By Nick Simonson Dove hunting season is truly the initial sign of fall.  Federally set to start on the first of September this year, as it has most every year in the past, the chance to take mourning doves begins in an autumn month and kicks off as the calendar page turns.  Well ahead of…

I’ve never been fond of heights.  Despite being marketed (and statistically confirmed) as the safest way to travel, airplanes have always made me uneasy.  Even the top of the Ferris wheel in the Fargo Scheels makes my stomach drop a little bit when my son and I reach the apex on the slow-moving trip to…

By Doug Leier  I grew up listening to Casey Kasem’s Weekly Top 40 music countdown. It was a different era where musical success wasn’t measured by downloads and clicks. Even to this day I can’t say I really understood how his Top 40 was compiled, but I was hip to the long-distance dedications.    Listeners (maybe thousands?) would write the show…

By Nick Simonson With summer conditions trending fair, and a shot of moisture at the season’s midpoint to help stretches of the state rebound from a minor drought early on, things are setting up well over most of North Dakota for pheasant recruitment.  Early indications from roadside reports conducted by the North Dakota Game &…

By John Bradley Growing up hunting in Minnesota with my family, we’d avoid bowhunting for deer in September in fear of the occasional 80-degree day that could spoil meat quickly. It wasn’t until I moved out west that I started hunting the early season, when deer are often more predictable. During early season hunts like…

By Nick Simonson Even in the dim start of the day which hinted back to how many seasons in the area had begun, with low clouds hanging over the rock-and-cedar covered edges of the small stream on Lake Superior’s north shore, it was evidently summer.  The humidity stuck to everything like the rust-colored algae on…

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept When you consider North Dakota’s storied hunting heritage and the reality that about 93% of the land in the state is privately owned, it’s no wonder landowner-hunter relations have long been a vital component of our hunting legacy.   Nevertheless, the Game and Fish Department’s owned or managed wildlife management areas also play an important role in not only providing…

By Nick Simonson   The North Dakota Game & Fish Department’s (NDG&F) Private Land Open to Sportsmen (PLOTS) program has regained an important benchmark in its efforts to open access to high-quality habitat for hunters each fall, as this year, according to Kevin Kading, NDG&F Private Lands Section Leader, the program has topped 800,000 acres…

By Nick Simonson   Where once Canada geese were a rarity in North Dakota, populations now continue to climb, leading to liberalized bag limits and more opportunities for hunters to start after these popular waterfowl.  With the August Management Take/Early September Season kicking off on Sat. Aug. 15, hunters will have an even greater chance…

By Nick Simonson   The recruitment, retainment and reactivation (R3) efforts underway across the hunting and fishing world are notable, monumental and ultimately important to the future of the outdoors and conservation.  States across the map have created special youth hunting weekends ahead of the general openers and agencies sponsor dedicated programs for facilitating time…

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. August is no longer just about winding down the fishing season and starting the planning and preparation for upcoming hunting seasons. While North Dakota has long had a crow season that got its start in mid-August, it wasn’t until changes several years ago put the early Canada goose opener in…

CALM & COOKING.  Highs will reach the upper 80s today and it’ll be a calm one as light and variable breezes settle in.  The heat is a factor around the region and we check in with changes and announcements from various agencies around the Roughrider State in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  WHAT’S THAT SMELL? …

HIGH THERE.  The week’s hottest temperatures arrive today before moderating into the mid-80s this weekend.  Despite the heat, we see some improvements in the drought monitor, check in on a popular winter pursuit, and get a tackle tip on adding split rings for better cranking in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  GROWING.  A young 3×3…

By Nick Simonson   Whether tucked in along a late summer weedline, pinned up against a steep break along a shoreline channel edge, or suspended off a pile of debris behind a bridge piling picking off the bits of food that flow by, many of my late summer angling adventures have been defined by schools…

UPSWING.  Temperatures move in a more late-summer direction, as things heat up today and tomorrow. We’ve got more on the upcoming early Canada goose season, some deer cam tips and a look at this warm surge in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  A Canada goose lounges in calm summer water.  Simonson Photo.   WEATHER (Bismarck…

