Dakota Recreation Report: April 26, 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 20: 1,448.51 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,448.43 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,835.85 MSL; 21,800 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: No activity on the Sheyenne River with extremely low spring runoff. East-central lakes slow with few anglers out. A few anglers on Devils Lake feeder coulees, but success is slow and activity limited with low runoff. Some walleye activity on the east end of Lake Sakakawea, including the U.S. Highway 83 embankment and along the south shore around Wolf Creek.

*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Not much activity with little new runoff into northern feeder coulees and cool water temperatures on Devils Lake itself yet.

*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Somewhat slow with weather front moving through. Look for more activity with warm weather and once water temperatures warm.

*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Devils Lake is in its tradition mode and with low runoff and inflows, traditional popular spring fishing areas are somewhat slow. Anglers generally waiting for warmer water temperatures and the walleye spawn.

*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Snow and cooler temperatures earlier in the week continue slowing activity.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Work moving water for walleye, including any rivers that might have some movement. Try mimic minnows for walleye on Alkali, Barnes, and Foot lakes, as well as Mallard Marsh. Clausen Spring is producing bass.

*Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing, Luverne: Cooler weather and snow limiting activity, however, some pike anglers are finding success for nice-sized fish up into the creek.

*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Activity remains limited with the recent weather front moving through. Look for more activity with warmer, stable weather.

*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Increasing walleye activity on the east end of Lake Sakakawea, weather permitting. Try along the U.S. Highway 83 embankment, Garrison, deTrobriand, or Steinke bays on the north shore, or Wolf Creek along the south shore, using jigs and minnows or live bait rigs. Spotty success in the Missouri River tailrace with better success farther downstream around Washburn or Stanton areas and south. No Lake Audubon reports.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Somewhat improving Missouri River tailrace walleye success from boats and wing walls. Continued pike success from shore, as well. Night walleye biting off the rocks remains good, but not many anglers out. East end of Lake Sakakawea continues producing pike from shore. The east end around the embankment has a lot of walleye activity from boats with scattered success throughout the east end and south side. Try 12 feet with jigs and minnows.

*Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: A few boats starting to get on the water across area lakes, but success remains generally slow.

*Pipestem Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Look for some pike success.

*Spiritwood Lake, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Good bass activity.

Snow geese:

*Not many reports throughout the state. Most birds that were sighted were heading north into Canada. However, some birds were lingering early in the week around Devils Lake and scattered locations in east-central N.D. Limited numbers of birds around north-central and northwestern N.D.

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.