The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Outdoor notes:
*Ice is never completely safe. Avoid areas with vegetation, moving water, pressure ridges, and springs. Check conditions as you go along on the ice and don’t move around at night.
*Remember to keep fish caught in 25 feet and deeper; they rarely survive coming up from deep depths.
Tournaments:
*Feb. 5: Lake Williams.
*Feb. 12: Stump Lake.
Fishing:
*Devils Lake elevation, Jan. 25: 1,447.23 feet above mean sea level (MSL).
*Stump Lake elevation: 1,447.14 MSL.
*Lake Sakakawea elevation: 1,827.85 MSL; 16,000 cubic feet per second average (CFS) Garrison Dam daily releases.
*N.D. Game and Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: Devils Lake generally has decent access on East Bay and around the casino, but can vary day-by-day in several areas. Walleye and perch success slowed and more inconsistent. Better activity west of the casino or south end of Creel Bay. Access remains difficult on area lakes with limited activity.
*Devils Lake, Ed’s Bait Shop, Devils Lake: Lots of activity, but tracked vehicles are a necessity with lots of snow on the ice. Try Creel Bay or Black Tiger Bay. Fair to good on Pelican Lake and Lake Irvine, but access is extremely difficult.
*Devils Lake, Lakeview Lodge, Minnewaukan: Weather limiting activity with slower success. Stay on trails, with tracked vehicles needed if venturing off trail.
*Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Continued fair walleye success. Try 25 to 30 feet for walleye; deeper for perch. Tracked vehicles needed if venturing off plowed trails.
*Foster County area lakes, Dry Dock, Carrington: Snow on lakes continues limiting access to anglers using tracked vehicles. Those going are finding some success on area lakes.
*Jamestown Reservoir, Sooper Stop, Jamestown: Snow cover continues making access difficult on many area lakes with activity limited to using tracked vehicles. Some occasional perch success using wax worms.
*Lake Ashtabula, Ashtabula Crossing, Luverne: Fair activity around the crossing.
*Lake Ashtabula, Bayshore, Valley City: Continued fair to good walleye and perch success for anglers using tracked vehicles to access and move around on the ice. Watch for water coming up when drilling holes with the weight of snow on the ice.
*Lake Sakakawea, Cenex Bait and Tackle, Garrison: Not many anglers on the east end of Lake Sakakawea. Look for a mix of walleye and pike with occasional small perch from Lake Audubon. Try 18 to 20 feet.
*Lakes Audubon and Sakakawea, Hwy. 83 Lawn and Leisure, Garrison: Work shallow water in the evening; deeper in the afternoon for walleye on Lake Audubon. Fair bite but not steady. Fair for walleye on Steinke Bay and the south shore at Wolf Creek in 20 to 25 feet on the east end of Lake Sakakawea. Water is clear enough for pike spearing in those areas. OK access onto Audubon from the Totten Trail boat ramp and getting on around Wolf Creek on Sakakawea.
*Lake Sakakawea/Lake Audubon/Missouri River, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Pick City: Missouri River tailrace remains slow. Occasional walleye throughout the day with a little evening bite along Wolf Creek on the east end of Lake Sakakawea’s south shore. Water clarity good for pike spearing on Wolf Creek.
*Lonetree WMA area lakes, Harvey: No new reports from area lakes.
N.D. Parks and Recreation Dept. trails:
*Turtle River, Arvilla: Trails open for hiking, snowshoeing, or fat tire biking. Sledding hill also open with snow cover. Warming house open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Downhill skiing. Conditions can vary. Contact for updates and days of operation:
*Bottineau Winter Park, Bottineau, (701) 263-4556: 18-inch base with one chair, two magic carpets, four runs, and all tubing runs open. Terrain Park closed.
*Buena Vista Ski Area, Bemidji, Minn., (218) 843-2231: 24- to 48-inch machine-groomed base. 14 runs open with terrain features available on Snowflake.
*Frostfire Ski Area, Walhalla, (701) 549-3600: Trails open Saturdays and Sundays.
*Huff Hills Ski Area, Mandan, (701) 663-6421: 12- to 28-inch machine groomed, packed powder base with two lifts, one tow, and 10 groomed and ungroomed runs open. Table tops and rail jump terrain features open on Green Lift area.
Snowmobile N.D. (conditions can vary):
*Cattail (Barnes, Cass, Steele, and Traill counties): 8- to 14-inch base with trails open and in fair condition.
*East-central Valley (Cass and Richland counties): 8- to 12-inch base with all trails open.
*Lake Region (Nelson and Ramsey counties): 7- to 10-inch base with trails open and in fair condition.
*Missouri Valley (Emmons and Burleigh counties): 4- to 8-inch base with trails open and in fair condition with some drifting.
*North-central (Benson, McHenry, Pierce, Ramsey, and Towner counties): Trail open with 8- to 12-inch base. Fair condition with some drifting.
*Northeast (Cavalier, Pembina, and Walsh counties): 8- to 12-inch base with fair conditions. Drifting in many areas.
*Red River North (Pembina and Walsh counties): 8- to 12-inch base with fair conditions but drifting.
*Red River South (Grand Forks and Walsh counties): 8- to 12-inch base with all trails open and in fair condition.
*Sakakawea (McLean and Ward counties) 4- to 8-inch base with trails open and in fair condition, but many drifts and some rough areas.
*Sheyenne Valley (Barnes, Dickey, LaMoure, Ransom, and Stutsman counties): 8- to 16-inch base. Trails open with the exception of O1, M1, M2, and McKinnes trails. L2 permanently closed.
*Sno-trails (Bottineau, McHenry, Renville, and Ward counties: 6- to 10-inch base. Trails open and groomed when possible. Some drifting in areas.
*Southern Valley (Richland County): 8- to 12-inch base with trails open and in fair condition with some drifts.
Numbers to know:
*N.D. Game and Fish Department, main Bismarck office: (701) 328-6300, website: (http://gf.nd.gov).
*N.D. Game and Fish Department, Devils Lake office: (701) 662-3617.
*N.D. Game and Fish Department, Jamestown office: (701) 253-6480.
*Report All Poachers: (701) 328-9921.
