Trophy-sized blues often hold in the deep troughs of the main river channel. Use a boat to dead-drift with the current, presenting fresh cut-bait through the depths. Troll shad-imitating plugs or chrome spoons. Harlan County Reservoir, NE, White Bass: Schools of white bass can be targeted at the mouths of creek arms by casting jig-and-minnow combos.
There are many tremendous catfish rivers in the Great Plains states, but the stand-out is the Red River, on the border of North Dakota and Minnesota. The unlikely star of the Red River is actually the smallest of the primary catfish species, but these channel cats are not small.
Channel catfish will eat just about anything, but the bigger fish seem to prefer whole fish or fresh cut-bait. Many anglers use locally caught fish like creek chubs, mooneyes, goldeyes or redhorse suckers. Cut these into steaks, chunks or fillets and change them often to keep them fresh. Get a lure into the fray to experience amazing action. Walleye anglers visiting Lake Sharpe this fall should find plenty of marble-eyed fish. It is home to huge numbers of toothy walleyes among the shifting sand bars, root wads, submerged trees.
Walleyes often school-up in fall, and the action only gets better moving into November. Productive baits are similar to those on other walleye waters: night crawler harnesses, leeches, jig-minnow combos and artificial lures, such as shad-imitating crankbaits. Anglers looking for trophy-sized fish often ramp up the size of their baits. Big fish need bigger meals, and these walleyes are eating as much as possible in preparation for winter.
Calamus Reservoir, NE, Muskies: Large swimbaits do a good job of imitating the fish muskies normally eat. The lake is loaded with predator fish to keep the resident gizzard shad population in check: largemouth bass, wipers, blue catfish and channel cats, just to name a few. But feisty smallmouth bass are the targets of many anglers here, and those anglers are rarely disappointed.
Popular sites include the long riprap-lined dikes and the extensive rocky shorelines. This sprawling lake features plenty of bays, coves, points and submerged timber — all sites that produce fish winterlong.
Many of those are walleyes, but jumbo perch that weigh more than a pound will keep the action steady. Live minnows are always productive perch baits, but many of the glacial lakes of South Dakota are teeming with another perch favorite: freshwater shrimp. Live wigglers mayfly larva are a good substitute for shrimp. Bring plenty of them to help you cull your catch. Other good live baits include red wigglers, bee moths and spikes.
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To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow. Get Digital Access. Providing habitat is the single most important component of managing wildlife populations. On the Northern Great Plains, grasslands are critical to most wildlife during early stages of their life. Most of the land found throughout the Northern Great Plains is privately owned and much of that private land has been converted into agricultural cropland with more grasslands being converted every day.
A wide variety of wildlife habitat information has been published, but little is directed specifically to the Northern Great Plains. Understanding this, we produced this introductory guide for farmers, ranchers and landowners wishing to enhance their property for wildlife. Much of the information presented in this guide is based upon wildlife research conducted in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana.
We focused on white-tailed deer, mallards, pheasants and wild turkeys. There are some aspects of habitat management that are universal for all species inside-out cutting of hay in a field , while others are species specific tree plantings benefit deer and turkeys but not ducks. Additionally, the relative importance of species-specific needs may vary across the region; habitat needs of white-tailed deer in southern Minnesota may not be the same as white-tailed deer in northeastern Montana.
We discuss habitat management tactics that are conducted during critical periods in the annual life cycle of these animals, such as during fawning and nesting seasons, while also providing information about habitat needs throughout the year. Disking and harrowing should not be done on native prairie as it may induce the establishment of noxious and invasive species. Prescribed burning of prairie in late March and April generally promotes desired warm-season grasses and forbs.
Late season prescribed burns September will also reduce woody vegetation encroachment and encourage forb growth. Prescribed burning can be labor intensive and require special equipment. Before starting a prescribed burn contact your local fire department. Native grasses and forbs provide nesting, bedding and escape cover for a wide variety of wildlife species.
This is especially true for upland gamebirds and waterfowl that require an open, early successional cover without an overhead canopy of trees. For example, ground nesting birds often build their nests at the base of native bunch grasses like big bluestem or side-oats grama.
Additionally, some species of early cool season grasses provide spring forage for deer, and many forbs provide highly nutritious forage as well as a seed source. It is easier to maintain native prairie than try to recreate it after the land has been converted to crop production.
