ND Flooding

By Doug Leier You don’t have to live in Minot, Bismarck, Jamestown, Valley City or Devils Lake to have battled through drifts of snow and waves of floods through the past several months. Like many North Dakotans I’ve spent my share of time working in and through these floods since last spring, everything from sandbagging [...]

ND Fishing Questions

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 [...]

Right Under My Nose

By Nick Simonson When you stand the world on its head, or do your best to stand on yours, the perspective of how and what things are gets turned upside down and undoubtedly provides a new view of what were once familiar surroundings.  Last week, as I made the move from the house my wife [...]

Snap Shot Ruler Review

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 [...]

Littering Problems

By Doug Leier Most of us who spend time outdoors occasionally wind up in a spot that makes us think we are the only human to have ever stood or floated in that exact location. Realistically, at least in this part of the world, that’s probably not true. If the natural setting is not altered, [...]

Drayton Catfishing Tourney

_____________________________________________ September 17th, 2011 Rod & Reel Rally Catfishing Tournament Hastings Landing Recreation Area Downtown Drayton, North Dakota 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm Cash prizes and a special $30,000 bonus for breaking the ND channel catfish record The Red River of the North’s only WHOPPER catfishing tournament Call 701-454-6184 or 701-454-FISH Go to www.draytonnd.com Email [...]

Boating Safety

By Doug Leier Many anglers and recreational boaters enjoy reading through information and testimonials on the latest electronics and power options for a boat or personal watercraft. It’s a good thing to invest time into finding out ways to more efficiently use every last second of fun outdoors. While honestly no one would expect the [...]

Fishing Paddlefish

By Doug Leier Given North Dakota’s geographic location, sort of on the fault line between east and west, and north and south, it’s easy to understand the state’s diversity of fish and wildlife species. Few states can claim such a variety of critters in terms of roosters, bucks, ducks and pike. In fact after a [...]

Aquatic Nuisance Species

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 [...]

Canadian Night Crawlers

With fishing season coming to light, it’s a great time to start looking into cheap bait.   You can now buy premium Canadian night crawlers for a lot cheaper then your local bait shop.  Canadian night crawlers are considered the highest quality, largest crawlers available.   One of our newest sponsors now has a special [...]

Mahi Mahi Fishing

By Nick Simonson It finally sank in when I was about an hour from the lake cabin where my buddy had been watching my dog while I was on vacation. As I looked around the midway point gas station at the beige grasses, gray skies, and leafless trees, I could hardly believe that just sixteen [...]

Good North Dakota Fishing

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.” [...]

Super Sport License

Our Outdoors By Nick Simonson Many times I think back fondly to reading class in sixth grade at Jefferson Elementary School. My teacher, Mr. Horner, read us a number of exciting books, many with a coming-of-age story behind them, preparing us for our adventure into Junior High the following year. Among the titles was the [...]

Fishing Trivia

By Doug Leier If you asked my wife about my ability to recall seemingly useless fishing trivia data, she would likely say that it is times annoying. I’m not bragging about it, not a chance, but I’ve never understood how I can easily forget the whereabouts of my keys, cell phone, the remote control and [...]

New Fishing Gear for 2011

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, [...]

The Ugly Fish

Our Outdoors – By Nick Simonson I’ll admit it. I enjoy The Soup on E! Network. Joel McHale watches all the crap TV shows, makes fun of each in a thirty-second clip and moves on so I get all the best, worst and weirdest parts of what happened from what I’d never watch on TV [...]

North Dakota Bald Eagles

The recovery of the bald eagle is one of the most visible conservation recovery success stories for our nation. While the plight of whooping cranes and California condors is well documented and well known, these birds have struggled to gain ground and are still rooted on the endangered species list. The bald eagle, on the [...]

Fishing Memories

Our Outdoors By Nick Simonson Paging through the pile of tackle catalogs that all seemed to arrive in my mailbox on the same day (a sure sign that spring is still coming) made me amazed, once again, at the number of lure colors available.  From plastics, to crankbaits, and even standard jigs, there are literally thousands [...]

Some Things Don’t Change

By Nick Simonson I lifted my right foot as the slight humming noise approached from behind me. A few moments later, I lifted my left foot and hopped a step over to keep my balance. The whir, beep and buzz of the floor-cleaning robot my wife received as a Christmas present continued on as I [...]

Looking Ahead

By Doug Leier Looking ahead to 2011 in the outdoors world is kind of like assessing the preseason prospects of your favorite sports team. We kind of have an idea of what to expect, but unpredictable variables like major storms, timely rains or extended dry periods – or injuries in the case of sports – [...]

