North Dakota Game and Fish Department
To encourage greater participation in ice fishing, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department is again running the Take Someone New Ice Fishing Challenge from Dec. 16 through Mar. 31, 2025.
Invite somebody new along who has never been ice fishing and log your story here for a chance to a win a fish house donated by Runnings. One random winner will be chosen.
All other winter fishing regulations apply.
Any fish house left unoccupied on North Dakota waters must be made of materials that allow it to float. In addition, fish houses do not require a license.
Other fish house regulations include:
North Dakota’s river otter trapping season is closed. The statewide season’s predetermined harvest limit of 25 has been reached.
Only North Dakota residents were eligible to participate, with a season limit of one otter per trapper.
Looking for a gift for a waterfowl hunter this holiday season? You might want to check out the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s “The Duck Factory – A History of Waterfowl in North Dakota.”
Authored by Mike Jacobs and Erik Fritzell, the 213-page, soft-cover publication in full color traces the history of waterfowl species and their habitats in North Dakota.
Migratory game bird program leader Mike Szymanski said there is a lot of interesting information about the interactions with people and waterfowl in North Dakota.
“This book is appealing to both waterfowl hunters and people interested in history,” Szymanski said. “It has a lot of really cool, old photos of hunting scenes and historical figures.”
“The Duck Factory” is an important story because of North Dakota’s longtime and continuing contribution to the world of migratory birds, Szymanski said. “North Dakota is the most important state for breeding ducks,” he added. “The contribution of ducks from North Dakota into the fall flight is unmatched by any other state, and its importance to duck hunters cannot be understated. Describing the history of waterfowl in North Dakota was a story that we felt was certainly worth telling.”
The book is sold only online for $24.99, including shipping, on the Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov, by clicking on Buy and Apply, and then Shop.
Nonprofit organizations eligible to receive big game hunting licenses in 2025 must have the application submitted to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department no later than Jan. 1.
North Dakota state law provides direction for the Game and Fish director to allocate big game hunting licenses to eligible organizations. Under this directive, up to two elk, moose and pronghorn licenses, and 10 white-tailed deer licenses, can be issued to organizations for fundraising.
Eligible organizations must be exempt from federal income taxation under section 501(c)(3), and must provide proof from the Internal Revenue Service to that effect. In addition, organizations must be active and in good standing with the office of the North Dakota Secretary of State.
Successful lottery applicants must agree to donate at least 10% of the net proceeds of any license fundraiser to a conservation-related project, such as hunting access, conservation education, habitat development or shooting range management.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department and North Dakota Department of Agriculture are again opening the Coyote Catalog, a statewide effort designed to connect hunters and trappers with landowners dealing with coyotes in their areas.
Landowners can sign up on the Department of Agriculture website, ndda.nd.gov.
Hunters and trappers can sign up at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.
Anyone who registered for the Coyote Catalog in the past must register again to activate their name on the database.
Throughout winter, hunters or trappers may receive information on participating landowners, and should contact landowners to make arrangements.
Landowners experiencing coyote depredation of livestock should first contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services.
The Coyote Catalog will remain active through March 31.
For more information, contact Ryan Herigstad at Game and Fish, 701-595-4463 or rherigstad@nd.gov; or Michelle Mielke, at the Department of Agriculture, 701-328-2233 or mmielke@nd.gov.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department cautions hunters to be wary of ice conditions.
In some parts of the state, there are smaller waters that show the appearance of safe ice. Hunters should be cautious of walking on frozen stock ponds, sloughs, creeks and rivers.
Ice can form overnight, resulting in unstable conditions. Ice thickness is not consistent, as it can vary significantly within a few inches. Hunters walking the edge of a cattail slough will not find the same ice thickness in the middle, as the edges firm up faster than farther out from shore.
A few reminders:
The statewide duck and white-fronted goose seasons close Dec. 1. However, duck hunting in the high plains unit reopens Dec. 7 and continues through Dec. 29.
