Heart Butte Reservoir – Lake Tschida Fishing

Location: Fifteen miles south of Glen Ullin North Dakota
Species: crappie, walleye, catfish, perch, white bass, pike, bluegill, large and smallmouth bass

REPORT:
Lake Tschida (Heart Butte Reservoir) is located in southwestern North Dakota approximately 15 miles south of Glen Ullin. The lake was created in 1949 when Heart Butte Dam on the Heart River was completed. The [...]

How to Beat the Heat – Hot Summer Fishing

By Doug Leier
Too hot to fish?
Nah, it’s never too hot to fish, at least for me.
Many anglers, however, commonly blame hot weather for a reduction in fishing success as summer wears on, and they tend to slow down because of that perception. Is that perception based in reality? Do fish stop eating, or
just slow down [...]

Carolina Rig Fishing

By Kevin Dahlke

 

 
The Carolina Rig is a technique that has been around for quite some time. It is used to cover an area quickly to find out what kind of structure you are fishing. Personally, I have put this technique on the back burner for the last number of years, but as of the last [...]

First Ice

By Chris Hustad

 

 
No matter how many times you ice fish, no matter how “tough” you think you are, you’d have to be a liar to say you’re not somewhat afraid the first time you step onto the ice each year. The same was true for me this year, when I ventured onto the ice for [...]

Our Outdoors – The Next Thing On My List

By Nick Simonson
 

I’ve made a list and checked it twice, and last year it turned out to be pretty nice.
In what has become a recent year-end tradition I assembled and updated the list of the various species of fish which I have caught since I first started fishing. In this past year, I am happy [...]

Fly Tying Kit Becomes the Gift That Keeps on Giving

By Nick Simonson
I couldn’t even cast a fly rod last year at this time. In fact, my only experience with longrodding was a lame attempt a few summers ago on an Idaho stock pond near a hotel we stayed at while my dad attended a conference.
After awkwardly whipping the rod through the air for [...]

River Smallmouth

By Nick Simonson
 

 
As the last few inches of ice fade from the shorelines of area rivers, it is next to impossible not to think about springtime fishing. It is even more difficult not to think of the hundreds of bronze flashes from springtime fishing trips in the past.
In the land where the walleye is king, [...]

Aquatic Nuisance Species

By Doug Leier
You’ve made your list and are checking it twice, anticipation for fishing is growing faster than your lawn this spring. Current license – got it. Life jackets – check. Next stop, open-water fishing 2004. The only thing holding you back from a day on the water is Mother Nature, but that’s spring in [...]

Salmon Recipe

Here’s some favorite salmon recipes of ours.
Grilled Salmon Recipe :

6 Salmon Fillets
1 1/2 tbs. brown sugar
2 tsp. butter
2 tbs. Dijon mustard
1 tbs. olive oil
2 tsp. grated ginger
1 tbs. soy sauce

 
Melt butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk in Dijon mustard, grated ginger, olive oil, and soy sauce.
Lay out fillets on aluminum foil and [...]

Trout Recipe

Here’s some favorite trout recipes of ours.
Grilled Trout Recipe (Smoked):

2 c. water
juice of 1 lemon
5 cloves garlic, sliced
4 cloves shallot, sliced
2 tbsps. salt
2 tbsps. sugar
2 tbsps. chopped dill
Made for 6 (12 oz.) boneless rainbow trout

 
Start by mixing the brine ingredients together and pour over the trout. Marinate in the frige for 4 to 5 hours. [...]

Lake Sakakawea in Peril

By Doug Leier
Seldom does a week pass without news, political or biological, relating to declining water levels in North Dakota’s huge Missouri River reservoirs. I wonder if people have heard the message so much they are starting to become numb to it.
And yet, the message is important. Lake Oahe is at its lowest level since [...]

Protecting an Important Piece of History

By Doug Leier
I was born in Williston and over the course of my life have called many North Dakota towns “home” along the way. It’s easier now, when asked where I’m originally from, to just reply “North Dakota.” I take pride in my roots.
From the aspen forest of Bottineau to the Missouri breaks near Bismarck, [...]

