By Nick Simonson The lean months have arrived, and if the sub-zero readings on your thermometer as you fire up the truck and head to your favorite frozen water aren’t an indication of how tough things are this time of year, the behavior of some favorite panfish under the ice certainly will be.  Winter brings…

By Mike Peluso I wish I had a better Devils Lake ice fishing report for everyone this week. I know since the cold snap we have experienced up here in North Dakota the fishing has become a lot tougher, especially if you want to catch perch. The walleyes, however, have been saving the day somewhat….

By Nick Simonson During that Chuck Norris phase of the pre-social internet, where all the memes, themes and funny sayings hyped up the legend of TV’s most famous Texas Ranger and movie-making martial artist, my favorite adage to come out of the grassroots online production was: “Chuck Norris never retreats, he just attacks in a…

By Nick Simonson The shine of the holidays may be fading into the white blur and chill of winter, but the sparkle can continue all season long at the vise until spring settles in and crappies are on the bite as the water opens and shallows warm.  As a child, a story my father would…

NDG&F Release The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual Earth Day Patch Contest is an effort to heighten awareness about the environment. Students who participate will develop a patch design using five colors incorporating an aspect of Earth Day such as environmental awareness, respect Earth, water quality, wildlife, or habitat conservation in North Dakota.  The contest…

By Doug Leier North Dakota’s hunting, fishing, trapping and conservation heritage is well known and even those who don’t hunt or fish enjoy the outdoors of our great state. It’s part of why we live here. The great outdoors is everchanging from the impacts of weather, loss of habitat to cyclical nature of populations that…

By Nick Simonson Last week, after the Senate passed it via unanimous consent in December, President Joe Biden signed into law House Resolution 6492, better known as the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act.  Aimed at opening more access for hunters and anglers on federal lands, and encouraging better promotions of those opportunities…

By Mike Peluso The ice fishing has been tough, Tough, TOUGH up here on Devils Lake over the past week. This cold snap we received has made things a bit on the difficult side, especially on us guides. We are catching fish, but we are not catching the numbers we would like to see right…

By Nick Simonson After a chilly final afternoon of pheasant hunting, my bare fingers made contact with the barrel of my 20 gauge as I stashed it into the case and under the back seat of my pickup truck for the drive home.  Zero degrees, I always feel is a doable temperature for a hike…

NDG&F Release The North Dakota Game and Fish Department and North Dakota Department of Agriculture are again opening the Coyote Catalog, a statewide effort designed to connect hunters and trappers with landowners dealing with coyotes in their areas. Landowners can sign up on the Department of Agriculture website, ndda.nd.gov. Hunters and trappers can sign up at the…

By Nick Simonson With the end of firearms deer season, and the seemingly perfect timing of winter’s onset including a number of nights with lows less than zero degrees and days staying well below freezing, sportsmen are making the mental shift toward ice fishing at a rapid rate.   In the hurried efforts to get flipover…

By Mike Peluso I knew winter was coming but I was sure hoping it would hold off a little longer than it did. Just like every year we all know it’s coming and now here we are. The last couple of weeks of fishing walleyes on the Missouri River, however were shaping up to be…

By Nick Simonson The Thanksgiving table wherever we are for the holiday has always been about options.  As a kid, I had the easy choice of grandma’s turkey, along with a side of Swedish meatballs, and was able to easily pass over the traditional Norwegian offering of lutefisk and save that for the older generations…

NDG&F Dept. Release The North Dakota Game and Fish Department cautions hunters to be wary of ice conditions. In some parts of the state, there are smaller waters that show the appearance of safe ice. Hunters should be cautious of walking on frozen stock ponds, sloughs, creeks and rivers. Ice can form overnight, resulting in…

By Doug Leier I spend a lot of time talking about the outdoors and one of the more recent conversations connected with old timers eating everything “but the squeal” from a pig to acknowledge how our generations couldn’t afford to waste anything consumed as food. It was a generation and time through the Depression and…

