Our Outdoors: The Time We Have

By Nick Simonson I watched the gallon and price counters on the pump slowly tick up, up, up.  I estimated that I’d need about 28 gallons, with the tank of my pickup sitting at just below a quarter and impatiently ticked off each one.  Unwilling to test the limits on the back portion of the…

Daily Edge for Thu. Nov. 2

THE CAT’S MEOW.  Take today by the horns, or antlers as it were, and get out on your bow stand.  Cold temps and calm winds will have bucks on the move, particularly right before the big change coming in the weather on Friday.  Watch for them moving between deep cover along their rut paths, where…

CWD Sampling Continues this Deer Season

NDG&F Press Release The state Game and Fish Department will continue its Hunter-Harvested Surveillance program during the 2017 deer hunting season, by sampling deer for chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis from 10 units in North Dakota. In addition, all moose and elk harvested in the state are eligible for testing. Samples from hunter-harvested deer taken in…

Daily Edge for Wed. Nov. 1

WELCOME TO NOVEMBER!  The month of hard-core hunters, scraggly deer beards, and battling the elements has arrived!  Forget what the Christmas carol says, this is the most wonderful time of the year!  It looks like rut will be hitting hard in the next few days as a colder pattern takes hold just in front of…

ID Number Required on Equipment

NDG&F Dept. Press Release Hunters, trappers and anglers are reminded that an equipment registration number, or the individual’s name, address and telephone number, must be displayed on all equipment requiring identification. Identification must be attached to cable devices that are set on either private or public land, and on fish houses left unattended on the…

Daily Edge for Tue. Oct. 31

FROST ON THE PUMPKIN. Cool, calm conditions overnight will bring a layer of frost on the ground, but that should also trigger animal movement throughout the morning for deer hunters and others taking to the field on this Halloween day.    We get seasonal with one of our favorite colors, tell ghost stories for Halloween, and…

Sakakawea Salmon Spawning Complete

NDG&F  Dept. Press Release Fisheries crews have completed their annual salmon spawning operation on the Missouri River System after collecting more than 2.5 million eggs. Dave Fryda, North Dakota Game and Fish Department Missouri River System supervisor, said crews easily collected enough eggs to stock the 400,000 smolts planned for Lake Sakakawea in 2018. The…

Daily Edge for Mon. Oct. 30

MISS THIS?  Ol’ Man Winter takes another swipe at cooling down North Dakota, as yesterday’s wind and chill persist throughout much of the day today.  Things will calm down tonight, giving you an opportunity to get outdoors tomorrow.  However, there’s plenty to catch up on and get ready for while you wait, as we talk…

Daily Edge for Sun. Oct. 29

GOBBLED UP.  Back to the bluster today after Saturday’s near perfection as shifting conditions bring more gusts in the afternoon that will hang around until Halloween.  Chilly conditions are settling in and thoughts are quickly turning to the back half of the hunting season, and maybe even ice fishing?  We talk about all sorts of…

Safe Stand, Blind Use for Firearms Deer Season

By Nick Simonson With the changing of the seasons evident in the recent onset of chilly conditions, hunters look ahead to the North Dakota Firearm Deer Season Opener set for noon on Fri. Nov. 10.  With that shift, many deer hunters will trade their bows for their favorite rifles but still occupy the same stands…

Daily Edge for Sat. Oct. 28

SUPER SATURDAY.  How about that?  The calmest day of the week falls on a Saturday.  If you aren’t out there getting some sort of hunting in (or maybe some fishing later in the day when it warms up) you probably don’t have a pulse!  If that is the case, Halloween is only a few days…

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. Chances are, just about anyone who has hunted in North Dakota for more than a year or two has received a post-season survey from the State Game and Fish Department. It doesn’t happen every year, but perhaps every handful of years or so your name will come up in the…

Daily Edge for Fri. Oct 27

HOLD STILL.  Following 50 mph wind gusts yesterday across the region and the first smattering of snow, Friday will seem downright pleasant despite colder, post-frontal temperatures taking hold in the rising pressure. Get out, take a look around, and maybe grab some time on the bow stand tonight, as winds die off and things get…

Starting a CTL Team – Part 1, Funding

By Nick Simonson As the fall season of the North Dakota State High School Clay Target League (ND CTL) draws to a close, the excitement for the sport is only beginning to ramp up.  Over the past four years, participation in the neighboring Minnesota league has nearly tripled, from 3,600 shooters in 2013 to 11,400…

Our Outdoors: Ways of the Wind

By Nick Simonson Every autumn has a week where the winds of change blow through the upper Midwest, and this one is it for the current season.  With gusts in some places touching 50 miles per hour at the start of the week, the shift toward cooler weather was obvious, as hat-removing gales were a…

