Dakota Recreation Report: January 30, 2023

Outdoor notes:

*Be mindful of parking when accessing area lakes; not blocking roadways or snow removal operations.

*Reminder that it’s illegal to chase, harass, or pursue any wildlife species with motorized vehicle.

*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.

*Spring turkey applications now available. Go online to (gf.nd.gov) to apply.

Tournaments:

*Feb. 4: Lake Ashtabula, Hungry Pelican.

*Feb. 11: Stump Lake.

Fishing:

*Devils Lake elevation, Jan. 24: 1,449.38 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,448.33 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,449.57 MSL; 24,700 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: Devils Lake spotty and varies day-to-day although lots of anglers. The key is to have a tracked vehicle to move around and locate fish. Beware of slush pockets. East-central area lakes still generally quiet with difficulty in moving around on. Lots of activity on the east end of Lake Sakakawea but generally slow for walleye and pike, both spearing and hook-and-line.

*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Try Hay Bale Bay for perch. Lots of activity on Creel Bay with plowed trails providing access.

*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Continued walleye success. Best perch activity is on sunny days when they’re most active. Look for some pike spearing success, as well.

*Devils Lake, West Bay Resort, Minnewaukan: Improving access and ability to move around on Devils Lake with a fair amount of activity but limited reports.

*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: East side of Devils Lake continues producing perch but Creel Bay slowed for walleye and perch. Overall bite is still fair, though.

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

*Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Most activity is on smaller area lakes but snow cover on the ice continues making it difficult to move around without vehicles.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Continued activity on small area lakes using minnows or wax worms.

*Lake Ashtabula, The Hungry Pelican at the Crossing, Luverne: Nice perch and walleye activity with good access and ability to move around on the lake. Look for some crappie success as well. Try minnows, nightcrawlers, or wax worms.

*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Anglers moving throughout the lake with better access conditions. A mix of success with some anglers doing well and others marking fish but they’re not biting. Best success is for perch with slow walleye activity.

 *Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Mixed success on the east end of Lake Sakakawea. Try 28 to 36 feet for walleye using jigs and minnows in Centennial Bay. Several houses moved off Lake Audubon with generally slow walleye success.

*Lakes Audubon & Sakakawea, Hwy. 83 Lawn & Leisure, Garrison: Lake Audubon hit-and-miss for walleye with best success at night. Some pike spearing success in Steinke and Centennial bays on the east end of Lake Sakakawea. Work the mouth of Douglas Bay, Camp of the Cross, or Rattlesnake for walleye but overall success still somewhat slow.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Wolf Creek on Lake Sakakawea producing a mix of pike and walleye with best success in the morning and evening in low light hours. Limited activity on the Missouri River tailrace.

Downhill skiing (conditions can vary):

*Bottineau Winter Park, Bottineau: 12– to 24-inch base with good conditions. 2 Magic Carpets and 1 lift, 3 runs, and tubing park open.

*Buena Vista Ski Resort, Bemidji, Minn.: 12 runs open with Terrain Park set up on Bear Track.

*Huff Hills Ski Area, Mandan: 20- to 35-inch machine groomed base with all runs, 2 lifts, and Green Lift Terrain Park open. Donut Hole Hiking Area open accessing off Pheasant Run gate near the top of Blue Lift area.

Snowmobile N.D. (conditions can vary):

*Cattail (Barnes, Cass, Steele, & Traill counties): 16- to 20-inch base. Trails open and in good condition. Watch for snow piles along approaches and road crossings.

*East-central Valley (Cass & Richland counties): 12- to 16-inch base. Trails open and in good condition. Watch for snow piles along approaches and road crossings.

*Lake Region (Nelson & Ramsey counties): 10- to 14-inch base. Trails open and in good condition. Watch for snow piles along approaches and road crossings.

*Missouri Valley (Emmons & Burleigh counties): 16- to 22-inch base. Trails open and in good condition. Use caution in the Apple Valley area with deep ruts in some places.

*North-central (Benson, McHenry, Pierce, Ramsey, & Towner counties): 8- to 12-inch base. Trails open but large trenches on portions of the Rush Lake Trail to Towner.

*Northeast (Cavalier, Pembina, & Walsh counties): 8- to 12-inch base with trails open except for Moonlighter Gorge and NESCA trails. Trails in fair condition.

*Peace Garden (Bottineau & Rolette counties):12- to 16-inch base with trails 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2C, 3, 4A, 7, 7A, 7B, and 7C open but poor ice conditions on areas where slush is on top of thin ice.

*Red River North (Walsh & Pembina counties): 12- to 16-inch base. Trails open and in good condition. Watch for snow piles along approaches and road crossings.

*Red River South (Grand Forks & Walsh counties): 8- to 10-inch base. Trails open and in good condition. Watch for snow piles along approaches and road crossings.

*Sakakawea (McLean & Ward counties): 8- to 12-inch base. Trails open. Watch for snow piles along approaches and road crossings.

*Sargent County (Richland & Sargent counties): 10-inch base. Trails open. Watch for snow piles along approaches and road crossings.

*Sheyenne Valley (Barnes, Dickey, LaMoure, Ransom, & Stutsman counties): 16- to 25-inch base. Trails open and in good condition. Watch for snow piles along approaches and road crossings.

*Sno-trails (Bottineau, McHenry, Renville, & Ward counties: 8- to 15-inch base. Trails open and in good condition.

*Southern Valley (Richland County): 12- to 20-inch base. Trails open and in good condition. Watch for snow piles along approaches and road crossings.

Numbers to know:

*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: (701) 328-9921.