KEEP IT GOING! A super Saturday is on tap for those hitting the ice.  Here’s hoping that whatever you’re after is on the bite.  With hundreds of fishable waters in ND, your odds are pretty good of finding a place with something that’s biting.  From bluegills and crappies to walleyes and pike, panfish and predator options abound as we head toward late ice. We talk about that and more in today’s Three Things.

(Featured Photo: There’s slabs to be had – get out and get on ’em with a nice weekend on tap. Simonson Photo)

DAILY CONDITIONS: WEATHER (Bismarck Forecast):
Today:  Sat 2/24 – Slight chance of snow. Hi 29, Lo 1, Winds S@8.
Tomorrow:  Sun 2/25 – Back to freezing. Hi 32, Lo 12, Winds W@11.

SOLUNAR (Bismarck Times):
Sunrise: 7:29AM Sunset: 6:22PM
Moonrise: 12:36PM Moonset 3:05AM
Overhead: 8:21PM Underfoot: 7:52AM
Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous (66% Full)

EDGE HOUR: 7:15-8:15AM – Moon underfoot and sunrise on a relatively warm morning makes it an early Edge Hour today.

DAY RATING:

THREE THINGS.

EXPLORE.  Unless you’ve been on a hot bite, now’s the time to try something different, check out a lake you haven’t tried before.  Learn something new and go after a new species or meet up with some buddies at a halfway point no one has fished before and find out what can be caught.  Midwinter sometimes needs something to break up the monotony – so give it a shot.

THICK HEADED.  Most reports on waters big and small have surface ice getting to that 25-30 inch range, higher on lakes up north where a cold winter has helped push lake cover to nearly three feet thick.  Time to break out the extension.   Check with local tackleshops to learn what’ll be required when you visit your favorite stop this weekend.

THAT’S COLD.  Wondering how chilly that water is waaaay down at the bottom of your favorite lake?  Check out the discharge numbers from the base of Baldhill Dam on the Sheyenne River. With temps bouncing between 34 and 37 degrees, you know it’s a bit nippy at the bottom of Lake Ashatbula.

Stay Sharp!