Dakota Recreation Report: April 19, 2021

Outdoor notes:

*April 27: N.D. Game & Fish Dept. public advisory board meeting, Devils Lake Elks Club, Devils Lake, 7 p.m.

*April 27: N.D. Game & Fish Dept. public advisory board meeting, Pekin Rod & Gun Club, Pekin, 7 p.m.

*May 1: Paddlefish season opens. Go to the Game & Fish Dept. website, (gf.nd.gov) for details on open areas, and harvest and snag-and-release days.

Fishing:

*Devils Lake elevation, April 13: 1,448.56 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,448.45 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,836.37 MSL; 20,900 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: No reports from east-central area lakes, Devils Lake, or the Missouri River System.

*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Most docks are in place on Devils Lake with some pike success on northern feeder lakes.

*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Continued activity around the bridges with the lake generally open.

*Devils Lake, West Bay Resort, Minnewaukan: Anglers on the water with some boat activity, weather permitting. Hit-and-miss success, however.

*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Lake is ice-free with continued shore-fishing activity for walleye, weather permitting. Look for increased boat activity after weather front moved through and as docks get in place throughout the lake.

*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: No new reports with cold and precipitation slowing activity.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Lots of activity on Jamestown Reservoir. Also try the river and area lakes.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Weather front slowed activity.

*Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing, Luverne: Some scattered walleye success, but look for some pike activity from shore when the weather settles after the recent cold front. Docks are getting put in place.

*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: A few boats on the water prior to the weather front moving through, but generally slow success and limited reports.

*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Prior to the recent wind and wet weather, a lot of anglers were on the east end of Lake Sakakawea with nice walleye success, as well as Douglas Bay. Look for some pre-spawn walleye activity when the weather stabilizes. No Missouri River reports, with some walleye activity along the east end of Lake Audubon, also before the weather change.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Missouri River tailrace remains light for walleye activity with the exception of good numbers of pike using smelt – quantity more so than quality. Try the rocks from shore at night, casting crankbaits for walleye. East end of Lake Sakakawea producing walleye in a variety of depths prior to the weather front moving through.

*Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: Some shore-fishing activity on area lakes, but generally slow success yet.

*Pipestem Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: No reports.

*Pipestem Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: No reports.

*Spiritwood Lake, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: No new reports.

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

Light geese:

*Some birds around the Towner area early in the week, with birds just now showing up in the northwest around Williston. Some snow geese reported as far south as Interstate-94 around Steele and Sterling, and around the Valley City area over the last weekend, but no new birds around central North Dakota in the Lonetree WMA area early in the week. Better numbers reported still farther south in South Dakota. Recent weather could either push remaining birds out depending on the extent of local snow or hold them, depending on conditions in Canada.

Spring turkey:

*Fair opening weekend success with Saturday’s nice weather. Look for birds to become increasingly active.

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.