ND Fishing Questions
August 11, 2011 by admin
By Doug Leier Questions tend to flow with the seasons and while hunting is starting to gain ground, fishing continues to lead my list of phone, email and random inquiries. Here’s a sample of some the North Dakota Game and Fish Department typically receives, with answers from the Game and Fish website at gf.nd.gov. Why [...]
Snap Shot Ruler Review
June 17, 2011 by admin
Now you can prove the big one didn’t get away! The new SNAP SHOT RULER easily attaches to any fishing line, grip, or scale and measures fish length vertically so there is less handling of your prized catch. Accurate and photo friendly, this innovative ruler is great for anything from catch and release measurements to [...]
How to Make Muskie Spinnerbaits
June 13, 2011 by admin
Our Outdoors – by Nick Simonson Late last summer while scrounging for replacement lure-making parts, I came across a badly worn muskie spinnerbait which had been reduced to a bare lure head, trailer hook and just one of two blades. Recalling some spare black and red flashabou tucked into my desk drawer back home, I [...]
Northern Pike Slime
June 6, 2011 by admin
Our Outdoors: Slime Time By Nick Simonson While unhooking my second pike of the morning, the two-pound fish slipped quickly out of my wet hand and back into the water with a splash. All that was left as evidence that I had even caught it was a chewed up plastic tail and a small coating [...]
Aquatic Nuisance Species
April 13, 2011 by admin
By Doug Leier It feels like just yesterday, when in fact it’s been over a year and a half, since the first official discovery of zebra mussels in the Red River watershed. First, these aquatic nuisance species were found established in a Minnesota lake upstream of the Red River. Then, to no one’s surprise, they [...]
Good North Dakota Fishing
March 30, 2011 by admin
By Doug Leier The late Dean Hildebrand was North Dakota Game and Fish Department director from 1996 through 2005 and he had a well-developed vocabulary of catch phrases and sayings. One description I heard repeatedly for years was his exclamation that, “We’re living in the good old days when it comes to hunting and fishing.” [...]
New Fishing Gear for 2011
February 22, 2011 by admin
by Bob Jensen While there’s still lots of ice-fishing to do, open water fishing is getting closer every day. I’ve enjoyed the ice-fishing season, but am also looking forward to putting a boat in the water. When the time arrives that we’re casting a lure instead of dropping it through a hole in the ice, [...]
Ice Fishing Tip Ups for Pike
January 25, 2011 by admin
By Ted Pilgrim with Tony Roach There’s something satisfying about setting a well-planed network of tip-ups across the icy expanse of a frozen lake. Strategically placed “fish-traps,” each rigged with a robust, frisky live minnow or intentionally motionless stinker like a herring to snare freshwater predators. Get a bunch of dudes together, throw a pile [...]
August Muskies
August 30, 2010 by admin
By Nick Simonson I stood at the edge of the dock and sighed as Sunday’s gusty south wind whipped through the pages in my mental calendar. Next weekend is Labor Day with family up north; the next, dove hunting; the one after that, grouse opener, and then bow hunting. Every weekend was filled with events, [...]
Fall Fishing Bonanza
August 25, 2010 by admin
By Doug Leier It comes as no surprise that when August begins losing to September, for many North Dakota residents hunting starts to win out over fishing in the competition for free-time activities. But I’d also suggest, if you’ve bagged plenty of days pounding the North Dakota prairie, without experiencing the thrill of fall fishing, [...]
Fishing Northern Pike
July 20, 2010 by admin
Our Outdoors: A Pike in the Hand By Nick Simonson Not once but twice, the devil’s fork tail turned short just feet in front of the dock at the family cabin. The fish, a muskie of nearly four feet in length had given chase, even bumping the lure halfway through my first retrieve, and exerted [...]
New Musky Lures
May 18, 2010 by admin
Early evidence that three new muskie baits from Northland are living up to all the hype. Bemidji, MN – Their names are unforgettable. Their performances are undeniable. Not too many moons ago Northland Fishing Tackle broke the news about three seriously savage introductions into the muskie marketplace. Finally, the entire collection is now available at [...]
Fishing Diary
March 30, 2010 by admin
By Nick Simonson There have been a lot of changes in my life over the past five years. I’ve lived in two states and three towns and have had six different jobs, with this one being the most consistent. In that time I’ve fished over 60 lakes and rivers, gaining some level of familiarity with [...]
Homemade Musky Baits
March 4, 2010 by admin
By Nick Simonson Muskie anglers love to throw the biggest, flashiest baits. But in these days of dwindling discretionary income, spinners with oversized blades, magnum flashabou skirts and price tags to match are becoming cost-prohibitive. However, you can produce a bait at home for half as much as you’d pay for popular store models and [...]
ACE the New Year
February 13, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors Nick Simonson It sounded like the hardware store jingle as the long-time guide laid out his simple plan for muskie fishing. “ACE is the base for success with muskies – Attitude, Character, Enthusiasm,” he bellowed to those of us in attendance at the banquet. Simply, he summed up what makes a good angler [...]
5 Follows
February 13, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors Nick Simonson Just five casts into Saturday morning, I figured the weekend would have one of two outcomes: either bigger muskies would certainly follow the one in my hand, or I just pre-spent my next 995 casts on the 20-incher with the treble of my homemade pink-and-brass bucktail in its mouth. As it [...]
Muskie Fishing at Night
February 13, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors Nick Simonson There’s nothing more primal in our human psyche than fear – or at least a healthy level of cautious respect – for that which we cannot see when the light of day has faded. The haunting cry of a loon at sunset is quickly replaced by the hoot of an owl, [...]
