By Nick Simonson   Gaudy.  Ugly.  Fish-Catching.  These terms for one of the foremost smallmouth flies may seem divergent, but they all hit the spot for the Tequeely, a combination of kindergarten art project and scrapped experimental woolly bugger borne from a night of drunk tying along with a little bit of rubber thrown in…

NUKE IT!  We’ll feel the heat today as Ma Nature rolls in with some nineties into the start of next week.  As you enjoy some sun and fun this weekend, we’ve got updates on awesome happenings, including the Big Buck Book gaining steam, Summer Shootout registration for high school clay target shooters and more on…

NDG&F 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. Chief of administrative services Kim Kary said moving to an online lottery has resulted in reducing the time between the application deadline and the lottery run date. “It’s a major benefit…

TAG TEAM!  The results of the 2020 Firearms Deer Lottery have been posted at gf.nd.gov, making late June feel more like late December in terms of gifts!  Here’s hoping you pulled you tag or are able to get one of the more than 6,000 remaining in the state.  We’ve got more on that and a…

NOW WE’RE TALKING SUMMER!  Things get warm again as we check out the plan for this season’s food plots, look into the excitement of pollinator week and address some upcoming changes for WMAs in ND for the holiday stretch.  That’s all in today’s Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  CRUNCHY.  A doe chews on a tender corn…

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. No matter the outdoor activity, there’s always a safety checklist, and I’ll never lose sight of the importance of keeping everyone safe from start to finish. These safety reminders aren’t just for the other boaters or anglers. They are for all of us. One of the struggles in preaching about…

LOCKED IN.  We’re hitting our summer stride in North Dakota as temperatures warm throughout the next few days and calmer conditions are settling in over the region.  We’ve got more on that plus the pronghorn count firing up in the next week along with a planned state shoot getting the go-ahead, with some social distancing…

By Nick Simonson   As agencies sample the waters throughout the upper Midwest this summer, the reports they generate show that not only is the government in action for the betterment of the angling public, but it is also helping to provide vital clues which assist anglers in their efforts after the fish that can…

SO SMOOTH.  The water will be flat before you today and tomorrow as unusually calm conditions for the spring we’ve had settle into the start of summer.  We’ve got updates from the NDG&F on keeping things clean, a reminder to get ready to buy your duck stamp and big funding news from RMEF in today’s…

STRAIGHTEN OUT.  Things take a bit of a turn for the better from previous forecasts as temperatures rise slightly and things calm down some headed into our mid-week warmup. We’ve got news on a PLOTS promotion, infrastructure for fish and wildlife and a notable shift in daylight which starts today in our Outdoors Roundup. Featured…

CALM & CLOUDY Clouds roll in today, but it will be calmer to celebrate time with dad on the water or at the range.  We cover photography, get cranky and take a look at what’s to come in our Outdoors Roundup for this father’s day. Featured Photo:  For All the Dads.  Happy father’s day! Simonson…

By John Bradley   While most of us have been more tuned in to big game hunting applications this spring or hitting the water for walleye, the recent stay-at-home order gave me a chance to organize some gear, too.   Picking my way through a year of fishing and hunting equipment, my thoughts swirled around…

FIRST!  It’s the first day of summer, as the solstice hits at 4:43pm today.  We celebrate the year’s astronomical midpoint and the height of daylight with a Double Edge Day for your morning and evening fishing trips.  Along with that we check out habitat with the NDG&F, get in-depth on the seasonal midpoint and check…

By Nick Simonson   I’m a firm believer that a quick trip to the water is better than no trip at all.  One jaunt in the uplands, even in the middle of the afternoon well ahead of the witching hour, can still produce plenty of excitement. Even a short sit on stand in the fall…

CONTINUED COOL.  Temperatures stall out in the 70s for the weekend before our young summer reverts to a more spring-like feel come next week.  We’ve got our eyes on what’s ahead, including a huge win for parks, public places and wildlife with the GAOA passing the Senate and an annual photo contest from the NDG&F…

