NDG&F Press Release The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual fall wetland survey indicates fair, but declining wetland conditions for duck hunting throughout the state. Andy Dinges, migratory game bird biologist, said the number of duck hunting wetlands are down statewide about 40 percent from last year, and are the lowest since 2008. He…

NDG&F Press Releases Waterfowlers hunting from boats are encouraged to wear properly-fitted life jackets while on the water. Hunting jackets with life jackets already built in are light and comfortable to wear. In addition, wearing a life jacket will not only keep the overboard hunter afloat, but also slow the loss of critical body heat…

STAY SHARP…TAILED.  Grouse hunters are finding fair opportunities this fall in ND following the drought, as bird numbers dropped only 30 percent statewide, in comparison to pheasant numbers being off 60 percent compared to last year. We get sharp on sharpies in today’s Three Things. (Featured Photo: Hunters will find sharp-tailed grouse numbers down across…

NDG&F Press Release North Dakota’s two-day youth pheasant season is Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Legally licensed residents and nonresidents ages 15 and younger may hunt roosters statewide. Resident youth hunters, regardless of age, must possess a fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate and general game and habitat license. Nonresident youth hunters from states that provide…

SIMPLY SEPTEMBER. These are the days that define fall.  Sorry this one ended up on a Monday! Cool nights, warm days and great conditions for both hunting and fishing adventures are on tap for today, so sneak out there if you can.  If you can’t, we talk about what you can be doing on upcoming…

NDG&F Press Release More than 970 antlerless whitetail deer gun licenses are still available in three units after the North Dakota Game and Fish Department recently completed its second lottery drawing. Individual results are available online at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov. Whitetail doe licenses remaining in units 3F1 (314 licenses), 3F2 (477 licenses) and 4F…

READY, SET, PULL!  The fall ND CTL trap league season gets underway today as over 200 student-athletes will participate in the fast-paced six-week session of autumn clay shooting competition. We talk about some of the best online destinations for trap and shooting sports in today’s Three Things. (Featured Photo: Bust ‘Em!  More than 200 kids…

By Nick Simonson As the USA Clay Target League (USA CTL) expands across the country, new opportunities open for participants to represent their schools and compete against other kids, and while it is best known for its spring season, which last year had over 17,000 participants in 24 states, including 900 in North Dakota, growing…

PATTERNING.  These quick swipes of cool air will break those bucks’ summer patterns right up!  Today and yesterday certainly signal a shift toward fall, and deer will notice as well.  Watch for movement tonight around sunset, and throughout the early morning tomorrow as deer come out of their bunkers to forage in the relative calm,…

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. For more than four decades, Americans have recognized the fourth Saturday in September as National Hunting and Fishing Day. This year that falls on Sept. 23, and Governor Doug Burgum has signed a proclamation officially recognizing that event in North Dakota as well. The national focus this year is on…

NDG&F Dept. Press Release Waterfowl hunters are reminded to do their part in preventing the spread of aquatic nuisance species into or within North Dakota. Waterfowl hunters must remove plants and plant fragments from decoys, strings and anchors; remove plants seeds and plant fragments from waders and other equipment before leaving hunting areas; remove all…

LAST CALL.  Today will be the last taste of summer, at least for a while, as temperatures return to more seasonal highs in the low 70s and upper 60s tomorrow.   Things cool off behind a cold front tonight, and a slight chance of rain rolls in for the end of the work week and Saturday….

NDG&F Press Release North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum has proclaimed Saturday, Sept. 23 as National Hunting and Fishing Day in North Dakota. The North Dakota designation coincides with the annual National Hunting and Fishing Day, celebrated on the fourth Saturday of every September, as an effort to spotlight the conservation accomplishments of hunters and anglers nationwide. Gov….

