By Doug Leier  By the time you’re a high school senior, you’ve probably heard it all if you’ve mentioned an interest in wildlife, fisheries, or the outdoors as a career. “That’d be a fun job … but you better have a backup plan.”  I’ve worked in the natural resource field long enough to know there’s…

By Mike Peluso The spawn is on for the walleyes of the Missouri River in and around the Bismarck area.  However, I’m never overly excited about the spawn on the river each spring.  It always marks me nearing the end of my spring river guiding.   The one thing I’ll say however, is that the…

By Nick Simonson I’m a sucker for my favorite lures.  If you want to talk about impulse buying, bags of Dots pretzels and packs of Reese’s peanut butter cups in the checkout lane have nothing on a shiny new stickbait sitting on a tackle aisle shelf in spring. Just picturing the flashy rips through the…

By Nick Simonson At the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers at the start of May, you’ll find a cadre of anglers looking to connect with one of those waters’ most ancient and unique species of fish. However, it isn’t the normal angling tactics that pay off when targeting paddlefish in North Dakota, as…

By Mike Peluso It has been an awesome week for walleyes out here in Bismarck North Dakota getting back on the Missouri River fishing the open water again!  Warm weather helped melt some ice and dried some stuff out a little.   We also saw some boat ramps open up and even a couple of…

By Nick Simonson Last week’s warmth brought with it what I can only hope is the final melt of the season, despite knowing that Mother Nature always has a few wintry tricks up her sleeves, even well into May.  For that reason, the Minnesota fishing opener always serves as the “safe point” on my calendar…

By Nick Simonson With the thirtieth animal taken, this year’s river otter trapping season has come to a close for resident trappers in North Dakota.  Many people aren’t aware of the riverine mammal’s presence in the state, and fewer still know of the trapping season which has been in effect since 2017. Nevertheless, these unique…

By Doug Leier As much as we look forward to it each year, early ice season always brings a mix of excitement and concern. The excitement is understandable. For many North Dakotans, there’s something about that first layer of ice stretching across a favorite slough or lake that gets the blood pumping. Anglers start texting…

By Nick Simonson Whether it’s hitting an icy road as the winter driving season gets underway or laying in bed after staying too long at the office holiday party the night before, the spins are never a good thing.  They’re even worse when you’re pursuing your favorite fish at first ice, as a twisting, turning…

NDG&F Release Any fish house left unoccupied on North Dakota waters must be made of materials that allow it to float. In addition, fish houses do not require a license. Other fish house regulations include: More information on ice fishing and ice house regulations can be found at: https://gf.nd.gov/regulations/fishing#manner-hook-line-ice-fishing Featured Photo: Rules regarding fish houses…

By Nick Simonson As early ice settles in across the region and anglers take their first tentative steps out onto their favorite waters, the excitement builds for a season full of fast action, especially at the outset when fish are most aggressive under the frozen surface.  From lakes teeming with walleyes to those prairie sloughs…

By Nick Simonson One of my favorite outdoor competitions – beyond the Bassmasters Classic, those old late night Lumberjack Games on ESPN Ocho, and any local ice fishing derby that boasts a good meal and warm social afterward – is the Fat Bear Week hosted online by the Katmai National Park and its supporters.  The…

By Doug Leier   What makes darkhouse spearfishing stand out from other types of fishing, especially in the winter?  Is it more challenging? Absolutely. Does it bring a unique kind of success and satisfaction? No doubt about it.   Fishing in winter already comes with its own set of challenges. Unlike summer, where your biggest travel issue…

By Nick Simonson With a year of record-level reproduction for walleyes on Devils Lake, and abundant year classes presenting fish from that young-of-the-year slot on up to those eater sized ‘eyes in the 15-to-20 inch range, the sprawling water is primed for a good ice fishing season, according to Bryan Sea, North Dakota Game &…

NDG&F Dept. Release HuntLink is a new, voluntary program designed to help North Dakota landowners easily connect with hunters and trappers. The program offers a simple way to allow managed access for antlerless deer, coyotes, turkeys, and other species. For landowners experiencing wildlife depredation or looking for additional management tools, HuntLink can help.     Landowners can enroll through…

By Nick Simonson With a sudden chill, first ice is fast upon us, but as local lakes and waters freeze up and anglers eagerly await the initial inches to form, now is an important time to take stock of those safety items that are as necessary at the beginning of the hardwater season as they…

By Nick Simonson When it comes to the late season for pheasant hunters – the start of which is unofficially marked by the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and this year’s timely first significant snow event in the region – it is sometimes difficult to figure out how birds have been impacted by the sudden change in…

By Doug Leier When most hunters think about prime time for pheasants, grouse or whitetails in North Dakota, early November usually comes to mind. Those crisp mornings, full stands of cover, and fields humming with activity. But there’s a quiet opening near the season’s back end – late November into early December – that’s too…

By Nick Simonson While water levels are slightly off from normal, the fisheries throughout southeastern North Dakota are in excellent shape heading into the winter of 2025-26.  With abundant options for perch and walleyes, along with some well-known waters now producing fantastic bluegill and crappie fishing, the region is primed for hard water with a…

By Mike Peluso What a month it has been!  After grinding it out through September and for half of October, these past 30 plus days have been something special when it comes to fishing walleyes on the Missouri River in Bismarck!  When I hear people say: “we must have caught a hundred,” for the most…

By Nick Simonson As we set foot into the stretch of private land the welcoming owner offered up to us on the abnormally warm November afternoon – nearly 60 degrees as we started our trek with two hours before sunset – it wasn’t long until I could hear the squish-squash of each of my lab…

By Nick Simonson While the numbers of mule deer are down in North Dakota, with the western third of the state representing the edge of the species’ northeastern boundary, the Mule Deer Foundation (MDF) has been hard at work to help improve habitat conditions and increase access for hunters in the Peace Garden State over…

By Nick Simonson In the first quarter mile of our walk into the grassy tree claim that my dog and I like to frequent when a weekday morning opens up in our schedule, he had put three roosters in the air in front of me, the bookends presenting very makeable shots and the middle bird…

NDG&F Release The North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDG&F) is monitoring sick and dead birds across the state in response to increasing reports from the public. Dr. Logan Weyand, Department wildlife veterinarian, said Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is likely the cause and has been confirmed through testing this fall.  Understandably, most of the…

By Doug Leier When someone tells me they shot a limit of pheasants, reeled in a 15-pound northern pike or missed the biggest buck they ever saw, I can’t help but picture my own moments – past hunts, good and not so good. It’s only natural. A reference point forms from my own outdoor success…