COOL IT.  A shift in the winds and the weather won’t let highs get much above 70 today with some strong northwesterlies blowing in a bit of a chill. We’ve got the reads to get you to the warmer weekend with boat launch guidance, some balance for summer deer scouting and how to find the…

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept.   This spring the COVID pandemic shut down businesses, shifted working conditions and locations and created new challenges for all.   That was certainly evident within the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s fisheries division, which after lengthy consideration and spur-of-the-moment innovation, moved ahead with, and successfully completed, spring fish…

NO WIND WEDNESDAY.  Things calm down after Tuesday’s blast furnace of heat and wind as we hit our midweek stride.  We’ve got some awesome news on waterfowl populations in ND, a push to keep non-motorized trails quiet, and a reminder to sign up for soil and habitat health programs with Pheasants Forever, all in today’s…

IT’S A TRAP! Our one somewhat calm day for the week has passed, as wind and warmth surge back into the region before things tail off toward the weekend.  While the wind can provide some challenges for trap shooters, there are some good basic tips to remember as you prepare to make dust, which we…

ANNNND…STOP!  Winds taper today, allowing time on the water and a little less grit in your teeth when walking the dog. We’ve got information on how light affects bass in their feeding forays, an update on the ND CTL and build the anticipation for deer season with a look back in our Outdoors Roundup. Featured…

ZOOM!  The winds will keep things moving today but will fade out for a bit by tomorrow night.  We’ve got a look at the rule changes that are up for discussion with the NDG&F Dept. this week, along with some research into an odd hunting season term and a look at what’s on tap for…

By Nick Simonson   A good number of movies about diseases – Outbreak, Contagion, Pandemic, even Dawn of the Dead – have made it into the top ten on Netflix in recent weeks as fear and curiosity, along with free time have spurred a desire to understand how diseases spread.  And, like with Hollywood’s tales,…

WARM GUSTS.  Southeast winds dominate the weekend as temps soar into the 80s.  We see how the state beat the heat this past week as drought conditions remained moderate and did not expand in the west.  Along with that we check out some great places to explore in Roughrider Territory and see what DU is…

By Nick Simonson   At a meeting of the South Dakota Game Fish & Parks Commission (GFP) on June 4, the agency declared it would be discontinuing its summer pheasant brood surveys, suggesting that the numbers  – which have trended significantly lower in recent years due to decreasing habitat on the landscape of the Rushmore…

BACK HALF BLAST!   Welcome to the end of the week! Warm and windy will be the tale for the weekend as temps head into the 80s and winds pick up over the next three days.  We’ve got updates on boating regulations for youth age 12-15, some great processing tips from QDMA and a look at…

By Nick Simonson   This has been perhaps the windiest spring I can recall since I became a dedicated angler several decades ago.  The scattered calm days seem to come at a rate of one in ten or so, but the balance of the spring has been dominated by gusty conditions and stretches where even…

NO COMPLAINTS!  Things warm up, but stay pleasant with breezes today and tomorrow, giving you some wind to work with on your walleye adventures. We take a look at the rule making process at NDG&F, a slew of summer events for NDBA and how much help the state received from recent rains; all as part…

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. Readers of this column will know that I love wildlife and the outdoors as much as anyone. In person, on the phone and via email I’ve connected with many compassionate people regarding situations with young wildlife, and I understand it’s not easy to step back from the urge to “help”…

OVER THE HUMP.  Your Wednesday starts a back-of-the-week warming trend and we take a look at that along with spring animal encounters and tips for Carolina rigging in our Outdoors Roundup. Featured Photo:  BUGGED OUT.  A May Beetle (aka June Bug) makes its way across the ground. Simonson Photo. WEATHER (Bismarck Forecast): Today: Wed 6/10 –…

NDG&F Dept. Release After two years of lower upland game populations, fewer hunters pursued these game birds last fall. With that said, North Dakota’s 2019 pheasant and sharp-tailed grouse harvests were down from 2018, while the number of Hungarian partridge taken last year was similar to the year before, according to statistics compiled by the…