The Realities of Winterkill

By Doug Leier
When it comes to violence and death, nature is not G rated by any stretch of the imagination.
If you’ve spent time outdoors, you understand that red fox will efficiently kill plenty of hen ducks keeping watch over a nest. Cormorants will eat many fish. There is no doctor to prevent disease, and battles [...]

Fast & Easy Fish Cleaning Tips for Walleye, Perch, and Panfish

By Chris Hustad

The fish cleaning techniques described here are nothing new, and is mainly intended for beginners. This process takes about a minute for each fish, depending on experience. The example shown is using a walleye, but can work all the same on perch, crappies and bluegills. On those crappies, you DO NOT need to scale [...]

Fishing – A Home Run Every Time

By Doug Leier
I  hung up the phone on a Sunday evening and thought to myself. Is it really this easy to enjoy a day of bass fishing?
Planning the morning excursion I called Nick and he assured me all I needed was a supply of quarter-ounce jigs and assorted colors of twister tails. Gradually it came [...]

North Dakota Fish Hatcheries

By Doug Leier
North Dakota has its share of variety for anglers. Catfishing on the Red River, paddlefishing on the Yellowstone and Missouri, walleye at Lake Sakakawea and perch at Devils Lake are among the more well-known adventures, but every locale seems to have a unique fishing hole that gives people value for their fishing license [...]

Start Practicing Catch & Release

By Doug Leier
When I go fishing, I’m a hook and bobber kind of a guy. While I’ve used downriggers, depth finders and detailed contour maps over the years, they don’t help me much and I’ve always been a low-impact type of angler.
While I typically get along with simple tackle for fishing – of bobbers, jigs, [...]

Give Drum Fishing a Try

By Doug Leier
If you’re planning a summer fishing excursion in North Dakota, I’m here to help.
On any given day, if I were to wager, I’d bet most anglers would have fresh walleye fillets in mind, except perhaps for some winter days when perch might climb the ladder of preferred species.
For sheer pleasure and pursuit of [...]

The Best Fishing Season Ever

By Doug Leier
Did you realize North Dakota’s fishing season opened April 1? Actually, that’s not quite true, as North Dakota’s fishing season is never closed, but April 1 does mark the need to purchase a new license, which is valid until March 31, 2006.
While I’m at it, there’s no easier way to purchase a license [...]

Devils Lake – Lake Sakakawea Water Conditions

By Doug Leier
Like night and day. Comparing apples to oranges. Pick your cliché that refers to contrasting situations, and apply it to North Dakota’s two largest bodies of water, Lake Sakakawea and Devils Lake.
Sakakawea, a reservoir on the Missouri River, is at its lowest water level since it first filled nearly 40 years ago. If [...]

Fishing Deepwater Crankbaits

Lindy Tackle Team
The Lindy Tackle team has put together some tips to help you target and effectively use crankbaits in deepwater situations.

On Deep Mud Flats:

 
Many of the country’s reservoirs contain large mud flats. Walleyes will inhabit these flats, especially when insect hatches are coming off the mud. When it’s calm, the bigger like to hang [...]

Catfish Recipe List

Here are some favorite catfish recipes of ours.

Citrus Grilled Catfish Recipe

4 catfish fillets
1/4 cup oil (I have a preference for olive oil)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
2 tsp. dry minced onion
1/4 tsp. tabasco sauce
4 sliced lemon wedges

Rinse fillets and pat dry. Combine the remaining ingredients minus the lemon wedges in a flat dish [...]

Perch Recipe List

Here are some favorite perch recipes of ours.

Baked Perch Recipe
This perch recipe is a crowd favorite for sure.

1.5 pounds of perch fillets
1 med. shallot
2 jalapeno peppers
1 tblspn green onion
1 tblspn minced onion
2 tblspns shredded carrots
1/4 cup red peppers (roasted)
1 tblspn parsley
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce
1 tsp. seasoning salt

Preheat oven to 400°F. [...]

