Dakota Recreation Report: Oct. 15, 2018

Outdoor notes:

*Avoid damaging roads and trails when hunting, especially being careful in fields when waterfowl hunting.

*No baiting allowed on Fish and Wildlife Nat’l Wildlife Refuges, Waterfowl Production Areas and Game and Fish Dept. Wildlife Mgmt. Areas.

*Be careful of upland species identification with immature pheasants yet.

*Oct. 21: Pronghorn season closes.

*Oct. 27: Mink, muskrat and weasel trapping seasons open.

Fishing:

*Devils Lake elevation, Oct. 9: 1,448.4 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,448.33 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,843.07 MSL; 29,000 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*N.D. Game and Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: No reports from Devils Lake or other area lakes. Some walleye success on Lake Sakakawea with the Missouri River also producing activity. Some walleye success on Lake Sakakawea with the Missouri River also producing activity.

*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Continued good small walleye success off the bridges with a few more larger ones mixed in.

*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Not much fishing activity but those going out finding some walleye with bigger fish now showing up.

*Devils Lake, West Bay Resort, Minnewaukan: Continued small walleye success.

*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Lots of small walleye yet working deeper rock piles, towers or bridges. Try shallower for larger fish.

*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Little to no activity.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Not many reports.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Not many new reports with weather limiting activity.

*Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing, Luverne: Limited activity.

*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Weather limiting activity.

*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Some walleye success on the east end of Lake Sakakawea, including around 7 Sisters and around Mallard Island. Light angler numbers, though. Try jigging Raps or jigs and minnows, sitting on top of the fish. Missouri River fair for walleye with good catfish success in the chutes and south.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Missouri River continues producing walleye during the day. Try down river for nicer fish with some success in the spillway channel yet. Work a mix of presentations. Chutes producing good catfish numbers during the day with other species mixed in. Salmon success better on cloudy days off the rocks from shore in the river. Try spoons from shore or 3-way swivels in the chutes from boats for salmon. Lake Sakakawea remains tough for salmon with most success around Government Bay. Try spoons or crankbaits but some anglers are using eggs or nightcrawlers. Slow from boats but limited angler numbers. Try the embankment for walleye with water pumping in from Lake Audubon.

*Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: Continued success on area lakes but not many anglers out.

*Pipestem Reservoir, Pioneer Bait and Tackle, Jamestown: Generally quiet.

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

*Spiritwood Lake, Pioneer Bait and Tackle, Jamestown: No new reports.

*Spiritwood Lake, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Not much activity.

Hunting:

*Pheasants: Some success in the sandhill region around Towner. Some success in central N.D. in pockets. Fair pheasant numbers around parts of Lake Sakakawea but lots of young birds making identification extremely difficult.

*Waterfowl: Not much waterfowl movement but a few flocks of snow geese moving in along the north-central and northeastern tier. Somewhat slow duck activity around Devils Lake with many local birds moving out after last week’s cold and snow. Not much influx in yet, either, in that region. Decent duck and Canada goose numbers around north-central N.D. along the Canadian border with a few cranes still lingering. There was a snow line around Highway 200 earlier in the week with better duck numbers south of the line. A few scattered reports of occasional small snow goose flocks around Lake Audubon and east end of Lake Sakakawea but not many lesser Canada geese yet. A few lessers moving into the midsection region, though.

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 and Fish Department, Jamestown office: (701) 253-6480.

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