Dakota Recreation Report: March 19, 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.

*Watch slushy shorelines and water on top of the ice.

*Elk, moose and bighorn sheep applications available online, N.D. Game & Fish Dept. website, (gf.nd.gov).

*Permanent icehouses must now be removed from N.D. waters. They can be used but must be removed daily.

*March 22: Valley City Ducks Unlimited banquet, Valley City Eagles, 5:30 p.m.

*March 23 & 24: N.D. Nat’l. Archery in the Schools Program state meet, Minot.

March 24: Grand Forks Friends of the NRA banquet, Grand Forks Ramada, 5:30 p.m.

*March 24: Lake Region Pheasants Forever banquet, Devils Lake Memorial Bldg., 5 p.m.

*April 1: Outdoor Heritage Fund grant application deadline. Go to their website, (http://www.nd.gov/ndic/outdoor-infopage.htm) for details.

Fishing:

*Devils Lake elevation, March 13: 1,449.67 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,449.63 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,837.56 MSL; 22,000 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: Devils Lake remains somewhat slow. Access more difficult with more snowdrifts on the lake itself. Bring a shovel if venturing off established trails. Antelope Lake improving for nice perch. Clear Lake producing nice eater-sized walleye. Goose Lake producing some nice pike. Move around to locate fish on area perch lakes and experiment with a variety of presentations. Missouri River tailrace producing a few walleye.

*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Access OK on Devils Lake and anglers can still move around. Fair walleye success on the main lake with some perch success on East Devils Lake.

*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Look for improving overall success with warmer weather and more anglers get on the size. Fair to good pike success.

*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Look for improved walleye and perch with advancing March temperatures but overall activity is light and generally slow.

*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Area lakes remain quiet.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Continued good crappie success on Jamestown Reservoir.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Continued crappie activity on Jamestown Reservoir. No reports from area lakes.

*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Access onto the lake and around on the ice is difficult, especially with pickups. Best mobility is with tracked vehicles. A few feeder creeks starting to trickle water on top of the ice but conditions are good.

*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Not many anglers but still some fair pike activity on Centennial, Garrison and Douglas bays on Lake Sakakawea with scattered walleye mixed in. Lake Audubon producing fair numbers of walleye but they’re on the small side. Move around. Access generally OK on the ice but access onto the lakes is more difficult.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Missouri River producing occasional walleye down river, weather permitting. Not much activity on Lake Sakakawea after last week’s snow and access is more difficult onto the lake. Those going out continue finding pike in the back bays. Try Scoria Bay or Wolf Creek.

*Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: No new reports.

*Pipestem Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Some activity but limited reports.

*Pipestem Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: No new reports.

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

*Spiritwood Lake, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: No 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, Minn .: 18- to 40-inch machine groomed base. All runs except Beaver Bowl open with Bear Track Terrain Park feature open.

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

*Huff Hills Ski Area, Mandan: 25- to 32-inch base with 2 lifts, bunny tow and all runs open. Open Saturday and Sunday.

Snowmobile N.D.:

*East Central Valley Trail (Cass & Richland counties): 3- to 5-inch base. Rural Cass North trail closed. Other trails open.

*Lake Region (Nelson & Ramsey counties: Trail 3 open, groomed, and in fair condition with 4- to 8-inch base. Trail 4 open along U.S. Highway 2 and north to Trail 3. Trails 5 & 6 open along Highway 2.

*Missouri Valley (Emmons & Burleigh counties): 4- to 6-inch base: Wilton and Sterling trails open and in good condition.

*Northeast Trail (Cavalier, Pembina, & Walsh counties): 4- to -8-inch base. Conditions fair at best but some trails open – Moonlighter Gorge, Langdon to Osnabrock corner; North Nekoma Trailblazers, Langdon to Nekoma to Milton; Tri-County open to Osnabrock corner and Adams to Edinburg to Milton.

*Peace Garden Trail (Bottineau & Rolette counties): 3- to 6-inch base. Trail 2 open from Lake Metigoshe to the ski lodge. Trails 4 and 5 open. Treed areas have nice snow; open areas in poor condition.

*Red River South (Grand Forks & Walsh counties): 3- to 6-inch base. West Loop open Fordville to Lankin, East Loop open Inkster to Johnstown, Alberta Clipper Loop open Gilby to Manville and Turtle River Loop.

*Sno-Trails (Bottineau, McHenry, Renville, & Ward counties): 2- to 4-inch base. Deering, Glenburn, Minot and Surrey trails open.

N.D. Parks & Recreation Dept. trails:

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

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

*Lake Metigoshe, Bottineau: Trails open and in good condition.

*Turtle River, Arvilla: Trails in good condition for skiing, fat tire biking, hiking and snowshoeing. Sledding hill open daily with warming house open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Annual passes now available. Reservation system is now open but must be made within a 95-day period of the reservation date.

Numbers to know:

*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.