By Nick Simonson The sound of a grunting buck can send a shiver of anticipation up any hunter’s spine.  What was a calm sit in a tree stand can quickly become an adrenaline rush of epic proportions.  Whether it’s a low tending vocalization to a nearby doe, or something more aggressive toward another buck (whether…

By Nick Simonson When it comes to the outdoors, I’m not a huge traveler.  I find contentment and more importantly, excitement, close to home with the opportunities I have nearby.  Whether that’s plying the breaklines for walleyes, casting to rising trout on a stocked lake, or working public parcels with my dog for pheasants, much…

By Hannah Hayes There are several components of the hunt I value more than a bird in the bag. As a bird dog fanatic, there’s nothing I enjoy more than watching my dog work. As someone who values connections with others, the conversations both afield and at the tailgate are ones I cherish most. As…

By Nick Simonson For an uplander, there’s nothing more reassuring than a trusted shotgun.  For me, it remains a super light 20 gauge that shoulders easily, swings smoothly, and more often than not, connects with my target.  The familiar crook between trigger guard and checkered wood grip where my hand tenses up as a bird…

NDG&F 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 visit the Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov., or call 701-328-6300, from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. weekdays. I have…

By Mike Peluso I commented earlier this week about the condition of the fish on the Missouri River and the fish are definitely on the skinny side. The good news is the water temperatures are falling and these fish should begin to feed heavily. We finally experienced our first hard frost of the fall. This…

By Doug Leier While some hunters have been in the field enjoying dove, waterfowl and upland game hunting opportunities, there’s many hunters who just hunt deer and the new electronic posting regulations may not be understood. It’s difficult to address each question and scenario so I suggest taking time to understand the regulations and reading…

By Nick Simonson The Bismarck State College (BSC) Mystics Clay Dusters trapshooting squad put on a dominant performance at the Minnesota Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) 2021 Clay Target Championship on Oct. 19 in Alexandria, Minn., with sophomore Ayden Kautzman posting a perfect 100 to lead the team to its first championship and earn him the…

By John Bradley On a recent road trip back from Denver, after exhausting all my podcast downloads and Spotify playlists, boredom struck, and in desperation to stay awake, I decided to count roadkill. I’ve always called out game when driving, pointing out deer, antelope, or pheasants, while often annoying my passengers, but never roadkill. This…

By Nick Simonson I’ve come to despise plastic. I guess not all plastic, just the plastic that gets in the way of enjoying the outdoors and the aesthetics of being in places where plastic shouldn’t be. Like all things in this life, it’s a harsh duality and a battle of rationalization along a fine line…

By Mike Peluso It’s been a rough week weather wise. I did fish one day on Sakakawea and one day on the Missouri River near Bismarck. I’ll start with Lake Sakakawea out of Indian Hills Resort. We had a ton of wind and our first cold snap of the season. We marked a ton of…

By Nick Simonson Autumn is often a brief part of the circle of seasons in the upper Midwest, but for those that piggyback their ice fishing or angling success on the hunting adventures that come with it, it may be the most important portion of the year. The wide and varied game bag afforded hunters…

By Nick Simonson When it comes to hunting, where you find habitat, you find your quarry.  While fields of corn and soybeans will draw pheasants, deer and waterfowl to their edges to feed, the other 95 percent of their lives are spent loafing, staying warm, remaining hidden and raising their young in places kept away…

By Mike Peluso So the calendar is saying fall. The temperatures lately are saying otherwise. Unfortunately, this is slowing the start of the fall river bite somewhat. The fish are biting at times and other times they are not. The one thing I’ve noticed is the fish are feeding in short spurts with right before…

By Doug Leier One of the key points in explaining many North Dakota Game and Fish Department numbers is understanding the index is not a census. Not every pheasant, deer or grouse in the entire state is counted. Think of how time-consuming, expensive and impossible this would be. Instead, routes are determined and surveyed each…

