NDG&F Release The North Dakota Game and Fish Department completed its annual spring mule deer survey in April, and results indicate western North Dakota’s mule deer population is similar to last year and 21 percent above the long-term average. In 2020 it was up 7 percent compared to 2019 and 22 percent compared to the…

By Mike Peluso The times they are a-changing and it looks like the weather is going to change as well, speeding up the transition which occurs around the spawn even more. As with last week, the walleyes on the Missouri River are still spawning and will be shifting their focus as we get closer to…

By Nick Simonson The warming waters of spring herald a movement for largemouth bass into the shallows of the lakes and reservoirs in which they reside.  Often, those dark bottoms releasing the first green-and-red curls of lily pads or sandy stretches with verdant spikes of emergent reeds and those locations’ elevated temperatures are the first…

By Nick Simonson I can recall my first smallmouth bass as clearly as the blue skies of the late spring day on which it came to my jig.  Sitting on the shoreline casting the eighth-ounce ballhead out over the small muddy point on the Sheyenne River just a few days after school had let out…

By Nick Simonson Perhaps it was because the spoken-word piece by Baz Luhrmann was in such high rotation on MTV’s video lineup in the summer of 1999 when I had just afternoon classes and the TV in my fraternity house room was just on all morning, but the newspaper column dubbed over instrumental music that…

By Brad Durick The recent warm up over the past couple days is also raising water temperatures.  The forecast for the next week looks great to get things kicked off for the catfishing season on the Red River in and around Grand Forks. Water temperature is currently up to 48 degrees and the magic number…

DEO Release Beginning April 29, Dakota Edge Outdoors is teaming up with experienced catfishing guide Brad Durick to share the exciting catfishing opportunities available to anglers on the Red River in northeastern North Dakota.  As a licensed catfish guide and promoter and supporter of the incredible fishing resource that is the northern Red River, Durick’s…

By Doug Leier North Dakota has a year-round fishing season including for game fish. The harvest of big fish in spring before walleye or northern pike have spawned is a common coffee-shop topic. Some anglers wonder whether we should have a closed season, or alternately, whether we should have some type of fish-length restriction that would reduce harvest of…

By Mike Peluso The spawn is on! While I was hoping it would hold off a little longer for the spring, we all know Mother Nature has her way, and her way is right now, and walleye spawning activity is peaking on the Missouri River.  We are catching some big hen walleyes still full of…

By Nick Simonson As the Red River Lake Sturgeon Restoration Program closes out the first phase of its efforts in 2021 and 2022 fisheries biologists and staff are eyeing up new goals of establishing natural reproduction for the fish which were once extirpated from the border water between North Dakota and Minnesota.  With a reproductively…

By Nick Simonson With lakes and rivers in the southeastern portion of North Dakota coming down from record high water levels in the fall and winter of 2019-2020, fishing for a variety of species in the region should still be good according to BJ Kratz, North Dakota Game & Fish Department (NDG&F) District Fisheries Supervisor. …

By Nick Simonson Dragging my jig over the subtle pull of the shifting river bottom, I felt a dead weight sensation and lifted the rod tip to see the slight bend confirm what my cold and glove-covered hands could barely detect.  I completed the raise with all due haste and the point of the hook…

By Doug Leier The 2020 closing of the paddlefish take season (a limited catch and release was offered) was one of the few outdoors cancellations I recall over the past year. Game and Fish fisheries chief Greg Power said safety of snaggers, caviar processors and data collection staff were a major concern.   “Paddlefish snaggers concentrate in…

NDG&F Release A total of 58,146 North Dakota deer hunters took approximately 39,322 deer during the 2020 deer gun hunting season, according to a post-season survey conducted by the state Game and Fish Department. Game and Fish made available 68,650 deer gun licenses last year. Overall hunter success was 68%, with each hunter spending an…

By Mike Peluso Busy is an understatement right now for Mike Peluso Outdoors and Guide Service. Being a full-time guide, even if I do get an off day, I’m out scouting to make sure I stay on top of changes which can occur quickly, and lots of things are beginning to change on the Missouri…

