A KIND OF WARM? This week will bring a steady increase in temperatures which by the end of the week will only be a few degrees below normal for highs.  Let’s consider that an improvement in our slog toward spring! We look ahead at that and more in today’s Three Things. Featured Photo:  White Collar….

THE BEST MEDICINE.  The sting of winter persists today and tomorrow, but if you’re trying to beat cabin fever, there’s nothing better than a good laugh.  We share some of our favorite outdoors joke sites in today’s Three Things. Featured Photo: The Royal Treatment. A kingbird sits on a speed limit sign. More bad puns…

By Nick Simonson   Long before the days where most every deer hunter threw in for both a rifle tag and the muzzleloader lottery and started their season in August with the bow, the sign on the desk at Northwestern Industries in my hometown of Valley City read: “Be A Three Season Hunter!”  Back then,…

CHILLIN’ Temperatures back below zero all day today and tomorrow along with some gusty winds will make this another inside weekend. We should start to see some relief in the coming days, though highs in the teens will remain well below normal. We’ve got some fun outdoor facts and a long-range laugh for you to…

By Nick Simonson Tying the crease fly – a foam and fur baitfish imitator – is one part tackle crafting and one part fourth grade art class, and as a whole, as enjoyable of an experience at the vise as it is on the water. The combination of a bucktail or synthetic hair finish with…

ALMOST HOME(?)  Welcome to March!  It’s the start of meteorological spring, the month of shifting clocks, and hopefully massive melts.  Though not out of the woods, we find ourselves at the three-quarters mark in our Winter Severity Index (WSI) and check out the numbers left in the wake of our bitter February. Featured Photo:  Draw…

By Nick Simonson At this point in the season, it’s almost pointless to check the long-range forecast.  It’s been the same thing on repeat for the past month: cold, wind and a shot of snow, followed by bone-chilling cold.  While the pattern may be disheartening and – don’t look now – continuing over the next…

ADIOS! We say farewell to February today (and good riddance, perhaps?) as relatively mild (though still well below normal) temperatures settle in for 36 hours or so, before another dip into the deep freeze.   We talk about some public land advancement, a bluegill battle and a cool shot in today’s Three Things. Featured Photo:  A…

LIGHTEN UP!  We’re gaining daylight every day as we make the turn toward March.  Evenings last longer and dawn comes sooner, and we look at how fast things will change as part of today’s Three Things. Featured Photo:  Semi-complete Crease Flies await stick-on eyes and epoxy on their way to spring fishing for pike and…

GOOD! MORE SNOW! (Said no one ever.) Sorry for the sarcasm, but another two inches will fall today.  We talk about some scary results of the weekend wind and step closer to spring with turkey tag announcements in today’s installment of Three Things. Featured Photo:  Cold Filtered.  The setting sun shines through a thin bank…

By Nick Simonson Even with the seemingly permanent cold conditions the region has experienced, spring will come and in the in-between, some of the most exciting fishing can be had on the ice as we enter the late hardwater season.  While an auger extension may be necessary to get through areas where the surface has…

ON REPEAT.  A slight warmup gets pulled out from under us by the end of the week, with March expected to roll in like a lion.  We look at the cause of your cabin fever and check out some lake history and safety for your hunting buddy in today’s Three Things.   Featured Photo: Winter…

THE BIG QUESTIONS. There will be no doubt about conditions today, as wind gusts will touch 40 mph this morning and stay elevated throughout much of the day as temperatures drop.  We check out three big questions in today’s Three Things.   Featured Photo:  School’s In.  A school of bluegills on display. Simonson Photo.  …

SUPER SATURDAY.  Get out there today and enjoy a relative warm up, as winds hold off until after sundown.  Tomorrow will be your time for inside projects as gusty conditions dominate the day.  We look into some modern windbreaks and some favorite birds in today’s Three Things.   Featured Photo:  Snow Row. Two lines of…

By Nick Simonson Of all the flies that trout eat, particularly in North Dakota, the caddisfly is probably the most common and easiest to imitate.  Many late spring and early summer evenings across the Peace Garden State can be spent chasing stocked rainbows that are adapting to their lake environments and the natural food sources…

