Dakota Recreation Report: Dec. 20, 2021

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 and don’t move around at night.

*Keep hunting dogs away from ice on wetlands and lake shorelines with possible thin ice conditions in many areas yet.

*Go to the N.D. Game and Fish Dept. website, (gf.nd.gov) for information regarding North Dakota’s new electronic posting regulations and assistance.

*Check area U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Nat’l. Wildlife Refuge hunting regulations for potential late season upland game hunting opportunities.

*Registration now open for Wild Outdoor Women (WOW) Weekend, Lake Metigoshe State Park via Eventbrite, (https://bit.ly/WinterWOW2022).

*Dec. 23: West Canada goose zone closes.

*Dec. 25 and 26: Free fishing weekend. Residents can fish without licenses.

Fishing:

*Devils Lake elevation, Dec. 14: 1,447.05 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,447.06 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,829.06 MSL; 15,800 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*N.D. Game and Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: No east-central lake or Devils Lake reports, but activity on Devils Lake northern feeder lakes. Stay off area lakes, Lake Sakakawea, and Lake Audubon with vehicles yet, with walk-on access only.

*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Continued walleye success on the north end of Lake Irvine with some walk-on activity on Creel Bay around Beer Can Island. Also try pike spearing in Wofford’s Bay

*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Some walk-on activity on Creel Bay of Devils Lake, but test ice depths along the way. Activity continues on northern feeder lakes, including Lake Alice and Lake Irvine.

*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Some walk-on activity on area lakes, but limited reports yet.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait and Tackle, Jamestown: Increasing activity on smaller area lakes, but limited reports from Jamestown Reservoir.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Increasing walk-on activity throughout area lakes. Try jigs and minnows for walleye.

*Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing, Luverne: Anglers starting to move portable houses onto the lake, but no reports on success.

*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Some walk-on activity on Lake Ashtabula, but no reports yet of success.

*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait and Tackle, Garrison: Anglers walking onto the back bays of Lake Audubon with fair success.

*Lakes Sakakawea and Audubon, Hwy. 83 Lawn and Leisure, Garrison: Decent Lake Audubon walleye bite along Velva Point with walk-on access only yet. Try evening hours in eight to 15 feet with jigs and minnows. Ice conditions extremely variable throughout the rest of the lake, especially along the shorelines. Open water yet on the east end of Lake Sakakawea, with back bays icing over, but unsafe for access.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Missouri River tailrace remains generally quiet, but look for some activity at night for walleye from both boat and shore.

*Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: Some activity on Goose Lake, but no reports on success yet. No reports on activity from other area lakes.

*Pipestem Reservoir, Pioneer Bait and Tackle, Jamestown: Increasing activity, but limited reports on success.

Hunting:

*Deer: Deer starting to yard up for some late season archery options.

*Upland: Nice pheasant numbers remain in areas with heavy cattails and cover.

*Waterfowl: Some Canada geese remain on the open bays on the east end of Lake Sakakawea, but better numbers are on the open water of the Missouri River with birds moving out to feed east and west of the river.

Cross-country ski trails:

*Lake Metigoshe State Park, Bottineau: Trails packed, but not tracked with about 7 inches of snow on the ground.

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: (701) 328-9921.