HAPPY SUMMER!  Welcome to the first day of the warm weather season!  While it might not feel like it today, things will get going into the weekend and next week, just in time to fire it up for the Fourth.  We go around the horn in our Outdoors Roundup with solstice facts, a shooting range…

By Nick Simonson   Kids these days! There’s nothing they can’t destroy from any angle and they do it no matter the conditions: in the rain, in the wind, and in the sun, it just doesn’t seem to matter.  When they’re not actively smashing something, they’re talking in hushed tones among their little groups of…

BIG WEEKEND. We’re already in Friday mode as we look ahead to some big shooting and fishing events set for an exciting three-day stretch.  Those big shows along with some big spending for conservation fill up our Outdoors Roundup for the day. Featured Photo: Getting Bigger. A pair of growing goslings follow the lead of…

DUST DOWN.  It’ll be a stretch of damp days heading into the back half of the week, which will keep the flowers growing.  That’s good for our pollinator friends, which we cover in today’s Outdoors Roundup along with a love-drunk deer and some tips for keeping public lands clean. Featured Photo:  Fuzzy Buzzy.  A bumblebee…

LAST NICE ONE.  At least for a few days’ stretch.  Rain and unstable conditions move in after today to mix things up.  We cover that, a new ANS report and an odd hunting and fishing museum in our Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  Zebra mussels like these from Detroit Lake in Minnesota, have been discovered in…

NDG&F Release North Dakota’s spring pheasant population index is up slightly from the same time last year, according to the state Game and Fish Department’s 2019 spring crowing count survey. R.J. Gross, upland game management biologist, said the number of roosters heard crowing this spring was up about 6 percent statewide. The primary regions holding…

CRUSH ON.  The ND State High School Clay Target League State Championship wrapped with some more great shooting in windy conditions that tested the best of participants.  We’ve got it covered in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  Call Her Champ. Legacy High School’s Cassidy Lipelt (right) claimed top honors, capturing the Varsity Ladies title at…

GOOD SHOOTING! Day three of the ND High School Clay Target League kicks off today as more than 500 shooters cap off the event at the Horace Shooting Park.  The recap of the first two days’ action is in our Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  100.  Kordell Kraft (right) ran 100 straight to win the overall…

By Nick Simonson   Like all good things, fisheries management plans take time, especially when they involve a species that can live for a century and grow to more than six feet in length.  Started in 2002, with the goal of bringing back a viable, reproducing lake sturgeon population to the Red River which forms…

A COUNTER.  While there’s some pop-up rain possibility today, it’ll be mild and generally pleasant otherwise. Take advantage and start your weekend off right – whether it’s the state High School ND CTL tourney in Horace, or some time on the water, keep an eye on the sky and your target! We go around the…

By Nick Simonson   I’ve fly fished mountain streams, I’ve stalked technical trout in low summer creeks in the driftless area and done battle with carp and bass on the bends of mesotrophic rivers throughout the plains, but my fly fishing experience all began with bluegills in front of my grandma’s lake cabin.  Fly fishing…

ON TARGET.  We’ve got our eye on shooting sports for the weekend as the ND High School State Tourneys fire up in Horace.  We keep an eye on the weather for the events and look into some trapshooting tips and the history of skeet in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  BIRD IS THE WORD.  Clay…

By Nick Simonson   The pop-up clouds bubbled on the western horizon, fueled by the hot southern winds that brought the first real sensation of summer to the region.  With the truck’s digital thermometer bouncing between 88 and 90, I hooked up the puddle jumper and turned extra-wide through the pre-rush traffic to grab my…

THAT’S SUPER!  Today will be an ideal one with warm temperatures and light winds with little chance of precipitation.  Make the most of it and get casting!  On that note we talk superlines today – what works, what’s needed, and what to be aware of. Featured Photo:  NO STRETCH.  Superlines like Fireline and PowerPro are…

STILL AWESOME. While things will be cooler, the calm conditions will be perfect for just about any outdoors activity today.  Speaking of whatever you’re doing with today’s awesomeness, we cover big shooting sports events, some old-school fishing, and how to keep some new-school nasties out of our waters in our Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo: High…

SET THE STAGE.  Various fish (and fishing setups) require varying hooksets. We go through some of the more common scenarios to help you set the stage for a successful fight in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  Fish On!  A good hookset means a better chance at landing a fish. Simonson Photo.   WEATHER (Bismarck Forecast):…

FEELING BETTER.  After a relapse into that purgatorial season we had between winter and summer, things will start to settle down some this week.  With the rain, eyes turn nervously to a rising Lake Sakakawea and we discuss that, slip floating success and more from the Lead Scientist at Ducks Unlimited in our Outdoors Roundup….