Lake Sakakawea – On a Comeback?

By Doug Leier
I’m a huge fan of comebacks. I love to root for the down-and-out in a struggle to overcome challenges or adversity.
In the wildlife world, that might apply to the Giant Canada goose, at one time considered extinct, but now more numerous than ever, or the bald eagle, once an endangered species but taken [...]

New Lake Contour Maps

By Chris Hustad
I’ve been around the Internet for a little over a decade now, and I’m still amazed how much information is becoming available for outdoorsmen and women. Everything I’ve learned about hunting and fishing has been through mentors, such as family and friends. I can’t say I know anyone who just picked it up [...]

Matching Floats for Slip Bobber Fishing

From Lindy Fishing Tackle
There are a lot of opportunities at slip bobber fishing, and this method can be used for a lot of fish species. Thill® has done a lot with their bobbers, or they call, “floats” to increase your fishing success. These aren’t the bobbers of yesterday, and we’ve come a long ways from [...]

Hunting Starts with Google Maps

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson

 
One winter night, as a young boy, I sat on the couch with my dad watching college hockey. I must have been about seven- or eight-years-old at the time. During the highlights of the first intermission, my dad turned and said to me “would you like to draw a map with me?”
A sample [...]

Making Your Own Luck

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson

 
Revolutionary baseball businessman W. Branch Rickey once stated that luck is the residue of opportunity and design. Considering his resume, the adage must be true. By looking beyond the status quo, Rickey capitalized on opportunities that others missed due to narrow-mindedness; most notably, signing Jackie Robinson and later drafting Roberto Clemente in a [...]

Dream Job

By PJ Maguire

 

 
If you were like me, you would like to have a job that allowed you to spend the workday in the outdoors. Most of us have been told that the most successful people in this world have jobs that they love. It would be pretty sweet to find a career that allowed me [...]

Chasing Wildlife

By Doug Leier
Survival during a typical Midwest winter is more like rolling with the punches than simply fighting the elements. Give yourself credit for acclimating and changing with the weather.
Generally speaking, in North Dakota we always have – like it or not – a time to fish through the ice. In some years good ice [...]

Mountain Lions in North Dakota

By Doug Leier

I can honestly say, with a straight face a decade ago I’d have never guessed mountain lions would generate as much interest and discussion in North Dakota as they currently generate. And most would agree. Which proves the foundation of science is pretty accurate in the generalization we’re always learning. We’ve never discovered, [...]

How Do You Get a Job as Game Warden?

By Doug Leier
One of the more common questions asked of any Game and Fish employee, whether it’s over the phone, through friends, via e-mail, or at the grocery store, is: “How do you get a job as a game warden.”
I get variations of this comment frequently when the topic of my occupation comes up in [...]

ND Fall Hunting Outlook

By Doug Leier
From ducks to deer, the 2007 fall seasons should put a smile on the faces of hunters young and old.
Across the board, healthy wild game populations are the byproduct of good habitat combined with a series of mild winters. Here’s some comments by North Dakota Game and Fish biologists as they look at [...]

Hunting Podcasts – Fishing Podcasts

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson

 

 
Every so often, technology revolutionizes the way we communicate, and one such innovation of recent note is growing not only a large subscriber base but also encouraging people to put themselves out there: providing tips, stories and news in all arenas. From ESPN to CBS, all of the major network and cable broadcasting [...]

Attitudes on Hunting

Jon Mitzel
A short trip through a sporting goods store or catalog will reveal an awful lot of products for sportsmen… stuff we couldn’t have dreamed about even a decade ago. It’s designed, I guess, to make our hunting adventure easier and more successful. Manufacturers of outdoors products, since the beginning of time, have been pushing [...]

High Anticipation

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson

There’s one thing I’m really good at: enjoying the outdoors. While my columns might come off as offering sage advice based on decades of experience, they are usually little more than personal observations about the natural world and what I do right (most of the time), and what I do incorrectly (some of [...]

