T-bone showing some love for the popular ling...fish sticks never tasted so good

Jake Anderson from the Ballards trip showing T-bone how real men catch fish

Spring Turkey Drawing Held, Licenses Remain

The 2010 spring wild turkey lottery has been held and more than 750 licenses remain in nine units. Only those hunters who do not have a license for the 2010 spring season are eligible to apply.

Licenses remain in Unit 06, Bowman County; Unit 17, portions of Billings and Golden Valley counties north of Interstate 94; Unit 30, portions of Morton County; Unit 31, Mountrail County; Unit 44, Slope County; Unit 45, Stark County; Unit 47, Eddy, Foster, Kidder, Sheridan, Stutsman and Wells counties; Unit 51, Burke County and portions of Renville, Bottineau and Ward counties; and Unit 99, Mercer and Oliver counties.

Hunters who do not have a license can apply online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov, or call (701) 328-6300 to request an application. Licenses are issued on a first-come, first-served basis.

Spring turkey hunters must purchase a 2010-11 hunting license, as last year’s 2009-10 licenses expire March 31. In addition to the spring turkey license, hunters must have a fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate, and a general game and habitat license. Also, hunters ages 16 and older must possess a small game license, or combination license.

Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply.

Nonresident Any-Deer Bow Licenses Remain

More than 200 any-deer bow licenses are still available to nonresidents in 2010, according to Carrie Whitney, licensing supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

The Game and Fish Department began issuing nonresident any-deer bow licenses March 1, and nearly 1,100 of the allotted 1,305 licenses for 2010 have been purchased.

Remaining licenses are issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Nonresidents can print out an application for mailing at the Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov, or call (701) 328-6300 to request an application. Only one license is allowed per hunter.

The number of nonresident any-deer bow licenses available is 15 percent of the previous year’s mule deer gun license allocation. The department issued 8,700 mule deer licenses in the 2009 deer gun lottery.

North Dakota’s 2010 moose, elk and bighorn sheep proclamation has been finalized and applications are available at the state Game and Fish Department’s website. The deadline for applying is March 17.

A total of 561 elk licenses are available to hunters this fall, the same as in 2009.

Units E1 and E2 license holders are able to hunt during the bow and regular seasons. Prior to this year, applicants had to choose either the archery or firearms option. Hunters must use legal archery equipment during the bow season, but can use either legal firearms or archery equipment during the regular season. However, hunters are restricted to unit and type of elk as designated on license.

Similar to 2009, units E3 and E4 will each have a September and October any-elk season, an extended season for all any-elk license holders in November and December, and a season for antlerless elk beginning in September and continuing through December.

E3 and E4 lottery license holders must hunt in their unit for the first three days of the season. After the first three days, lottery license holders may hunt either unit. Landowner preference license holders may only hunt in their unit.

Unit E5, which includes the remainder of the state not included in units E1-E4, is open to all lottery license holders. Hunters may only take the type of elk designated on their license.

A total of 173 moose licenses are available in 2010, an increase of 25 from last year. All moose hunters are allowed to hunt during the bow and regular seasons with the appropriate legal archery equipment or firearm. Hunters are restricted to unit and type of moose as designated on license.

The boundary for moose hunting units M10 and M11 has been adjusted to focus more hunting pressure on the Missouri River bottoms area south of Williston where moose numbers have been increasing. Unit M11 has been reduced in size with the northern boundary now U.S. Highway 2. Unit M10 has been expanded west to the Montana border.

Unit M1C will remain closed due to an extremely low moose population in the northeastern portion of the state.

The bighorn sheep season will open two weeks later in October to coincide with the rut, allowing hunters a better opportunity to harvest an adult ram. Six licenses, an increase of one from 2009, are available in three units – one license in Units B1 and B3, three in Unit B4, and one license auctioned through the Midwest Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation. The bighorn sheep hunter drawn in Unit B1 is also eligible to hunt in Unit B2.

To apply online, or to print out an application to mail, access the Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov. License vendors are scheduled to have paper applications by March 8.

Bighorn sheep, moose and elk lottery licenses – including second choice cow elk licenses – are issued as once-in-a-lifetime licenses in North Dakota. Hunters who have received a license through the lottery in the past are not eligible to apply for that species again. 

Spring Light Goose Season Opens Feb. 20

North Dakota’s spring light goose season officially opens Feb. 20, but hunters shouldn’t expect to see geese migrate through anytime soon.

North Dakota’s annual spring season opens in February in case weather conditions allow for an early arrival. Availability of food and open water dictate when snow geese arrive in the state. Early migrants generally start showing up in the southeast part of the state in mid-to-late March, but huntable numbers usually aren’t around until the end of March or early April. Movements through the state largely depend on available roosting areas and the extent of the snow line.

Residents can hunt during the spring season by having last fall’s 2009-10 bird licenses. Otherwise, hunters will need to purchase either a 2010-11 combination license; or a small game, and general game and habitat license. Licenses are available from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Bismarck office, the department’s website at gf.nd.gov, or by calling (800) 406-6409.

Hunters must obtain a new Harvest Information Program registration number before venturing out into the field. Those purchasing a license are able to register with the HIP at that time. Otherwise, hunters should call (888) 634-4798. The HIP number is good for the fall season as well, so spring hunters should save it to record on their fall license.

Nonresidents need a 2010 spring light goose season license. The cost is $50 and the license is good statewide. Nonresidents who hunt the spring season remain eligible to buy a fall season license. The spring season does not count against the 14-day fall hunting season regulation.

A federal duck stamp is not required of either residents or nonresidents.

The Game and Fish Department will provide hunters with migration updates once geese have entered the state. Hunters can access the department’s website, or call (701) 328-3697, to receive generalized locations of bird sightings in North Dakota until the season ends or geese have left the state. Migration reports will be updated periodically during the week.

The spring season is only open to light geese – snows, blues, and Ross’s. Species identification is important because white-fronted and Canada geese travel with light geese. The season is closed to whitefronts, Canada geese, swans and all other migratory birds.

The statewide season is open through May 9. Shooting hours are 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. There is no daily bag limit or possession limit. Electronic and recorded calls, as well as shotguns capable of holding more than three shells, may be used to take light geese during this season.

There are no waterfowl rest areas designated for the spring season. Hunters should note that private land within the waterfowl rest areas closed last fall may be posted closed to hunting.

Nontoxic shot is required for hunting all light geese statewide. Driving off established roads and trails is strongly discouraged during this hunt because of the likelihood of soft, muddy conditions, and winter wheat that is planted across the state.

To maintain good landowner relations, hunters are advised to seek permission before hunting on private lands or attempting any off-road travel during this season. Sprouted winter wheat is considered an unharvested crop. Therefore, hunting or off-road travel in winter wheat is not legal without landowner permission.

All regular hunting season regulations not addressed above apply to the spring season. For more information on regulations refer to the 2010 Spring Light Goose Hunting Regulations and the 2009 North Dakota Waterfowl Hunting Guide.

Plan your 2010 openers

 
 North Dakota Report All Poachers Hot line 1-800-472-2121 

shoot Doug an email if you have  a question about hunting, fishing, trapping! outdoors@rock102online.com