Daily Edge for Mon. Oct. 30

MISS THIS?  Ol’ Man Winter takes another swipe at cooling down North Dakota, as yesterday’s wind and chill persist throughout much of the day today.  Things will calm down tonight, giving you an opportunity to get outdoors tomorrow.  However, there’s plenty to catch up on and get ready for while you wait, as we talk…

Daily Edge for Sun. Oct. 29

GOBBLED UP.  Back to the bluster today after Saturday’s near perfection as shifting conditions bring more gusts in the afternoon that will hang around until Halloween.  Chilly conditions are settling in and thoughts are quickly turning to the back half of the hunting season, and maybe even ice fishing?  We talk about all sorts of…

Safe Stand, Blind Use for Firearms Deer Season

By Nick Simonson With the changing of the seasons evident in the recent onset of chilly conditions, hunters look ahead to the North Dakota Firearm Deer Season Opener set for noon on Fri. Nov. 10.  With that shift, many deer hunters will trade their bows for their favorite rifles but still occupy the same stands…

Daily Edge for Sat. Oct. 28

SUPER SATURDAY.  How about that?  The calmest day of the week falls on a Saturday.  If you aren’t out there getting some sort of hunting in (or maybe some fishing later in the day when it warms up) you probably don’t have a pulse!  If that is the case, Halloween is only a few days…

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. Chances are, just about anyone who has hunted in North Dakota for more than a year or two has received a post-season survey from the State Game and Fish Department. It doesn’t happen every year, but perhaps every handful of years or so your name will come up in the…

Daily Edge for Fri. Oct 27

HOLD STILL.  Following 50 mph wind gusts yesterday across the region and the first smattering of snow, Friday will seem downright pleasant despite colder, post-frontal temperatures taking hold in the rising pressure. Get out, take a look around, and maybe grab some time on the bow stand tonight, as winds die off and things get…

Starting a CTL Team – Part 1, Funding

By Nick Simonson As the fall season of the North Dakota State High School Clay Target League (ND CTL) draws to a close, the excitement for the sport is only beginning to ramp up.  Over the past four years, participation in the neighboring Minnesota league has nearly tripled, from 3,600 shooters in 2013 to 11,400…

Our Outdoors: Ways of the Wind

By Nick Simonson Every autumn has a week where the winds of change blow through the upper Midwest, and this one is it for the current season.  With gusts in some places touching 50 miles per hour at the start of the week, the shift toward cooler weather was obvious, as hat-removing gales were a…

Daily Edge for Thu. Oct. 26

GET A GRIP.  We’ve had it far too nice for far too long!  Wednesday evening bid a fond farewell to our Indian summer, as gusty winds and colder temperatures swept over the region early this morning.  Today will be more of the same – blustery with temps dropping into the 20s (our high will be…

USA Clay Target Announces First National Championship

USA High School Clay Target League Press Release The USA High School Clay Target League, the nation’s largest high school clay target shooting sport program, is very pleased to announce that 2018 will be the inaugural year for the USAHSCTL National Championship! The exciting event will take place July 12th-15th, and will feature a trap…

Daily Edge for Wed. Oct. 25

ENJOY IT!  Today is a gem in the middle of a coal patch in terms of weather, so take advantage before tomorrow’s big shift.  With relatively light southerlies and wonderful fall temps and lots of sunshine, you might even be able to sneak a few casts in today!  We talk the benefit of wind and…

Deer Season Q&A

NDG&F Press Release Every year the North Dakota Game and Fish Department receives questions from deer hunters who want to clarify rules and regulations. Some common questions are listed below. Hunters with further questions are encouraged to call the Game and Fish Department at 701-328-6300, from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. weekdays, or access the…

Daily Edge for Tue. Oct. 24

DOE TAGS UP, WINDS DOWN.  Today’s winds will rival yesterday’s, and for the first time in a while, we’ll be happy that tough conditions dominate the work week, and not the weekend.  Surprisingly, some 200 deer tags remain for the upcoming gun season in the southern tier of the state.  We talk about those opportunities…

Daily Edge for Mon. Oct. 23

ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE.  This morning’s gusts will peak at over 50 mph, and will stay sustained in the 30 mph-range all day.  The rest of the week’s weather remains breezy, but not nearly as fast as today’s winds will be; a couple models hint at some flakes later this week as well.  Autumn has…

Daily Edge for Sun. Oct. 22

ABOVE AVERAGE GUSTS.  The average top wind gusts for the next four days will be 29 mph, so hold on to your hats and batten down your blinds in the field!   After a calm start today, those winds will fire up and blow through the week, making it a perfect one to winterize your boat,…