When The Ice Gets Tough

By Jason Mitchell There is something to be said for swimming down stream, pushing the ball down hill… the path of least resistance.  With fishing, we often have much more success by following these same basic principles like fishing when the fish are biting, fishing lakes that have good populations of fish and using lures [...]

The Extremes

Our Outdoors: To The Extreme By Nick Simonson I know it’s going to get colder. But I’m ready for it. At least I think I am. While manning my post on an extended family member’s farm atop a four-legged stand tucked into the woods along an open grass pasture bordered by a meandering creek, I [...]

Fishing Grand Slam

By Nick Simonson While growing up on the Sheyenne River, I’d make it a weekend effort to complete what I called the Sheyenne Slam. It wasn’t necessarily tough to do, despite the parameters of seven species in two days, considering that most of them were willing biters and after a few weeks on the water, [...]

Freshwater Shrimp

By Doug Leier As a child growing up in northwestern North Dakota, seafood was a special treat, to the point that even fish sticks were considered a pretty rare dinner at home.. Thirty-five years ago “fresh” North Dakota seafood came frozen in a box and was usually deep fried. One of my fondest memories of [...]

Livewell Maintenance

By Doug Leier For the better part of 10 years I’ve written a weekly column, none of which have explored the topic of livewells. The recent discovery of a zebra mussel veliger in the Red River, however, is changing that. Livewells and veligers link together because veligers are the tiny larvae of zebra mussels. They [...]

20 Years Outdoors

By Doug Leier One of the consequences of having four distinct seasons is that we slot various activities during certain times of year. Spring is big for graduations and a few weddings, while in summer we cram and squeeze in vacations, long weekends and more weddings, along with family and class reunions. This year it’s [...]

Fishing Memories

By Doug Leier Every so often as the kids and I set off on an unknown excursion, I’ll quip, “let’s go make some memories.” I understand full well that setting off intentionally to make a memory is part tongue-in-cheek, and the purpose of most outdoor outings for me is spending quality time with the family. [...]

Bluegills for Kids

By Doug Leier Late in the 1980s my family moved from LaMoure to Valley City. I’d fished the Jim River and Lake LaMoure prior to the move, and enjoyed an array of fish, from pike to perch and even the lowly carp. In Barnes County around Valley City, I spent a good chunk of time [...]

Youth in the Outdoors

By Doug Leier The 2009 North Dakota Legislature continued a recent nationwide trend by creating a few new opportunities designed to recruit and retain hunters. A year ago, elected representatives of North Dakota endorsed an apprentice license for hunters who haven’t taken and passed a certified hunter education course. The legislature also reduced the minimum [...]

Fish Disease

Throughout the year, North Dakota Game and Fish Department staff field an array of calls and questions on oddities in the fish and wildlife world. Just the deer season alone results in many calls about rank meat, abnormal growths or sick looking deer. As spring and summer fishing gets into full gear, inquiries turn to [...]

Frabill HiberNet

Now You See It, Now You Don’t Most stowable – not to mention most anticipated – landing net soon to disappear from store shelves. Jackson, Wis. – Retailers and writers first cast eyes on it at ICAST (International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades) last summer in Orlando, Fla. Since then, expectancy has brewed like beer [...]

Fishing North Shore Steelhead

By Nick Simonson If you’ve ever laid eyes on a steelhead, you know the color they bring to a spring fishing trip. The hens are a glistening chrome with a faded pink stripe down their sides and a light green top. The bucks turn a deep pink – almost purple – throughout their sides with [...]

Fishing Gear to Remember

By Bob Jensen When we go fishing, so often we spend a lot of time making sure we have the right lures, fresh line, charged boat batteries, and all those other things that are part of the actual fishing process. And, no doubt, those are important considerations. But there are some other things we should [...]

Missouri Rivers on the Rise

For the first time in years, both of North Dakota’s Missouri River reservoirs are starting off the spring at normal pool elevation, which should mean good things for fishing in the future. In the case of Lake Sakakawea, that doesn’t necessarily mean better angling this year, though, as it takes a few years for fish [...]

Horizontal Jigging

By Nick Simonson Have you ever watched the way minnows move? When I was in Grand Forks, N.D. attending “The School that Shall Not Be Named” I had multiple chances to jump the Red River into East Grand Forks, Minn., and watch as trout, bass and pike preyed upon minnows that the staff had dumped [...]

