Dakota Recreation Report

Talk about it

Notes

- Saturday: Northern Badlands Chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation banquet, Bismarck AMVETS.

Fishing

- Ice is never completely safe. Use caution, especially around bridges and areas with vegetation. Check local conditions before venturing onto ice. Let someone know your location and estimated return time.

- Lake Sakakawea elevation, Wednesday: 1,838.8 feet above mean sea level; 26,000 cubic feet per second Garrison Dam average daily releases.

- North Dakota Game and Fish Department District Game Wardens: Lake Audubon fair for walleye. Lake Sakakawea slow with a few anglers on White Earth Bay but limited success. Access is somewhat better. Missouri River fair from the boats but high releases make it more challenging. Wing walls remain good for walleye with some catfish mixed in.

- Bismarck, Dakota Tackle, Missouri River/area lakes: Most activity remains on Beaver Bay of Lake Oahe with fair northern pike and perch success. Some nice-sized pike are showing up near the creeks adjacent to the lake. Slush and water re-froze so it’s a little easier to get around. Weather permitting, the Missouri River tailrace was fair for walleye from boats, off the rocks from shore and from the wing walls.

- Dickinson, Andrus Outdoors, Lake Sakakawea/area lakes: Limited activity due to last weekend’s storm.

- Dickinson, Runnings Farm & Fleet, Lake Sakakawea/area lakes: Bowman-Haley Dam fair for walleye. Indian Creek Dam continues producing small perch and walleye using jigging spoons with minnow heads. Larson Lake slow although some 2- to 4-pound northern pike being taken using small rigs or jigs with minnows. No reports from Lake Sakakawea.

- Garrison, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Lake Sakakawea: Lake Audubon has access off the East Totten boat ramp with a fair number of anglers on the ice. No reports from Lake Sakakawea. Missouri River fair for walleye but fast current makes it tougher to work the water. Fish are nice-sized but success isn’t fast and furious.

- Glen Mullin, Fitterer’s Inc., Lake Tschida: Lots of snow over the past weekend limited activity.

- Mandan, Southside MVP, Missouri River/area lakes: Eckroth Bottoms continues producing a mix of northern pike and walleye with some walleye in the 3-pound range.

- Pick City, Scott’s Bait & Tackle, Lake Sakakawea/ Missouri River: Continued walleye success in the Missouri River tailrace, weather permitting, off the wing walls, rocks and from boats. No activity on Lake Sakakawea.

- Watford City, One-Stop, Lake Sakakawea: Some activity at Tobacco Garden with fair success.

- Williston, Scenic Sports, Lake Sakakawea/Missouri River: Not much activity although a few anglers still going to the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers and Lake Sakakawea.

Snowmobiling

- Beware of thin ice statewide.

- Cattail (Steele, Cass and Traill counties): 8-inch base. Trails open and in fair condition but not groomed.

- East Central Valley (Fargo, Casselton area): 8-inch base. Trails open and in fair condition but not groomed.

- Lake Region (Devils Lake area): 8-inch base. Trails open and in fair condition but not groomed.

- May-Port (Mayville, Portland area): 6-inch base. Trails open and in fair condition but not groomed.

- Missouri Valley (Bismarck, Linton area): 4-inch base. Trails open and in fair condition but not groomed.

- North Central (Leeds, Rugby area): 7-inch base. Trails open and in fair to good condition with some sections groomed.

- Northeast (Cavalier, Langdon, Edinburg area): 5-inch base. Trails open with some sections groomed. Eastern trails around Cavalier not groomed and need more snow to continue any grooming. Trails groomed around Fairdale, Adams and Edinburg. Conditions held up better in the western portion of the system and have fair to good snow conditions.

- Peace Garden (Bottineau, Rolla area): 6-inch base. Trails open but won’t be groomed. Fair condition with rough stretches. Several sections re-routed due to thin ice.

- Red River North (Grafton): 8-inch base. Trails open and in fair condition but not groomed.

- Red River South (Grand Forks, Fordville, Manvel area): 5-inch base. Trails open and in fair condition but not groomed.

- Sargent County (Sargent and Richland counties): 8-inch base. Trails open and in fair condition but not groomed.

- Sheyenne Valley (Jamestown, Valley City, Lisbon, Oakes area): 8-inch base. Trails open and in fair to good condition with some sections groomed.

- Sno-Trails (McHenry & Ward counties): 6-inch base. Trails opened with some sections groomed and in fair to good condition.

- Southern Valley (Wahpeton, Mooreton): 7-inch base. Trails open and in fair condition but not groomed.

Skiing

- Big Sky, Big Sky, Mont.: 59- to 88-inch base with powder and machine-groomed conditions. All runs open with 19 lifts operating.

- Huff Hills, Mandan: 22- to 26-inch base with 3 inches new snow over the past weekend. Thirteen runs open with two lifts and bunny tow operating.

- Red Lodge, Red Lodge, Mont.: 30- to 38-inch base with packed powder and machine-groomed conditions. 61 runs open and 6 lifts operating.

- Terry Peak, Lead, S.D.: 24- to 32-inch base with powder and packed powder conditions. All runs open and lifts operating.

- North Dakota State Parks and Recreation Department cross-country trail report. Annual or day use pass needed.

- Cross Ranch, Hensler: 24- to 30-inch base with fair conditions.

- Fort Lincoln, Mandan: 15- to 20-inch base with trails open but ungroomed.

- Fort Stevenson, Garrison: Trails groomed last week but are hard and packed.

Numbers

- NDGF main Bismarck office: 701-328-6300, website, http://gf.nd.gov.

- NDGF Dickinson office: 701-227-7431.

r Report All Poachers: 800-472-2121.

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

Tags: recreation report, outdoors