Buffaloberry Patch

Fishing in Winter

Anglers are encouraged to refer to the 2022-24 North Dakota Fishing Guide for winter fishing regulations.

Some winter fishing regulations include:

• A maximum of four poles legal for ice fishing. However, when fishing a water body where both open water and ice occur at the same time, an angler is allowed a maximum of four poles, of which no more than two poles can be used in open water.
• Tip-ups are legal, and each tip-up is considered a single pole.
• There is no restriction on the size of the hole in the ice while fishing. When a hole larger than 10 inches in diameter is left in the ice, the area in the immediate vicinity must be marked with a natural object.
• It is only legal to release fish back into the water immediately after they are caught. Once a fish is held in a bucket or on a stringer, they can no longer be legally released in any water.
• It is illegal to catch fish and transport them in water.
• It is illegal to leave fish, including bait, behind on the ice.
• Depositing or leaving any litter or other waste material on the ice or shore is illegal.
• Any dressed fish to be transported, if frozen, must be packaged so that the fillets are separated and thus can be easily counted without thawing. Two fillets count as one fish.
• The daily limit is a limit of fish taken from midnight to midnight, and no person may possess more than one day’s limit of fish while actively engaged in fishing. The possession limit is the maximum number of fish that an angler may have in his or her possession during a fishing trip of more than one day.

Hunters Urged to Participate

North Dakota hunters receiving a survey this winter are encouraged to help with wildlife management by completing the survey online or returning it to the state Game and Fish Department.

Chad Parent, Department survey coordinator, said big game, small game, waterfowl, swan, turkey and furbearer questionnaires will be mailed to randomly selected hunters.

Parent said it is important hunters complete and promptly return the survey, even if they did not hunt. The harvest survey allows Game and Fish to evaluate the hunting season, to determine the number of hunters, amount of hunting activity and size of the harvest.

A follow-up survey will be mailed to those not responding to the first survey.

Venison Sausage Egg Bake

Venison Sausage Egg Bake

For this recipe and others to bring wild game to your table with flavor, visit Cayla's Kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1 pound venison breakfast sausage (60:40 venison to pork mix with breakfast seasoning, ground, and frozen as loose sausage)
• 1 tube refrigerated biscuits
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 small can diced green chiles
• 8 eggs
• ¼ cup milk
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cook sausage in medium skillet until brown.

Cut or tear each biscuit into pieces and place in the bottom of a 9 x 9 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Add cooked venison sausage, then cheese and green chiles on top of biscuits.

Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper and pour over everything else.

Bake 35-45 minutes until eggs are cooked.