300, website: (http://gf.nd.gov).

*N.D. Game and Fish Department, Devils Lake office: (701) 662-3617.

*N.D. Game & Fish Department, Jamestown office: (701) 253-6480.

*Report All Poachers: (800) 472-2121 or (701) 328-9921.