Jamestown Sun
Dakota Recreation Report
Nov. 16, 2012
Patricia Stockdill
Outdoor Notes:
Nov. 25: Deer gun season closes.
Nov. 26: N.D. Game & Fish Dept. advisory board meeting, 110 Main St., Sheyenne, 7 p.m.
Nov. 26: Fisher trapping season opens.
Nov. 26: Mink, muskrat, weasel hunting and archery seasons open.
Nov. 26: Mountain lion and bobcat pursuit with dogs season opens.
Nov. 26: Some major U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Nat’l. Wildlife Refuges open to late season upland hunting. Check with local refuge headquarters to see if it is open and for any special regulations, which include the use of nontoxic shot for upland birds.
Nov. 29: N.D. Game & Fish Dept. advisory board meeting, Gladstone Inn, Jamestown, 7 p.m.
Nov. 30: Muzzleloader deer season opens.
Fishing:
Devils Lake elevation, Nov. 14: 1,451.44 feet above mean sea level (MSL).
Stump Lake elevation, Nov. 14: 1,451.37 MSL.
N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: No fishing activity in east-central N.D. with small lakes icing over but unsafe for walking access yet. No reports from Devils Lake, Lake Sakakawea or the Missouri River.
Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait & Tackle, Devils Lake: No activity with anglers waiting for ice-over.
Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Creel Bay, Devils Lake: The lake is open yet but no fishing activity.
Jamestown Reservoir, Dan’s Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Not many anglers out.
Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Limited activity with anglers generally waiting for ice-over.
Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Back bay areas starting to ice over but no fishing until better ice conditions exist.
Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: Ice conditions may be questionable for quite some time with initial ice on many area lakes appearing to form cloudy and in poor condition.
Missouri River, Dakota Tackle, Bismarck: Limited activity with poor weather and deer and waterfowl seasons underway.
Pipestem Reservoir, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Limited activity.
Red River, River Keepers, Fargo: Walleye are biting on Red River traditional fall shoreline areas for patient anglers at night using minnows and Lindy rigs.
Spiritwood Lake, Dan’s Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Little activity.
Hunting:
N.D. Game & Fish Dept. game wardens: With several southwestern and south-central deer units spared from the extreme weather found throughout much of remaining N.D., deer hunters found fair opening weekend success. Buck hunters generally found more opportunities than last year with the rut starting to get underway and more deer activity at daylight feeding hours. Doe hunters found some success. Try working shelterbelts and cattail slough and cornfield edges. Waterfowl migration likely peaked with cold, snow and ice covering food in some areas of central N.D. west and north of Stutsman County. Some late season opportunities may still exist around Richland, Sargent and Dickey counties down to the S.D. border along with open water of Devils Lake and the Missouri River System. Pheasants becoming jumpier with colder weather and continued hunting pressure. Fair deer success in east-central N.D. Fair snow goose numbers around the Harvey area earlier in the week with more ice than snow in last week’s storm. Birds could move out with continued cold weather, however. Some birds still around the Devils Lake area but most pushed through in last weekend’s weather. Slower opening weekend for deer hunters around Devils Lake due to weather.
Arrowwood Nat’l. Wildlife Refuge, Pingree: Large numbers of waterfowl moved out over the past weekend with several inches of snow along with freezing rain covering fields. Almost all water is ice covered. The refuge is at least 95 percent ice with geese keeping small patches open. Refuge is holding about 500 Canada geese and only about 100 mallards at mid-week.
North-central N.D.: Area lakes and wetlands iced over and waterfowl moved out.
Northeast N.D.: A majority of waterfowl moved out of the Devils Lake area with a few birds still around in the northeast. However, some divers are still on Devils Lake. Fair at best deer success.
Southeast N.D.: Some waterfowl still linger in the Jamestown and surrounding areas.
West-central N.D.: Weather limited deer hunting activity over opening weekend. Better waterfowl success is east of the Missouri River. Continued fair pheasant success. Most snow geese moved out along the east end of Lake Sakakawea.
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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