Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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.
*March 15: Earth Day Patch contest deadline. Go to the N.D. Game & Fish Dept. website, (gf.nd.gov) for details.
Tournaments:
*March 7: Devils Lake.
Fishing:
*Devils Lake elevation, Feb. 24: 1,448.98 feet above mean sea level (MSL).
*Stump Lake elevation: 1,448.91 MSL.
*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,837.96 MSL; 24,400 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.
*N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: Use extreme caution with warm weather creating variable, slushy, and generally poor ice conditions in some areas. No Devils Lake or Missouri River System reports.
*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Fair walleye and perch success. Continue working deep for perch from 25 feet out to 50 feet depending on location. Try 18 to 25 feet for walleye using rattling presentations. Try tungsten jigs and spikes for perch. Most activity is in front of the casino, Creel Bay, or East Bay Campground.
*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Improving walleye and pike success but perch remain spotty and slow. Work deep for perch but be prepared to keep them from those depths. Try northern feeder lakes for walleye and perch.
*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Continued small walleye success working 17 to 25 feet. Try Lake Irvine for a mix of perch and walleye. Work deeper for perch starting around 20 feet. Try East Bay or East Devils Lake. Bigger perch seem to be coming from Lake Irvine, however.
*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Warm weather brought out lots of anglers with overall scattered and fair success throughout area lakes.
*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Lots of activity throughout area lakes with the good weather. Look for lots of slush and water on top of the ice throughout many area lakes, however, and watch for deteriorating ice along shorelines
*Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing, Luverne: Access remains good off the crossing down to Sundstrom’s Landing. Look for a mix of perch and crappie in the channel with occasional nice-sized walleye and pike.
*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Anglers moving around on the lake more accessing off of Ashtabula Crossing and Sundstrom’s. Look for scattered success.
*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Lake Audubon spotty for walleye. Anglers marking fish on the east end of Lake Sakakawea but the bite is finicky. Try the Honey Hole, stumps, or coal veins on the Missouri River for walleye.
*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Missouri River tailrace continues producing walleye from boats using jigs and minnows. Some ling mixed in. Hit-and-miss success from the wing walls with OK shore success from along the boat ramp. Try casting crankbaits. Continued pike success from the river, as well, but Lake Sakakawea remains slow.
*Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: Area lakes remain slow.
*Pipestem Reservoir, Pioneer Bait & Tackle, Jamestown: Access remains closed.
*Pipestem Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Access closed for the winter.
*Spiritwood Lake, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: No new reports.
Downhill Skiing:
*Bottineau Winter Park, Bottineau: 10- to 25-inch base with all runs open and in good condition. Chair and carpet lifts open. Three Sunny Side and four Backside tubing runs and lift open with snow jumps and rollers open in the Terrain Park.
*Buena Vista Ski Area, Bemidji, Minn .: 18- to 32-inch machine groomed base with 14 runs and Terrain Park open.
*Frostfire Ski Area, Walhalla: Six trails, Harebell beginner trail, and Terrain Park open Friday through Sunday.
*Huff Hills Ski Area, Mandan: 24- to 30-inch machine groomed base. Nine runs, bunny hill, and all lifts open. Open daily.
Snowmobile N.D. trails:
*Cattail (Barnes, Cass, Steele, & Traill counties): 5- to 9-inch base with trails open and in good condition.
*East-Central Valley (Cass & Richland counties): 6 - to 12-inch base with all trails open and in good condition.
*Lake Region (Nelson & Ramsey counties): All trails open except Trail 6 with 4- to 8-inch base.
*Missouri Valley (Burleigh & Emmons counties): Sterling, Moffit, and Zeeland trails open with 3- to 6-inch base. Watch for possible water on lakes and sloughs. Snow removal operations along Highways 83 and 11 created large drop-offs and deep cuts. Slow down and beware of changing conditions. Thin ice west of McKenzie on Sterling Trail by culvert on large slough. Stay on shoulder. Open water on Moffit Trail along highway north of Moffit. Chevrons in place directing traffic to shoulder. Zeeland to Strasburg fair but poor to fair conditions Strasburg to Linton with some bare spots.
*Northeast (Cavalier, Pembina, & Walsh counties): 5- to 8-inch base with all trails open and in fair to good condition.
*Red River North (Pembina & Walsh counties): All trails open with 4- to 8-inch base. Good conditions in ditches, marginal in open areas.
*Red River South (Grand Forks and Walsh counties) West Loop closed but other trails open and in fair to good condition. 4- to 8-inch base.
*Sheyenne Valley (Barnes, Dickey, LaMoure, Ransom, & Stutsman counties): 8- to 12-inch base. J1, V2, V5, V6, L1, and M1 trails open but hard-packed and in poor to fair condition. McKinnes Trail moved to Hwy. 46.
*Southern Valley (Richland County): 8- to 14-inch base with all trails open and in fair condition.
*All other trails closed until there are better snow conditions.
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.