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….

STILL, WARM. Today will start out calm before a shift comes mid-afternoon with temps rising in to the low 90s, but tomorrow will be cooler. We’ve got news on ND pronghorn, where to go to set up for salmon and a look at an act to help reclaim coal mines for wildlife in today’s Outdoors…

By Nick Simonson   The trail camera season is upon us.  Sweaty afternoons of hopping from camera to camera now in the heat of midsummer can pay off with dozens, if not hundreds, of pictures of velvet antlered bucks that will get the heart pumping when autumn rolls around and their summer covering has been…

FREAKY FRIDAY.  We’ve got details on a genetically modified fish that’s a combination of two aquatic dinosaurs, along with the new record number of fingerlings stocked in ND this season.  Additionally, we eye a change in the weather in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  BACKLIT.  A doe forages in a maturing wheat field as the…

By Nick Simonson   There are few hunters that I envy.  Content with the options I have close to home for the limited species I pursue each fall with the time I can muster, I enjoy the success and adventures of my friends and relish hearing their stories from far off places or lucky tag…

CELEBRATE!  The Great American Outdoors Act passed congress and heads to the White House for signature into law, temperatures are warming up again into summerlike levels and some awesome shoots are set for this final weekend of July. We’ve got the info on those topics and more in today’s Outdoors Roundup.   Featured Photo:  CHICKED. …

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. While my college transcript might indicate otherwise, I’ve always enjoyed statistics. That’s about the most positive spin I can put on my appreciation for numbers while giving credit to the confusion some figures can portray. Case in point: If you took the 2019 pheasant hunting statistics at face value, you…

WARMING WEDNESDAY.  Temperatures tick up toward an influx of weekend warmth.  We’ve got the outlook, a deer lottery deadline and a look to the future of conservation, hunting and angling in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  PLAY THE FIELD.  A whitetail doe pauses on the edge of an alfalfa field. Simonson Photo.   WEATHER (Bismarck…

TOP THIS TUESDAY!  A full plate of fun awaits those who take advantage of today’s cooler, but sunny conditions before things heat up in the back half of the week.  We’ve got amazing walleye news from the G&F, tips to #RecreateResponsibly from the FWS and updates on the ND State Trap Shoot from NDTA in…

COOL IT.  Temperatures drop ahead of the mid-week warm up with a bit of rain today and continued cool conditions tomorrow.  In the meantime we’ve got news on ANS and changing licenses in neighboring states plus the great color debate rages on when it comes to tackle boxes.   Featured Photo:   Pick a Color, any…

SUNNY DAY.  Clear skies will greet the start of a new week today and conditions will be warm, but not too hot as much of the rest of the country bakes in a heatwave.  We’ve got more on what’s to come for your outdoor adventures this week, along with construction of safe passage for ND…

By John Bradley, NDWF Executive Director   In 1842, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the legal notion that America’s wildlife should be held in trust for the public and could not be owned, as wild game had been in Europe, by a ruler or any individual. This was in keeping with America’s fledgling experiment in…

By Nick Simonson   For hunters in North Dakota drawing one of the “Big Three” tags for a once-in-a-lifetime chance at an elk, bighorn sheep or moose, particularly one with some headgear, is hard enough.  For some it takes decades to receive a permit and some go without the opportunity their entire lives.  As luck…

EYES TO THE SKIES.  While we’re a month off from the first hunting season, you’ll want to watch the weather today, as the NWS has some warnings of severe storms likely for the afternoon and evening, particularly in the eastern two-thirds of North Dakota.  In the meantime we’ve got updates on archery events, good cooking…

By Nick Simonson   These days I drink bad coffee. Not bad, per se, but only half caffeinated, which according to the old me is bad, as in my younger years I spent much of the morning riding the lightning of a black oily brew so thick I could cut with a knife.  That dosage…