Average size of Lake Sakakawea female salmon was 6 pounds, and once again there was an abundance of young male salmon, which typically forecasts a good run the next couple years.
Big game biologist: Mule deer fawn production has been on a positive trend since 2013.
Lake Sakakawea had the eighth highest catch of young-of-the-year walleye on record. And Devils Lake saw fair to good numbers of walleye, with the catch close to average even though Game and Fish didn’t stock any walleye in the fishery this year.
Palmer amaranth seedlings have egg-shaped leaves with a hair-like protusion at the leaf tip. (Photo by Christy Sprague, Michigan State University)With pheasant season opening this weekend, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department is asking hunters be on the lookout for Palmer amaranth, an invasive weed that was recently identified in the state for the first time. Palmer amaranth is…
This year’s duck brood index was up 37 percent from last year, and showed 5.11 broods per square mile, an increase of 39 percent.
North Dakota’s 2018 pronghorn hunting season is set, with 1,075 licenses available in 10 open units. That’s way up from 410 licenses and five open units last year. But if you’re not from North Dakota, you’re out of luck – the hunt is only open to state residents.
While catch-and-release is often encouraged under the right conditions, fish reeled in from this depth will likely die if released.
“Considering not many went into Lake Sakakawea, this was one of the largest stockings of more than 8 million fingerlings into the smaller fishing waters across the state.”
Population index is down 30 percent from the same time last year; number of roosters heard crowing this spring reportedly down statewide, with decreases ranging from 15 to 38 percent in the primary regions holding pheasants.
Drought conditions and not as many hunters in the field last fall meant fewer pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge in the bag.
(Conservation Law Foundation)A fish kill affecting adult rainbow smelt is ongoing in portions of the upper half of Lake Sakakawea. Dave Fryda, Missouri River System fisheries supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said the cause of the die-off has been documented in the state numerous times in the past. “The vast majority of the dead and dying…
Antlered mule deer licenses increased by 150 from last year, antlerless mule deer by 550, antlered whitetail by 150 and antlerless whitetail by 150.
Biologists counted 2,540 mule deer over 245.8 square miles during this year’s survey. That’s 45 percent above the long-term average, with overall mule deer density in the badlands at 10.3 deer per square mile, down only slightly from 10.9 in 2017, and well above low of 4.6 in 2012.
(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)Hunter success during last fall’s pronghorn hunting season was 75 percent, according to statistics provided by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Game and Fish issued 410 licenses (255 lottery and 155 gratis), and 366 hunters took 275 pronghorn – 264 bucks, 10 does and one fawn. Each hunter spent an average of 2.4 days…
Down 11 percent from 2016 and 9 percent below the five-year average. Status of bighorn sheep hunting season will be determined Sept. 1, after the summer population survey is completed.
The whoopers that do make their way through North Dakota are part of a population of about 400 birds that are on their way from wintering grounds at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas to their nesting grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada, a distance of about 2,500 miles. Anyone seeing these endangered birds as they move through the state is asked to report sightings so the birds can be tracked.
Mule deer hunters did particularly well, with buck success at 83 percent, antlerless mule deer 86 percent.
North Dakota’s 2018-20 fishing proclamation is set, with regulations effective April 1, 2018 through March 31, 2020. Noteworthy regulation changes include: The season for taking of nongame fish with a bow will now be open year-round. The transportation of live white suckers, other than within Richland, Cass, Traill, Grand Forks, Walsh and Pembina counties, is now illegal. The beginning of…
Elk licenses also are up; status of bighorn sheep season to be determined after summer population surveys are completed.
And of 362 elk hunters, 211 were successful – or 58 percent.
The most common violations were boating-related.While game and fish violations were up in 2017, the number of citations has remained relatively consistent in North Dakota from year to year, the state Game and Fish Department said in a news release Monday, Jan. 29. Robert Timian, chief of enforcement for Game and Fish, said there are three basic causes of violations…
An additional 16,400 mallards were tallied statewide.
Whitetail buck, mule deer doe were taken during 2017 deer gun season from same unit in southwestern N.D. Since 2009, the total now stands at 11 deer to test positive for CWD in North Dakota – all from the same unit.
Biologists counted 2,548 mule deer, down from 3,003 in 2016, in the aerial survey in October. The buck-to-doe ratio of 0.32 (0.48 in 2016) was lower than the long-term average of 0.43 bucks per doe, while the fawn-to-doe ratio of 0.76 (0.90 in 2016) was down from the long-term average of 0.91 fawns per doe.
Fisheries biologists have completed fall reproduction surveys, which evaluate natural reproduction, stocking success and forage abundance in many waters across the state. And, mostly, the news is good.
But fair reproduction for ducks in traditional breeding areas this year still makes for good fall hunting potential in the state.
Shop our online store for products and gear: Print of the Year, Outdoor News History Book, Outdoor News Clothing and more!
