Dakota Recreation Report: June 5, 2023

Outdoor notes:

*June 7: Deer gun and muzzleloader applications due.

*June 9-11: Jamestown Wings on Strings Kite Club Kite Fest, Meidinger Park, 10 a.m. daily.

Tournaments:

*June 10-11: Lake Ashtabula, Sibley Crossing.

*June 10: Devils Lake, Spirit Lake Casino; Lake Audubon, cabin sites.

*June 11: Devils Lake, Grahams Island State Park.

*June 14: Red River, North Forks Landing.

*June 17: Devils Lake, Six-Mile Bay; Lake Sakakawea, Fort Stevenson State Park.

Fishing:

*Devils Lake elevation, May 30: 1,450.68 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,450.45 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,832.2 MSL; 21,700 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: Some activity on east-central area lakes but marginal success. Fair to good walleye activity throughout Devils Lake, wind permitting. Some white bass activity working wind-blown shorelines. No Missouri River reports.

*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Continued good walleye activity throughout much of Devils Lake, including Howard’s Bay on the main lake. Also try Golden Pond.

*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Continued good for walleye on area feeder lakes, especially Pelican Lake with best success pitching or pulling crankbaits. Work the bridges from shore for white bass but be careful when parking and walking down to the water.

*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Nice walleye bite with fish still in their spring pattern of slip bobbers and vertical jigging. Work bridges and windy shorelines solid. Good white bass success from both boat and shore.

*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Some activity but limited reports and generally slow.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Activity remains generally light with few reports from area lakes.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Try a variety of presentations for walleye on area lakes.

*Lake Ashtabula, The Hungry Pelican at the Crossing, Luverne: Work the weed edges for perch. Facilities fully open at the dam with temporary locations at the crossing.

*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Most activity with nightcrawlers from shore but limited reports. Water temperatures are warming so look for improving activity.

*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Some walleye activity along deTrobriand and Douglas bays on the east end of Lake Sakakawea. Try live bait presentations in shallow water. Lake Audubon remains fair to good for walleye using nightcrawlers along with some smallmouth bass success.

*Lake Sakakawea, Indian Hills Resort, Garrison: Try the mouth of McKenzie Bay for walleye with fish trending toward moving east. Pitch jigs or Lindy rigs with minnows in 4 to 8 feet.

*Lakes Audubon & Sakakawea, Hwy. 83 Lawn & Leisure, Garrison: East end of Lake Sakakawea producing good walleye activity pitching jigs with minnows or plastics. Lake Audubon hit-and-miss for walleye but fair smallmouth bass success.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Missouri River tailrace remains slow for walleye with better success at night. A few catfish and smattering of trout and salmon showing up from boat and shore but overall the tailrace is still slow. East of Lake Sakakawea remains spotty with limited walleye numbers. Those taken are nice-sized, though. Better success is west from Beaver Bay to the west working windy shorelines. Good bass numbers on the east end with a smattering of pike.

*Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: No new reports.

N.D. river data:

*James River, Kensal: River stage, 6.58 feet; streamflow, 665 CFS.

*Pipestem Creek, Pingree: Creek elevation, 6.11 feet; streamflow, 136 CFS.

*Red River, Grand Forks: River stage, 19.46 feet.

*Sheyenne River, Warwick: River stage, 4.24 feet; streamflow, 377 CFS.

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: (701) 328-9921.