OUTDOOR NOTES
Sunday: Canoeing on School Section Lake, 10 a.m., meet at the warming house at Lake Metigoshe State Park.
Sept. 1: Dove season opens.
Sept. 1: Youth deer season (ages 14 and 15 - regular license) and antlerless white-tailed deer season (ages 12 and 13) application deadline.
Sept. 2: Deer archery, Zone 1 early mountain lion, Zone 2 regular mountain lion, elk bow (Units E-1, E-2), elk regular (Unit E-5), any elk September (Units E3, E4) and moose bow (Units M4, M5, M6, M8, M9, M10, M11) seasons open.
Sept. 7: Canada geese early season Missouri River Zone closes.
Fact Box
The Dakota Recreation Report is compiled by Patricia Stockdill, a freelance writer who lives in Garrison.
Sept. 10: Sharptail and ruffed grouse, partridge, and squirrel seasons open.
FISHING
N.D. Game & Fish Dept. Dist. game wardens: Devils Lake continues producing small walleye. Missouri River fair to good for walleye but inconsistent, possibly because there is lots of boat traffic. Nelson-Carlson Lake fair for northern pike. Lake Sakakawea fair for walleye.
Beulah, Dakota Waters Resort, Lake Sakakawea: Continued good walleye success in 12 to 18 feet using spinners or Lindy rigs with nightcrawlers. Try Renner, Beaver or Nishu bays along with the intake. Some northern pike mixed in.
Bismarck, Dakota Tackle, Missouri River / area lakes: Increasing boat activity on the Missouri River along with increasing activity on Lake Oahe at Hazelton and Fort Rice. Tailrace good for walleye with some salmon mixed in. Lake Sakakawea slow but producing an occasional salmon.
Bottineau, Four Seasons, Lake Metigoshe: Continued bluegill success with improving walleye success. Occasional large one mixed in.
Coleharbor, Totten Trail Restaurant, Lakes Audubon and Sakakawea: Missouri River remains good for walleye with lots of boat traffic. Try working downstream where there is less boat activity. East end of Lake Sakakawea fair for walleye. Try 7 Sisters, pumping station or Wolf Creek. Occasional salmon near the pumping station. Lake Audubon remains fair with the best success in the morning. Try spinners or Lindy rigs with nightcrawlers. Try crankbaits deeper for bigger fish.
Devils Lake, Ed's Bait, Devils Lake: Continued good for walleye throughout much of the lake. Lots of activity around Pelican Lake, Golden Highway, Howard's Bay in the Minnewaukan Flats or try humps around Fort Totten, New Mil Bay or towers on the main lake with spinners and bottom bouncers in 10 to 25 feet. Also try trolling crankbaits in that same depth or pitching them shallow in less than 10 feet. Northern pike and white bass scattered throughout the lake.
Devils Lake, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake: Continued strong walleye bite. Try trolling spinners or crankbaits in 18 to 25 feet scattered throughout the lake.
Dickinson, Andrus Outdoors, Lake Sakakawea / area lakes: McKenzie and Mossett bays on Lake Sakakawea fair but spotty for walleye. Try 10 to 18 feet using Lindy rigs or spinners with nightcrawlers. McKenzie Bay producing nice-sized smallmouth bass. Better walleye success seems to be coming from the New Town area using spinners with minnows or nightcrawlers in 10 to 18 feet. Anglers are finding some 20-plus-inch walleye. Lots of activity in the Missouri River tailrace with good walleye success.
Estevan, Saskatchewan Environment, Rafferty Dam and area lakes: Good walleye bite on at Rafferty and Alameda dams with morning the best time and success on all species at any given time. Any bait is producing with anglers catching big numbers of perch. Water temperatures are about 70 degrees on both lakes. Walleye range from 1.5 to 3.5 pounds. Not much fishing on Boundary Dam with warm water temperatures and lots of recreational boating. Reminder that it's illegal to transport fish in live wells.
Foxholm, Upper Souris NWR, Lake Darling: Walleye and northern pike success slowed slightly at the Outlet Fishing Area but anglers are still getting good numbers of fish. No reports from Lake Darling.
Garrison, Cenex Bait & Tackle, Lakes Audubon and Sakakawea: Missouri River remains good for walleye. Lake Sakakawea slowed somewhat. Work variety of depths from shallow to down to 40 feet hitting main lake points and drop-offs.