Daily Edge for Thu. Oct. 26

GET A GRIP.  We’ve had it far too nice for far too long!  Wednesday evening bid a fond farewell to our Indian summer, as gusty winds and colder temperatures swept over the region early this morning.  Today will be more of the same – blustery with temps dropping into the 20s (our high will be…

USA Clay Target Announces First National Championship

USA High School Clay Target League Press Release The USA High School Clay Target League, the nation’s largest high school clay target shooting sport program, is very pleased to announce that 2018 will be the inaugural year for the USAHSCTL National Championship! The exciting event will take place July 12th-15th, and will feature a trap…

Daily Edge for Wed. Oct. 25

ENJOY IT!  Today is a gem in the middle of a coal patch in terms of weather, so take advantage before tomorrow’s big shift.  With relatively light southerlies and wonderful fall temps and lots of sunshine, you might even be able to sneak a few casts in today!  We talk the benefit of wind and…

Deer Season Q&A

NDG&F Press Release Every year the North Dakota Game and Fish Department receives questions from deer hunters who want to clarify rules and regulations. Some common questions are listed below. Hunters with further questions are encouraged to call the Game and Fish Department at 701-328-6300, from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. weekdays, or access the…

Daily Edge for Tue. Oct. 24

DOE TAGS UP, WINDS DOWN.  Today’s winds will rival yesterday’s, and for the first time in a while, we’ll be happy that tough conditions dominate the work week, and not the weekend.  Surprisingly, some 200 deer tags remain for the upcoming gun season in the southern tier of the state.  We talk about those opportunities…

Daily Edge for Mon. Oct. 23

ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE.  This morning’s gusts will peak at over 50 mph, and will stay sustained in the 30 mph-range all day.  The rest of the week’s weather remains breezy, but not nearly as fast as today’s winds will be; a couple models hint at some flakes later this week as well.  Autumn has…

Daily Edge for Sun. Oct. 22

ABOVE AVERAGE GUSTS.  The average top wind gusts for the next four days will be 29 mph, so hold on to your hats and batten down your blinds in the field!   After a calm start today, those winds will fire up and blow through the week, making it a perfect one to winterize your boat,…

Dakota Uplander: Public Land Pointers

By Nick Simonson In the fading light of the second day of Minnesota’s pheasant season, I peeled gravel from behind the red truck full of hunters that slowed my caravan’s way out from the large block of public lands just east of Ivanhoe, Minn.  Impatient, I grabbed the blacktop and sped away from the setting…

Daily Edge for Sat. Oct. 21

FLUSHING AWAY SUMMER.  It had to end sometime, but lucky for us we can get back to more autumn-like activities this weekend.  Winds will dominate today and drop off overnight, before it gets breezy again tomorrow.  There are windows of opportunity everywhere for birds, deer and yes, even fishing, in the coming week.  Be ready…

Bighorn Hunters Beat the Odds

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. Thousands of North Dakota big game hunters are starting to count the days until their season opens in the coming weeks. Most have their sights set on the annual unofficial holiday that is opening day of deer gun season on Nov. 10, but a handful have perhaps a bit more…

Daily Edge for Fri. Oct. 20

ONE MORE UP! We’ve got another great day on tap, but things change just in time for the weekend as we get back to more “huntable” temperatures.  Today’s high near 80 will seem like a distant memory as fall-like weather blows back in overnight, but the cool down will trigger more autumn-like responses from area…

Our Outdoors: Getting Trained

By Nick Simonson It happened suddenly, coming up out of a yellow-leafed draw, my lab puppy, Ole – which until that point had lazily wandered in and out of the grass, kept pace behind my boots, and attempted to bite the other dogs in our opening weekend pheasant hunting group – took off.  He switchbacked…

Daily Edge for Thu. Oct. 19

CALL IT AN EARLY WEEKEND!  Wow, you have to get “sick” today, but it’s more like spring fever than buck fever. With highs clipping 80, light winds and a new moon to back your play on the water, you better let the boss know you’re not coming in.  We talk tips for late season fish…

50 Pheasant Flies: Gartside Caddis

By Nick Simonson Another great (but often unsung) feather you can get off of the back of a rooster pheasant is the “almond-heart” feather located on the shoulder of the bird. Akin to the church window, this rust-orange plume can be used to create a shimmering back wing on any caddisfly pattern. The most notable…

Daily Edge for Wed. Oct. 18

BLOWN AWAY.  Northwest winds rise up today and send our recent warm weather away, but things will rebound until the weekend (go figure) as the whipsaw of autumn weather continues.  We talk salmon spawning in today’s Three Things, along with properly tagging deer and the best (worst?) of Bill Dance. (Featured Photo: The edge of…