Dakota Recreation Report: Oct. 19, 2020

Outdoor notes:

*Oct. 24: Mink, muskrat, and weasel trapping season opens.

Fishing:

*Devils Lake elevation, Oct. 13: 1,448.9 feet above mean sea level (MSL).

*Stump Lake elevation: 1,448.8 MSL.

*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,839.45 MSL; 13,300 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.

*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Weather permitting, look for continued walleye activity along the bridges. Try jigging Raps. Also try working deeper water with lead-core.

*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Wind and weather permitting, anglers were still finding some walleye but look for cooler weather to slow activity.

*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Little activity throughout area lakes.

*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Try jigs or mimic minnows on Barnes, Diamond, Reule, Alkaline, or Dry lakes, as well as the Jamestown Reservoir for walleye. Good numbers with some nice-sized ones mixed in.

*Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing, Luverne: Anglers working a little harder but work the channels off the breaks for some 17- to 19-inch walleye. Also try from shore in the morning or evening with jigs and minnows. Some bass mixed in.

*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Wind limiting activity but look for some walleye success in deeper water.

*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Garrison: Work shallow in the mouth of bays on the east end of Lake Sakakawea, pitching jigs onto the shoreline for walleye. However, angler numbers limited by wind.

*Lake Sakakawea, Indian Hills Resort, Garrison: Wind continues limiting activity but those going are finding occasional walleye using jigging Raps.

*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Missouri River tailrace continues producing salmon with best success from shore. OK walleye night bite from shore with some catfish and pike mixed in. Lake Sakakawea OK for salmon along Sakakawea State Park boat ram or spillway. Try casting crankbaits. Look for some success at Government Bay. Best success is from shore but also try trolling crankbaits. Work points for walleye using jigging Raps or shiver minnows.

Hunting:

*Cranes: Birds generally moved out of the northern tier.

*Pheasants: Generally fair to good success but be extremely cautious with identification because a lot of young birds aren’t fully colored yet. Fair partridge numbers in pockets.

*Waterfowl: Good success in east-central N.D. with lots of activity south of U.S. Highway 281. Northeast and north-central hunters faring OK but local birds starting to push out and limited influx of migrants earlier in the week. No movement yet for mallards or Canada geese around northeastern N.D. but some light geese are moving in north of Devils Lake. No movement of northern birds around the midsection of Lake Sakakawea yet, either. Fair success, at best, in the areas with poor water 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 & Fish Department, Jamestown office: (701) 253-6480.

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