Wildlife Photo Periods

By Doug Leier In the name of positive thinking, I’ve always operated under the assumption that spring arrives with March and winter isn’t officially on the table until January. That makes for a short eight weeks of winter in my mind. However, when the first snow flies in October and shelterbelts are still packed with [...]

ND Fishing Reg Changes

By Doug Leier Rather than wholesale changes on a yearly basis, the bulk of North Dakota’s fishing rules and regulations are implemented every two years, and 2010 is one of the years when we get a new fishing proclamation. The new regulations begin April 1 and are in place until March 31, 2012. By no [...]

Fishing Diary

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 [...]

President Obama Attacking Fishing Industry

Sport Anglers Alarmed by Proposed Obama Policy A controversy has erupted in the sport fishing community over a new federal management plan for oceans and Great Lakes waters. Recent opinion pieces circulating on the internet and reported on numerous radio stations have stoked the flames through revelations that the policy, if implemented, would prohibit recreational [...]

Time to Get Moving

By Nick Simonson It was hard to hear the beep of the cash register as I stood in line with the few items that my wife requested I pick up from the grocery store. Behind me, a four-year old girl screamed bloody murder each time her mother pried the candy bar from her hands and [...]

Outdoors Online Licensing

By Doug Leier With the possible exception of a first driver’s license, few people spin a nostalgic tale about buying a license “back in the day.” In fact, I struggle trying to come up with any story associated renewal of my North Dakota driver’s license. Same goes for my fishing license, except perhaps buying a [...]

Sculpins

For the Presidents’ Day weekend, I had planned out a solid day of fishing on a lake near my mother-in-law’s house where I knew the fish would bite all day. A couple hours at sunrise put me on some good-sized, fast-biting bluegills with the occasional crappie mixed in. The agenda was to meet up with [...]

Wetlands Key to Spring Flood

By Nick Simonson Reports this month have many people across the region looking out their front windows with worry. In the wake of back-to-back blizzards, the National Weather Service (NWS) released its early-season forecast for this spring’s flood potential for the upper Midwest. Some form of flooding is expected when the snow pack melts, with [...]

Give New Memories a Chance

By Doug Leier Most hunters and anglers remember their first deer, goose or big fish, but it’s the little things that happen in pursuit of game and fish that also help keep people interested in the long term. Think about it. I’d bet most readers would have a favorite story to share about getting stuck [...]

Challenges of Stocking Fish

By Doug Leier Since the late 1990s a number of North Dakota lakes have lost their fisheries because of declining water levels. Now, after near-record snows last winter and abundant rain this summer and fall, many of them are “topped off” again and have the potential to support fish. This is part of the natural [...]

Ice Fishing for Panfish – The Right Ice Rods

By Jason Mitchell More ice anglers are discovering that the tip of the rod we are using has as much influence on our presentation as the actual motion we put on the rod while fishing. A rod with a fast tip for example will give the lure a distinct flash and pound that is more [...]

What is a Frog?

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson   You might be thinking “what does he mean, ‘what is a frog?’ It’s green, hops, eats flies and goes ‘ribbit, ribbit.’” It seems like a pretty easy question, but two out of five kids, ages nine-to-11, when showed a picture of just that animal, could not identify it. Another stumper [...]

Shore Fishing

By Doug Leier As a youngster, I was part of a group of buddies who spent a lot of time fishing. We sometimes chuckled about the people with the biggest and the nicest boats and equipment probably who probably didn’t spend near as much time in and on the water as we did with, let’s [...]

North Shore Steelhead Initiation

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson     Though the weather is an element that is always out of my control, I try not to let it dampen the spirits of a fishing trip; particularly when that trip is my first of the season and my first to a new place. Despite highs in the forties, rain [...]

Managing Fish Habitat

By Doug Leier We’re heading into that time of year when the majority of our outdoors thoughts turn toward fishing. The bulk of the snow geese are well beyond North Dakota. The excitement of the first couple of weekends for spring turkey are past, and those of us who applied for a bighorn sheep, moose [...]

Discovering Trinity

By PJ Maguire Easter weekend, with most of my peers hunting snow geese somewhere from Nebraska to North Dakota, I was in Northern California. My father and I had made the journey from St. Paul together by plane. We were going to visit my sister and her fiancé and their new child my first nephew [...]

Tying Egg Flies

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson In my quest for steelhead knowledge, I have found some interesting patterns, from complex streamers to simple nymphs. Stocking the fly box has been both rewarding and exciting as my arsenal takes shape for my trip to the shores of Lake Superior this spring. The most enjoyable box to compile has [...]

