Outdoors North Dakota

The Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery produced a record number of walleye fingerlings, just under 12 million!! North Dakota Game and Fish have stocked 177 waters with walleye fingerlings from hatcheries in Garrison and Valley City. North Dakota is going to continue to have good fishing across the state for years to come! https://gf.nd.gov/news/7698

One of the best places in North Dakota to get your summer lake on!

It's #701 day!!

Summertime is beach season at many North Dakota State Parks!

The Scheels Boundary Battle Catfish Tournament is under way! Check out some pics from day one!

Haven't been fishing in a while or looking to get back into it? Want to take kids, grandkids or friends fishing?

This upcoming weekend is the summer free fishing weekend all across North Dakota. Residents of North Dakota may fish without a fishing license June 1-2, 2024.

Photo - Jamestown Reservoir with tons of fish, including walleye, crappie, perch, bass, sunfish, and pike. It's time to create memories of the great outdoors with your family and friends in North Dakota!

It was a joy to fish with Jason Mitchell Outdoors Television this week in the Devils Lake area. Not only did we have a limit by lunch time, but Jason fishes with integrity. He seriously cares for the resource and respects his audience. What you see in photos and on episodes is real. Content is not posed or staged, the bait in the picture is what caught the fish. You see healthy, beautiful fish that were just caught. Eaters were kept, big ones thrown back. ND Tourism is glad to be a long time partner with JMO!

Awesome day on the water with Jared Pokrzywinski at Visit Devils Lake, North Dakota

The world record attempt is this Saturday, May 18 at Fort Stevenson State Park!

Happy snagging! May is paddlefish time! 168 caught so far, check out this seasons catch at https://www.northstarcaviar.com/SeasonCatch.aspx

Sunday, Monday and Thursday are set aside as "snag and release" days while Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are designated as mandatory "catch and keep" fishing. Hours open for snagging are 7:00am to 7:00pm.

Lake Sakakawea fishing preview from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department Walleye looking good. Size may be down from the previous couple of years, watch for a couple of really good year classes of fish coming up. Runoff will be below normal unless mountain snowpack changes. See full report including pike and salmon outlook at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfgiy5LsjTs

"We caught some ND pike this last weekend. The good ice and prairie vistas probably made the best fishing experience of the season for us."

Photo and caption by .j.strand

Love seeing these pups exhibit pure joy against the backdrop of North Dakota's upland paradise.

This emotional roller coaster of an episode shows the joy of dogs on endless North Dakota prairies, and the unfortunate mishaps that accompany bird dog hunting that will tug at the heartstrings of all bird dog lovers.

Our friend Jason Mitchell Outdoors Television is still catching big perch on Devils Lake!

Devils Lake has been producing some absolute monster perch this winter. Interestingly, many of the biggest perch I have caught this winter have come in less than ten feet of water. Basically catching them or finding them incidentally while walleye fishing. The shallow perch patterns can be hard to crack at times but the fish are often much bigger and more aggressive. If you are marking shallow fish that won’t bite or missing fish that are just hanging on the lure but not hitting aggressively, change up. Throw down a Drop XL with just a minnow head or something small. Some of those marks might be some giant perch. A mistake I have made regretfully is assuming I was dealing with small walleye.

Snow Goose season opened Saturday and the groundhog says we are going to have an early migration this year. Actually, the lack of snow across the flyway has prompted sighting of small flocks entering the state early. Reporting sites in Nebraska are peaking and South Dakota numbers are increasing. The 2024 spring conservation light goose season will come early in North Dakota!

Comparing last year to this year, we have less snow in February 2024 than we had in April and even May of 2023.

The 95-day reservation window to book State Park campsites for the full service camping starts today! Summer camping is only three months away!

We're officially 95 days away from the full-service camping season! 😎

While most North Dakota State Park campgrounds are open year-round, it's important to note that comfort stations and water services may not be available until May 17 when facilities are fully operational. Don't forget, you can still lock in your reservations for cabins, yurts, shelters, and meeting rooms up to a whole year in advance!

Let's beat those winter blues by looking forward to summer fun. Save this handy cheat sheet so you know when to book your getaway!

Amazing fish! Great work Perch Eyes Guide Service and Lodging!

33 inch CPR

Devils Lake ND is among the best places to ice fish in the county! Of course, we already knew that! https://fishingbooker.com/blog/ice-fishing-destinations/

5 Reasons to Ice Fish at Devils Lake Devils Lake, North Dakota, is a fishing destination unlike anywhere else. I recently had a chance to go ice fishing on the lake and here are five reasons I think ice anglers need to add Devils Lake to their bucket list: You will catch fish! There’s no guarantee you will leave town with a four-day ...

Moondog?? Cool!

Cool temps ➡️ Cool fact. If you're from the area, you've probably heard of a sundog. But what about a moondog? 🌕 Yep, even at night the conditions are just right during cold temps, a halo will appear around a bright moon. What a sight!

📷: Marshall Lipp

We're making ice this weekend in North Dakota!

Cold is not all bad, it provides fishable ice! 😉 For more info about ice fishing in North Dakota, go to https://www.ndtourism.com/articles/winter-fishing-nice-be-ice

Photo: Krista Lundgren/USFWS

Did you know that you can take someone new ice fishing with you this year and enter to win a new fish house! See contest details and rules at https://gf.nd.gov/campaigns/take-someone-new

Would also be a great way to start 2024!

Happy New Year Woodland Resort, Devils Lake, ND!

How's the ice for fishing? Ice conditions vary statewide. Warmer that average weather has slowed the formation of consistent ice. The good news is the lack of snow has produced a good solid base where ice is present.

Devils Lake is seeing between 8" and open water, Sakakawea is open on the east end and seeing 4"-12" on the west end. Pothole lakes in the south central are reporting 6-8 inches.

There is fishable ice out there, make sure to check in with nearby bait shops, game wardens, online fishing communities or land management agencies who may be valuable sources for ice condition updates before accessing water bodies. Go slow and check ice depth often.

See Lake Sakakawea ice fishing access points at https://bit.ly/3Rt93cC

Sometimes you can hear a photo.

The weather has been perfect for hunting geese the past couple weeks. Canada Goose season continues in North Dakota through Dec. 16th in the eastern zone, Dec 21 in the western and Dec 29 in the Missouri River Zone where they have been abundant.

FMI on hunting Canadian geese, go to https://gf.nd.gov/hunting/canada-geese

Today is the official beginning of late season hunting in North Dakota. Select National Wildlife Refuges, including Arrowwood, Audubon, Des Lacs, J. Clark Salyer, Lostwood, Tewaukon and Upper Souris are open for late season pheasant hunting today. https://www.fws.gov/

With high temperatures forecast to be in the mid-30's to high 40's all the way through mid December, this is a great time for a late season pheasant hunt. It's going to be much nicer pheasant hunting in December than it was just after the opener back in October!

Glad to see memories like this being made hunting pheasants in North Dakota!

We’re making memories this week on North Dakota’s prairie. Travis Frank’s son shot his first pheasant!👊🏻