DEO Release Dakota Edge Outdoors is proud to announce a partnership with renowned fishing guide Mike Peluso, beginning April 19. Peluso will be providing weekly updates on some of the state’s best walleye fishing and the tactics that are working from the Missouri River to Lake Sakakawea to Devils Lake, with timely reports on these…

By John Bradley Each year sportsmen and sportswomen look forward with anticipation to hunting season.  Even in spring we wait with hope for the email from Game and Fish Department notifying that we were drawn for one of the “big three:” once in a lifetime tags for moose, elk, and bighorn sheep.  Later we hope…

By Nick Simonson Hunting and fishing license sales by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDG&F) increased by more than 10 percent across the board in the most recent licensing year of Apr. 1 2020 to Mar. 31 2021.  With the addition of approximately 5,000 firearms deer tags and about 800 spring turkey tags,…

By Nick Simonson I can’t tell you what I was reaching for in the boat when I set my rod down.  Likely, in the chill of the start to an otherwise perfect Saturday, it was the blue coffee tumbler I had borrowed from my mom when meeting my brother and a buddy for a drift…

By Doug Leier With boat fishing season picking up and recreational boating just around the corner, we need to again focus on the role anglers and boaters play in reducing the impact of zebra mussels and other invasive species.  Ben Holen, North Dakota Game and Fish Department aquatic nuisance species coordinator, answers some common ANS questions.  Q: What can water recreationists…

NDG&F Dept. Release A 16-pound, 6-ounce walleye caught March 13 by Dickinson angler Jared Shypkoski is the new state record, according to North Dakota Game and Fish Department personnel. Shypkoski reeled in the 33-inch fish in the Eckroth Bottoms area of upper Lake Oahe. The previous record of 15 pounds, 13 ounces was taken in…

By Nick Simonson As spring turkey hunting season kicks off across North Dakota, the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) is looking through its Save the Habitat, Save the Hunt program to continue advancing its missions of improving habitat for the birds in the state, putting more hunters on the landscape and increasing their access to…

By Nick Simonson Coming over the rise and down the gravel road to the boat launch, the early morning sun reflected off the sprawling lake, which was only slightly dappled by a light and variable breeze.  It was the first time I had arrived at the water this season where a chop wasn’t already rolling…

By Doug Leier The challenges of the past year have impacted all jobs and North Dakota game wardens were no different.   In a similar way to how virtual conferences and online shopping were suddenly more popular than ever due to the reduced contact and concentration, so too was time outdoors. Fresh air and wide-open spaces…

By Nick Simonson There’s a curlytailed grub that’s getting tougher and tougher to find, to the point where I have to order it directly from the manufacturer’s site to ensure I have enough for the season.  While it comes in standard white and yellow, two must-have colors for my spring fishing, along both sides of…

By Nick Simonson The past week has been my busiest in the outdoors, as it has been for the last eight years.  There’s been more to get done than loading up for pheasant opener at the farm.  The checklist is far longer than the one leading up to the start of firearms deer season.  Fishing,…

By Doug Leier Understanding how the Game and Fish Department’s lottery and bonus point system works can help license applicants make better decisions based on their expectations.    First, it’s a matter of understanding the lottery system. Terminology is key when you think of a bonus point versus the misnomer of a preference point. There is no preference. Just…

By Nick Simonson With an increase of nearly 800 tags over last season, North Dakota’s turkey hunters are getting set for a spring hunt which may be one of the best in recent memory, which is especially amazing considering a near all-time high for turkey hunters last spring, and the second-highest harvest of turkeys ever…

By John Bradley North Dakota’s Outdoor Heritage Fund (OHF) may be the best conservation tool in the state, yet if you stopped any hunter or angler at your favorite outdoor store, they would probably give you a blank stare if you asked them what the Outdoor Heritage Fund does.  It’s understandable as projects are not…

By Nick Simonson As anglers, we proudly display our passions on our sleeves, quite literally.  Sweatshirts emblazoned with Rapala, Vexilar, Huk and Humminbird logos are as standard issue amongst our ranks as camouflage is within the armed forces. Whether it’s due to brand loyalty or just some clothing picked up with a purchase or as…