Hunting & Fishing Trends

By Doug Leier
I  grew up without cable television and was never really into video games. We had about three television channels and seldom watched much for that matter.
In the mid-1980s video games were just taking off, and thankfully the quarter required pay to play was not really easy to pry out of my dad’s pocket. Because [...]

Time to Apply for a Spring Turkey Hunting License

By Doug Leier
The late winter winds blow anticipation across the desk of many hunters. It still looks like winter, but snow in February doesn’t last nearly as long as a half-foot of the white stuff that falls in mid-November.
Spring is inevitable. The start of the spring snow goose conservation season, coupled with late season hard-water [...]

Doing Nothing Is Not An Option

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
This quote by Edmund Burke sums up why oftentimes the world is in such chaos. The tides of many matters, whether it be the rise of Nazi power in Europe in the mid-1900s or the civil rights movement throughout [...]

Looking Forward in 2007

By Doug Leier
 I’ve always hesitated when it comes to making predictions, especially regarding hunting, fishing or trapping issues and seasons. However, I am not averse to letting others share their thoughts on what we might expect in 2007.
This week, we take a look ahead at what will likely be significant issues within the fisheries and [...]

Look Into Your Life’s List

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson

 

 
The past year has been filled with exciting fishing experiences and great memories. There was a stellar opening day for big bass near Detroit Lakes, Minn., my first white crappie ever caught on Jamestown Reservoir, and my largest walleye to date – just a hair over 29 inches – caught on the Sheyenne [...]

Giving Thanks

By Doug Leier
I’m a thankful and appreciative kind of guy. I’ve always tried to see Lake Sakakawea, for instance, as the glass that’s still half full. As we advance past Thanksgiving into the holiday season, there’s reason to give thanks for hunters, anglers, trappers and all who enjoy spending more time outside than in.
After enjoying [...]

Time for the Game Warden Exam

By Doug Leier
“The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has scheduled an examination to select candidates for the position of district game warden.”
I read the lead sentence to this news release recently and couldn’t help but recall a decade-plus ago when I read the same announcement. The exam was scheduled for mid-December 1994, I was [...]

A Game Wardens Life

By Doug Leier
Game wardens should get more credit for the work they do. There’s no two ways about it.
For a short time I was a district game warden for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, so I say this with first-hand knowledge. Even as an outreach biologist I’m still peppered with stories of game [...]

A Visit with a Local Game Warden

By Doug Leier
Mark Pollert has served the hunters and citizens as a game warden for over fifteen years. Not the longest by any stretch but enough that he can easily relate what some of the most overlooked problems are– which field violations have decreased, those on the rise and some of the most misunderstood rules [...]

Remember to Get Kids Involved

By Doug Leier
It’s the backside of August and two of my favorite pastimes – hunting and football – are about to mix like peanut butter and jelly, or better yet, sausage and sauerkraut for this full-blooded German.
While hunting, fishing, trapping and other outdoor activities are my profession, football, among other sports, is a nonwork outlet [...]

To Hunt or Not to Hunt?

By Doug Leier
I’m secure enough to proclaim I’m not much of an expert at most things. Regardless of the topic or subject at hand, there’s always going to be someone who knows more or has done it better. That doesn’t bother me.
Save for having a pretty good idea on how to get kids interested in [...]

Do Not Disturb

By Doug Leier
I  wasn’t the only kid to happen upon a killdeer, unknowingly near her nest, eggs, or recently hatched chicks, and witnessed the “wounded” or “lame” appearing mother hopelessly limping, drawing me away. I even recall trying to catch that bird, or at least following the lead, not realizing I was reacting in the [...]

The Journey Towards an Outdoors Career

By Doug Leier
Between the phone and my email inbox, I get a lot of questions. This time of year, the most popular are: “Where are the fish biting?” and “How are the pheasants doing?”
The answers are: “Beneath the ice;” and, “Pretty good, but a few weeks of winter still remain.”
Another frequent question throughout the year, [...]

