Dakota Recreation Report

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Outdoor notes

- Sunday: Spring turkey season closes.

Tournaments

- Saturday: Lake Audubon, Totten Trail; Missouri River, Graner’s Bottom; Nelson Lake.

- May 21-22: Lake Oahe, Prairie Knights.

- May 22: Missouri River.

Fishing

- Lake Sakakawea elevation, May 11: 1,839.2 feet above mean sea level; 16,000 cubic feet per second Garrison Dam average daily releases.

- North Dakota Game and Fish Department District Game Wardens: Lake Sakakawea remains generally slow. Missouri River fair to good for walleye around the Stanton-Washburn area. Tailrace remains slow.

- Beulah, Dakota Waters Resort, Lake Sakakawea: Resort opens Saturday.

- Bismarck, Dakota Tackle, Missouri River/Area Lakes: Missouri River slowed south of Bismarck-Mandan but walleye success remains fair to good north to Washburn and Stanton. Not many tailrace reports. Lake Audubon slow with cooler water temperatures.

- Dickinson, Andrus Outdoors, Lake Sakakawea/Area Lakes: Not much fishing activity. A few anglers on Lake Sakakawea but success slow at Skunk Bay. Heart River in Dickinson fair for walleye. Also try the Knife River for northern pike and walleye. Bowman-Haley remains fair for walleye.

- Dickinson, Runnings Farm & Fleet, Lake Sakakawea/Area Lakes: Limited reports from Lake Sakakawea and area lakes.

- Garrison, Indian Hills Resort, Lake Sakakawea: Docks and ramp ready for the season but little activity so far.

- Glen Ullin, Fitterer’s Inc., Lake Tschida: Lake Tschida producing some catfish with some nice-sized bass mixed in.

- Mandan, Southside MVP, Missouri River/Area Lakes: Weather continues limiting activity.

- Pick City, Scott’s Bait & Tackle, Lake Sakakawea/Missouri River: Limited northern pike bite on Lake Sakakawea with light fishing pressure. Try the back bays in warmer water using smelt or herring on the bottom. Look for more activity with better weather. Missouri River tailrace remains slow. A few walleye still taken by the cable crossing but best success is below the Knife River. Some activity from the rocks at night, though.

- New Town, Van Hook Bait & Tackle, Lake Sakakawea: A few anglers trying the Van Hook Arm but limited success so far. Water temperatures remain cool.

- Ray, Lund’s Landing Resort, Lake Sakakawea: Fair for northern pike. Not many walleye reports.

- Watford City, Tobacco Garden Resort, Lake Sakakawea: Some northern pike success from shore with occasional walleye mixed in.

- Watford City, One-Stop, Lake Sakakawea: Fair for paddlefishing with most success around the confluence. Lake Sakakawea still slow, largely due to weather.

- Williston, Scenic Sports, Lake Sakakawea/Missouri River: Look for increasing fishing activity with improving weather. Fair paddlefish success.

Lake Sakakawea boat ramps

- Usable: American Legion (Raums), Beaver Bay, Beulah Bay, Camp of the Cross, Charging Eagle Bay, Dakota Waters Resort, Deepwater Creek, Douglas Creek, Fort Stevenson State Park, Four Bears Park, Garrison Creek Cabin Site, Government Bay, Hazen Bay, Indian Hills, Lewis & Clark State Park, Little Beaver Bay, Littlefield Bay, Little Missouri, Lund’s Landing, McKenzie Bay, New Town Marina, Parshall Bay, Pouch Point, Sakakawea State Park, Sanish Bay, Skunk Creek Recreation Area, Sportsmen’s Centennial Park, Steinke Bay, Tobacco Garden, Van Hook, West Totten Trail, White Earth Bay, Wolf Creek Recreation Area.

Missouri River boat ramps

- Usable: Tailrace, Stanton, Washburn, Sanger, Steckel, Kneifel, Grant Marsh, Fox Island, Little Heart Bottoms, Kimball Bottoms, Graner’s Bottoms, MacLean Bottoms, Hazelton, Fort Rice, Beaver Bay, Walker Bottoms, Fort Yates, Cattail Bay, Langelier’s Bay, State Line.

ND River Report

- Bear Den Creek, Mandaree: Streamflow, 0.36 cfs; river stage, 5.75 feet.

- Cannonball River, Regent: Streamflow, 17 cfs; river stage, 2.32 feet.

- Green River, New Hradec: Streamflow, 2.9 cfs; river stage, 6.54 feet.

- Heart River, Richardton: Streamflow, 79 cfs; river stage, 5.55 feet.

- Knife River, Manning: Streamflow, 7.3 cfs; river stage, 6.88 feet.

- Little Missouri, Marmath: Streamflow, 2,410 cfs; river stage, 6.27 feet.

- Little Missouri, Medora: Streamflow, 1,370 cfs; river stage, 5.23 feet.

- Little Missouri, Long X: Streamflow, 1,690 cfs; river stage, 3.28 feet.

- Missouri River, Stanton: River stage, 8.79 feet.

- Missouri River, Williston: River stage, 12.19 feet.

- Yellowstone River, Sidney, Mont.: Streamflow, 9,720 cfs; river stage, 5.57 feet.

Numbers to know

- NDGF main Bismarck office: 701-328-6300; Web site http://gf.nd.gov.

- NDGF Dickinson office: 701-227-7431.

- Report poachers: 800-472-2121.

- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bismarck, Web site: www.fws.gov/northdakotafieldoffice.

Tags: dakota report, outdoors, fishing, hunting