Dakota Recreation Report: April 27, 2020

Outdoor notes:

*North Dakota state park facilities, including vault toilets, restrooms, and visitor centers, remain closed to public use, although hiking trails are open for day use only. Please remember to implement social distancing. Day and annual passes available through park self-registration or online (www.parkrec.nd.gov).

*N.D. Game and Fish Dept. Wildlife Mgmt. Areas also open to public use, although specific use regulations apply. Go to the Game & Fish Dept. website, (gf.nd.gov) for information.

*Check with other public land and recreation agencies, as well, regarding camping and public use regarding COVID-19 related restrictions.

*Please consider limiting the number of people in a boat to two when open water fishing gets underway to help reduce the COVID-19 potential.

*April 27 - 28: N.D. Game & Fish Dept. virtual public advisory meetings. Go to the Game & Fish Dept. website, (gf.nd.gov) for information about how to login and submit questions in advance. The April 27 meeting is geared towards western N.D. while the April 28 meeting is geared towards the eastern half of the state.

Fishing:

*Devils Lake elevation, April 21: 1,449.43 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,449.27 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,840.43 MSL; 24,200 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Boat anglers doing better in Devils Lake feeder channels than shore anglers but look for overall fair to good success.

*Devils Lake, West Bay Resort, Minnewaukan: No activity on Devils Lake itself with the west end just beginning to have ice breakup. Look for activity in the channels.

*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Fair to good from both boat and shore in Devils Lake feeder channels with open water.

*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Anglers waiting for ice-out.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Limited activity throughout area lakes. James River running high early in the week.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Nice numbers of anglers on some small area lakes, including around Cleveland.

*Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing, Luverne: Ashtabula Crossing opened up but docks won’t be in place until more of the lake is ice-free.

*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Lake Ashtabula is about at normal pool elevations with ice gone along the northern end. South half of the lake still has ice with some open water shoreline. No access for boat launching yet.

*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Deepwater Bay producing nice numbers of walleye from boats with the bay open. Look for some pike success from east end back bays. Douglas Bay hit-and-miss for access with floating ice around the ramps at times with some walleye success.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Missouri River continues producing spotty walleye success from both boat and shore. Try jigs and minnows down river. Some anglers doing well while others finding slow success. Also try the chutes for walleye with occasional trout mixed in. Try morning hours off the wing walls with jigs and minnows for better walleye success. Spotty during the day. OK pike success on Lake Sakakawea east end back bays. Try smelt or herring or casting.

Migration:

*Scattered snow geese with some late stragglers moving through along the central and northern tier of N.D. as well as around the Devils Lake area.

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.