Dakota Recreation Report 1/11

[Lee Borgersen]

  ....... Dakota Recreation Report for Jan. 11, 2013



Dakota Recreation Report

Jan. 11, 2013

Ice is never completely safe. Avoid areas with vegetation, moving water, pressure ridges, and springs. Check with local bait shops for any ice condition information.

Don’t chase, harass, or pursue coyote or other wildlife with any motorized vehicle.

Registration is now available for winter Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshops for darkhouse spearing Jan. 26 at Upper Souris Nat’l. Wildlife Refuge (NWR) or Feb. 22-24, Lake Metigoshe State Park. More information is available on the N.D. Game & Fish Dept. website, (gf.nd.gov).

Sunday: Fall turkey season closes.

Tournaments:

Jan. 19: Lake Ashtabula, Missouri River; Bismarck-Mandan area.

Jan. 26: Devils Lake, 6-Mile Bay.

Fishing:

Devils Lake elevation, Jan. 9: 1,451.35 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

Stump Lake elevation, Jan. 9: 1,451.37 MSL.

Lake Sakakawea elevation, Jan. 9: 1,829.2 MSL; 20,000 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: Perch success remains fair to good across many southeastern and south-central area lakes from Richland, Sargent, and Ransom counties up into LaMoure and Barnes counties. Success seems better early in the morning or just before sunset.

Move around to locate active schools in 10 feet and deeper along transition lines from bays to deeper drop-offs using Swedish pimples with wax worm or minnows and bright jigs with minnows.

Steady pike success with good reports of smaller pike using smelt on tip-ups in shallower depths of 4- to 10-feet. Better walleye success seems to be on the bigger waters of Lake Ashtabula and Jamestown Reservoir with spotty reports from south-central lakes in LaMoure, Kidder, and McIntosh counties. Some Richland and Sargent county lakes also producing some walleye.

Kidder County area lakes are hit-and-miss. No reports from Devils Lake. A few anglers starting to venture onto the east end of Lake Sakakawea and finding a few pike. Ice depth varies.

Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait & Tackle, Devils Lake: Continued good walleye success around Doc Hagen’s, Stromme’s Addition, Fort Totten, Minnewaukan Flats, and Mission Bay in 10 to 20 feet. Work structure. Try Black Tiger Bay, the towers or East Devils Lake for perch in 25 to 45 feet.

Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Devils Lake: Continued good walleye and perch success around Doc Hagen’s, East Bay, and Black Tiger Bay. Some walleye activity in Creel Bay but success slowed a bit.

Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Creel Bay, Devils Lake: Continued strong walleye bite. Work shallower in 8 to 12 feet around flooded timber with buckshot rattling spoons and minnows. Pike success also remains good in back bays, including Walford’s Bay. A few perch but bite is a little tougher. Those taken are nice-sized.

Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: North Hobart Lake fair for perch. Look for perch success at other small area perch lakes, as well. Jamestown Reservoir hit-and-miss for walleye.

Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Continued good success on area perch lakes. Jamestown Reservoir producing fair but inconsistent walleye success around Pelican Point. Crappie slowed with anglers marking fish but the bite slacked off.

Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Improving perch and walleye success with more anglers on the ice. Move around. Some pike success farther north. Access remains good throughout the lake.

Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Continued good activity on Lake Audubon. The east end of Lake Sakakawea and Douglas Bay are starting to see some walleye and pike activity using a variety of presentations. Ice conditions are variable and anglers need to check depth frequently.

Lake Sakakawea, Scott’s Bait & Tackle, Pick City: Missouri River wing walls continue producing walleye using jigs and minnows. Try a morning and evening bite for pike in the river. More anglers going onto Lake Audubon with fair walleye success using jigs and minnows. Try wax worms for perch.

Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: Coal Mine Lake fair for pike. Slow for perch. Hurdsfield Lake fair for walleye and perch. Goose and Antelope lakes fair for walleye and perch but overall success is declining.

Missouri River, Dakota Tackle, Bismarck: Goose Lake, Harvey, yo-yoing back to improving perch success after a short-term lull. Most activity on Lake Audubon is around Nelson Bay and the northeast corner. Not many recent reports but some activity at Alkaline Lake yet. Low water limiting activity on Beaver Bay on Lake Oahe.

Pipestem Reservoir, Dan’s Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Continued fair to good for crappie with some pike mixed in.

Pipestem Reservoir, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Continued fair for crappie with some walleye mixed in.

Red River, River Keepers, Fargo: Only a handful of anglers setting up houses on the Red and Bois de Sioux Rivers so far with a few pike and walleye caught. Excellent fishing continues on southeastern N.D. and west-central Minn. lakes.

Spiritwood Lake, Dan’s Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Limited reports.

Spiritwood Lake, Pioneer Bait Shop, Jamestown: Quiet.

Downhill skiing:

Bears Den Mtn., Fort Ransom: Snow-making continues, weather permitting, but conditions aren’t good enough to open.

Bottineau Winter Park, Bottineau: 8- to 12-inch groomed base with all runs, lifts, and Tubing Park open.

Buena Vista Ski Area, Bemidji, Minn.: 22- to 28-inch machine groomed base with 15 trails open and snowmaking underway. Terrain Park open.

Frostfire Ski Area, Walhalla: Good snow conditions with 20-inch base with machine made and natural snow. All runs open. Open Thursday through Friday.

Huff Hills Ski Area, Mandan: 12- to 20-inch base with 7 groomed runs, 2 lifts, and bunny tow open.

N.D. Parks & Recreation Dept. cross-country ski trails:

Fort Ransom, Fort Ransom: Trails remain in poor condition and more snow is needed.

Grahams Island, Devils Lake: Trails open but in fair condition.

Icelandic, Cavalier: Trails aren’t tracked but are in good condition.

Snowmobile North Dakota:

North-central Trail: Rush Lake, Red Lake, Sand Slough, Jordan Lake, Midway Lake & Gun Lake trails open and groomed.

Peace Garden Trail: System opens the weekend of Jan. 11.

All other trails closed until enough snow is available to groom.

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).