Motorists Beware of Deer on Roads
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is hosting family fishing days this summer on Saturdays and Wednesdays at the Outdoor Wildlife Learning Site located adjacent to the main office in Bismarck.
Jeff Long, education coordinator, said the grand opening will be Saturday, the first day of the state’s annual free fishing weekend, a time when adults don’t need a license to fish.
To kick off the event, hot dogs and refreshments will be served from noon to 2 p.m. The first 100 kids ages 14 and younger will receive a gift. Fishing rods and basic tackle are available to use for free. And members of the Missouri Valley Fly Fishers Club will be on hand to give demonstrations and offer fly-fishing tryouts to interested anglers.
Continuing through August, Family fishing days will provide fishing equipment available to be checked out from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays at the OWLS.
“There will be adults in the area to answer questions and check out equipment, but there will be little or no direct supervision,” Long said. “If kids aren’t old enough to get to the pond on their own, they need to have an adult with them.”
The OWLS area has only a picnic shelter and benches, and there are no restroom facilities or running water.
NDGFD also is seeking volunteer instructors to assist with the program. Individuals at least age 18 with an interest in teaching kids to fish should contact Long at 328-6322.
– North Dakota Game and Fish Department
Twenty-four recreational areas on Lake Sakakawea have usable boat ramps, the latest U.S. Army Corps of Engineers count Tuesday showed. The number of ramps open numbers 26.
And a 27th ramp, Parshall Bay, is listed as marginal.
“It looks really good,” said Linda Phelps, of the corps’ Riverdale office.
The open ramps are Beaver Bay, Beulah Bay, Camp of the Cross, Charging Eagle Bay, Dakota Waters Resort, Deepwater Creek (first low water low water), Deepwater Creek (second low water); Douglas Creek, Fort Stevenson State Park, Four Bears Park, Garrison Creek Cabin Site, Government Bay, Hazen Bay, Indian Hills, McKenzie Bay, New Town, Pouch Point, Reunion Bay, Sakakawea State Park, Sanish Bay, (Aftem), Skunk Creek Recreation Area, Sportsmen’s Centennial Park, Van Hook (west low water ramps), Van Hook (Gull Island south low- water), White Earth Bay and Wolf Creek Recreation Area.
– U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Riverdale
Capital City Sporting Clays will hold its annual ladies day Saturday at the shotgunning complex northeast of Bismarck.
Ladies day is designed to provide women who want to shoot a shotgun with instruction in shooting, plus sessions on firearms safety, etiquette, as well as a discussions of choke, loads and shotgun gauges for hunting and shooting clay targets.
The cost of the class is $60 and includes lunch and clay targets.
After a morning in a class room setting and lunch, women will have the afternoon for shooting lessons and hands-on shooting time.
For more information, contact Mark Sandness at 220-1003.
– Capital City Sporting Clays
Audubon National Wildlife Refuge will offer three staff-guided events in June for people who wish to enjoy nature.
Refuge habitat includes native prairie, planted grasslands, numerous wetlands, Lake Audubon, and small woodland lots – all of which provide homes for more than 246 species of birds, 34 mammals, five reptiles, four amphibians, and 37 fish species.
From 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on June 11 and June 25, the the Blue Goose Boat Tours will allow for visitors to ride on a pontoon to Lake Audubon nesting islands to locate duck nests, candle eggs and have a glimpse at a gull and tern nesting colony. Several species of duck nests may be located,
Many other bird-watching and photography opportunities exist along the way, with common sightings including white pelicans, western grebes, double-crested cormorants and bank swallows.
Audubon Refuge will supply life jackets and binoculars for visitors to use. Visitors should arrive 15 minutes early to board the pontoon, which is located one mile in on the auto tour route. Boat tours will be canceled if winds exceed 15 mph.
From 10 a.m. to noon June 27, the refuge will offer a guided wildflower walk on the Outdoor Wildlife Learning Site. A variety of blooming wildflowers will be identified during the walk. Walkers will begin at the visitor center and end on the OWLS. The Audubon National Wildlife Refuge visitor center is located three miles north of Coleharbor on Highway 83 and one mile east.
Visitors should wear sturdy shoes, long pants and long shirt sleeves, as the walk will take participants through tall grasses and among many insects. There is no charge for the events, but visitors must call 701-442-5474 extension 17 to register.
– Audubon National Wildlife Refuge
To honor its state visitors, the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department will host a visitor appreciation day. The regular $5 per vehicle park entrance fee will be waived for all day users on these dates at these state parks.
Lake Metigoshe State Park, Bottineau, June 14;
Grahams Island State Park, Devils Lake, June 15;
Little Missouri State Park, Killdeer, June 15;
Sully Creek State Park, Medora, June 15;
Turtle River State Park, Arvilla, June 21;
Fort Stevenson State Park, Garrison, June 29.
– North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department
Mark Martin took top honors at the In-Fishermen Professional Walleye Trail Pro-Am at Mobridge, S.D., Saturday, sealing his win with 47.93 pounds.
The top North Dakota anglers was Scott Larson of West Fargo who finished ninth with 43.77 pounds.
Fargo angler Tom Backer was 22nd; Jim Carroll of Minot finished 27th, and Casey Holen, of Hazen, was 29th. Finishing in 33rd was Johnnie Candle, of Devils Lake, while Don Roethler, of Bismarck, was 47th. Shannon Kehl, Menoken, was 60th, and fellow Menoken anglers, Gary Maher was 68. Tyler Lacher, of Bismarck, was 76th.
– Professional Walleye Trail
North Dakota Game and Fish Department fisheries personnel recently tagged 1,000 walleye at Devils Lake. Randy Hiltner, northeast district fisheries supervisor, said the popular fishery is in the second year of a three-year tagging project.
“The project involves tagging 1,000 walleye each spring,” Hiltner said. “This allows us to gather information on walleye movements, total fish mortality between years, angling mortality rates and differences in mortality rates between sexes.”
Anglers who catch a tagged fish are asked to report it. “It is very important,” Hiltner said.
Anglers are asked to treat tagged walleye like any other catch, he said. “If you normally would release the fish, then do so,” Hiltner said.
Tags from this year are yellow – while last year’s were orange – and are attached by wire to the top of the fish. The tag does not need to be sent in. Instead, report the tag number, whether the walleye was kept or released, the date caught, length, location and angler’s name and address.
Tagged fish information can be reported online at the NDGFD Web site, gf.nd.gov. Also, tag return cards can be filled out at bait shops around the lake, or anglers can bring in the information or call the Devils Lake Game and Fish office at 701-662-3617.
A follow-up letter will be sent to the angler with information such as when and where the fish was tagged and fish length at the time it was tagged.
– North Dakota Game and Fish Department
Motorists are advised to remain alert and exercise caution when driving after dark as young-of-the-year deer are beginning to disperse from their home ranges.
Increased activity by young deer is a main reason why June is considered a peak month for deer-vehicle accidents. Most accidents occur primarily at dawn and dusk when deer are most active. If an accident does happen, a local law enforcement agency should be contacted.
Also, a permit is required if someone wants to take parts or the whole carcass of a road-killed deer. Permits are free and available from North Dakota Game and Fish Department district game wardens, as well as other local law enforcement offices.
– North Dakota Game and Fish Department
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