Life Jacket Lesson

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson The weather is cold and hot this time of year, and the fishing can be the same way. Streaky, inconsistent and uneven until the first warm stretch of weather brings April into May. One thing that should not be inconsistent is the attitude of anglers toward boat safety at this time [...]

The Woolly Bugger

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson In my journeys into fly fishing and fly tying, I have not found a more enjoyable fly to put together on the vise and put under the water’s surface than the woolly bugger. The beauty of this streamer comes from its simplicity, both in how it is tied and how it [...]

Getting Kids Hooked on Ice Fishing

By Doug Leier Much has been written on the means and methods to get kids hooked on fishing, and I’ve tested and tried the best of them. Honestly, it’s not that high of a mountain to climb to generate some lasting interest during warm summer days. On the other hand, convincing a youngster like my [...]

Spouse Ice Fishing Trip Tips

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson Fishing is a social sport; ice fishing even more so. I can’t recall a morning after a hot (or not-so-hot) dawn bite that I haven’t stepped out of my shack to see who else was punching holes in the dark, ask how the fish were biting fifty yards away and shoot [...]

Prepping for an Ice Season

By the Ice Team Here’s a toast to your best ice season ever. To help you get off to a good start, here are a few key things you can do. They’re all important, but in no particular order. Keep Your Line Prime One of the most important– and universally overlooked– things you can do: [...]

Counting Coup

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson The term “success” varies among sportsmen.  For some, success is three roosters tucked into a vest, or a limit of walleyes on the cleaning board.  For others, success is simply walking the fields or wetting a line.  Getting away from the everyday with the expectation of success is an easily accomplished [...]

Recapping 2007 in North Dakota

By Doug Leier Over the last five years or so, I’ve written many times that we are living in an era that most anyone else with an outdoors interest will remember as the good old days, at least as far as hunting goes. As I look back at the last 12 months, it seems that [...]

Partridge Patterns – Tying Fly Patterns for Panfish

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson As hunting season hits full stride and the first few birds are placed in the pouches of my upland vest, I can’t help but plan for two things – dinner, of course, and the number of patterns I will tie with the feathers attached to the birds I harvest. With the [...]

Catch & Release Tips

By Doug Leier I’ve always preferred simple tackle for fishing – bobbers, jigs, spoons and hooks – though I’m not categorically against using the latest tools and technology. Provided, of course, their use is within the constraints of the law. I call it low impact angling. Some call it bobbers and worms. Whatever you declare, [...]

Sunrise, Sunset

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson Most anglers are told from an early age that the best times for fishing are dawn and dusk. While these hours of varying daylight provide another transition that fish key in on, the this adage might simply be to get anglers to appreciate moments in the outdoors that many are not [...]

All You Need Is Luck

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson   It has been said that luck is just an excuse for bad fishing. That’s mostly true. If one knows the seasons, the species and the patterns that result when the two cross, fishing success, or at least a couple fish here and there, isn’t tough to come by. Nevertheless, there [...]

My Favorite Things

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson Smallies on orange jigs and crappies on minnows, Waking up to the lake sitting calm out the windows, Shore lunch fillets as the hot oil sings, These are a few of my favorite things. Black striped largemouth and polka-dot gators, Fishing spring walleye in holey green waders, Being outdoors, where the [...]

Fly Fishing Tying – Terrific Terrestrial

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson The Fourth is behind us, and summer is in full swing. If swarms of mosquitoes weren’t a sure sign, the vast numbers and array of other insects present during the day and at dusk is a definite reminder. The table is set for summer’s great binge, and every fly fisherman needs [...]

Spice Up Your Angling

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson   Each November, I assemble the best photos of my fishing trips throughout the region. I then upload the top twelve to the photo site Snapfish.com and make a calendar for my parents and grandmothers as a Christmas present. While showing the 2007 edition to one of her friends, my grandmother [...]

Fishing Laydowns

Joe Zentner  Bank sloping trees that have fallen into the water, known as lay-downs, attract fish throughout the Midwest. Long-time anglers are keenly aware of the value of immersed trees. The primary cover choice of freshwater fish is, in fact, submerged wood. A lay-down is a tree that has fallen into the water and is [...]

Arbor Vital – Fishing Flooded Trees

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson I  think that I shall never see structure lovely as a tree. Pardon the take on Ms. Kilmer’s poem; let’s consider it the angler’s version. But timber – be it live on shore, a deadfall along a river or a man-made reef on a lake – is structure that all anglers [...]

