Dakota Recreation Report: Dec. 02. 2019

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.

*Use caution with dogs when hunting around frozen wetlands for cuts from ice, breaking through, etc.

*Dec. 7: High Plains duck, merganser, and coot seasons open.

Fishing:

*Devils Lake elevation, Nov. 25: 1,448.82 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,448.77 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,839.42 MSL; 35,100 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: A few anglers walking onto Clear, Antelope, and Goose lakes with limited reports of success. Use caution with the potential for variable ice depths after recent warm spell. Some lakes have open water, water on top of the ice, and honeycombing ice. No reports from Devils Lake or the Missouri River System.

*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Ice conditions remain poor after last week’s warm weather with pockets of open water in several locations. Stay off Devils Lake bays and use extreme caution if walking onto northern feeder lakes.

*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Last week’s warm weather deteriorated ice conditions on small Devils Lake feeder lakes. Devils Lake bays remains unsafe with the main lake still open in some areas early in the week

*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Warm weather created deteriorating ice conditions throughout many area lakes with some open water spots. Use extreme caution, especially with variable ice depths with colder weather re-freezing open water.

*Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing, Luverne: Some anglers walking onto the ice from the crossing but limited reports.

*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Occasional angler walking onto the lake with last week’s warm weather but there was open water in locations with poor ice conditions. Look for variable ice depths once the lake re-freezes.

*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Weather permitting, anglers accessing Garrison, deTrobriand, and Douglas bays with boats on the east end of Lake Sakakawea and finding occasional walleye. Lake Audubon opened up in areas due to warm weather. Any ice access is extremely dangerous.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Missouri River continues producing walleye from shore using crankbaits from night. Try the rocks or boat ramp from shore. Lower water releases slowing success in the chutes from boats. No activity on Lake Sakakawea.

Hunting:

*Deer: Fair but mixed success during the gun season. Look for continued fair success during muzzleloader season if harvest progresses.

*Upland: Fair success in some areas with more birds showing up with corn harvest continuing.

*Waterfowl: Good numbers of Canada geese remain on the open waters of the Missouri River System, including Lake Sakakawea and the river. Waterfowl moved off of Devils Lake.

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.