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…

NDG&F Press Release Hunters are reminded that hunting big game over bait is prohibited on all state owned or managed wildlife management areas, all U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas, U.S. Forest Service national grasslands, and all North Dakota state school, state park and state forest service lands. The…

NDG&F Press Release North Dakota’s pronghorn lottery has been held and individual results are available online at the state Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov. A total of 410 licenses were available in units 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A and 4C. More than 8,700 applications, including 155 gratis, were received. All licenses were issued. Unsuccessful applicants who submitted their…

SUMMER’S BACK! Soak in this steamy Saturday before things slip south on a cool front later in the day, leading into a mid-70s Sunday.  Grab an innertube and your five weight fly rod and we all float on, as we talk buoyancy in today’s Three Things. (Featured Photo: This bluegill engulfed a foam beetle on…

STOP BEING CRANKY…and get cranking!  It’s Friday afterall, and things are warming back up for the downward slide out of August, so a crankbait bite just might be in order for the next couple of weeks.  We’re looking forward to a warm start to the weekend, with a slight dip on Saturday. DAILY CONDITIONS: WEATHER…

NDG&F Press Release Gov. Doug Burgum and Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that directs state and tribal authorities on regulating an elk hunting season within the Standing Rock Reservation. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department and Standing Rock Game, Fish and Wildlife Department developed the MOU…

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. Growing up in the Midwest, I always thought August was more about fishing, baseball and the last stretch of summer vacation, rather than a prelude to fall accompanied by football, school and hunting, but times have changed and the transition to fall now seems to start in August rather than…

MR CTL Press Release Registration for the fall season of the Missouri River Clay Target League (MR CTL) for all Bismarck-Mandan area students in grades 6-12 with Firearms Safety Certificates (or CTL SAFE Program completion which can be completed after registration) will open on Tue. Aug. 22 and run through Fri. Sept. 1.  Sign up…

NDG&F Dept. Release The harvest of pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge last year in North Dakota was down from 2015, according to statistics compiled by the State Game and Fish Department. Last year, more than 76,600 pheasant hunters (down 10 percent) harvested 501,100 roosters (down 15 percent), compared to 85,500 hunters and 590,700 roosters…

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. The State Game and Fish Department recently posted the 2017 version of the North Dakota Private Land Open to Sportsmen or PLOTS guide to its website. In addition to the updated maps showing PLOTS acres and other public lands available for hunting this year, the guide also has a question-and-answer…

By Nick Simonson The pheasant leech is a great pattern that utilizes those tiny underfeathers which rest beneath the more prominent rump feathers to make up a super-soft body.  Combined with a pheasant marabou tail and collar, this fly is a perfect “on-the-menu” pattern for late summer, as leeches are prevalent and tough to turn…

NDG&F Press Release State Game and Fish Department biologists expect a fall duck flight from North Dakota that is down 8 percent from last year, based on observations from the annual mid-July waterfowl production survey. This year’s brood index came in at 3.68 broods per square mile, down 5 percent from last year. The statewide…

NDG&F Press Release North Dakota’s 2017 waterfowl season is set, with the season framework similar to last year. Noteworthy changes include the daily limit on pintails is reduced from two to one, and the west boundary of the Missouri River Canada Goose Zone, north of N.D. Highway 200, is extended to N.D. Highway 8. Opening…

NDG&F Press Release North Dakota’s 2017 small game and furbearer regulations are set and most season structures are similar to last year. Notable changes include: — Fur harvesters will have an opportunity to take river otters, with a season limit of 15 taken by traps or cable devices. A limit of one per person is…

NDG&F Press Release North Dakota’s early Canada goose season is set, and bag limits and licensing requirements are the same as last year. However, the west boundary of the Missouri River Canada Goose zone, north of N.D. Highway 200, is extended to N.D. Highway 8. The season will open Tuesday, Aug. 15 and continue through…

NDG&F Press Release North Dakota’s deer gun lottery has been held and individual results are available online at the State Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov. More than 2,800 antlerless deer gun licenses remain. Only resident applicants who were unsuccessful in the first lottery can apply for remaining licenses. The first lottery application process – deer gun, muzzleloader,…

WHAT’S THE SKINNY?  Fishing any river, stream or creek this time of year – when waters are clear and low – requires tact and knowing when fish are feeding, whether it’s bass, trout or walleye. Use shoreline cover and shadows, and a little bit of camouflage to hide from wary eyes in the water. Learn…