Boater Safety

By Doug Leier Summer outdoor safety is more than applying sunscreen before you head outdoors and wearing a seatbelt as you travel. In this day and age it’s a habit for most of us to secure ourselves with a seatbelt after entering a vehicle. Sunscreen protection is routine. So why is it that few people [...]

Bluegill Fishing

By Ted Takasaki and Scott Richardson Fresh, golden brown bluegill fillets are bound to bring a smile when you lay them on a plate beside baked beans and coleslaw at the summer cookout. Bluegills are a summertime favorite for a lot of good reasons. They are abundant and nearly everywhere. Their populations can stand good [...]

Getting Kids Hooked on Fishing

By Doug Leier I  could try to tell you how to catch whopper walleye, but my advice would be about as reliable as suggestions for chess strategy. I could also pass along the latest tips for limiting out on pike, but that too would be a farce. Five years ago I caught a 38-inch pike, [...]

The Old Crappie Fishing Hole

By PJ Maguire In my day I have lost my share of fishing gear to the bottom of many lakes. Along the way I have heard many stories of family members and peers losing fishing equipment as well. I have often thought about how cool it would be to take an underwater adventure to the [...]

The Golden Bonefish

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson It was a heavy Tuesday morning; the air was a humid blanket over the dew-soaked grass. There wasn’t a breath of wind according to the neighbor’s flag. Storms were brewing on the southwestern horizon, and I hoped to get some fishing in before work. I had walked the dog, like every [...]

Battling Aquatic Nuisance Species

By Doug Leier A few months ago I wrote about the expanding concern regarding aquatic nuisance species and their current and potential impact in North Dakota waters. While North Dakota doesn’t yet have ANS as significant as, say, zebra mussels in the Great Lakes, unwanted plants and animals continue to steal time and money away [...]

The Ugly Fish of Freshwater

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson It never fails. There’s that walleye-like tap at the end of the line, and the sensation of a fish swimming off with the bait. I tighten up the slack in the line, drop the rod tip and gently sweep the rod. Two fillets coming right up; but when the line starts [...]

The World Wide Web and the Outdoors

By Doug Leier Every day we are bombarded with information about websites. But a lot of it is good information. Websites are a great tool to learn more about a specific company or topic. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department website is no exception. While access to the Internet is an indoor activity, a [...]

Fly Swap

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson Quilters have their bees and bakers have their cookie exchanges. At these events, the artists in their respective hobbies get together to exchange patterns and recipes, adding a little more to each other’s experience, each taking away something new to try. The equivalent for fly anglers, the phenomenon that is fly-swapping, [...]

Take Out the Trash

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson As the snow has melted away – once, twice, and now for the third time this spring – sportsmen are able to get out on area shorelines for some great early season fishing. What they are often confronted with on the trip is a reminder of how uncivilized we are as [...]

Paddlefish Changes in North Dakota

By Doug Leier North Dakota’s wildlife and fisheries resources provide some interesting opportunities, such as sage grouse and prairie chicken hunting, and the chance to snag a paddlefish. These species, because of their limited and isolated populations, require cautious management. However, taking a few sage grouse, prairie chickens or bighorn sheep will not hurt the [...]

An Every Day Ice Fishing Adventure

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson   My brother and I set off a couple weeks ago to fish a local lake for perch. I had forgone a trip to Minneapolis due to the impending bad weather and figured we could kill some time before it arrived with some pre-frontal fishing, often recognized to be the best. [...]

Hoppin’ & Poppin’ – Tying Flies

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson     The exciting thing about tying flies and fly fishing is trying out new patterns. Questioning whether a fly looks edible, how, when and where it should be fished and more are part of figuring out the grand puzzle. The trial for every tied fly comes in two phases; first, [...]

Approaching Perch in the Month of March

By Bill Mitzel   Soon, it’ll be rotten out there. Not rancid like spoiled produce, but soft and dark nonetheless. I’m talking about the ice. It’s thick and resolute now, but it won’t last forever, actually, scarcely longer than a few weeks, less in some areas. Fortunately, though, ice fishing’s swan song is a cheery [...]

Fishing Lures – What’s in a Name?

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson When it comes to marketing, a good lure needs a good name. No angler is going to buy lures called The Skunk, Zippo, or The Blanker. Lures must have two essentials to catch the attention of anglers. First they must catch fish, and second they must have a moniker to remember. [...]

