Dakota Recreation Report

Outdoor notes:

*Ice is never completely safe. Avoid areas with vegetation, moving water, pressure ridges, and springs. Check conditions as you go along on the ice.

*Registration now available for March 17 Wild Game Processing Workshop, N.D. Game & Fish Dept. shop, 3200 E. Main, Bismarck, $25, 1 p.m. Contact Brian Schaffer, (701) 328-6312, to register.

*March 2: Lake Darling.

*March 3: Carpenter Lake, Devils Lake.

Fishing:

*Devils Lake elevation, Feb. 20: 1,449.64 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,449.56 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,838.24 MSL; 25,000 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: East-central area lakes still generally quiet. Spotty at best, walleye success on the west side of Devils Lake. Spotty perch success over on East Devils Lake, but most anglers are seeing 6 to 8 perch a day at best. Occasional walleye mixed in with the perch. Work shallow water in flooded timber or vegetation with tip-ups for pike on Devils Lake. No Missouri River System reports. Sibley and Alkaline lakes inconsistent with some good days for walleye and others are slow. Lake Audubon slowed. Work deep.

*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Anglers having to work harder and drill more holes to locate walleye on Devils Lake.

*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Walleye and perch activity still somewhat slow and inconsistent. Anglers marking fish but bite is inconsistent.

*Devils Lake, West Bay Resort, Minnewaukan: No new reports.

*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Walleye remain slow but look for an improving bite as it inches closer to the pre-spawn feeding and warmer weather. Hit-and-miss perch bite on East Bay.

*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Activity and reports remain limited.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Jamestown Reservoir continues producing crappie in a late afternoon bite. Scattered walleye success. Area lakes slowed.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Some activity but limited reports from small area lakes. Some late evening crappie activity on Jamestown Reservoir.

*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: A few walleye showing up with some anglers now getting 2 or 3 fish in an outing. Work the main lake, but move around and try a variety of depths with fish on the move. Some perch activity finally starting to kick in. Access remains good even with recent snow with good ice. Ice auger extensions could be handy in some areas.

*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Mixed success on Lake Audubon with best walleye activity in less than 10 feet or deeper water more than 30 feet. Fair pike spearing success on the east end of Lake Sakakawea. Try Steinke or Douglas bays in 15 to 18 feet. Spotty walleye success, but those taken are quality fish.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Activity remains light on the Missouri River with generally slow success. Lake Sakakawea also has limited walleye success. Best activity is pike spearing in Wolf Creek or Scoria Bay.

*Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: No new reports.

*Pipestem Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Best activity is late evening and dark hours.

*Pipestem Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: No reports.

*Spiritwood Lake, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: No new reports.

*Spiritwood Lake, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Not many reports.

Downhill skiing:

*Bottineau Winter Park, Bottineau: 8- to 18-inch groomed base. 1 chair, 2 carpets, and 1 handle tow with 8 ski runs and 7 tubing lanes open.

*Buena Vista Ski Area, Bemidji, Minn .: 18- to 40-inch machine groomed base. 15 runs and Bear Track Terrain Park feature open.

*Frostfire Ski Area, Walhalla: 18- to 24-inch machine groomed base. Tube, beginner ski, and Terrain Park with Magic Carpet open. Open Saturday and Sundays.

*Huff Hills Ski Area, Mandan: 18- to 25-inch base with 2 lifts, bunny tow, and 8 groomed runs open.

Snowmobile N.D.:

*East Central Valley Trail (Cass & Richland counties): Trails open from Horace to Wild Rice to Christine, groomed, and in fair condition. East-west ditches in best conditions. Other trails closed.

*Lake Region (Nelson & Ramsey counties: Trail 3 open, groomed and in fair condition with 4- to 8-inch base.

*Northeast (Cavalier, Pembina, & Walsh counties): 3- to 10-inch groomed base with Moonlighter Gorge Trail open east out of Langdon, North Nekoma Trailblazers open from Langdon to Nekoma, South Nekoma Trailblazers Trail open east of Nekoma, and Tri-County Trail open from Osnabrock to Milton.

*All other trails closed.

N.D. Parks & Recreation Dept. trails:

*Grahams Island, Devils Lake: Trails open and in good condition.

*Icelandic, Cavalier: Trails open and in fair condition.

*Lake Metigoshe, Bottineau: Trails open and in fair condition.

*Turtle River, Arvilla: Trails open and in good condition.

Numbers to know:

*N.D. Game and Fish Department, main Bismarck office: (701) 328-6300, website: (http://gf.nd.gov).

*N.D. Game and Fish Department, Devils Lake office: (701) 662-3617.

*N.D. Game & Fish Department, Jamestown office: (701) 253-6480.

*Report All Poachers: (800) 472-2121 or (701) 328-9921.