Dakota Recreation Report for Jan. 28, 2019

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.

*Remember to keep any fish caught in 20 feet of water and deeper because they don’t survive coming up from those depths.

*It’s illegal to chase, harasses, or pursue all wildlife – including coyotes – with any motorized vehicle.

*Jan. 31: Deadline for removing all hunting gear, including tree stands, etc., from N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Wildlife Mgmt. Areas.

*Feb. 1: Lonetree Rocky Mtn. Elk Foundation banquet, Harvey Eagles, 5 p.m.

Tournaments:

*Feb. 2: Lake Ashtabula, Larimore Dam, Goose Lake.

Fishing:

*Devils Lake elevation, Jan. 22: Data unavailable.

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,448.15 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,839.45 MSL; 19,000 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*N.D. Game and Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: Devils Lake remains slow for walleye and perch. The best success is for pike. Access is still OK but beware of ice heaves and varying ice depths. No Missouri River System or east-central area lake reports.

*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Black Tiger Bay continues producing perch in the day with a walleye bite in the morning or late afternoon. Also try Woods-Rutten Road for walleye. Some pike spearing activity along Rocky Point or 6-Mile Bay.

*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Recent snow could make travel on the lake difficult with tracked vehicles recommended. Best success remains on pike with a few walleye mixed in. Perch remain slow.

*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Best walleye success is in the early morning and late afternoon. Lots of small fish with some nice keepers in between. Perch remain finicky. Fish are looking but not biting. Good pike success using tip-ups.

*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Wind and weather slowing angler numbers. Access could become more difficult getting on and around on area lakes, as well.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Continued activity on area lakes with mixed success. Some anglers faring well while others aren’t. Move around on a lake as well as going to other lakes if it’s slow.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Continued activity throughout area lakes with most success using minnows.

*Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing, Luverne: No new reports.

*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Steady success with overall fair activity. Look for a mix of perch and walleye. Access generally remains OK.

*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait and Tackle, Garrison: Lake Audubon producing some walleye but the lake has more snow on the ice after the weekend weather so be prepared in the event of getting stuck. Some spearfishing activity on east end Lake Sakakawea back bays with some success. Try Steinke or Douglas bays. Weather permitting, anglers finding some walleye in the Missouri River tailrace.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Limited activity with recent cold and snowy weather.

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

*Pipestem Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Fair crappie and perch success but angler numbers slowed.

*Pipestem Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Fair crappie success.

*Spiritwood Lake, Pioneer Bait and Tackle, Jamestown: Limited reports.

*Spiritwood Lake, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: No new reports.

N.D. Parks and Recreation Dept. ski trails (conditions can vary):

*Grahams Island, Devils Lake: Cross-country trails open and groomed, weather permitting. Snowshoe trails also open.

*Lake Metigoshe, Bottineau: Lots of cross-country skiers on the trails with fat tire bike trails also seeing activity. Trails in fair to good condition.

*No reports from other parks.

Downhill skiing (conditions can vary):

*Bottineau Winter Park, Bottineau: 12- to 18-inch base with beginner runs, five runs, seven tubing lanes, with two jumps and one rail Terrain Park open.

*Buena Vista Ski Area, Bemidji, Minn .: 18- to 36-inch machine groomed base with 16 runs,

*Frostfire Ski Area, Walhalla: Delayed opening for the season.

*Huff Hills, Mandan: 22- to 28-inch powder, packed powder base. Seven runs and three lifts open.

Snowmobile N.D. (conditions can vary):

*East-central Valley (Cass and Richland counties): Conditions deteriorated and trails closed until conditions improve.

*Lake Region (Nelson and Ramsey counties) Trails 1, 2, 5 and 6 open with 3- to 9-inch base. Good condition.

*North-central (Benson, McHenry, Pierce, Ramsey and Towner counties): NC 1, 2, and 3 trails closed but all other trails are open with 4- to 5-inch base. Fair to good condition but some icy areas.

*Northeast (Cavalier, Pembina, and Walsh counties): 4- to 10-inch base with Moonlight Gorge trail open from Langdon to the east. NESCA, Tetrault, Tri-county and Parsite trails open. North Nekoma Trailblazers trail open from Langdon to Nekoma to Milton.

*Southern Valley (Richland County): All trails open with 4 to 7-inch base. Fair conditions with ice in some areas.

*All other trails remain closed

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 and Fish Department, Jamestown office: (701) 253-6480.

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