Dakota Recreation Report: Oct. 12, 2020

Outdoor notes:

*Oct. 18: Pronghorn season closes.

Fishing:

*Devils Lake elevation, Oct. 5: 1,448.99 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,448.94 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,839.44 MSL; 14,200 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: Some activity on Devils Lake but generally slow success. No reports from area lakes or the Missouri River System.

*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Continued small walleye success with a few larger fish now starting to show up. Work shallow along the weeds beds

*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Continued small walleye success working the bridges with vertical jigs.

*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Area lakes generally quiet.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Fair to good success throughout many area lakes using minnows.

*Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing, Luverne: Best walleye success is in the morning or evening with jigs and minnows or jigging Raps. Try along the bridges with some fish in the 25- to 29-inch range. Also try trolling in 25 to 30 feet for a nice mix of panfish.

*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Work shallow along the shoreline in the mouths of bays on the east end of Lake Sakakawea for walleye. Try pitching jigs towards shore and pulling back for best success.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Missouri River generally remains slow but try along the rocks from shore for salmon using crankbaits or spoons. Limited walleye success from boats due to low water. Catfish remain fair. Lake Sakakawea producing salmon with fish moving shallower. Try from either boat or shore using crankbaits or spoons. Limited walleye success. Try working deep with jigging Raps.

Hunting:

*Antelope: Hunters enjoyed opening weekend success.

*Upland: Look for fair to good pheasant numbers around the east end of Lake Sakakawea but be careful with identification with numbers of young birds yet. Fair numbers in pockets in some areas around the lake’s midsection but fewer grouse. Some better partridge numbers, though.

*Waterfowl: Good numbers of local ducks around Devils Lake but lots of hunting pressure. Some area wetlands have poor water conditions. Good numbers of area birds and generally fair to good success in east-central North Dakota. North-central region has OK waterfowl numbers but birds are moving around quite a bit depending on local wetland conditions. Scattered numbers of lesser Canada geese starting to filter into some areas of North Dakota, including around eastern Lake Sakakawea, northwestern areas, and north of Valley City in some areas of east-central N.D. Generally only local birds are scattered around the midsection of Lake Sakakawea with poor water conditions limiting duck numbers around the midsection. Increasing sandhill crane numbers in areas north of N.D. Highway 50 in northwest N.D. and along the northern tier of Lake Sakakawea. A few scattered snow geese in some areas of the state.

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.