Native prairie grasslands need to be grazed or burned on a regular basis, or undesirable exotic cool season grasses Kentucky bluegrass, smooth bromegrass will expand. Providing blocks of grasslands with a minimum size of 40 acres is ideal.
Planting and establishing native prairie is a multi-year commitment. It is not recommended to plant native grasses and forbs if desired native grasses and forbs are already present. Mechanical disturbance may allow nonnative invasive plants to become established. For more information about re-establishment and maintenance of native grasses and forbs, or planting modified dense nesting cover mixes in grass stands, contact your local state extension service and NRCS office Appendix A.
Shrubs can provide perennial cover and food for a wide variety of wildlife. In areas with large expanses of cropland, planting multi-row blocks of shrubs will provide important nesting and bedding cover. Shrubs are generally more drought tolerant and easier to establish on the prairie compared to trees and can be easily incorporated into fencerows, field borders, riparian buffer strips and odd, irregular areas such as gullies and the corners of circular irrigation pivots. Trees tend to require more effort to become established on the prairie; requiring tilling or weed barrier fabric, watering, and protection from over-browsing by deer.
Planting trees along riparian corridors tends to be more successful in the long term once the roots have reached the water table. Narrow tree planting one to three rows tend to fill in with snow in the winter. It should be noted that planting trees in some areas might not be appropriate. Prairie chickens, and many other grassland nesting birds, avoid areas with trees. Upland game and waterfowl biologists will discourage the planting of trees that grow tall within feet of a wetland, as these trees may provide hunting platforms for hawks and owls.
Areas that have soils with high salt concentrations can be improved for wildlife by planting shrubs and trees that are tolerant of saline soils such as buffaloberry, hawthorn and skunk brush sumac. Planting trees within native prairie grasslands has a negative impact on many grassland nesting birds; this practice is not encouraged. By planting shrub and tree species in multi-row five or more rows preferred in blocks or patches i. Conservation stock trees and shrubs can be ordered in the fall from NRCS.
For more information on planting shrubs and trees, contact your local extension service or the North Dakota Forest Service Appendix A. The Northern Great Plains is one of the least forested regions in the country. That said, upland forests associated with large buttes and escarpments, riparian forests along streams and rivers, and western conifer stands are unique habitat types on the prairie. These woodlands provide important winter browse for deer and roosting trees for turkeys.
Bur oaks provide highly nutritious acorn mast for a wide variety of species. Even large dead trees can provide important habitat for cavity nesting birds. Planted shelterbelts and tree rows can also serve many of these wildlife needs. Restricting cattle use of these areas is often needed to reduce damage to regenerating seedlings and saplings in the understory.
Fencing cattle out of forested areas and farmsteads will maximize the potential of these areas being used for wildlife. Goals and objectives of private landowners for forest management can be highly variable. Edge feathering involves reducing the number of trees along the edge of a field so that more sunlight can enter under the forest canopy and stimulate growth of understory vegetation.
This management tool may have limited application for the Northern Great Plains and is restricted to forested areas such as the Pembina Hills and Turtle Mountains. For more information regarding edge feathering and forest management, contact your local North Dakota Forest Service office Appendix A.
Like grazing, prairie grasslands evolved with fire, and prescribed burning is often the most effective and cost-efficient method of managing for an early successional plant community. Prescribed burns in late summer and early fall tend to reduce woody vegetation more than spring fires.
If possible, prescribed burning should not be conducted during the primary nesting and fawning period April 15 to August 1. Frequency of fire also influences plant community composition. Low intensity fires every other year generally result in annual and perennial grasses and forbs. Less frequent, low-intensity fires also allow trees and shrubs to become established or dominate. In addition to changing the plant community, burning removes dead grass and leaf litter. This, in turn, enables the seedbank in the soil to germinate, releases nutrients into the soil, and reduces fuel loads and the potential for intensive wildlife fires.
Prescribed burns need to be well planned, professionally supervised and conducted only after notification of local fire departments. Burning should not be conducted when temperatures are high and combined with low humidity and high winds.
These conditions raise the potential for a fire to get out of control. Mechanical manipulation of vegetation can include disking or dragging a harrow over a hayfield, mowing with a brush-cutter, uprooting trees and shrubs, or clearcutting a woodlot. Use of mechanical manipulation vegetation should not be conducted during the primary nesting and fawning period April 15 to August 1.
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