Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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.
*Remember to keep any fish caught in 20 feet of water and deeper because they don’t survive coming up from those depths.
*It’s illegal to chase, harasses, or pursue all wildlife – including coyotes – with any motorized vehicle.
*Jan. 26: Ducks Unlimited State Convention, Jamestown.
Tournaments:
*Jan. 26: Devils Lake, 6-Mile Bay.
Fishing:
*Devils Lake elevation, Jan. 15: 1,448.17 feet above mean sea level (MSL).
*Stump Lake elevation: 1,448.15 MSL.
*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,839.47 MSL; 17,000 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.
*N.D. Game and Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: Devils Lake somewhat slow for walleye. No reports from east-central area lakes.
*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Woods-Routen area turned on for perch with some walleye mixed in on Devils Lake. Northern feeder lakes good for pike.
*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Anglers marking perch but success is slow and inconsistent. Small walleye are aggressive with a few larger ones mixed in. Look for some pike spearing activity.
*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Fair walleye success in 18 to 28 feet with perch in deeper water. Perch remain somewhat slow, however. Try buckshots and minnow heads. Some pike mixed in with walleye in shallow water, as well.
*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Good success throughout area perch lakes.
*Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Continued activity throughout most area lakes, although some walleye and perch success slowing.
*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Continued reports throughout area lakes, including Jamestown Reservoir.
*Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing, Luverne: Spotty perch success with generally slower activity for all species. The key is to move around to locate fish. Work 22 feet for walleye. Occasional smallmouth bass.
*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Activity continues increasing with overall fair success for a variety of species, including pike through the ice.
*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: A few anglers venturing onto Douglas and Centennial bays’ back areas on Lake Sakakawea and finding an occasional walleye. Not many anglers yet, though, with activity just getting underway. Watch ice conditions. Work a variety of depths on Lake Audubon for walleye, although most are small. Missouri River fair for walleye from the chutes down river from the tailrace.
*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Lots of activity on Lake Audubon. No Missouri River reports.
*Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: Area lakes inconsistent with some good days and other days anglers have to work hard for any success.
*Pipestem Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Continued fair to good for crappie and pike.
*Pipestem Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Crappie remain fair.
*Spiritwood Lake, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: No new reports, although there is a fair amount of anglers on the ice.
*Spiritwood Lake, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: No new reports.
N.D. Parks & Recreation Dept. ski trails (conditions can vary):
*ake Metigoshe, Bottineau: Trails open and in fair condition.
*Turtle River, Arvilla: Trails open but in poor to fair condition with icy stretches. Sledding hill open fair but icy and rough.
*No reports from other parks.
strong>Downhill skiing:
*Bottineau Winter Park, Bottineau (conditions can vary): 12- to 18-inch base with beginner run, five runs, seven tubing lanes, with two jumps and one rail Terrain Park open.
*Buena Vista Ski Area, Bemidji, Minn .: 18- to 36-inch machine groomed base. Fifteen runs, and Bear Track Terrain Park open.
*Frostfire Ski Area, Walhalla: Delayed opening for the season.
*Huff Hills, Mandan: 22- to 28-inch machine groomed base with spring conditions. Seven runs and three lifts open. Snowmaking continues.
Snowmobile N.D. (conditions can vary):
*East-central Valley (Cass & Richland counties): Fargo East trail open. West trail open but closed from Walcott to Kindred. 3- to 6-inch base with icy, bare conditions in some areas.
*Lake Region (Nelson & Ramsey counties) Trails 1, 2, 5 and 6 open with 3- to 9-inch base. Good condition.
*North-central (Benson, McHenry, Pierce, Ramsey, & Towner counties): NC 1, 2 and 3 trails closed but all other trails are open with 4- to 5-inch base. Fair to good condition but some icy areas.
*Southern Valley (Richland County): All trails open with 4- to 7-inch base. Fair conditions with ice in some areas.
*All other trails remain closed.
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.
