Darkhouse Spearfishing Registration
Individuals required to possess a valid fishing license (age 16 and older) to darkhouse spearfish must first register online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.
Northern pike and nongame fish are legal statewide, while walleye can be speared at only Stump Lake and the Devils Lake complex south of U.S. Highway 2 and the Missouri River System (including lakes Oahe and Sakakawea and the Missouri River) up to the first vehicular bridge.
Spearers and anglers are reminded that materials used to mark holes must be in possession as soon as a hole greater than 10 inches in diameter is made in the ice.
All waters open to hook and line fishing are open to darkhouse spearing except:
East Park Lake, West Park Lake, Lake Audubon – McLean County
Heckers Lake – Sheridan County
Lake Ashtabula – Barnes and Griggs counties
Larimore Dam – Grand Forks County
McClusky Canal
New Johns Lake – Burleigh County
Red Willow Lake – Griggs County
Whitman Dam – Nelson County
Wood Lake – Benson County
Anglers and spearers should refer to the 2022-24 North Dakota Fishing Guide for more information.
Fish House Regulations
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:
Occupied structures do not require identification. However, any unoccupied fish house must have an equipment registration number issued by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, or the owner’s name, and either an address or telephone number, displayed on its outside in readily distinguishable characters at least 3 inches high.
Fish houses may not be placed closer than 50 feet in any direction to another house without consent of the occupant of the other fish house.
All unoccupied fish houses must be removed from all waters after midnight, March 15.
Anglers should refer to the North Dakota 2022-24 Fishing Guide for other winter fishing regulations.
Coyote Catalog Available
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 committed hunters and trappers with landowners dealing with coyotes in their areas.
Landowners can sign up on the Department of Agriculture website, nd.gov/ndda/.
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 they 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 Colby Lysne, at the Department of Agriculture, 701-390-7515 or clysne@nd.gov.