CRIKEY!  Saturday will provide the best chance to get outdoors, and we take a look at the weather for the weekend (and future) and celebrate the life of an amazing conservationist in today’s Three Things.   Featured Photo:  A nice bluegill sparkles in the sun for a photo before a quick release back into the…

By Nick Simonson The practice of tying my own flies began almost as soon as I was introduced to the sport of fly fishing. Though even the first woolly buggers and simple nymphs were a bit rough looking, they caught fish the following season and that was enough to hook me on the process.  Since…

SNOW WHAT? Light snow tapers early this morning as we continue the elongated drag through February (are we sure this month only has 28 days?).  For much of the upper Midwest, this has become one of the snowiest months on record.  We keep pressing on with today’s Three Things, talking natural miracles and more. Featured…

POPULAR POLLINATORS.  Things warm up and will have you thinking 17 degrees feels almost springlike in the calm of today’s conditions. We get some good news from down south (no, they’re not sending their weather) on monarch populations and more about the status of important pollinator species in today’s Three Things. Featured Photo:  Hail to…

YOU CAN DO IT!  It’ll be a nearly 30 degree climb from our overnight lows, but it’s proof that Ma Nature still knows how to move the mercury, and maybe someday soon she’ll move it higher! In the mean time we talk trouble, survival and big bass in today’s Three Things. Featured Photo:  Big Dreams….

CLOSING IN.   This year’s biggest and brightest super moon will be tomorrow night, igniting yet another round of lunar hype.  Things should be clearing up to observe it as well.  We take a look at those topics and more in today’s Three Things. Featured Photo:  The “super snow moon” will be at perigee and will…

JUST THINKING.  We’ve got ideas for spring and some fun things to set up for when the snow melts, along with an ANS update from the G&F in our Three Things today.  We keep our fingers crossed for the warming trend with less snow forecasted at the back half of the week and a shot…

By Nick Simonson From his earliest days fishing on his grandparents’ dock in Minnesota, to the efforts he recalls from college driving two hours just to find a place to hunt outside of Denver, Colo., to his work in energizing sportsmen in the Montana Wildlife Federation affiliate clubs, John Bradley, the newly-hired North Dakota Wildlife…

WHITE WEEKEND. Snow totals will tick up tonight as a fresh four inches is expected through Sunday.   We look ahead for some relief in the mid-range forecast and see what’s on tap this in the next 48 hours in today’s Three Things. Featured Photo:  Frosted pheasant tracks are secured in snow by cold weather. Simonson…

By Nick Simonson All the flutter of a fleeing baitfish with the pulsating action of bucktail and flash come together in the Half and Half, a fly that combines the back end of a Deceiver with the weighted, jig-like action of the Clouser minnow into a powerful package that gets down in the column for…

ON THE EDGE.  We’re working our way through winter, and we’ve hit our fifth signpost of the season with the midway point of February.  We go through our Winter Severity Index and add some points today, taking stock of wildlife stressors for the season. Featured Photo:  A rooster pheasant puffs up against the cold along…

By Nick Simonson My enjoyment of baseball, particularly Twins baseball, began in my grandfather’s red party cruiser, or the bright blue paddleboat just off the shore on Big Detroit Lake.  My dad would bring an old battery-powered radio with a long silver antenna, set it between us and tune it to a Fargo station to…

MAD LOVE.  Happy Valentines Day!  Get your sweetheart something nice; may we suggest a new blaze orange vest or a pair of camo pants?  We’ve got other suggestions and give you a reason to snuggle up in today’s Three Things.   Featured Photo:  Handful of Hearts.  Almond heart feathers on a rooster pheasant remind us…

A LITTLE LIGHTER.  Today will be a welcome break in the weather whiplash the region has experienced as relatively light winds and temps nearing the teens (above!) should facilitate some on-ice action.  With the release of the conservation order, we look into light geese today and prepare for the upcoming spring hunting season in our…

HOT LINE.  Alright, it’s not going to be “hot” anytime soon with high temperatures stuck primarily in the single digits for the next few days, but we’ve got the numbers you need to know and more along our line theme in today’s Three Things. Featured Photo:  A stack of tippet spools is a common miracle,…