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Past Year Puts People, Programs in Place for ND PF

By Nick Simonson Pheasant opener serves as a chance to look back on the year for many hunters, and for North Dakota’s Pheasants Forever (PF) staff even more so. It’s a moment on the calendar to assess the progress made in the name of conservation, and review the relationships built across North Dakota between PF,…

Daily Edge for Sat. Oct. 7

GETTING BAD. Okay, even with the wind, it’s still pheasant opener so we know you’re headed out this morning. Remember, quiet, calm and catch them before they catch the wind! We get totally bad in today’s Three Things, and we’re not talking about Michael Jackson. (THEM’S THE BREAKS. The badlands near Teddy Roosevelt National Park…

Survival of Wildlife is Amazing

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. After the winter of 1996-97 – arguably the worst winter for resident wildlife in the last half century – I remember hearing upland game biologist Lowell Tripp, and wildlife division chief Randy Kreil, now both retired, repeat over and over again the basic fact that North Dakota was on the northern…

Daily Edge for Fri. Oct. 6

WE’RE ABOUT TO BLOW! Relatively calm conditions persist through tonight, but a huge shift in the wind is coming for tomorrow’s Pheasant Opener as forecasts now add an extra 10 mph to the maximum gusts. Hold on to your blaze orange hats! We go potpourri in today’s Three Things. (WAITING ON WIND. Seeds hanging from…

Our Outdoors: Early Season Pheasant Tips

By Nick Simonson Since the cold end of last year’s pheasant season, hunters have eagerly awaited opening day, and now, mere hours away from it, we’re so close we can almost hear the crackling of the dry autumn grasses underfoot and the cackling of a flushing rooster in front of a hard-charging dog. The start…

Daily Edge for Thu. Oct. 5

HUSKS IN THE WIND. Okay, so that’s not the title of a Kansas song, but it will most likely be one for North Dakota this weekend, as Pheasant Opener is expected to be a breezy one. We toast to the breezes that blow through the treezes, and factor gusts into your hunting strategy. (CORNY. Chaff…

Dakota Uplander: Pheasant Hunter’s Checklist

By Nick Simonson The minutes are winding down to the start of a new pheasant season, and whatever the destination for Saturday’s opener might be, odds are that a good deal of gear, guns and pet equipment will be headed along for the trip. It has been said that success is where preparation and opportunity…

Daily Edge for Wed. Oct. 4

DAILY LIMIT! Just three days remain until Pheasant Opener. We’re convinced it’s not a coincidence that’s the same number of birds in your daily ND limit. We talk more about pheasant biology, rooster harvest and how it does little to nothing to the population in today’s Three Things. Even in years where numbers are low,…

Daily Edge for Tue. Oct. 3

FORE! Watch out, only four days between you and that first flushing rooster of the pheasant season. Today we sneak a little fishing fun into Three Things before we get back in pheasant focus with the latest from Dakota Edge. (Opener Memory. The author with his lab, Gunnar, and a pair of roosters on the…

Pheasants in a Pinch

By Nick Simonson Leading up to this weekend’s North Dakota Pheasant Opener, targeting classic areas will be key to bagging birds and producing a memorable hunt. The winding creek bottoms common throughout the state provide repeated and alternating pinch points that concentrate birds, and with the right pressure, force them into the air. Knowing how…

Daily Edge for Mon. Oct. 2

ALL CHOKED UP! We’re that excited for Pheasant Opener! Just five days until North Dakota’s pheasant season kicks off on Sat. Oct. 7. Here’s hoping you’re getting your gear together, your dog’s final exercises in and your shot in order, if you haven’t already. Speaking of the latter, we talk about primary pheasant hunting chokes…

Daily Edge for Sun. Oct. 1

PLEASANT SUNDAY SURPRISE! So much for yesterday’s one-day forecast! Temps will be higher than expected today, but not too hot, and rain chances slim down some as well. Take advantage of these better conditions on the final day of Youth Pheasant Weekend and get someone new out in the field. We take a quick look…

Part of the Ritual

By Nick Simonson In wrapping up a ruffed grouse trip in Northeastern Minnesota, I walked an old familiar trail in the woods north of Virginia. Known more to me for the scenery and less for the number of birds I had seen in the past, the trek always produced at least one opportunity, particularly in…

Daily Edge for Sat. Sep. 30

GUSTS & MUSTS. While it will be a windy day, for hundreds of youth it will be a must-hunt day, as ND’s Youth Pheasant weekend kicks off. While conditions won’t be ideal, there are still a lot of great opportunities out there to find roosters and there will definitely be some wind for dogs to…

Private Land Programs Sustain ND Hunting

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. As thousands of hunters fan out across North Dakota this fall to pursue waterfowl, pheasants and other game, I’d like to send a message along. First, let’s all respect the fact that most North Dakota land is held in private ownership. While the state has many public land options, including…

