Wading into the grasses from the cut wheat field, I knew the chances of finding any grouse would be limited.  The sea of dew that coated the bluestem, forbs and wildflowers in the conservation planting of the public access parcel might as well have been lake water as the hydro-resistant material on the lower part…

By Nick Simonson A strong recruitment year in 2023 helped sharptailed grouse and Hungarian partridge in North Dakota rebuild after a tough winter, and a milder cold-weather season in 2024 brought bigger numbers of birds into spring. However, the cooler, damp conditions in late spring and early summer likely hampered recruitment for the upland birds…

By Doug Leier  I wouldn’t be surprised to find out kids who grew up on the beaches of California are more likely to surf than a kid from North Dakota. Fair is fair. If you were raised in the Midwest, I’d suggest your odds of growing into hunting and fishing are more likely than those…

By Brad Durick Fall is in the air. The cottonwoods are changing colors fast, the young eagles are flying and the Red River is back down to a wonderful level.  With that, most anglers are reporting good catfishing, and I am seeing average numbers but more big fish over 15 pounds. Of course, we had…

By Nick Simonson From a mild winter with limited snow to a warm spring, conditions were nearly ideal for ringneck pheasants in North Dakota over the past 12 months, and an increase of approximately 25 percent in birds observed statewide in summer roadside counts conducted by the North Dakota Game & Fish Department (NDG&F) reflected…

By Mike Peluso Things are just starting to change across the state of North Dakota and we are nearing what I like to call “Rocktober.” This is definitely the time of year that it gets really hard to choose what a person wants to do outdoors. For me, my first choice is still a rod…

By Nick Simonson The dog days of summer are gone, even though this week’s temperatures might suggest otherwise.  The heat and humidity of August fade into those first cool nights of September with its dewy mornings and from there it isn’t long until that same condensation soaks the knee-down region of my field pants and…

By Doug Leier  With the close of summer, you’ll notice a swing from fishing rods to shotguns. For many it’s a seamless transition and welcomed, even if the tradeoff means we’re one step closer to winter.  People who hunt all fall, starting with early goose, then doves and working through upland game and waterfowl, gradually…

By Brad Durick I have not fished for catfish on the Red River much over the past week as Labor Day week is always a slow one in the guide world, so I took my boy on a trip before school started. Reports from other anglers the past seven days are about the same as…

By Nick Simonson Few lures are as effective at covering water and triggering big fall trout as a spoon cast out over lakes where these fish are once again rising as the water cools with the season.  Properly working a spoon, however, goes a bit more beyond the cast-and-crank which will catch fish, but does…

By Mike Peluso This week’s walleye fishing report is a closer to my time on Sakakawea and a briefing of the Missouri River near Bismarck ahead of my fall fishing season there. Lake Sakakawea is still producing some really nice walleyes! We found early on this week that the fish were in the deeper water,…

By Nick Simonson Labor Day weekend has come and gone, and the unofficial end of summer (or if you’re a hunter, and a glass-half-full type, the unofficial start to fall) has come with it.  The transition is never a clean break though, with plenty of summerlike fishing opportunities and warm days yet ahead with the…

NDG&F Dept. Release Introduce a youngster to duck hunting during North Dakota’s two-day youth waterfowl weekend Sept. 14-15. In addition, the special veteran and active military personnel waterfowl season is set for the same weekend. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has a Virtual Duck Hunting Mentor webpage with all the basics, including license requirements, regulations,…

By Doug Leier  I grew up in an era before the early August goose hunt, and 25 years later it still feels a bit odd to think of hunters swatting mosquitoes and lathering on sunscreen.  Our first hunt of the season was mourning doves in early September. Where birds were plentiful, the sense of accomplishment…

By Brad Durick Another front has the catfish on the Red River acting a little weird again. I guess 95 degrees on Sunday, 75 Monday and then a drop to 65 on Tuesday might do that. The catfish are just off the main current now. It seems that they are liking a little deeper water…

