By Nick Simonson The North Dakota State High School Clay Target League (ND CTL) has expanded its reach by 55 percent this spring, bringing in a total of more than 1,400 participants, up from a little over 900 last spring.  The league now includes teams from 50 different schools in the state, up from 38…

SPRING COLOR.  Blue moons. White drifts. Red Robins. That’s what the weekend is bringing in this mash-up of late March and early April which Old Man Winter tightens his grasp around for a while longer.  In the meantime we keep an eye on the outdoors in today’s  Three Things. Featured Photo: A dozen bright woolly…

OPEN WIDE!  Some added flash is all it takes to kick it up a notch for crappies in springtime. We offer up some suggestions for the coming openwater season  (whenever that gets here) for adding some flash for all of your speckled pursuits in today’s Three Things. Featured Photo: This black crappie took a Road…

By Nick Simonson Throughout the winter, things were looking good for the start of the new season of the High School Clay Target League this spring.  Calls and emails poured in to our coaching staff about how to get kids signed up and school resource centers and cafeterias were packed wall-to-wall with students and parents…

SNOWY RESURGENCE.  The winter-like weather returns to make Sunday’s egg hunts a bit chilly.  On the bright side your ice fishing season is prolonged and late ice has been extended indefinitely.  We talk about that and more in today’s Three Things. Featured Photo: A trio of rooster pheasants take cover from Wednesday’s gusts in a…

DIPPING DOWN.  Did you enjoy your one day of spring?  We hope so! Temperatures drop and winter returns to the region for another stretch, with a hit of snow possible in the near-term and a cold Easter Sunday on tap.  With the cold, we think spring and some of our favorite packable panfish baits in…

CALL IT UNSEASONABLE! A quick warm-up today will bring on spring fever after March has given us so much snow and a prolonged white season.  To get you through it we go around the horn in the outdoors in today’s Three Things. (Featured Photo: A variety of Lefty’s Deceivers sit on deck for some spring…

AWESOME ADDITIONS. As you get ready for spring (yes, we promise it’s coming) gear up your bass arsenal (and those presentations for other fish too) with a few little adds that help up the odds. We talk about that and more in today’s Three Things. (Featured Photo: A nice bass caught on a tube with…

SNOW TRAP.  An icy finish locked snow down on the area yesterday, and many found themselves digging out.  After a relatively nice season for snowfall, winter has made up for what it lacked in the last three months, in just the last three weeks.  Looking ahead to this week, we’ll find out just what March…

MARCH MAULING.  Another slug of more than six inches of snow across the central stretch of North Dakota keeps winter hanging on.  More snow on the ground means more trouble melting the stuff, as cool ground cover restricts easy upward temperature movement. We talk about those trends and more in today’s Three Things. Featured Photo:…

By Nick Simonson This time of year, as meltwater starts flowing and rivers begin opening up, many anglers’ eyes turn to that moving water as a first opportunity for spring fishing.  Often running high, dirty and fast with the increasing melt, even the smallest rivers present an extra element of concern along with those conditions,…

ANOTHER SHOT! More snow rolls in around sunrise and totals are expected to top half a foot – and more farther north.  Batten down the hatches and keep telling yourself we’ve turned the corner.  Remember, this is the second of three snowfalls after the first robin! We go potpourri in today’s Three Things. (Featured Photo:…

MORE WHITE ON THE WAY?  While today’s seasonal and partly sunny conditions don’t tip Ma Nature’s hand, the hint on the growing east wind points to a snow-to-rain-to-yuck system that will make its way across the upper plains.  Get in whatever outside time you need today, because Friday will be…interesting.  Speaking of interesting, we’ve got…

NDG&F Dept. Press Release North Dakota anglers, trappers and hunters are reminded that new licenses for the 2018-19 season are required starting April 1. Licenses can be purchased online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov. Once the license is processed, users will have the option to print a hard copy and/or download…

SPRING HAS SPRUNG.  With the equinox under our belts, we look ahead to upcoming fishing adventures on open water with tips, forecasts and additions to tackle as part of the day’s discussion in our Three Things. (Featured Photo: Having a stash of clip-on spinners helps add some flash and vibration to smaller jigs. Simonson Photo)…

NDG&F Press Release The North Dakota Game and Fish Department reminds hunters that 554 spring turkey licenses remain in six units. These remaining licenses are issued on a first-come, first-served basis beginning March 20. Applications must be submitted online at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov. Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply. The governor’s…

THE MARCH CONTINUES. In every-other-Monday fashion, Ol’ Man Winter sneaks in another punch to the gut, as totals from around the region reached nearly five inches of heavy, moisture-laden snow.  While the melt was back on by Monday afternoon, this continued sloppy pattern looks to continue to stick around for a while.  Speaking of sticking,…

HAND IT OVER! We’ll get through a snowy Monday and through what could be a sloppy week in traditional March fashion – one day at a time.  With the melting going on, you should be able to get out for some late season ice action and travel shouldn’t be that bad.  We talk about what’s…

By Nick Simonson Two great upland birds whose feathers go together on a fly like they do in a game pouch are the rooster pheasant and the Hungarian partridge.  The Bead-Thorax Pheasant Tail (BTPT) soft hackle fly is a pheasant tail nymph variant that gets down with some flash and some extra vibration from its…

IT’S IN THE HOLE! Getting fish into a deep late-ice cylinder can be a challenge, especially when they’re big!  We’ve got the tips to help you finish off the fight and keep those fish from bonking their way to freedom in today’s Three Things. (Featured Photo: A crappie comes up through a 32-inch deep ice…

By Nick Simonson While attending school at the University of North Dakota during the long, deep winters that Grand Forks is well known for, it wasn’t strange to find me hovering over my vise in those early days of fly tying and lure crafting, trying to come up with new ideas to cast into the…

EVEN STEVEN!  We find ourselves at that point in the year where sunrise and sunset are at the same hour and minute in both the morning and evening giving us a perfect 12 hours of daylight today.  Make use of all of them, as you’ll have some strong lunar pull with the moon reaching the…

SEVEN-EIGHTHS!  On the Winter Severity Index (WSI) Calendar we’re just two weeks away from the end of the season..  We’ve got exciting news on our WSI update and a sign of spring from DEO Staff in today’s Three Things. (Featured Photo:  SPRING IS HERE (kinda)! DEO’s Nick Simonson brings the season’s first robin reports ….

CH-CH-CHANGES. Of the handful of tweaks and modifications in the 2018-2020 ND Fishing Guide, dialing back the bluegill limits is one of the notable ones.  We talk about that and other blue topics in today’s Three Things. (Featured Photo: Bigger Bluegills.  In an effort to improve panfish angling, the NDG&F has reduced limits. Simonson Photo)…

VIDEOS WORTH WATCHING.  Get over the hump today with some of the web’s best big game fights across the spectrum.  Whether it’s the pristine location, the parked cars on the street watching or the scary amount of antler mass, these flicks will have you clicking for more and thinking about fall! (Featured Photo: Something on…