Daily Edge for Fri. Sep 29

CHICKEN? CHANTERELLE? COULDN’T TELL! By no means experts on fungi or foraging, when we see something on the ground that’s bright orange, we leave it be! We talk about what orange in the outdoors means in today’s Three Things, and leave the foraging to our foodie friends! (Blazing Fungus. A bright orange fungus resembling chicken…

Hunters Reminded of PLOTS Rules

NDG&F Press Release Out-of-state hunters are reminded that state law does not allow nonresidents to hunt on North Dakota Game and Fish Department owned or managed lands during the first week of pheasant season. Private Land Open to Sportsmen acreage and state wildlife management areas are open to hunting by resident hunters only from Oct….

Our Outdoors: Fall Fever

By Nick Simonson She came into the north end of the field with that certain nervousness, her grey coat shivering off the dew around her hips and white-knobbed knees while she warily glanced back into the creek bottom stand of orange and yellow boxelders and ash trees on the trail behind her. The doe’s demeanor…

Daily Edge for Thu. Sep. 28

GO FOR THE GOLD. It was a gorgeous day yesterday, whether on the water or on the hunt, and with autumn colors taking hold across the upper Midwest, today will be another great one to get out there and see all that nature has to offer. We talk more fun fall stuff in today’s Three…

A Flatlander’s Guide to Ruffed Grouse

By Nick Simonson While most North Dakotans are more familiar with prairie birds like pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge, options exist to pursue ruffed grouse in the state’s forested areas, like the Pembina Hills or Turtle Mountains in the northern tier of the Peace Garden State. Additionally, the northeastern third of Minnesota is just…

Motorists Warned to Watch for Deer

NDG&F Press Release Motorists are reminded to watch for deer along roadways this time of year because juvenile animals are dispersing from their home ranges. October through early December is the peak period for deer-vehicle accidents. Motorists are advised to slow down and exercise caution after dark to reduce the likelihood of encounters with deer…

Daily Edge for Wed. Sep. 27

YOU’RE NUTS! This little red squirrel was surprised anyone was out walking the grouse trails in recent rains, as it too sought shelter under the pine canopy from the constant precipitation. We get a bit squirrelly in today’s Three Things and drool over the near perfect fall days on tap for today and tomorrow! (Featured…

Pheasant Season Opens Oct. 7

NDG&F Press Release North Dakota pheasant hunters are reminded the season opens Oct. 7 and continues through Jan. 7, 2018. In past years, the season typically opened the second Saturday in October. However, the 2017 state legislature passed a law which requires the pheasant hunting season to open no later than Oct. 12. The 2017…

Daily Edge for Tue. Sep. 26

LIGHT AND VARIABLY AWESOME. If you were looking for a day to get on stand, and get sick with buck fever, this would be the one. Light winds and overcast conditions with decreasing rain will have deer moving again, and will make things comfortable for your sit. We talk about deer stands and safety in…

Daily Edge for Mon. Sep. 25

TAKE THE SHOT(GUN SHELL). Pheasant season is fast approaching, make sure to get your ammo now and not the night before the season starts, when shelves and selections get a little slim. We begin to dry out today, and things look good for the rest of the week, we talk about the specialized pheasant load…

Dakota Uplander: Fingers Crossed

By Nick Simonson When pheasant hunting, few pieces of habitat excite me more than an area of grass or cattails which ends in a narrow taper in the middle of a harvested field. These fingers of habitat point to success nearly every time I walk them. They’re simple to identify and assess, generally easy to…

Daily Edge for Sun. Sep. 24

MOVING & GROOVING Yesterday’s edge hour was loaded with wildlife movement ahead of last night’s wet weather. Today may be the same, but continued rain throughout the day might make it a bit of a soaker – unless you’re waterfowling on the edge of your favorite small water, then you’re halfway there already! We talk…

Daily Edge for Sat. Sep. 23

ON TO AUTUMN. Cool air takes control this weekend, and it’ll start to feel like fall again as below-average temps will dominate the next week of the forecast. On the bright side, it’ll be conducive to your hunting activities once the rains subside….on Monday. D’oh. (Featured Photo: Red sumac leaves paint the edge of a…

50 Pheasant Flies: Red John

By Nick Simonson As TV shows go, I’m not a fan of many, but The Mentalist was always one I’d watch right off the DVR. While not every episode focused on the central story arc of the titular Patrick Jane attempting to locate the elusive and sociopathic “Red John” – those that did were always…

Safeguards in Place to Slow CWD Spread

By Doug Leier, NDG&F Dept. The concern over chronic wasting disease, a fatal disease of the nervous system of deer and elk, often draws comparisons to the threat of introduction of zebra mussels or other aquatic nuisance species. While the disease and the mussels affect different parts of the natural world, one of the primary…

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