Time to Start Tying Flies

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson Over, under, around and through, that’s the way to tie…a fly? Well, that’s the way I finish them at least. Another great start to a fall bird season and the switch to daylight standard time has dashed my hopes of anymore after-work hunting trips. But once again those pre-standard time hunts [...]

The Legend of the Grumman Boat

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 [...]

Fishing with Light Tackle

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson     Lighten up! If I had a nickel for every time I’ve been told that I’d be a rich man. However, there is one time no one has to tell me to lighten up and that is when I am angling for panfish, trout and finicky bass. The allure of [...]

Fly Fishing for Beginners

By Doug Leier At this stage in my life I feel satisfied with what I’ve bagged, tagged and caught, including deer, birds and a few lunker fish. A 40-inch pike is a favorite memory because of the light rod and tackle I was using and my struggle to boat the fish. It was a classic [...]

Save Our Lakes

By Doug Leier Lakes and reservoirs in North Dakota are like a trusty shotgun – when you find one you like, it stands to reason you’ll make every effort to keep it working as long as possible. But you also understand there may come a time when the gun just might not perform like it [...]

Why Do I Fish?

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson Why do you fish? Now that is a question with as many answers as there are people to ask it to. And it is likely that anglers will have more than one response when posed with such an inquiry. I was asked this question recently, and all I could come up [...]

Hunting and Fishing Wirelessly

By Chris Hustad Our evening scouting run started just minutes after we got off the highway. We spotted a flock of snow geese on the horizon, and then another, and another and another. The flock extended for quite a distance, with every bird pointing west/southwest towards a damp cornfield that was just days away from [...]

Best Bass Fishing Lures of Today

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson     Topwater fishing for bass is nothing new. Anglers have experienced the excitement of having bass explode on lures such as the Zara Spook, Rebel Pop-R, and pre-rigged surface plastics like the Bass Rat for decades. But recent revolutions in plastic baits have bass anglers buzzing at the tackle shop [...]

Life Jackets Save Lives…Period

By Doug Leier  I  subscribe to the theory that the only sure-fire guarantee to enjoying your time outdoors is to stay legal and safe. Didn’t bag a deer? No fish in the live well? Returning safely from your outing, and yearning for the next trip outdoors, should ease your mind to some degree. On the [...]

Oh Deer, it’s Smallie Time!

By Nick Simonson       While the tension mounts as you await this year’s deer application results (enjoy the next eight weeks), take some time to relax with the hardiest fish in our waters – the smallmouth bass. Just don’t expect your heart rate to get any lower. With a few simple items of [...]

Outdoors Pests

By Doug Leier Growing up in North Dakota, I was no stranger to the outdoors and all that accompanies exploring the nooks, brooks and crannies. My outdoor explorations included fish, ducks, deer, camping, hiking and just about any other activity possible. I enjoyed – and still do – spending more time out than in. Along [...]

Catch and Release Fishing

By Doug Leier I’m a casual, low impact angler. I have never caught a fish that would qualify me to receive a Whopper patch from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Seldom do I catch a limit, or even a fish to keep. It doesn’t bother me to put a worm on a hook [...]

In Pursuit of Rock Bass

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson     Recently, my fishing buddy Einar came for a visit, and in between largemouth and smallmouth bass, rainbow trout and walleye, there was one fish he hoped to tangle with that he had not landed in the states before and was not available to him in his home country of [...]

Carp

By Doug Leier Few words evoke more negative connotations in the angling world than carp, though I suspect in these parts that cormorant might come in a close second. It seems we’re an angling community that has come to hold certain species as desirable, and any threat to those . well, let’s just say anglers [...]

Fly Fishing Basics

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson     When most people think of fly fishing, they think of the movie “A River Runs Through It,” pristine mountain streams and a glistening rainbow trout held aloft by the L. L. Bean-clad angler. But that isn’t fly fishing; at the most it is a minute part of it. Just [...]

Bullhead Fishing & Kids

By Doug Leier  On a morning not long ago, my kids woke up begging, and it wasn’t the usual quest for Cheerios or to crawl in bed with mom. The dawn-breaking whines were designed to encourage a fishing trip. Specifically, they wanted to catch bullheads. Understand that Joe is 4 and Kaitlyn is 2, and [...]

A Trip to the Fish Hatchery

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson Big things start out small, and many area youth have recently had a chance to see just where such colossal fish such as the northern pike, walleye and jumbo perch get a jump start on life. On April 24, 2006, as part of the Barnes County Wildlife/US Fish and Wildlife Service-sponsored [...]