By Nick Simonson The recent release of 2024 duck survey results by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) point to incremental improvements in waterfowl populations throughout the birds’ breeding territories in the country.  Those facts coupled with a substantial grant to Ducks Unlimited (DU) has the organization seeing positive gains not only in…

By Mike Peluso I made the voyage back over to Lake Sakakawea last week and the walleye fishing has been okay; not lights out, but decent. I may have a skewed perspective, especially how spoiled I’ve been this summer up here since early June. The fish have definitely moved out deep. I’m sure you’ll start…

By Nick Simonson It’s the little things that catch the attention of hunters this time of year.  The  grouping of mourning doves at the corner of the undeveloped road on the fringe of our neighborhood, and the outgoing evening phalanx of Canada geese are just a couple of subtle signs that there’s a shift in…

By Doug Leier Nonhunters and hunters who don’t target Canada geese may be taken a bit off guard when learning those hunters they’ve seen and heard are out taking part in the early Canada goose season in North Dakota. Relatively speaking, it’s one of the most recently added hunting season in North Dakota. Many North…

By Nick Simonson One of fall’s earliest upland seasons is for sharptailed grouse.  Humid cool mornings quickly warm into hot and sunny afternoons and finding the birds before things get too hot for dogs (and hunters), is key at the start of the season when sharpies are more readily available and far less wary than…

By Brad Durick After our recent weather hiccups, everything seems to be getting back to normal for catfishing on the Red River in and around the Grand Forks area. The catfish are back in the middle of fast water, and they are feeding. The bite has been kind of a grind this past week as…

By Nick Simonson Second only to spring, fishing for smallmouth bass in early fall can provide some of the best angling from bronzebacks as they strap the feedbag on and prepare for a winter of near dormancy.  Knowing where to look and what to use is key in connecting with smallies this time of year…

By Mike Peluso This will be my last walleye fishing report from Devils Lake until ice fishing season starts up here. I’ll be headed back to Lake Sakakawea for the last little bit of August and into September. After that it will be river time! Well, the bug hatch we had last week on Devils…

By Nick Simonson August provides some welcome downtime and a transition period from fishing to hunting.  With deer archery seasons in some areas just days away, the final preparations (or perhaps the scramble) in assessing tree stand location for both the upcoming bow and later firearms seasons are underway.  But beyond the process of assembling…

By Brad Durick At the time of this report things are up in the air as it pertains to the catfish down in the waters of the Red River. We had a huge cold front last weekend that has slowed the bite some. The pattern remained mostly the same as during the warmer days before,…

NDG&F Dept. Release The fall turkey season is set with 4,545 licenses available to hunters, 110 more than last year. Applicants can apply online by visiting the North Dakota Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov. The deadline is Sept. 4. Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply in the first lottery. The fall wild turkey season…

By Doug Leier The Western meadowlark is North Dakota’s state bird but did you know one of it’s closest relatives is the less embraced common blackbird? Yes, meadowlarks are members of the blackbird family, which also includes orioles and bobolinks. A couple of other interesting facts: One nestling meadowlark consumes one-third pound of insects during…

By Nick Simonson Agents of the North Dakota Game & Fish Department (NDG&F) are putting increased funding and manpower to use, as members of the agency’s Private Lands Initiative (PLI) added 36,000 acres to the state’s Private Land Open to Sportsmen (PLOTS) program over the past year, according to Kevin Kading, PLI Section Leader. “We…

By Mike Peluso I split my time again last week fishing walleyes on both Lake Sakakawea and Devils Lake. There is still a lot going on with the change in weather and a massive bug hatch on Devils Lake, and that’s where I’ll start. The walleye bite has been fairly tough on Devils Lake and…

By Nick Simonson August cold fronts are a strange and jarring occurrence.  One week it’s near 90 degrees, humid, and every largemouth bass is living the good life in the warm shallows of the lake around the docks on the south shore.  Suddenly overnight, it feels like pheasant opener as a chill north wind riles…