NDG&F Press Release North Dakota’s roadside pheasant survey conducted in late July and August indicates total birds and number of broods are down statewide from 2016. R.J. Gross, upland game management biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said the survey shows total pheasants observed per 100 miles are down 61 percent from…

FLUTTER BACK.  A taste of mid-summer is brewing after today’s shift in the wind, and we put it all on paper for you in today’s Three Things. (Featured Photo: A painted lady butterfly rests on a dogwood leaf.  The butterflies are frequently seen this time of year in North Dakota, and even more so this…

FALL HIGHLIGHTS.  Red sunsets, pink horizons, yellow and orange leaves.  It’s tough to miss the colors of fall which are cropping up all around us.  We talk more about fall hunting seasons, forecasts for the rest of the year and where to find fish in today’s Three Things. DAILY CONDITIONS: WEATHER (Bismarck Forecast): Today: Sun…

NDG&F Dept. Release Friday, Sept. 15 at noon signals the start of a nine-and-a-half-day deer hunting season for youth ages 12-15. Licensed residents ages 11, 12 and 13, and 10-year-olds who turn age 11 in 2017, are allowed to hunt statewide, but only for antlerless white-tailed deer. Resident deer gun hunters age 14 or 15,…

AREN’T YOU GLAD YOU LIVE UP HERE?  Sure, it’s a little dry – but massive wildfires and storms the size of Texas don’t disrupt your fishing or hunting adventures.  We track the conditions that remind us – “hey, six months of winter isn’t that bad” – in today’s Three Things. (Featured Photo: An angler works…

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. The good news for North Dakota hunters is that the 2017 waterfowl season is similar to last year as far as regulations and bag limits. Continental duck numbers are about the same as last year as well, and goose populations that frequent North Dakota remain high. There is, however, a…

NORTHERN COMFORT.  Our fall-like feelings will fade as temperatures for the weekend build into the 90s through Tuesday.  So take it easy on those grouse dogs this weekend for the big opener!  We look north in today’s Three Things and celebrate yet another great early September day which will facilitate good hunting and fishing. (Featured…

NDG&F Press Release The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is once again asking grouse hunters for help with future bird management by simply collecting some feathers from harvested birds and sending in wing envelopes this fall. Wing data allows biologists to monitor production, reconcile bird counts and get a better understanding of the harvest…

NDG&F Press Release The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is currently working with landowners in eight hunting units across the state who would like to host hunters with antlerless deer licenses in 2017. Participating landowners are located in hunting units 2I, 2J2, 2K2, 3A4, 3B3, 3D2, 3F2 and 4E. The program is not intended…

NOCKED & LOADED.  If you’re up reading this, you’re probably headed out at first light for a sit on stand.  Good choice!  This morning will be the calmest, coolest portion of the weekend. Heat returns for Sunday on shifting winds in front of a Labor Day cooldown and sustained northerlies.  We load you up on…

Friend of the Edge and Watford City native Doug Okland shares a shot from along the Kenai River in Alaska, where both salmon, like the one pictured, and large rainbow trout were on the bite earlier this week.  Okland’s return adventures will take him through the Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta and on into Montana.  (Photo…

NDG&F Press Release Big game hunters are reminded of requirements for transporting deer, elk and moose carcasses and carcass parts into and within North Dakota as a precaution against the possible spread of chronic wasting disease. Hunters harvesting a big game animal this fall in North Dakota deer unit 3F2 cannot transport a carcass containing…

NDG&F Dept. Press Release With elk season opening Sept. 1 and grouse and partridge seasons to follow starting Sept. 9, the State Game and Fish Department and U.S. Forest Service remind hunters that use of firearms is allowed on the Little Missouri National Grasslands by legally licensed hunters. Earlier this summer the USFS, which manages…

NDG&F Press Release North Dakota’s popular hunting seasons for grouse and partridge will open Saturday, Sept. 9. State Game and Fish Department upland game biologist R.J. Gross says hunters will likely see fewer sharptails and Huns compared to last year, while ruffed grouse numbers are up from 2016. Gross said that hot, dry early summer…