Articles

Leier: Hunters should prepare physically as well as mentally

Fargo With the close of summer, you will notice a swing from fishing rods to shotguns. For the next two months, every day is one day closer to the next hunting season.

• Photo

Leier: CRP has done much for North Dakota's hunting prospects

Fargo Throughout the years I have been writing, I have continued to highlight the Conservation Reserve Program – and for good reason. It’s not by sheer accident that North Dakota’s wildlife populations have experienced a contemporary revival that rivals most hunters’ recollections of “the good old days.”

• Photo

Leier: Influx in Canada geese means longer hunting season, larger limit

Fargo When North Dakota’s early Canada goose season starts Aug. 15, hunters who find themselves in the right situation will likely have a limit of 15 birds a day, up from eight last year and five in 2010.

• Photo

Leier: Fishing in North Dakota has a rich history

Leier: Stocking, new waters increase opportunities for fishing in North Dakota

Fargo If you’re into numbers, around 140,000 North Dakota residents were licensed to fish last year, and that doesn’t include all those under age 16 who don’t need a license.

• Photo

Leier: It's not too early to start thinking about deer licenses

Fargo It’s not even June, but the chatter along river banks, fishing piers, boat landings and bait shops isn’t just about where the fish are biting or the big one that got away. In fact, every year around the backside of May, there’s almost as much talk about deer season.

• Photo

Leier: Free fishing a good way to get young anglers hooked

It’s hard to believe when I glance at the calendar that it’s May, and not June or maybe July.

• Photo

Leier: Any time is the best time to fish

I am the first to admit I am not a professional angler. When it comes to tips and tactics on how to land a lunker walleye or fill a stringer in short order, I have got more questions than answers.

• Photo

Leier: Regulation changes for year-round game fishing season unneeded

Recently a reader took issue with an explanation I previously provided regarding harvest of big fish in the spring prior to the time that either walleyes or northern pike have spawned for the year.

• Photo

Flood, drought alter fishing regulations

I don’t necessarily consider myself old, but I do know I’m old enough to remember the drought of the late 1980s and early 1990s when Devils Lake was hardly visible from Minnewaukan, and one day I walked across the parched bottom of Hobart Lake in Barnes County.

• Doug Leier

Columns

Leier: Purple martins draw some local interest

Fargo - Many people who don’t hunt or fish are still familiar with national conservation organizations like Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Pheasants Forever.

• Photo

Leier: Some things to keep in mind about spring goose season

Fargo - In the spring of 1999, I was working as a game warden in the Cass County area when the first-ever spring light goose conservation season arrived.

Leier: There's still plenty of time for ice fishing

As February begins you’ve noticed the days, both in front and in back, are adding sunlight and the balance of winter begins to shift toward spring.

• Photo

Leier: It is never a bad time to join a club geared to outdoors

FARGO - If I tried to list all the organizations and clubs just in North Dakota that are working to advance the cause of fishing, hunting, trapping, conservation, education and training, I’d likely fill most of this column.

• Doug Leier

Leier: Talking turkey for ND hunters

Fargo - For the next month or so, winter predator hunting and the Feb. 16 calendar opening of the spring light goose conservation season are about the only games in town for most hunters.

• Photo

Leier: A lot goes into making regulations

Fargo - Any frequent reader of this column will realize that I’m fairly open-minded about any outdoors discussion and savor a passionate conversation on outdoors topics. One topic that seems to come up fairly frequently is regulations, and whether we need more or less of them.

• Photo

Leier: Snow, ice can cause problems for fish in winter

Fargo - When we talk about winter wildlife mortality in North Dakota, most people think of pheasants or deer, as these species are often visible in the countryside along ditches, shelterbelts or harvested agricultural fields.

• Photo

Leier: The right first step is key in becoming a game warden

Fargo - It’s been a long time since I began my career with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department as a district game warden in January 1996. I’ll say it feels like yesterday and 17 years ago in the same assessment.

• Photo

Leier: 2013 is a critical year for wildlife in North Dakota

Fargo - When it comes to looking ahead at how 2013 will shake out for hunting and angling, I can’t help but see a mixed bag of prospects.

• Photo

Leier: 2012 will be remembered for unusual conditions

Fargo - As the inevitable change of calendars from 2012 to 2013 is upon us, I will end the year in traditional fashion with a look back at the past 12 months from an outdoors perspective.

• Photo