In addition, the season for Canada geese closes Dec. 16 in the eastern zone, Dec. 21 in the western zone and Dec. 27 in the Missouri River zone. Light goose hunting closes statewide Dec. 27.
Archery deer, fall turkey, sharp-tailed and ruffed grouse, partridge and pheasant hunting seasons continue through Jan. 5.
The season for tree squirrels closes Feb. 28.
The loss of habitat across North Dakota is impacting game and nongame populations and, consequently, hunting license allocations. Coupled with increased challenges to finding hunting access, the state’s longstanding hunting heritage is suffering.
To raise awareness about the need for more wildlife habitat on the landscape in a state that has lost its share over the years, and find productive pathways forward, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department is hosting the Habitat and Hunting Access Summit on Dec. 17 at 4:30 p.m. at the Bismarck State College National Energy Center of Excellence.
Hunters, landowners, legislators, local business owners and others passionate about the state’s wildlife are encouraged to attend. Registration is required and space is limited to 250 attendees. Food and drinks will be provided.
For more information or to register visit gf.nd.gov/habitat-hunting-access-summit.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department District 1 advisory board meeting is scheduled Nov. 13 in Ray.
For a complete list of meetings, visit the Game and Fish Department website at gf.nd.gov.
District 1 – Divide, McKenzie and Williams counties
Date: Nov. 13, 7 p.m.
Location: Auditorium, 215 Main St., Ray
Host: Ray Volunteer Fire Department
Advisory board member: Beau Wisness, Keene
Fisheries crews completed their annual salmon spawning operation on Lake Sakakawea, collecting 1.9 million eggs.
Russ Kinzler, North Dakota Game and Fish Department Missouri River System fisheries supervisor, said the 2024 spawn was almost perfect with lots of fish and great weather.
“The numbers of fish in the spawn this year were amazing to see, and we saw a noticeable increase in the size of our salmon compared to last year,” Kinzler said. “In addition to collecting enough eggs for our needs, we were able to help South Dakota by collecting over 715,000 eggs for their salmon program.”
Kinzler said the eggs should be enough to stock the 350,000 smolts planned for Lake Sakakawea in 2025.
The average size of female salmon was 5.8 pounds, more than a pound larger than last year. The largest salmon was 9.7 pounds.
Chinook salmon begin their spawning run in October. Since salmon cannot naturally reproduce in North Dakota, Game and Fish personnel capture the fish and transport them to Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery where they are relieved of their eggs.
Once the eggs hatch, young salmon spend about six months in the hatchery before being stocked in Lake Sakakawea.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will continue its Hunter-Harvested Surveillance program during the 2024 hunting season by sampling deer for chronic wasting disease from select units in the northeastern portion of the state.
Samples will be tested from deer taken from units 1, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F1, 2K1, 2K2, 2L, 3A4 and 3B2. Outside of this area, hunters can still have their animal tested by taking it to a Game and Fish district office, deer head collection site or by using a self-sampling kit.
CWD is a slow-moving brain disease of deer, moose and elk that can cause population-level impacts under high infection rates.
Hunters are encouraged to drop off heads of adult or yearling deer at collection locations listed on the department’s website at gf.nd.gov. Fawns and head-shot deer cannot be tested. Hunters wishing to keep the heads can bring them to a Game and Fish district office during business hours to have them sampled.
Self-sampling kits are available for hunters who wish to have their deer tested but are unable to drop the head at a collection site. The do-it-yourself kit allows hunters to remove the lymph nodes and ship them to the department’s wildlife health lab for testing.
Results can be expected within four weeks and will be sent to your Game and Fish My Account inbox.
Hunters should note that carcass disposal requirements apply statewide. The entire carcass can be transported outside of the gun unit where it was harvested. If transported out of the gun unit, the carcass waste (material left after processing) must be disposed of via landfill or waste management provider. This requirement does not apply to heads dropped at CWD collection sites, or lymph nodes submitted for CWD surveillance.
More information on CWD is available at the Game and Fish website.