Garrison, Indian Hills Resort, Lake Sakakawea: Nice numbers of walleye in the 4-pound range and bigger with fish scattered throughout the area. Move around using Lindy rigs with nightcrawlers in 15 to 20 feet.
Garrison, Six-Mile Bait & Tackle, Lakes Audubon and Sakakawea: Try crankbaits in 25 to 30 or Lindy rigs with leeches or nightcrawlers or 15 to 25 feet for walleye on the east end of Lake Sakakawea. Lake Audubon fair but slowed somewhat. Try spinners and nightcrawlers in 6 to 25 feet. Missouri River tailrace good for walleye.
Harvey, Coal Mine Lake and area lakes: Coal Mine Lake and Harvey Dam fair for northern pike. Goose Lake good for pike and walleye.
Mandaree, McKenzie Bay Marina, Lake Sakakawea: Fair to good for walleye with most activity around Rough Water Flats towards Independence, the slides and pump house. Try 18 to 20 feet using spinners and nightcrawlers.
New Town, Scenic 23, Lake Sakakawea: Continued walleye success in the southern end of the Van Hook Arm. Work a little deeper.
New Town, Van Hook Bait & Tackle, Lake Sakakawea: Most activity remains south in the Van Hook Arm around the slides or Shell Village. Try 8 to 20 feet using Lindy rigs and nightcrawlers.
Pick City, Scott's Bait & Tackle, Lake Sakakawea / Missouri River: Lake Sakakawea producing some walleye in 18 to 22 feet using a slow Lindy rig presentation with nightcrawlers or crankbaits in deeper water. Better success is farther west of Pick City. Salmon slow but try 65 to 85 feet using flashers and squids or herring. Also try crankbaits in 30 feet in the morning. Missouri River tailrace and river is decent for walleye but fish are running a bit smaller. Good numbers of salmon mixed with some catfish and trout. Try jigs and minnows or nightcrawlers or crankbaits. No reports from Lake Audubon with anglers focusing on the river.
Ruthville, Ruthville Store, Lake Darling and area lakes: Outlet Fishing Area remains good for walleye casting jigs and nightcrawlers. Try casting spoons for northern pike. Also try Baker's Bridge. Continued walleye success at Grano, as well.
Williston, Scenic Sports, Lake Sakakawea / Missouri River / area lakes: Missouri River fair to good for catfish, walleye and northern pike working the backwaters. Lake Sakakawea slowed somewhat.
LAKE LEVELS
Devils Lake elevation, Aug. 24: 1,454.14 feet above mean sea level.
Stump Lake elevation, Aug. 24: 1,454.07 feet.
Lake Sakakawea elevation, Aug. 24: 1,846.28 feet; 80,000 cubic feet per second average (cfs) Garrison Dam daily releases.
RAMP UPDATE
Lake Darling ramp update: All ramps open on Lake Darling, along with the Outlet Fishing Area and Auto Tour Route. Hiking trails are open but have debris and dirt. Beaver Lodge Canoe Trail is closed.
Usable Devils Lake ramps: Round Lake, Pelican Lake, 6-Mile Bay, Creel Bay, Spirit Lake Casino. Grahams Island State Park ramp is usable but access is day-to-day. Call 766-4015 for updates.
Usable Missouri River ramps: Tailrace, Stanton, UPA Washburn, Steckel. Idle speed only from 1,000 feet south of the Steckel boat ramp on the Missouri River to MacLean Bottoms, including MacLean Bottoms. No boating from sunset to sunrise in that same area.
STREAMFLOW
North Dakota river levels and streamflow, Aug. 24:
Des Lacs River gauge, Burlington: River stage, 10.88 feet.
Des Lacs River gauge, Foxholm: River stage, 7.92 feet; streamflow, 263 cfs.
Little Missouri gauge, Long X: River stage, 0.44 feet; streamflow, 347 cfs.
Missouri River, Williston gauge: River stage, 21.65 feet.
Missouri River, Stanton gauge: River stage, 18.01 feet.
Souris River, Foxholm gauge: Streamflow, 1,030 cfs.
Souris River, Minot gauge: River stage, 9.52 feet; streamflow, 1,250 cfs.
Yellowstone River, Sidney, Mont., gauge: River stage, 7.25 feet; streamflow, 14,300 cfs.