Jamestown Sun
Aug. 24, 2012
Patricia Stockdill
Outdoor Notes:
Aug. 31: Archery deer and mountain lion seasons open.
Sept. 1: Dove season opens.
Sept. 4: Fur Harvester Class, Jamestown N.D. Game & Fish Dept. office. Sign up on the Game & Fish Dept. website (gf.nd.gov), click “Online Services” and “Online Course Enrollment.”
Tournaments:
Sept. 2: Devils Lake, Round Lake Bay.
Fishing:
Devils Lake elevation, Aug. 22: 1,452.24 feet above mean sea level (msl).
Stump Lake elevation, Aug. 22: 1,452.37 msl.
Lake Sakakawea elevation, Aug. 22: 1,835.7 msl; 24,500 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.
N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: No reports from Devils Lake. Fewer anglers on area lakes and rivers but those going are finding nice late summer walleye, sauger and catfish from the Sheyenne River below low-head dams. Try casting brightly colored jigs with twister tails or minnows for eater-sized walleye and sauger. Bass are still biting off spinner baits in shallow slack water areas. Smaller Cass County reservoirs experiencing low water and heavy weed growth at Brewer Lake and Casselton Reservoir. Bluegill and perch still active off weed edge and in weed-free pockets. Fair to good success on many Kidder County area lakes. Lake Sakakawea and the Missouri River slowed with fair at best walleye success. Tailrace itself is probably better than around Washburn, which has little activity. Look for a mix of species. Fair to good for salmon around the face of the dam on Lake Sakakawea. Lake Audubon OK for walleye and smallmouth bass. Try the McClusky Canal crossings for walleye and bass.
Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait & Tackle, Devils Lake: Locate any type of structure working a variety of presentations for walleye. Some areas to try include the Golden Highway, Pelican Lake, Hali’s Hump, Patience Point, trees around Grahams Island, humps and rock piles around Fort Totten, Penny Bay, any bridges or storm sewer system in 14 to 30 feet. Northern pike and perch mixed in.
Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Creel Bay, Devils Lake: Continued good for small walleye. Try spinners and bottom bouncers in 12 to 25 feet with Pelican Lake producing bigger fish. Northern pike mixed in with walleye with a few perch. Anglers should move around and hunt for perch schools, which vary greatly in depth. Try jigging around rock piles.
Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Walleye activity is ho-hum, although anglers still finding fair success. Pike are slow but good perch success with nice numbers of nice-sized fish. Bass success remains strong, as well as bullheads.
Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Lake Sakakawea and the Missouri River becoming more inconsistent and spotty for walleye success with good and slow days depending on weather fronts. Lake Audubon fair but also somewhat inconsistent for walleye. Still good numbers of boats on the Missouri River System.
Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: Coal Mine Lake and Harvey Dam fair for pike, slow for perch. Hurdsfield Lake fair to good for walleye and perch. Goose Lake fair to good for pike and walleye. Antelope Lake continues producing good walleye success with fair perch activity.
Missouri River, Dakota Tackle, Bismarck: Lake Sakakawea continues producing nice salmon success. Missouri River slower down around the state line with most activity just south of Bismarck or up at the tailrace, which remains good for walleye. McDowell Dam good for bluegill in a variety of sizes. Rice Lake by Strasburg and Alkaline Lake good for walleye and pike. Green Lake has OK success. Cherry Lake improving for pike but Lake Isabel slowed. Lake Josephine fair for a variety of species.
Red River, River Keepers, Fargo: Continued catfish success in the Red River using cut bait, usually goldeye. Some caught around Fargo have been up to 12 pounds.
N.D. rivers streamflow and river stage, Aug. 22:
Baldhill Creek, Dazey: Creek stage, 6.07 feet; streamflow, 3.1 CFS.
James River, Kensal: River stage, 1.97 feet; streamflow, 1.4 CFS.
James River, Jamestown: River stage, 3.36 feet; streamflow, 38 CFS.
Missouri River, Bismarck: Streamflow, 24,700 CFS.
Pipestem Creek, Pingree: Creek stage, 4.52 feet; streamflow, 0.03 CFS.
Red River, Fargo: River stage, 14.38 feet; streamflow, 448 CFS.
Sheyenne River, Cooperstown: River stage, 11.44 feet; streamflow, 563 CFS.
Sheyenne River, Valley City: River stage, 5.74 feet.
Hunting:
Early Canada goose season: Richland, Sargent, Dickey and LaMoure county hunters found strong numbers of birds with most in small family flocks. Scout for larger, non-breeding, field-feeding flocks, decoying small grain stubble or pea fields for the best success. A few hunters along the Missouri River System with fair success but not many limits. Lots of hunters around Lake Audubon. Hunters around Kidder County region finding fair to good success if they did their scouting. Devils Lake area hunters finding good success but birds already becoming spread out.
Numbers to know:
N.D. Game & Fish Department, main Bismarck office: 328-6300; website: (http://gf.nd.gov).
N.D. Game & Fish Department, Jamestown office: 253-6480.
RAP, Report All Poachers: (800) 472-2121.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bismarck, website: (www.fws.gov/northdakotafieldoffice).
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