Talkin’ Turkey – ND Spring Turkey Hunting

By Doug Leier
Deer hunting likely generates more questions than any other hunting season and its popularity in terms of hunter numbers is unparalleled for North Dakota.
Pheasant hunting, with expanding prairie opportunities made possible by warm winters and suitable habitat, has brought new hunters into the field and put a smile on the face for tens [...]

Surviving Winter

By Doug Leier
Ice fishing, spearing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling – there’s an array of activities that help humans bridge the gap from winter into spring. With modern amenities and a little preparation, we can pretty much handle any cold or snowy weather thrown our way.
That’s not necessarily the case for North Dakota’s wildlife. Our birds and [...]

Outdoor Diversity

By Doug Leier
I’ve written extensively on the rich diversity of natural resources that make North Dakota a great place to live if you like the outdoors, or even if you don’t.
And who would argue. Within our borders we have opportunities to snag paddlefish, and hunt prairie chickens, sage grouse, sandhill cranes, elk, moose and bighorn [...]

Kicking Off Dove Hunting Season

By Doug Leier
As a young hunter in North Dakota 20 years ago, mourning doves were synonymous with the kick off to autumn. At that time, dove hunting opened earlier than any other major bird season, so doves were top priority for a week or two until we could hunt sharp-tailed grouse and partridge.
I think the [...]

Fall Hunting Preview

By Doug Leier
My phone has been ringing off the hook of late with calls from people inquiring about our upcoming hunting seasons. Evidently, I’m not the only one looking forward to the crisp autumn mornings ahead. Email, phone calls and casual coffee conversations are all bearing the same theme: “How’s hunting going to be this [...]

Crane Hunting Season Is Upon Us

By Doug Leier
By this time every fall, most hunters can recite opening dates for deer, pheasant and waterfowl seasons. People need to know these things to schedule vacations and coordinate plans with the crew. Some will forget their significant other’s birthday before they forget the date pheasant season opens.
But I’d venture to guess that not [...]

Outdoors and Technology

By Doug Leier
Think back to your last trip outdoors with friends. Chances are, somebody brought along a cell phone. Another buddy maybe packed hand-held radios, and it wouldn’t be surprising if someone had a GPS unit mounted on the pickup dash or stored in a tackle box or backpack.
As recently as 10 years ago the [...]

Turkey Recipe List

Here’s some favorite turkey recipes of ours.
Turkey Recipe Ingredients:

9 to 13-lb Turkey*
½ cup butter, melted
Old-Fashioned Dressing,
½ cup butter
3 cups finely chopped celery
¾ cup finely chopped parsley
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tbls. salt
1 tbls. poultry seasoning
1 ts. paprika
½ ts. pepper
1 egg, slightly beaten
12 cups fine white-bread crumbs

 
Preheat oven to 325°F. Remove giblets from turkey and set [...]

Why Do I Hunt?

By Doug Leier
I  never try to convince anyone the great hunter or even the lesser hunter for that matter.
Fortunately, in this day and age, what fills the deep freeze is not the sole measure of hunting prowess. There really are no good or bad hunters, except for those who purposely break the law. Everyone else [...]

California Hiking Vacation

By Chris Hustad
I  took my first step out of our rented Jeep Cherokee, onto a small, gravel parking area off of a back road in the mountains. The redwoods surrounding us gave off an unfamiliar but refreshing scent. In the distance we could hear the rushing sounds of a mountain creek, flowing heavily from the [...]

Spring Turkey Hunting

By Jason Phillips

The still silence of the morning was interrupted by the distant sounds of a turkey making his presence known. Weeks of scouting and preparation had lead to this moment and everything seemed to be falling into place. I answered his call with a few scrapes on my slate. As the distinct call became [...]

Competition and the Outdoors

By Doug Leier
One look at my 2-year-old son and year-old daughter grappling for a toy is proof positive that competition is instinctive among humans. Many times I’ve sat idly by, observing the escalation in use of force between my children. I intervene when the imaginary line between healthy competition and unwarranted actions is crossed.
As life [...]

