Jamestown Sun
Dakota Recreation Report
Sept. 24 2010
Patricia Stockdill
Outdoor Notes:
Saturday: Resident waterfowl season opener.
Saturday: Youth deer season closes.
Oct. 2: Nonresident waterfowl season opener.
Oct. 2 & 3: Youth pheasant season.
Oct. 9: Pheasant and fall turkey season openers.
Tournaments:
Saturday: Missouri River, Rifle Range.
Fishing:
Devils Lake elevation, Sept. 22: 1,451.3 feet above mean sea level (msl).
Stump Lake elevation, Sept. 22: 1,451.32 msl.
Lake Sakakawea elevation, Sept. 22: 1,848.8 msl; 27,000 cubic feet per second average Garrison Dam daily releases.
N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. Game Wardens: Area rivers still running high. Lake Ashtabula has a good crankbait bite for smallmouth bass. Try trolling no more than 3 mph in 8 to 12 feet along the channel. Largest bass hit on top of the shallow lip off the old river channel breaks. Walleye slower.
Lake Sakakawea fair for 5- to 10-pound salmon from shore. Missouri River tailrace producing some trout. Reminders that new rules requiring live wells be drained of water before leaving a water body become effective Oct. 1. New regulations regarding PLOTS areas now require daily removal of tree stands, decoys, and other hunting items also effective Oct. 1.
Devils Lake, C&M Bait, Black Tiger Bay, Devils Lake: Little activity but those going out are finding fair walleye success. Bait shop closes Saturday.
Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait & Tackle, Devils Lake: Not many anglers on the lake with those going finding continued fair walleye success. Try 10 to 20 feet.
Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Devils Lake: Tough walleye success with limited activity. Those going are still finding small walleye.
Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Creel Bay, Devils Lake: Pelican Lake and Mauvais Bridge area of Devils Lake continue producing walleye. Also try N.D. Highway 20 and 57 bridges. Try vertical jigs or trolling crankbaits.
Jamestown Reservoir, Dan’s Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Limited reports from the reservoir, although a few anglers on Barnes Lake are finding occasional walleye.
Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Limited reports.
Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Fishing remains strong with noticeable increase in northern pike success. Walleye remain solid with continued perch and bass success.
Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Limited activity with no reports.
Lake Sakakawea, Indian Hills Resort, Garrison: Not many anglers on the water but try working east and west of the resort with crankbaits.
Lake Sakakawea, Scott’s Bait & Tackle, Pick City: Lake Sakakawea has limited walleye success. Try 10 to 15 feet in the trees or 20 to 30 feet with Lindy rigs or jigs. Salmon remain fair to good with fish coming from all depths using downriggers in 60 feet, longlining in 35 feet up to shallow water or shallow from shore. Missouri River starting to produce more walleye, salmon, and trout. Lots of water moving through. Look for continued improving fall bite. Try live bait during the day from boat or crankbaits from shore off the rocks at night.
Missouri River, Dakota Tackle, Bismarck: Missouri River tailrace starting to produce some salmon using Mepps spinners or casting spoons. Success slow around Bismarck-Mandan. Lake Sakakawea also has salmon activity in shallower water. Most success comes from longlining crankbaits or casting Mepps or spoons from shore.
Pipestem Reservoir, Dan’s Sooper Stop, Jamestown: No reports.
Pipestem Reservoir, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Limited reports.
Spiritwood Lake, Dan’s Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Limited reports.
Spiritwood Lake, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Look for smallmouth bass activity. Try frogs or minnows.
Hunting & Migration:
Arrowwood Nat’l. Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Pingree: Good numbers of local geese throughout Stutsman County. Family groups are starting to group up into large flocks. Duck numbers look good although spread out since there are good water conditions with most seasonal and even some temporaries holding water. A few cranes have been seen and even more heard. A few ducks and all were mallards. Refuge holding more than 15,000 ducks with 60% dabblers and the rest mostly mallard and shovelers. Ruddy duck and coot numbers increasing considerably. Canada goose numbers were approaching 1,000 on or near the refuge with many other flocks using wetlands surrounding the refuge. Barnes County has good numbers of Canada geese. A lot of mallards observed in Cass County. Large groups of cormorants moving back in forth from various water bodies and could be confused with geese from a distance so watch bird identification.
East-central N.D.: Lots of ducks in the area.
Numbers to know:
N.D. Game & Fish Department, main Bismarck office: 328-6300; Web site: (http://gf.nd.gov).
N.D. Game & Fish Department, Jamestown office: 253-6480.
Tags: getting outside, outdoors, recreation, hunting, fishing
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