Dakota Recreation Report- Dec. 3, 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.

*Darkhouse spearfishing season opens at ice-over on legal lakes.

*Dec. 7: N.D. Game and Fish Dept. advisory meeting, Steele Veterans Club, 7 p.m.

*Dec. 8: High Plains duck, merganser, coot and snipe seasons open.

Fishing:

*Devils Lake elevation, Nov. 26: 1,448.12 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,448.11 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,840.36 MSL; 24,000 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*N.D. Game and Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: Limited walk-on activity on Devils Lake back bays. Not many reports from area lakes other than Antelope Lake producing a few perch. Missouri River tailrace fair for walleye. No activity on the east end of Lake Sakakawea with the main lake open.

*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Some walk-on activity on northern feeder lakes of Devils Lake, as well as the north end of 6-Mile Bay. Watch variable ice conditions.

*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Some perch and walleye activity on Lake Alice and Lake Irvine. Try shallow in the morning for walleye and move deeper for perch.

*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Anglers starting to walk onto area lakes to check for early season activity. Limited reports yet, however.

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

*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Lots of early season activity on area lakes and the reservoir.

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

*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Anglers starting to pull portables out onto the lake with ATVs and on foot with the lake iced over. Limited reports, however. Use caution yet.

*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait and Tackle, Garrison: Some walleye activity on the east end of Lake Audubon, including 9-Mile Bay, east end embankment, Nelson Bay, and Velva Point. Try jigs and minnows. Lake Sakakawea quiet. Missouri River tailrace fair to good for walleye down river around the first coal vein. Some ling mixed in.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Limited reports from the Missouri River. No activity on the east end of Lake Sakakawea yet.

*Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: Antelope Lake remains good for perch. Try other area perch lakes, as well, for an early season bite.

*Pipestem Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: More anglers out with some success.

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

Hunting:

*Upland: Pheasant hunters finding some better bird numbers in pockets now that harvest is generally done. Light snow cover is helping hunters working for pheasants around the Lonetree WMA.

*Waterfowl: Good numbers of Canada geese remain on the open water of the east end of Lake Sakakawea and the midsection around the Van Hook Arm.

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.