OUTDOOR NOTES
Saturday: High Plains duck, coot and merganser seasons re-open.
Sunday: Late elk Unit E1, moose units M5 and M6 and muzzleloader deer seasons close.
Wednesday: Des Lacs and J. Clark Salyer Nat'l Wildlife Refuge's (NWR) Christmas Bird Counts, 7:30 a.m. Call 385-4046, extension 223, for Des Lacs NWR details or 768-2834 for J. Clark Salyer information.
Thursday: Lostwood NWR Christmas Bird Count, 7:30 a.m. Call 848-2722 for information.
Friday: Upper Souris NWR Christmas Bird Count, 7:30 a.m. Call 468-5467 for information.
Fact Box
The Dakota Recreation Report is compiled by Patricia Stockdill, a freelance writer who lives in Garrison.
Dec. 16: Saskatchewan goose and sandhill crane seasons close.
Sign up early for winter Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshop Jan. 26-27, Cross Ranch State Park, and Feb. 24-26 at Lake Metigoshe State Park. Go to the Game & Fish Dept. website for more information and registration, (gf.nd.gov).
FISHING
N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: Remember to put name and address or phone number on unattended icehouses. Lake Darling slow for northern pike spearing. A few anglers walking onto Lake Audubon with fair walleye and northern pike success. Crooked Lake also producing perch and pike. Missouri River remains good for walleye from both boat and shore although shoreline is starting to ice over. A few more anglers walking onto small northeastern lakes but limited reports yet with many people waiting for better ice conditions. Goose Lake fair to good for perch with most in the 8- to 10-inch range and a few larger. Occasional walleye and northern pike mixed in.
Bismarck, Dakota Tackle, Missouri River / area lakes: Missouri River / area lakes: Anglers walking onto Lake Audubon and finding good numbers of small walleye with occasional keeper northern pike around Nelson Bay. Try the old church road to access the northeast corner for perch. Ramps starting to ice-in along some areas of the Missouri River. Weather permitting, some anglers continues working the Missouri River tailrace.
Bottineau, Four Seasons, Lake Metigoshe: Walking access only with those going finding some bluegill and walleye success.
Bottineau, Lake Metigoshe State Park, Lake Metigoshe: Lake is gaining ice but not many fishing reports.
Coleharbor, Totten Trail Restaurant, Lakes Audubon and Sakakawea: Anglers sticking fairly close to shore and walking onto Lake Audubon but no recent reports.
Devils Lake, Ed's Bait, Devils Lake: Lake iced over but not all areas have safe ice conditions. Some walk-on activity along the west side of the Minnewaukan Flats around the Golden Highway. Also try Pelican Lake or the north end of 6-Mile Bay. Continued northern pike success around Morrison and Sweetwater lakes.
Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Most activity is around the north end of 6-Mile Bay and Lake Irvine as well as small area northern pike lakes. The lake iced over but not completely safe yet.
Estevan, Saskatche-wan Environment, Rafferty Dam and area lakes: No activity with Rafferty and Alameda dams just icing over.
Garrison, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Lakes Audu-bon and Sakakawea: Missouri River remains good for walleye and sauger from both boat and shore. Try jigs and minnows or crankbaits from boat or casting crankbaits from shore. A few anglers walking onto some back bays of Lake Audubon with occasional walleye success.
Garrison, Six-Mile Bait & Tackle, Lakes Audubon and Saka-kawea: A few anglers walking onto the back bays of east Lake Audubon around Velva and 3-Mile bays and finding some nice-sized walleye.
Harvey, Coal Mine Lake and area lakes: Coal Mine Lake fair for northern pike but water clarity not good for spearing. Goose Lake has good perch and walleye success. Harvey Dam fair for pike.
Mandan, Southside MVP, Missouri River / area lakes: Some ice fishing activity around Beaver Bay on Lake Oahe. Not many reports from small area lakes.
New Town, Scenic 23, Lake Sakakawea: Ramps iced over in the Van Hook Arm but no activity until ice conditions improve.
Pick City, Scott's Bait & Tackle, Lake Sakakawea / Missouri River: Weather permitting, anglers continue finding walleye from shore in the Missouri River tailrace with continued boat success. Occasional trout and salmon mixed in. Fewer anglers out, however, with colder weather. No reports from Lake Sakakawea.
Ruthville, Ruthville Store, Lake Darling and area lakes: A few anglers walking out on area lakes but overall limited activity and limited reports.
Williston, Scenic Sports, Lake Saka-kawea / Missouri River / area lakes: Small area lakes have some activity but ice conditions vary so use caution. No reports from Lake Sakakawea.
LAKE LEVELS
Devils Lake elevation, Dec. 7: 1,453.28 feet above mean sea level.
Stump Lake elevation, Dec. 7: 1,453.47 feet.
Lake Sakakawea elevation, Dec. 7: 1,839.8 feet; 16,500 cubic feet per second average (cfs) Garrison Dam daily releases.
HUNTING
Hunting as of Dec. 7:
N.D. Game & Fish Dept. game wardens: Snowmobiles must stay on trails on Game & Fish WMAs and it's illegal to chase and harass wildlife with snowmobiles. Remember safe firearm handling during late season pheasant hunts. Fair Canada goose and duck success along the Missouri River and Lake Audubon. Pheasants are becoming increasingly wary. A few muzzleloader hunters out.
Lonetree WMA, Harvey: Good waterfowl numbers remain around the open water of Devils Lake but birds moved out of central N.D. with lakes and wetlands iced over.
Southern Saskatche-wan, Saskatchewan Environment: Scout areas around the open water of Boundary Dam for late season Canada goose hunting opportunities with other lakes and wetlands iced over.
Northeast N.D.: Devils Lake iced over and most waterfowl moved out.
Northwest N.D.: Not many pheasant hunters out. A few muzzleloader hunters out as well.
West-central N.D.: Good numbers of geese remain on the open water of Lake Sakakawea and the Missouri River. Fair pheasant numbers, although hunters continue working hard for birds.