Solunar Tables

By Doug Leier
When your hunting and fishing skills are comparable to those of Captain Kangaroo, you need all the help you can get.
One tool that doesn’t come via mail order or credit card swipe is the solunar tables listed in many magazines and newspaper outdoors sections. Like most people who spend a lot of time [...]

Hollywood’s Influence on the Outdoors

By Doug Leier
Humans are humans, and animals are … not human.
And yet, in so many movies, television programs and books, animals are given characteristics such as human speech, movement and emotion, that it’s hard for some people to separate the entertainment world from the real world.
For many centuries, North Dakota’s native peoples relied on animals [...]

The 5 Stages of a Hunter

Hunters change through the years. Factors used to determine “successful hunting” change as well for each hunter. A hunter’s age, role models, and his years of hunting experience affect his ideas of “success.” Many hunters may fit into one of the following five groups. In 1975-1980, groups of over 1,000 hunters in Wisconsin were studied, [...]

Enjoying the Fall

By Doug Leier
I’ve realized there will only be one 2008 pheasant season, deer opener, one 16 1/2- day deer season and so on.
I’m looking at my time outdoors with bit broader focus, not dwelling on a missed shot at a buck or doe in years, or coming up empty after trudging through a cattail-choked slough [...]

Focusing on Young Hunters

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson

 
Thirty, The Big 3-0, three decades of (in)experience under my belt. September 18 marked my thirtieth birthday. I remember when that seemed like “a long time from now” but it is, all of a sudden, the here-and-now. To tell you the truth, I don’t feel much different than I did at 29, or [...]

Undue Burden – Interesting Facts About Wolves

A review by Chris Hustad about a new DVD
 I have to admit on the surface, I knew very little about the wild wolf situations taking place across many states in the United States. I knew there was a conflict, but I was completely unaware of what was the real issue.
I can say after watching an [...]

Get Involved in the Outdoors

By Doug Leier
I’m not sure how old I was when I accompanied my dad to my first wildlife club meeting of many. To be honest, I’m not sure if it was his suggestion, my request or mom’s way of getting me out of her hair for a few hours. Whatever the case, something stuck with [...]

2008 Goals for the Outdoors

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson

 

 
The changing of the calendar on the wall brings with it a flood of memories and prepares me for opportunities that lay ahead in the coming seasons. Unlike the perennial goals of losing weight or eating better, my resolutions focus on raising the bar and undertaking new challenges on the water and in [...]

Recent Sightings of a Large Cat

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson

“From ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the night, dear Lord, deliver us.”
This Celtic folk prayer calls down God’s protection from all things unseen and unknown that lurk in the back of our minds and in the shadows of our backyards. This time of year conjures up [...]

RAP Hotline – Report All Poachers

By Doug Leier
As a young deer hunter on opener morning one year in the late 1980s, I was out scouting the landscape as day broke in south central North Dakota. It wasn’t so much to watch for deer moving around as it was to just scan the field and let my imagination paint scenarios of [...]

The Hunting Heritage

By Doug Leier
Hunting and outdoors circles the past few years have been abuzz with rather subjective terminology.
At the coffee shop or gas station, topics such as hunting pressure, fair chase, ethics, hunting heritage and the essence of the hunt often lead to lively conversation and the need to make another pot of coffee.
I bring up [...]

Game & Fish Summer Staff Meeting

By Doug Leier
Twice a year, in August and December, North Dakota Game and Fish Department staff from Bowman to Cavalier and Williston to Wyndmere gather to learn, teach and simply converse about opportunities and problems relevant to managing the state’s natural resources.
The topics are a matrix of issues, studies and current work assignments from which [...]

FFA – More Than Cows and Plows

By Doug Leier
I  didn’t grow up on a farm, but anyone who is raised in a small town across North Dakota is likely influenced by those who have toiled in the soil for a few years or even generations.
While I was not technically a farm kid, that didn’t deter me from taking an active roll [...]

The Legislative Process

By Doug Leier
The legislative process in North Dakota only takes place every two years. With that in mind, all hunters, anglers, trappers, and anyone who spends time outdoors, needs to engage in the process now, rather than later this year after those bills become law and changes in how you spend time outdoors have been [...]