FREE A/C.  It’ll be noticeably cooler as the weekend system moves out and northwest winds come in behind it.  We cover what’s to come, pronghorn counting and what’s new with the NDWF in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo: Happy(?) Birthday!  A fixture in the DEO Office and on many formative hunts (and subsequent articles), Gunnar…

By Nick Simonson   It’s morning in deer country.  With the lottery application process complete for this fall’s firearms deer season in North Dakota, many hunters’ minds are already turning to the cool days of autumn, despite the confirmation from a warm, sweaty seat in the fishing boat that summer hasn’t even begun yet.  But…

READY TO RUMBLE.  Thunderstorms overnight will give way to a cool down today as winds from the north blow in and rain chances persist to start the weekend. Featured Photo:  A May beetle crawls along a deck table after a night of buzzing around. Simonson Photo.   WEATHER (Bismarck Forecast): Today: Sat 6/8 – Cool down…

By Nick Simonson At this point in the year, stocked trout are acclimating to their new homes, and a variety of fishing options can be used to land them.  Stabilized and more educated to their environment – and the anglers surrounding it or boating through it – they may be a bit pickier.  However, as…

NEWSWORTHY.  While the winds might take the headlines, some big events are on tap for area waters this windy weekend and an expansion by the federal government is worth a look.  We cover those items and walleye tagging on two popular ND lakes in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  River Bend Barn.  The old red…

By Nick Simonson   Each bend in the river spilled spring out in front of us and with each moment on the ride through the winding valley, the memories of growing up on the flow and learning much of what I know about fishing came back with them.  Whether it was the rising geese fleeing…

BRINGING THE HEAT.  Warm conditions persist through the end of the week before a system settles in for the weekend.  Watch for gusts to rise on Friday, and get your good fishing in today before things shift. We cover photography, bachelor bucks and topwater favorites in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  Seeing Double.  You’ll get…

SUMMERY FEELING.  The warmth continues today with highs in the 80s as summer looks to have settled in permanently!  With the deadline for deer tags looming in ND, we cover all of our bases in regard to the favorite fall pursuit in our Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  Heads Up. A whitetail buck in velvet antlers…

CONSERVATION STATION.   We get into the nitty gritty of conservation as CRP sign-up gets underway and the options for protecting the future generations of wildlife such as pheasants, deer and other species expands.  We cover those items and more in today’s conservation-focused Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo: Hillside Hen. A hen pheasant works her way up…

READ & REVIEW.  Some great lists and tips are circulating around the internet as we hit the heart of the openwater season.  You’ll have perfect weather for casting, along with some easy reading in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:   DEO’s Nick Simonson with a stocker ‘bow caught on a Mepps Aglia. DEO Photo by Einar…

SNAP TO IT!  It’s another great fishing day out there with rise and set of the moon and sun lining up.  We address the week to come and some fun turtle facts in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  Why did the snapping turtle cross the road?  We didn’t ask.  She looked angry. DEO Photo courtesy…

By Nick Simonson   As area lakes and flows heat up, fishing action for bass can be fast, but that doesn’t mean a quick presentation always rules a day on the water.  While crankbaits and spinnerbaits may pick up a few fish, the use of soft plastics like tubes, craws and sticks allows for direct…

PERFECTION.  June couldn’t start any better than with the fishing conditions you’ll be getting today!  Highs in the 70s, light winds and a new moon rising will make today one to remember.  We get wet and wild with waterfowl surveys and in Our Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  Profile in Plumage. A mallard strikes a pose…