Minnesota Musky Fishing
February 13, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors Nick Simonson Up until last year, the muskellunge was just a footnote in my fishing journals. Between jigging for walleyes, pitching tubes for bass, and waxing a few panfish on the flyrod, there wasn’t much room for another angling pursuit. Sure, I had a muskie rod, but its use had fallen by the [...]
Muskie Madness
February 13, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors Nick Simonson Wearing a pair of old glasses, I peered into the choppy surface of the lake. The gray ceiling of clouds reflected in the trough of each ripple, while the weedtops were visible in the water column with each tiny crest. Despite the weaker prescription, I could clearly see the orange [...]
Early Northern Pike Ice Fishing
February 13, 2009 by admin
Ice Team If there’s a fish species that gets fired up for cold water, it’s the northern pike. Especially big ones, with distance between the eyeballs. If you’re a little fish, a big pike is your worst nightmare–but if you are an ice angler, a big pike can be your favorite dance partner. Big pike [...]
Northern Pike Recipe List
February 11, 2009 by admin
Here’s some favorite northern pike recipes of ours. Pickled Northern Pike Recipe This recipe can be used with any fish but northern pike works best. Before using this recipe be sure to freeze the fish at least 5 days. This will destroy any parasites that are present in the fish or bacteria that may have [...]
Catch & Release Tools
February 11, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors Nick Simonson Catch and release works. Whether it’s preserving a viable fishery in a forty-acre bass lake or letting a trophy-caliber muskie swim back into the cabbage after an exciting battle, the mantra of C&R resounds stronger than ever through sport fishing circles. For those looking to preserve big fish it is easier [...]
The Rapala X-Rap
February 11, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors Nick Simonson Whether your treasure on the water is colored gold, bronze or silver, the X-Rap by Rapala (www.rapala.com) marks the spot for great fishing. My experience with crankbaits has been limited; being predominately a river angler has restricted my usual arsenal to jigs and soft plastics which are comparatively inexpensive [...]
Topwater Fishing
February 11, 2009 by admin
By Jon Mitzel Long-awaited May is a great time to enjoy catching fish on surface baits. Northern pike and largemouth bass are aggressive fish and will readily attempt to chase food on or near the surface. The action is tough to beat, and most hits are vicious in nature. What an exciting way to catch [...]
Catch and Release 101
February 9, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors Nick Simonson A dead-weight tug on the end of my line signaled that the largemouth bass under the dock was indeed hungry. I swept the rod back and the four-pound fish rocketed up out of the water. She battled every foot of the way to my hand. I reached down, tweaked [...]
Extra Hooks Bring the Sting
February 9, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors Nick Simonson In one of the best Simpsons episodes, Moe uses a punch-absorbing Homer to relive his glory days as a boxer. But when Homer ends up having to fight the heavyweight champion, the all too Tyson-like Drederick Tatum, Moe searches through his bag of tricks to find the weapon that [...]
Freshen Up Your Skills
February 9, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors Nick Simonson The season for big fish has come! The snow is rapidly melting, the ice is weakening, and the fish are preparing for the spawn. It is a picture perfect time for spring angling. If you plan to take some photos of your angling success this openwater season, here are [...]
Northern Pike Ice Fishing Tips
February 7, 2009 by admin
By Nick Simonson If you are tired of finicky panfish or walleye with lockjaw and the slow bite that the area has been experiencing throughout this unstable portion of the winter, turn to an old favorite to heat up the action on the ice. One of the most exciting fish to catch in our area [...]
Trophy Northern Pike Fishing in Early Winter
Ice Team If there’s a fish species that gets fired up for cold water, it’s the northern pike. Especially big ones, with distance between the eyeballs. If you’re a little fish, a big pike is your worst nightmare—but if you are an ice angler, a big pike can be your favorite dance partner. Trophy pike [...]
Spearfishing Through the Ice
By Jason Phillips Reminiscent of a scene on the coral reef in the Gulf of Mexico, I watched perch drifting against the bottom of the frozen lake. Subtle breaks in the lake floor, accompanied by a weed bed and an old sunken log were the coral in this picture. As I gazed down the hole [...]
Ice Fishing for Pike
February 5, 2009 by admin
By Jason Phillips According to the weather forecast, March will begin with subzero temperatures which will extend the wait for the snow goose migration. We are in the midst of the spring snow goose hunting season but could be a month away from actually having huntable numbers of geese in the state! With an excess [...]
The Legend of the Grumman Boat
February 2, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors Nick Simonson The fisherman’s dictionary defines the word “boat” as a hole in the water into which money is thrown. Similar to a hunting dog, the price paid for a boat is rarely reflected in the purchase. There’s winterizing, summerizing, trailer repairs, motor tune ups, depth finders, rod racks, lure holders and much [...]
Top 10 Fishing Lures of All Time
February 1, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors Nick Simonson Springtime means stocking the tackle box with jigs, spinners, twisters, spoons, crankbaits and more; usually more lures than I’ll ever need. However, if it came down to it, there is a handful of them I couldn’t go without. For whatever species I was pursuing, I would forsake all other jigs, rigs [...]
Free Fishing Log – Printable Fishing Log
February 1, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors Nick Simonson “Putting together the fishing pieces of the puzzle” Fishing, no matter how good a person gets at it, is still the grandest puzzle of all. There are so many elements that have to be put into place such as weather, season, bait, lures, and so on. When looked at in hindsight, [...]
Don’t You Know How Lucky You Have It?
February 1, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors Nick Simonson I met Ted late last March at the rapidly melting mud-covered boat launch on a small lake in LaMoure County. He was a fellow of about fifty or so, with a slight accent leading me to believe he wasn’t from North Dakota; though he did possess a lot of [...]