Wishing for Snow

By Doug Leier
The middle of winter generally finds me wondering more than wandering. Oh, I still get out, if even for a Sunday afternoon drive just to make sure it’s all still there. If you haven’t tried it, take a drive past some of the haunts you hunkered down in last fall.
There’s nothing like a [...]

Hunter Education Course – Time to Go

By Doug Leier
January is the time to think about fall hunting.
No, I’m not falling ill with cabin fever and haven’t spent too much time in the ice shack without ventilation. I’m anxious about the beginning of spring snow goose hunting, but that’s not exactly what I’m getting at. My point in thinking about plans for [...]

Looking Forward in 2007

By Doug Leier
I’ve always hesitated when it comes to making predictions, especially regarding hunting, fishing or trapping issues and seasons. However, I am not averse to letting others share their thoughts on what we might expect in 2007.
This week, we take a look ahead at what will likely be significant issues within the fisheries and [...]

What is Hunting?

By Doug Leier
State Century Code has defined hunting in North Dakota. Albeit for legal purposes, the definition is rather cumbersome, but NDCC20.1-01 and section 21 defines hunting as: “shooting, shooting at, pursuing, taking, attempting to take, or killing any game animals and game birds; searching for or attempting to locate or flush any game animals [...]

Late Season Hunting Is Upon Us

By Doug Leier
For many hunters November is a peak and valley, the best of times and the worst of times. As North Dakota’s popular deer gun hunting season opens and closes, thousands of hunters begin and end their hunting activities within the 16 ½ days the regular season takes place.
While most of the good duck, [...]

PLOTS Map – Opening Access

By Doug Leier
The State Game and Fish Department has had programs that cooperatively involve private landowners since the 1950s. But it’s been less than 10 years since the first inverted yellow triangular sign went up on tracts called Private Land Open to Sportsmen.
The PLOTS has its roots in legislation passed in 1997. The new law [...]

A Tough Call in the Fall

Did you ever have to make up your mind? Those words from the Lovin’ Spoonful seemed to run through my head most every afternoon during this season. Of course they are sung quietly in my off-key karaoke voice as I face the dwindling hours of the work day. Decision time: what to do…what to do?
It [...]

Hunting Mourning Doves

From where I sit right now, cleaning out the three tiny flecks of residue left in the barrel of my twelve-gauge, I wish the tail end of this summer would wrap itself up. For dove season is fast approaching.
Punch Drunk Doves
Sure, that peaceful “coo-hoo” and the bobble-head walk make the dove seem like an easy [...]

Poison Ivy Prevention

It’s mosquito season again, and vector control is already out in search of the breeding grounds of these annoying little pests. However, during summer there is one itch that is even less fun to scratch than a mosquito bite.
For the second time in four years, I have managed to pick up a case of contact [...]

Mosquitoes in September

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
The nice thing about mosquito season is that there is no limit. Unfortunately there isn’t much meat on the little buggers. Furthermore, in January here in the upper Midwest, I almost find myself longing to hear the buzzing of these pests in my ear during the humid dusk hours of summer.
All kidding aside, [...]

Feeling Like Fall

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
As the boat came up out of the water and I tightened the stern strap to secure the trusty Grumman for the ride back into town, I felt it.
Maybe it was the odor of freshly cut grain mixed with the smell of dying algae. Perhaps it was the wispy cirrus clouds streaking the [...]

Spring Cleaning

By Doug Leier
I’m a big fan of spring cleaning, as it helps pass the time between a late winter cold snap and those never-long-enough flirtations with 50-degree days. Even before the last snow melts, I’ll be busy preparing for spring.
But before you think I’m ruining the reputation of hunters and anglers every where, I probably [...]

The Bighorn Sheep of North Dakota

By Doug Leier
North Dakota doesn’t have many bighorn sheep, but vast appreciation and genuine curiosity from hunters and non-hunters alike more than compensate for lack of population.
While this could be said for many North Dakota fish and wildlife inhabitants, the bighorn sheep fills a niche as the only kind of wild sheep in the state.
As [...]