Dakota Uplander: Public Land Pointers

By Nick Simonson In the fading light of the second day of Minnesota’s pheasant season, I peeled gravel from behind the red truck full of hunters that slowed my caravan’s way out from the large block of public lands just east of Ivanhoe, Minn.  Impatient, I grabbed the blacktop and sped away from the setting…

Daily Edge for Sat. Oct. 21

FLUSHING AWAY SUMMER.  It had to end sometime, but lucky for us we can get back to more autumn-like activities this weekend.  Winds will dominate today and drop off overnight, before it gets breezy again tomorrow.  There are windows of opportunity everywhere for birds, deer and yes, even fishing, in the coming week.  Be ready…

Bighorn Hunters Beat the Odds

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. Thousands of North Dakota big game hunters are starting to count the days until their season opens in the coming weeks. Most have their sights set on the annual unofficial holiday that is opening day of deer gun season on Nov. 10, but a handful have perhaps a bit more…

Daily Edge for Fri. Oct. 20

ONE MORE UP! We’ve got another great day on tap, but things change just in time for the weekend as we get back to more “huntable” temperatures.  Today’s high near 80 will seem like a distant memory as fall-like weather blows back in overnight, but the cool down will trigger more autumn-like responses from area…

Our Outdoors: Getting Trained

By Nick Simonson It happened suddenly, coming up out of a yellow-leafed draw, my lab puppy, Ole – which until that point had lazily wandered in and out of the grass, kept pace behind my boots, and attempted to bite the other dogs in our opening weekend pheasant hunting group – took off.  He switchbacked…

Daily Edge for Thu. Oct. 19

CALL IT AN EARLY WEEKEND!  Wow, you have to get “sick” today, but it’s more like spring fever than buck fever. With highs clipping 80, light winds and a new moon to back your play on the water, you better let the boss know you’re not coming in.  We talk tips for late season fish…

50 Pheasant Flies: Gartside Caddis

By Nick Simonson Another great (but often unsung) feather you can get off of the back of a rooster pheasant is the “almond-heart” feather located on the shoulder of the bird. Akin to the church window, this rust-orange plume can be used to create a shimmering back wing on any caddisfly pattern. The most notable…

Daily Edge for Wed. Oct. 18

BLOWN AWAY.  Northwest winds rise up today and send our recent warm weather away, but things will rebound until the weekend (go figure) as the whipsaw of autumn weather continues.  We talk salmon spawning in today’s Three Things, along with properly tagging deer and the best (worst?) of Bill Dance. (Featured Photo: The edge of…

Daily Edge for Tue. Oct. 17

WHERE ARE WE?  The summer-like warm-up continues today as temps soar into the mid and upper 70s around the Peace Garden State on strong southwest winds.  Rising with it is the power of the new moon, making for a superb week of fishing, particularly this evening as a small cool front rolls in overnight, but…

A View From The Outdoors

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. By the time North Dakota’s deer gun season ends late next month, somewhere near 100,000 state residents will have hung a “Gone Hunting” sign on their front door at least once during the fall season. That’s enough to fill up the Fargodome nearly five times, but all of us hunters are fortunate…

Fall Fish Surveys Provide Insight

NDG&F Press Release North Dakota Game and Fish Department fisheries biologists have completed fall reproduction surveys, which evaluate natural reproduction, stocking success and forage abundance in many waters across the state. Scott Gangl, Department fisheries management section leader, said there is good news from the survey efforts. “We are seeing really good numbers of walleye…

Daily Edge for Mon. Oct. 16

A SHOT OF HOT!  Warm winds are blowing into the region, as southwesterlies take hold over the next couple of days, bringing a summerlike feel to this mid-autumn week!  Watch for a fast bite to form this week, as fish warm up and strap on the feedbag in the relatively hot weather. We talk about…

Daily Edge for Sun. Oct. 15

BIRD IN THE HAND.  Each pheasant, grouse or partridge is a trophy, and making sure it makes it from the air to your game pouch is important and pays proper respect to the quarry.  Finding downed birds can sometimes be challenging, so use the advantages you have and tips in today’s Three Things to get…

Daily Edge for Sat. Oct. 14

SPITTING SATURDAY.  We’ll get a taste of cool today, with light, intermittent rain and possibly a few flakes falling in the first half of the day, before winds on the backside blow down from the northwest, keeping things chilly throughout the afternoon.  You should start to see more waterfowl migrating in the coming days, and…

ND Deer Herd Fared Well, Habitat Concerns Loom

By Nick Simonson North Dakota hunters will find more opportunities to pursue deer in the approaching 16 ½-day firearms hunting season set to begin at noon on Fri. Nov. 10, as populations fared somewhat well in the challenging winter conditions, and were not impacted by this summer’s drought conditions as much as other wildlife.  What…