Jamestown Sun
Nov. 30, 2012
Patricia Stockdill
Outdoor Notes:
Ice is never completely safe. Avoid areas with vegetation, moving water, pressure ridges and springs and check with local bait shops for any ice condition information.
Friday: Deer muzzleloader season opens.
Saturday: Future of Hunting in North Dakota conference, Bismarck, Doublewood Inn.
Saturday: Darkhouse spearfishing season opens.
Saturday: Sportsmen’s Swap Meet, Dakota Tackle parking lot, Bismarck.
Sunday: Statewide duck and white-front goose seasons close.
Dec. 8: High Plain Duck Unit opens.
Fishing:
Devils Lake elevation, Nov. 28: 1,451.34 feet above mean sea level (MSL).
Stump Lake elevation, Nov. 28: 1,451.32 MSL.
Lake Sakakawea elevation, Nov. 28: 1,830.6 MSL; 22,000 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.
N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: Ice continues forming but watch areas with moving water on rivers and area lakes, along with bridges, springs and vegetation.
Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait & Tackle, Devils Lake: Some walk-on access only at Lake Irvine, Dry Lake, north end of 6-Mile Bay and Pelican Lake with walleye and pike action in 8 to 20 feet.
Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Creel Bay, Devils Lake: Lake iced over but conditions remain unsafe for access.
Jamestown Reservoir, Dan’s Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Some walk-on activity in the back bays but no report on success.
Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Not many reports although more anglers are out on area lakes. Try Goose Lake and lakes west of Jamestown for perch. Look for some walleye activity on Dry Lake. Some activity in the back bays on Jamestown Reservoir.
Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Lake is iced over but use caution, especially around the bridges. No activity yet, however, with poor conditions so far.
Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Lake Audubon starting to crust over. No recent reports but some anglers venturing out on the open water on the east end of Lake Sakakawea, weather permitting, and finding some walleye, pike and smallmouth bass.
Lake Sakakawea, Scott’s Bait & Tackle, Pick City: Continued walleye success on the Missouri River tailrace but limited angler numbers. Try jigs and minnows from boats or crankbaits from shore. No Lake Sakakawea reports.
Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: Coal Mine Lake fair for pike. Goose Lake good for perch, fair for walleye and pike. Hurdsfield Lake fair for walleye.
Missouri River, Dakota Tackle, Bismarck: No reports from the Missouri River tailrace. A few anglers walking on small area lakes, including Antelope Lake and Goose Lake.
Pipestem Reservoir, Dan’s Sooper Stop, Jamestown: No reports.
Pipestem Reservoir, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Some anglers venturing out but limited reports yet.
Red River, River Keepers, Fargo: River fishing minimal over past week with ice is forming along shorelines. Watch ice conditions, especially with river current.
Spiritwood Lake, Dan’s Sooper Stop, Jamestown: No reports.
Spiritwood Lake, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Anglers starting to walk onto the ice. Limited reports.
Hunting:
N.D. Game & Fish Dept. game wardens: Colder temperatures pushing waterfowl to big, open water, including open water along some area rivers. Scout for open fields for feeding birds or pass shooting. Pheasant hunters in Richland, Sargent, Dickey and LaMoure counties are still picking up a few birds with light snow cover helping locate birds. Work thicker CRP and slough grass cover or along cornfields. The dusting of snow should also help muzzleloader and late season archery deer hunters. Turkeys starting to bunch up in Cass, Barnes, Richland, Ransom and Stutsman counties as they move closer to cover and food supplies. Lots of geese around the east end of Lake Sakakawea but remember duck season closes Sunday. Some pockets of pheasants in west-central and central N.D. with good numbers but birds aren’t spread throughout wide areas.
Lonetree WMA, Harvey: Fair deer gun success and muzzleloader hunters could likely see similar results.
North-central N.D.: Fair at best deer success overall. Waterfowl moved out.
Northeast N.D.: Waterfowl moved out of the region.
Southeast N.D.: Mixed deer success during the gun season. Look for similar activity for the muzzleloader season. A few waterfowl still in the area but a majority of birds moved out.
West-central N.D.: Continued good goose success along the Missouri River and eastern end of Lake Sakakawea. Pheasant success slowing somewhat with birds quite spooky.
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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