NDG&F Release More than 3,700 antlerless deer licenses are still available in 12 units for North Dakota’s 2020 deer gun season. These licenses will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Aug. 11 at 8 a.m. Central Time. Residents and nonresidents who have not already received a lottery or landowner license are eligible to apply by…

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Outreach Biologist Growing up in North Dakota in the 1980s, the number of fishing waters dotting the landscape was less than half of the 400-plus waters today. The quality of our fisheries, while fewer than some other states, is certainly worth bragging about. I remind anglers when the rod tip is…

HARD CORE HUNTING.  We’ve got the updates to get you set for fall from the state’s premier deer hunting publication to a last call for pronghorn applications, to a law that guarantees funding for the future.  That’s all part of our Outdoors Roundup today. Featured Photo:  LOOKING OUT. A buck in velvet pauses in front…

TAKE A SHOT.  There are a number of great upcoming shooting sports events for everyone across the state to get their aim sharpened and their shot it shape.  We cover them in today’s Outdoors Roundup and take a look at conditions as our cooler start to August continues. Featured Photo:  HAVING A BLAST.  Shooters take…

ON REPEAT.  We again climb toward a super-warm weekend, with temps generally increasing throughout the week, and a shot at 100 likely on Friday.  In the meantime we’ve got the news you can use to get set for fall in today’s Outdoors Rounup. Featured Photo:  Under the Bridge.  Boats cruise along the Missouri River between…

COOL DOWN.  Uncharacteristically for August, temperatures dip for the weekend as northern breezes take things under 80 for the first time in quite a while.  We’ve got insight into North Dakota’s pronghorn populations, a shift in drought conditions in the state and tips for topwater fishing bass in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  WHAT’S THAT? …

By Nick Simonson   The passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, a bill which would provide permanent funding to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) through royalties generated by offshore drilling in federal waters around the United States, represents a bright, optimistic light in a time of challenge and a future full of…

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. I’ll never tire from stressing the importance of outdoor safety because hunting, fishing and spending time outdoors is beneficial in a variety of ways. Outdoor recreation brings people – old friends, new acquaintances, family – together. If you simply need time away from the stress at work or need to…

NDG&F Dept. Release North Dakota’s early Canada goose season dates are set, with bag limits and licensing requirements the same as last year. Opening day is Aug. 15 in all three zones. Closing dates are Sept. 7 in the Missouri River zone, Sept. 15 in the western zone and Sept. 22 in the eastern zone….

SUPER SUMMER.  Another perfect summer day – warm temps, light breezes and plenty of sun – will set up today, giving you ample opportunity to take it all in.  If you’re looking forward to fall, we’ve got that too as the NDG&F posts dates for the upcoming hunting seasons.  With food plots and a forecast…

BIG HITS!  These late summer days are setting up nicely for any outdoor activity!  Light winds, warm temperatures and tons of fun are in the forecast straight through the weekend.  We’ve got more on fall hunting seasons opening up plus how fish hatcheries have coped with Covid-19 and word from an ongoing battle for fisheries…

SOLID. A fantastic week is before you!  Get out there and sample the height of summer with some fishing or dog training.  We cover what’s to come along with what makes these “dog days” and more changes in the wings for SD’s pheasant hunting in our Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  ON WATCH.  A young pheasant…

MODERATION.  A cooldown settles over the region as recent warm temps give way to a cooler stretch, in the low 80s.  We cover what the recent rains have meant in terms of the drought and wildlife recruitment along with some changes on the conservation organization front and get a few tips for new smallie baits…

By Nick Simonson   While better reserved for a time closer to Halloween, with recent reports of successful cross-breeding between paddlefish and sturgeon meant to sustain a European caviar industry in decline due to the overharvest of the source sturgeon species, the “sturddlefish” as it’s known, is just one aquatic oddball in a list of…

NDG&F Dept. Release North Dakota’s 2020 pronghorn hunting season is set, with 1,790 licenses available in 15 open units. Bruce Stillings, big game management supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said license numbers and open units are up from last year, when the department allocated 1,330 licenses and had 12 open units….