By Nick Simonson Coming out of last week’s deep freeze and the one day it pushed my boys and I to the truck for a rare two-block drive, instead of our normal walk to the nearby school, my youngest requested my facemask for the below-zero trek into the northwest winds.  The sting on my cheeks…

NDG&F Dept. Release The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual midwinter waterfowl survey in early January was a record breaker. During the aerial midwinter survey, one of the longest running coordinated migratory bird surveys in North America, biologists counted more than 300,000 Canada geese. “Our old record was about 222,000 Canada geese, so we…

By Nick Simonson All the flutter of a fleeing baitfish with the pulsating action of bucktail and flash come together in the Half and Half, a fly that combines the back end of a Deceiver with the weighted, jig-like action of the Clouser minnow into a powerful package that gets down in the column for…

By Doug Leier January 7 was the official end date for archery deer, pheasant, grouse, partridge and turkey seasons in North Dakota. While squirrel season is open through Feb 29, most of the hunting seasons are over. With spring snow goose officially opening in February and the spring turkey season opening April 13, I need…

By Nick Simonson Oftentimes when exploring a new piece of open water or even returning to those I have known throughout my life but haven’t been to in a while, I break down my early foray into an imaginary set of squares laying out over an area, particularly on a river, or any stretch of…

By Mike Peluso I’m not sure how my days just keep ticking away and I can’t seem to remember what day it is. When guiding is this busy, I guess I need to set an alarm. It kind of feels like Groundhog’s Day. The ice conditions on Devils Lake have definitely changed since last week….

By Nick Simonson I was more the memorize-and-identify type when it came to Science Olympiad in high school.  A love of the outdoors and especially frogs, turtles and salamanders from an early age and knowing exactly where they were in my field guide and on the continent made me a two-time state champion when it…

NDG&F Release The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual Earth Day Patch Contest is, in part, an effort to heighten the awareness about the environment in North Dakota and beyond. Students who participate will develop a patch design using five colors incorporating an aspect of Earth Day such as environmental awareness, respect Earth, water…

By Nick Simonson During the depths of winter’s trough, typically coming in the month of January, but honestly, based on past precedent, running as late as early April some years, anglers get plenty of time to get ready for the upcoming openwater season.  The steps taken this time of year often help prepare those optimistic…

By Doug Leier The first time I felt safe enough to check the ice thickness was Thanksgiving weekend. It wasn’t safe yet at 1.5 inches. A week later and it still wasn’t.  In early December we had 50-plus degree temperatures, making late season pheasant hunters and archery deer hunters smile. The ice anglers pumped their…

By Nick Simonson I’ve often wondered if people would be more concerned if the increasing reports of Chronic Wasting Disease in the region made the jump from a limited population of mule and whitetail deer into more uncommon species like the resident moose and elk in the state, as has occurred in Montana.  It seems…

By Mike Peluso Things are slowly starting to turn around on the ice up here on Devils Lake, and it looks like winter will be here in full force by week’s end. We need it! It seems so far this season that the fish just haven’t gotten into their winter ways quite yet. I believe…

By Nick Simonson Occam’s Razor is a tool of logic, which holds that by shaving off the most outlandish ideas for the solution to a problem, a mystery, or any other situation where one is trying to figure out the answer, the simplest of the remaining possibilities is usually the correct one, and the right…

By Nick Simonson Adjusting only for a blizzard coming in the early goings of North Dakota’s waterfowl season in October, the autumn was good for both hunters and migrating waterfowl in the state, and an extended stay was observed by members of the Ducks Unlimited (DU) team for both ducks and geese, according to William…

By Nick Simonson The great mysteries of what fish experience are likely something the average angler, and perhaps even the best ichthyologist, may never truly know.  What and a walleye sees underwater is anybody’s guess, and it’s easy to anthropomorphize their approach to eating an unsuspecting minnow, or even better, imagine they have some sort…

By Doug Leier Hunters this past fall had more than 800,000 Private Land Open To Sportsmen acres available. An increase of about 5,000 acres from 2022 for this walk-in access program. Some might be disappointed to read the number, which has shrunk from the historical high of over 1 million acres. Those hunters need to…

By Mike Peluso It’s hard to believe, but the holidays have come and gone.  I hope everyone had the best holiday season ever and I want to wish everyone a blessed 2024.  I’m going to be honest with you, this will be more of an ice conditions report instead of a fishing report. We are…

By Nick Simonson Late season hunts are always a favorite, and whether your upland season just closed, the waning days are upon you, or perhaps you’re looking southward for one last long weekend of hunting somewhere the opportunity remains open for a few more weeks, the time spent afield at pheasant hunting’s end is some…

By Nick Simonson It’s a bit cliché, but the end of the year brings a great opportunity to set some new goals for the next set of seasons that anglers and hunters will experience.  What follows are ten suggestions for new year’s resolutions that are easy to undertake and will make for better experiences on…

NDG&F Release As the ice fishing season gets underway, anglers are reminded that any fish house left unoccupied on North Dakota waters must be made of materials that allow it to float. In addition, fish houses do not require a license. Other fish house regulations include: Anglers should refer to the North Dakota 2022-24 Fishing Guide for…

By Nick Simonson The turn of the calendar and the holidays that come this time of year often provide pauses to reflect on the 12 months that were and the next dozen to come and what we did and will do with that time.  This stretch also gives anglers a chance to look back on…

By Doug Leier  I can easily recall in the late 1980s seeing an endangered bald eagle feeding on a deer carcass off the road west of Napoleon in Logan County. Back in those days, if you saw a bald eagle and you could take a picture, you did. At the least you mentally marked the…

By Mike Peluso It is crazy to think we have both open water and frozen water fishing going on right now here in North Dakota at the end of December. It’s just one of those years, I guess. For me it’s been a fun first couple of weeks on the ice, especially being able to…

By Nick Simonson It’s been a strange year.  Much of the time after the middle of July was a blur in the wake of my mother’s unexpected death in August following a fall, with white and yellow lines on the interstate providing the limited bounds to the chaos of life and the required travel around…

By Nick Simonson Through the efforts of family and friends over the past several years, the legacy of a devout public land hunter was honored with the creation of the latest area open to sportsmen near Pierre, SD.As part of the Pheasants Forever (PF) Build a Wildlife Area Program, the creation of the 560-acre John…

By Doug Leier  As a kid in North Dakota, my dad took me everywhere outdoors. Hunting, fishing, trapping, NDSU football games, camping, fixing fences, picking rock and planting trees. Some of those outdoor activities are much more fun than the others and I think you can figure out which ones.  I knew a cubicle or…

By Austin Lang In the brisk embrace of autumn air, the kaleidoscope of fall colors set the stage for 2023 to be a season of firsts with my wide-eyed and eager kids. Beyond the pursuit of game, this fall held the promise of passing down cherished traditions and forging lasting memories that would bind us…

By Mike Peluso The start of the ice fishing season on Devils Lake has been up and down thus far. The ice has been slow to build, creating some tough situations for us as guides. Very limited would be a great way to describe things, in terms of access. Up here on Devils Lake we…

By Nick Simonson While traveling this weekend, I burned through a hand-me-down paperback of Stephen King short stories.  The sleepless wee hours of the morning in a hotel room two time zones over, afternoon lulls ahead of a nap before dinner and nightlife, and time spent at the gate awaiting connections made the read go…

By Nick Simonson With first ice settled in across much of North Dakota, only the big waters remain in terms of establishing fishable hard water for anglers.  One of the premier destinations for those seeking walleyes, perch and pike each winter in the state is the sprawling complex of Devils Lake, and this winter will…