Duck brood, fall flight numbers spike in N.D.
Anticipated to be about 26% above last year’s fall flight.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department
Sharpies down, ruffies up in N.D.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department upland game biologists summarized the spring survey results for sharp-tailed grouse, ruffed grouse and greater sage grouse. Summaries from the spring sharp-tailed grouse census indicate a 13% decrease in the number of male grouse counted compared to last year. Statewide, 2,639 sharptails were observed on spring dancing grounds this year compared to 3,281 in…
With spring water index up whopping 616%, N.D. spring breeding duck numbers spike
Spring breeding duck index was the 23rd highest on record and stands 38% above the long-term (1948-2021) average.
New state-record buffalo in North Dakota
The fish is the largest weighed in the state that was not a paddlefish or pallid sturgeon.
Viral disease reduces deer hunting licenses in North Dakota
The state Game and Fish Department is making 64,200 licenses available, down 8,000 from last year.
Lauding the work of N.D. game wardens
Many people are a little surprised and often enlightened when they visit with a North Dakota game warden and learn more about the people behind the badge. A hunter may not realize the time and resources spent in service training and administrative/safety requirements. Anglers know wardens are checking for over limits and license compliance, but the most citations are issued…
Hunter harvest surveys an important tool for Game and Fish
Anyone who has hunted in North Dakota might have received a hunter harvest survey in the mail from time to time. And right now is one of those times to watch for a survey in your email inbox. For most surveys, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department selects recipients at random, so the more people who fill out and…
‘An instant fishery’
That’s the case with a lot of the younger walleye fisheries in the state now. Still, while word of a good walleye bite can lure ice anglers from afar, when a North Dakota lake is rumored to be kicking out nice perch, off-the-beaten-path waters can turn into small towns overnight.
Drought takes toll on North Dakota mule deer herd
“This year’s count was the lowest fawn-to-doe ratio since 2011 and 2012, following the severe winters of 2008 through 2010.”
North Dakota drought taking toll on prime pheasant areas
Wildlife officials also are concerned about what the upcoming winter and spring might hold for the population of the popular upland game bird.
North Dakota pheasant estimate up, but drought is wild card
It took the state about three years to recover from the last drought, in 2017.
North Dakota survey: Water index drops 80%, duck numbers down 27%
But given the drought that is gripping North Dakota — along with much of the prairie pothole region — it’s not surprising that the state’s breeding duck estimate is where it’s at.
North Dakota has a year-round game-fish season – why?
Some anglers wonder whether the state should have a closed season, or, alternately, whether it should have some type of fish-length restriction that would reduce harvest of larger fish.
It’s official: North Dakota has a new state walleye record
It’s the first 16-plus-pounder recorded in the state.
Bighorn boom in North Dakota
“It’s likely there are more bighorns today than before North Dakota’s statehood in 1889.” But will the all-time record count mean more hunting licenses?
Deer disease accelerates faster than N.D. officials expected
The total number of cases since CWD was initially discovered in North Dakota in 2009 is 44 and 30 of those cases have occurred in the last two years.
Bighorn sheep herds show promise on North Dakota reservation
Hunting could begin in about five or six years, when the first rams will reach about 8 years old. Bighorn tags are highly coveted – a record 16,935 people applied for the six North Dakota licenses allocated in 2020.
Canada geese, mallard numbers soar over 10-year average in N.D.
“We’ve had an unusually mild winter with little snow accumulation. Availability of food should have been good and overall wintering conditions were excellent.”
Mule deer rebound continues in western North Dakota
The Badlands mule deer population made it through last year’s relatively mild winter fine, with spring survey numbers 22% above the long-term average.
Deer disease worries North Dakota wildlife officials – and it’s not CWD
A large-scale outbreak could impact hunting in the region this fall.
Record number apply to hunt bighorn sheep in North Dakota
This year, a record of nearly 17,000 people applied for licenses, with six licenses allocated for upcoming season.
In North Dakota, record number of lakes stocked with walleyes
In the first seven days of this year’s walleye production, haulers traveled more than 8,200 miles and stocked over 150 lakes with 7.6 million fish.
Walleye of a lifetime: This 31-incher came with a tag, too – from 11 years ago
Scott Phipps, of Hatton, N.D., and the 31-inch tagged walleye he caught on Creel Bay of Devils Lake. (Photo courtesy of Scott Hall)Catching a trophy walleye is one thing, but when that amazing fish also carries a tag, and from 11 years ago … well, that’s indeed a fish of a lifetime. For the complete story, click here. Categories: News,…
Record-setting wet conditions setting stage for epic duck hunt in N.D.?
An annual spring survey by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department estimates 3.98 million breeding ducks in the state.
For first time, white-nose syndrome attributed to bat deaths in N.D.
And it’s just the second time the disease has been detected in bats in the state.
Five moose poached in already-thinning northeastern North Dakota
Five adult moose, including two bulls and three cows, were shot and killed sometime around April 25 through April 30 southwest of Dunseith. One of the cows was pregnant with triplets and had two calves cut out of her.
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