Exposing Hunting & Fishing Myths and Urban Legends

By Doug Leier
I’m not sure who’s credited with saying, “The right tools in the wrong hands can’t fix anything,” but when it comes to the Worldwide Web, I find myself frequently nodding my head in agreement with that statement.
Here’s my rub: The Web has made communication and ease of connecting with people and places extremely [...]

Winter Jottings

By Doug Leier
As winter wears on, a few recent news items give reason to pause and ponder. Rather than keep opinions to myself, here’s a snippet of frozen tundra topics that have crossed my desk, entered my email, been brought up in meetings, on the phone or at the coffee shop.
ALUS (alternative land use services) [...]

Public Hunting Land in North Dakota

By Doug Leier
For most of us, the road traveled matters little once we’ve arrived at our destination. Seldom do we realize – or appreciate – while beginning a pheasant hunt across the prairie, the time and energy it took to provide access to a public hunting spot.
When you get to spend a few hours hunting [...]

Fall Seasons Coming Together

By Doug Leier
In coming weeks we’ll be flooded with news about upcoming hunting season projections. Fall flight forecasts for waterfowl and results from upland game brood surveys will pique the interest of hunters and wildlife managers alike.
Along the way, from crow season which began in mid-August to the close of turkey season in mid-January, there’ll [...]

You Alone Make it a Successful Season

By Doug Leier
I’ve spent every autumn in the field since I was old enough to walk.
Even before I was ready to handle a firearm, I had my BB gun at my side as dad and his crew walked the prairies chasing sharp-tailed grouse in September.
As a three-foot tall grade school kid I struggled through dense [...]

Getting Acquainted with Dove Hunting

By Chris Hustad
Well, the countdown has begun and at the beginning of September, dove seasons all across the country will be opening up. Most recently, 2 new states are being added to the list; Minnesota and Michigan. They’ve been waiting for a long time for this possibility, but this also means there’ll be plenty of [...]

Whooping Cranes in North Dakota

By Doug Leier
If you’ve read this column with any frequency you know I’m a huge fan of North Dakota, specifically the outdoors.
This time of year so many of the state’s wildlife species take center stage that it’s hard to pick a favorite. While a lot of people will think of pronghorn, bighorn sheep or sage [...]

A Little Outdoors Sale & Pepper

By Doug Leier
Variety is the spice of life … outdoors. And we have a lot of it in North Dakota.
Often lost among the ducks, bucks, roosters and honkers that get most of the attention are many autumn opportunities that are largely overlooked by the masses, but are appreciated and pursued by smaller groups of enthusiasts. [...]

Looking in on the Golden Eagles of North Dakota

By Doug Leier
When you think of eagles, what image does your mind generate? For most people, I bet it’s an image of a powerful soaring bald eagle, probably with a water and blue-sky backdrop.
Anybody envision a golden eagle, perched on a North Dakota badlands’ cliff?
Probably not. That’s the stereotype when it comes to eagles. It’s [...]

The Importance of the Watchable Wildlife Program

By Doug Leier
Pheasants, ducks, geese, deer and other game animals get much of the wildlife press in North Dakota, but if publicity was based on numbers alone, the state’s “other” wildlife would capture the headlines more frequently.
Biologists categorize more than 80 percent of North Dakota’s wildlife species as nongame, or those that are not hunted, [...]

Crane Hunting Season Is Upon Us

By Doug Leier
By this time every fall, most hunters can recite opening dates for deer, pheasant and waterfowl seasons. People need to know these things to schedule vacations and coordinate plans with the crew. Some will forget their significant other’s birthday before they forget the date pheasant season opens.
But I’d venture to guess that not [...]

The Importance of PLOTS

By Doug Leier
Next to sunflowers, Private Lands Open to Sportsmen signs are probably the most visible yellow found across the prairies of North Dakota this autumn.
Over the past decade, PLOTS signs have become synonymous with quality habitat open for hunting access. The signs mark the boundaries of parcels of private land that landowners have opened [...]