Jamestown Sun
Oct. 12, 2012
Patricia Stockdill
Outdoor Notes:
N.D. Game & Fish Dept. taking registration for Oct. 24-28 Becoming an Outdoors-Woman bow-hunting workshop, Lake Metigoshe State Park, Bottineau. Contact BOW coordinators Nancy Boldt, 328-6312, or Brittany Fish, 527-3075, or email ndgf@nd.gov or go to the website, (gf.nd.gov) for details.
Saturday: Pheasant and fall turkey seasons open.
Saturday: Goose Lake Pheasants Forever (PF) banquet, Braddock City Center, 6 p.m.
Saturday: McIntosh County Ducks Unlimited (DU), Dakota Family Restaurant, Ashley, 6 p.m.
Sunday: Arrowwood Nat’l. Wildlife Refuge “Big Sit!” free birding day, 7:30 a.m. to dark. Details available at (www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/connect/bigsit/index.php) or call the refuge, 285-3341.
Wednesday: Foster County Ducks Unlimited (DU) banquet, Carrington, 5:30 p.m.
Oct. 19: Devils Lake DU banquet, Devils Lake KC, 5:30 p.m.
Oct. 20: Wood Lake PF banquet, Kulm, 5:30 p.m.
Oct. 20: Tewaukon DU banquet, Mantador VFW, 5:30 p.m.
Oct. 21: Unit 2 sandhill crane season closes.
Fishing:
Devils Lake elevation, Oct. 8: 1,451.43 feet above mean sea level (msl).
Stump Lake elevation, Oct. 8: 1,451.52 msl.
Lake Sakakawea elevation, Oct. 8: 1,832.4 msl; 19,500 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.
N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: Limited reports from Devils Lake. Red River levels remain low, allowing for ample shore-fishing areas with some walleye success. Little fishing activity on Lake Sakakawea.
Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait & Tackle, Devils Lake: Continued fair to good success for small walleye, trolling Pelican Lake for bigger fish or working structure on the main lake for eater-sized walleye.
Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Devils Lake: Fish are starting to move a little more to structure but summer patterns continue producing good success with some larger walleye now showing up. Northerns are quiet.
Devils Lake, West Bay Resort, Minnewaukan: Continued fair to good for walleye on Pelican Lake.
Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Creel Bay, Devils Lake: Fewer anglers on the lake but those going continue finding good walleye success. Try jigging around the rock piles or bridges as well as trolling.
Jamestown Reservoir, Dan’s Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Not much fishing activity.
Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Walleye are slowly starting to come into a fall bite but angler numbers are light.
Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Wind and cooler weather limiting angler numbers but look for fair panfish with stable weather.
Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Limited activity on Lake Sakakawea, Lake Audubon and Missouri River.
Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: Overall activity is light on area lakes. Harvey Dam fair for pike, slow for other species. Goose Lake good for pike and walleye, fair for perch. Antelope and Hurdsfield lakes good for walleye, fair for perch. Coal Mine Lake closed until ice-over.
Missouri River, Dakota Tackle, Bismarck: Fewer anglers on the Missouri River but some are finding shore-fishing success. Fair shore-fishing success for salmon on Lake Sakakawea.
Pipestem Reservoir, Dan’s Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Limited activity.
Pipestem Reservoir, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Occasional pike.
Red River, River Keepers, Fargo: Recent cold fronts slowing fishing. Best success is shore-fishing at night for patient walleye anglers. Low river levels are concentrating fish in pool areas.
Spiritwood Lake, Dan’s Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Limited activity.
Spiritwood Lake, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Limited reports.
Hunting:
N.D. Game & Fish Dept. game wardens: Last week’s cold and snowy weather is transitioning many local birds out of the area. However, huntable numbers of mallards, gadwall, shovelers and a few blue-winged teal remain. Lesser Canada geese are migrating in with a few snow goose flocks as far down as the S.D. border. Flocks are scattered, though, and small. Duck number from Dickey and Sargent counties up through Barnes, Steele and Griggs counties remain in good numbers. Smaller sloughs drying up so scouting is important. Try decoying in fields with stubble regrowth for mallards and Canada geese. A few hardy doves still linger. Spotty grouse success in pockets of remaining CRP from McIntosh County up through Stutsman County and west. Archery deer hunters finding more deer movement around dusk. Look for deer activity to increase. Local birds around McLean County and southern Ward County moved out with some northern Canada geese moving in, although overall waterfowl numbers are lower. Overall fair success. Snow geese moving along the Canadian border with the migration getting underway. Mostly local birds remain in north-central N.D. with lots of pressure so they’re not leaving the water much. Good numbers of cranes moving in. A few snow geese starting to trickle into northeastern N.D. Better Canada goose numbers are around Warwick with a few lessers starting to move in.
Arrowwood Nat’l. Wildlife Refuge, Pingree: Last week’s snow and winds didn’t produce a major change in the waterfowl populations except for a few snow geese. Several large flocks approaching 1,000 birds around northern and central Stutsman County. Bean harvest is complete and corn harvest is underway.
Lonetree WMA, Harvey: Hit-and-miss sharptail success with low partridge numbers throughout the area. Look for fair pheasant success in areas with good cover for the Saturday opener. Good numbers of Canada geese in the area with a scattering of white geese mixed in. Fair duck numbers but birds are concentrated and spotty in certain areas.
Southeast N.D.: Limited waterfowl reports.
West-central N.D.: Good numbers of ducks throughout the eastern end of Lake Sakakawea and northern McLean County. Cranes moving in and out of the region. Look for nice pheasant numbers for the opener.
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).
Dakota Recreation Report: (www.dancingprairiearts.com).
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