By Nick Simonson I enjoy hunting public land, be it those acres of private land opened to public access through programs such as North Dakota’s PLOTS system or those Walk-In Access (WIA) acres in Minnesota, or the great state and federal Wildlife Management Areas (WMA), Waterfowl Production Areas (WPA) or national forests and grasslands.  The…

By Mike Peluso Even with the long autumn, it’s hard to believe that my 2024 open water guide season is just about over. I have only a couple more trips planned for walleyes on the Missouri River and I’m definitely going to miss it. I want to say thanks to everyone I was able to…

By Nick Simonson I’ve often said that each bird is a trophy, especially in those seasons where winter weather, dry summers, or other situations have impacted populations making it tougher to come by those favorite upland quarries.  Even in this autumn of relative plenty, where every walk has produced a pheasant, partridge or some other…

By Nick Simonson With firearms deer hunting seasons opening across the country, the state of the nation’s herd and the hunt is good, according to Kip Adams, Chief Conservation Officer for the National Deer Association (NDA).  This position is based on some of the best science available to state agencies and involvement from non-governmental organizations…

By Doug Leier  “Hey, Doug, what’s the most common question you get each year when deer hunting season is on?”  It likely has to do with trespassing or tagging. But those can vary as each situation is unique. In short, if you don’t know for sure if you can legally access the land for posting…

NDG&F Dept. Release The loss of habitat across North Dakota is impacting game and nongame populations and, consequently, hunting license allocations. Coupled with increased challenges to finding hunting access, the state’s longstanding hunting heritage is suffering. To raise awareness about the need for more wildlife habitat on the landscape in a state that has lost…

By Nick Simonson Antlers.  Those that are big enough reduce even the best hunter to a shaking pile of human-shaped jello on stand. Beyond their power in the field, however, there is a huge market – however sometimes dubious or even illegal – for antlers in one form or another.  From curing ailments to bringing…

By Mike Peluso When it comes to walleyes on the Missouri River, we are seeing  a huge forage run happening right now on the flow near Bismarck. All of this food has created a little bit of difficulty in getting the fish to bite. We are getting them to eat but it’s taking a bit…

By Nick Simonson Ahead of the firearms deer season, I pondered over my nature.  An excitable guy, subject to the throes of adrenaline and emotion, fidgety and talkative, it’s a wonder I ever got into deer hunting at all, especially the kind I now enjoy most.  After a couple seasons of walking hunting, a mentor…

By Nick Simonson As the North Dakota firearms deer season gets underway, a decreased presence of hunters in the field may be noticeable from the past several years, however a rebuilding population of healthy animals coming off a mild winter in 2023-24, a nearly completed corn harvest, and heightened pre-rut activity may provide those with…

NDG&F Release Fisheries crews completed their annual salmon spawning operation on Lake Sakakawea, collecting 1.9 million eggs.  Russ Kinzler, North Dakota Game and Fish Department Missouri River System fisheries supervisor, said the 2024 spawn was almost perfect with lots of fish and great weather. “The numbers of fish in the spawn this year were amazing to see, and…

By Doug Leier Are you ready for the 2024 North Dakota deer gun season? Don’t confuse excitement and anticipation for “ready.” Most hunters were likely ready when last year’s season closed. While others rode the roller coaster of waiting for the 2024 season to be set, then applying for the deer license while spending time…

By Mike Peluso Well, the good news is I got out in a boat a few times this week for walleyes; the bad news is that it wasn’t that nice out on the Missouri River. However. However, this week’s forecast looks promising. I was hoping the walleyes had moved into the river just a little…

By Nick Simonson Sunday night football just isn’t for me, even if the Vikings are playing.  Here in the throws of middle age, where my bedtime often settles in before that of my two boys, I’m more likely to wake up and shuffle from my recliner through a dark and quiet house at 11:00 pm…

By Doug Leier The top outdoors priority changes with the seasons but this word carries over no matter the day, month and time of year. Safety. Summertime in and on the water. Winter ice safety and cold weather. Fall hunting and gun safety. I’ll never tire of reminding hunters the size of a deer, bag…