By Nick Simonson That favorite day of many outdoorsmen is fast approaching – pheasant opener.   With head bowed, eyes skyward (is that physically possible?) and tongue firmly in cheek, we once again pray that divine intervention outweighs Murphy’s Law this autumn with the following blessing: Heavenly God, to whom I pray,provide me birds on opening…

By Nick Simonson Sportsmen are rarely dissuaded by the weather, unless it’s life-threateningly cold, or hot to the point of taxing the well-being of a field dog, adventures in the uplands continue through all sorts of conditions.  Wind, snow and even rain impact how pheasants relate to their habitat and where they seek shelter, and…

By Nick Simonson They say summer moves fast, and it’s true, but by far, fall goes by the quickest of all the seasons; especially for those of us of a hunting mindset, and specifically in this particular autumn we’re experiencing.  It always feels as if the next three months will be subject to the wills…

By Doug Leier Jeb Williams began as the director of North Dakota Game and Fish late summer and it’s been a busy start to his tenure. While he’s been a coworker for more than 20 years, here’s a conversation to help us all get to know Jeb a little bit better. What is your wildlife…

By Nick Simonson Along with all the hunting seasons that come with it, fall also provides a chance to stalk a couple types of massive beasts long ago introduced to the great plains.  But they don’t possess paws with which to corral their prey, or hooves with which to make a quick escape, rather these…

By Nick Simonson This weekend’s youth pheasant season allows young hunters their first crack at upland success.  As it requires adult hunters to be with them in the field and not carrying a shotgun, there’s no second guessing who gets the shot at a rising rooster during this special two-day stretch. Having participated in the…

By Brad Durick Recent hot days have water temperatures holding at 63 degrees on the Red River. The lack of moisture over the past few weeks has flows back down to about nothing, however. Over the past week, the catfish have not been responding well. We are back to having fish pick up the bait…

By Nick Simonson The recent mornings have at least brought a taste of cool autumn air mixed with the above-average summerlike afternoon temperatures the region has experienced at the start of the season.  In those chilly stretches around dawn, whether walking around the block with the dogs or running along the edge of town, I…

By Doug Leier The old parental response of “the journey is half the fun” to kids wondering “are we there yet” fits for hunting as well. Even just the scouting can make for memories. Most can think of a few stories where finding a place to hunt at times can be as much a part…

By Mike Peluso This will probably be my last Devils Lake fishing report until the upcoming ice fishing season. I will say this, if the open water season on Devils Lake is any indication on what this winter will be like, it’s going to be epic! We have finally hit the fall transition. The leaves…

By Emily Spolyar, ND PF Pheasants Forever’s (PF) Precision Agriculture and Conservation Specialists are intentionally positioned to connect not just with growers who are already thinking about conservation practices, but more specifically, with growers who may not be currently considering conservation practices as a viable solution to lower-producing acres on their operations. These specialists seek…

By Nick Simonson This Saturday was the second of two back-to-back weekend road races which capped off the most amazing summer of running for me. It was blissfully cool in the morning ahead of the two-day warm-up which, once again in this summer’s style, timed out perfectly for an enjoyable weekend.  With the major milestones…

By Brad Durick Cool mornings and shorter days are leading to the end of the 2021 catfishing season on the Red River. Right now, the water temperature is holding at about 63 degrees which is a great place to be for a couple more weeks of angling. Water levels, while still low, are very stable…

By Doug Leier Numbers get hard to comprehend when I relay to North Dakota anglers that over the past 30 years nearly 250 million walleye and 2 million pounds of trout and salmon have been stocked in North Dakota waters. It’s where a little perspective and history can help make you appreciate more of what…

By Mike Peluso The fall transition has started on Devils Lake and the walleyes are starting to do the same. Expect things to be a little inconsistent for a bit. The water temperatures have started to drop, and I noticed some of the muck from the bottom floating on the surface this week while fishing….