Dakota Recreation Report

Outdoor notes

- Sunday: Unit 1 sandhill crane season closes.

- Nov. 20: Mink, muskrat, and weasel hunting seasons open.

- Nov. 21 Deer gun season closes.

- Nov. 26 Muzzleloader deer season opens.

Fishing

- Lake Sakakawea elevation, Wednesday: 1,844.7 feet above mean sea level; 31,000 cubic feet per second Garrison Dam average daily releases.

- North Dakota Game and Fish Department District Game Wardens: Missouri River tailrace continues producing walleye from the shore off the rocks at night. Walleye success improving south of Bismarck-Mandan. Little activity on Lake Sakakawea. No reports from other southwestern lakes.

- Bismarck, Dakota Tackle, Missouri River/area lakes: Weather permitting, continued walleye success on the Missouri River working from the Rifle Range to the north. Try 2 to 10 feet for bigger fish with jigs and minnows or crankbaits.

- Dickinson, Andrus Outdoors, Lake Sakakawea/area lakes: Limited activity on Lake Sakakawea and area lakes.

- Dickinson, Runnings Farm & Fleet, Lake Sakakawea/area lakes: Missouri River south of Bismarck remains strong for walleye using crankbaits. No reports from Lake Sakakawea.

- Glen Ullin, Fitterer’s Inc., Lake Tschida: Not much activity on Lake Tschida.

- Pick City, Scott’s Bait & Tackle, Lake Sakakawea/Missouri River: No walleye reports from Lake Sakakawea. Missouri River remains good at night using crankbaits from shore. Also try crankbaits or jigs from boat. Slower during the day.

- New Town, Van Hook Bait & Tackle, Lake Sakakawea: Limited activity.

- Watford City, Tobacco Garden Resort, Lake Sakakawea: Little activity with more people hunting than fishing.

- Watford City, One-Stop, Lake Sakakawea: No reports from Lake Sakakawea.

- Williston, Scenic Sports, Lake Sakakawea/Missouri River: Weather permitting, the Missouri River remains good for walleye from both boat and shore. Some shore-fishing activity on the west end of Lake Sakakawea but most anglers are concentrating on the river.

Hunting

- North Dakota Game and Fish Department District Game Wardens: Deer hunting started out slow in the southwest but look for improving success with sunflower harvest underway. Fair to good waterfowl numbers along the east end of the Missouri River System and west-central N.D. Lots of standing sunflowers, so deer hunters should get permission and watch 440-yard regulations. Overall fair deer success.

- Northwest N.D.: Hunters finding nice deer but not big numbers. Good numbers of waterfowl moving into the midsection of Lake Sakakawea but limited hunting pressure. Good numbers of snow geese. Fair pheasant success. Deer success is fair at best.

- Southwest N.D.: Generally fair deer success with warm weather keeping deer tight. Look for more activity with cooler weather. Continued pheasant success. More birds starting to show up with sunflower harvest underway.

- West-central N.D.: Good numbers of Canada geese and snow geese along with mallards. Most wetland re-opened to help spread out waterfowl. Pheasant numbers remain strong. Mixed deer success, in part with the warm weather and standing sunflowers.

Numbers to know

- North Dakota Game and Fish Department main Bismarck office: 701-328-6300, website gf.nd.gov.

- N.D. Game and Fish Department Dickinson office: 701-227-7431.

- Report poachers: 800-472-2121.

- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bismarck, website: www.fws.gov/northdakotafieldoffice.

Tags: dakota report, outdoors