Brad Dokken
Brad Dokken is outdoors editor for the Herald. He writes and edits the outdoors and usually has a column for Sunday's outdoor section.Contact
Articles
N.D. darkhouse spearing activity sets record during 2011-12 season
According to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, more than 1,800 people registered to spear this past winter, and the estimated harvest was 10,191 northern pike. That’s by far the highest number of participants and the most pike speared since Game and Fish offered its first darkhouse spearing season in 2001-’02.
RELATED CONTENTAreavoices: Fishing line discarded improperly can be fatal to wildlife
Spend enough time on the water, and you’ll probably run across a bird that has become entangled in fishing line or those plastic six-pack rings.
RELATED CONTENTBurning ban gone, but fire danger remains extremely high in northwest Minnesota
Two large fires in southeast Manitoba aren’t posing a threat south of the border, but the fire danger in northwest Minnesota remains extremely high, an official for the Department of Natural Resources says.
RELATED CONTENTThat annual rite of spring — the walleye opener — gets underway Saturday morning 
The opening day of Minnesota’s walleye season isn’t a state holiday, but in the minds of many people, the annual opener is one of the biggest events of the year.
RELATED CONTENTFee hike brings relief to DNR managers
Increase in hunting and fishing licenses awaits Dayton’s signature; will take effect in March 2013
Like their counterparts across the state, fisheries and wildlife managers in northwest Minnesota are breathing easier now that the Legislature has approved an increase in the cost of hunting and fishing licenses. The increase became official Thursday night when Gov. Mark Dayton signed the Omnibus Game and Fish Bill, a wide-ranging piece of outdoors legislation lawmakers finally agreed on last weekend.
Red Lake to allow nontribal members to fish walleyes on small reservation lakes
Plan does not apply to Lower, Upper Red Lakes;
anglers will need tribal license and guide
For the first time in nearly 20 years, nontribal members will be allowed to keep walleyes on smaller lakes within the Red Lake Indian Reservation.
The opportunity does not extend to tribal waters of Lower and Upper Red Lakes.
MINNESOTA LEGISLATURE: Increase in hunting, fishing license fees still alive
The Minnesota House of Representatives didn’t include an increase in the price of hunting and fishing licenses in the game and fish policy bill it passed last week, but a key Senate lawmaker said he remains optimistic a fee hike will pass the Legislature.
RELATED CONTENTSupporters of Minnesota hunting and fishing bill look for a compromise
The Minnesota House of Representatives didn’t include an increase in the price of hunting and fishing licenses in the game and fish policy bill it passed last week, but a key Senate lawmaker said he remains optimistic a fee hike will pass the Legislature.
RELATED CONTENTNew regulation tightens license requirements for Red River shoreline anglers
Here’s the rub: If you’re fishing from shore on the North Dakota side of either river, you’d better have a North Dakota license. If you’re on the Minnesota shore, you need a Minnesota license. It hasn’t always been that way.
RELATED CONTENTFire danger increasing across region
DNR to implement spring burning restrictions March 26 in northwest Minnesota
Fire — especially the danger of wildfire — is becoming an increasing concern on both sides of the Red River. It’s dry out there, and there’s no significant relief in sight.
Columns
BRAD DOKKEN: Whatever the outcome, northwest Minnesota must be heard in wolf debate
Thursday night’s meeting wasn’t a formal hearing on the DNR’s wolf plan or its proposal for a wolf season, but there was an opportunity for people to speak their minds. The feeling, in a word, was frustration.
RELATED CONTENTBRAD DOKKEN: Even the best-laid plans sometimes don't go as planned
It all started — didn’t start would be more accurate — when I hopped in the truck. I turned the key and heard a whole lot of nothing.
RELATED CONTENTBRAD DOKKEN: Driving into 'Lake I-29’ an encounter to remember
"In one of those, “How the Hell Did I Get Myself into This Situation?” moments, a friend and I were returning to Grand Forks from the Twin Cities late Sunday afternoon when we hit a wall of traffic on Interstate 29 north of Fargo that would occupy our lives for the next two hours," outdoors columnist Brad Dokken writes. "We’ll be talking about what happened during those two hours the rest of our lives."
RELATED CONTENT- Brad Dokken
- Dashboard view of I-29 flooding
- VIDEOS: I-29 drive through water Sunday near Argusville, Harwood, N.D.
- VIDEO: Driving on flooded Interstate 29 north of Harwood, N.D., Sunday
- YOUR FLOOD PHOTOS: See reader photos of I-29 flooding, plus other locations, and submit your photos, too
- VIDEO: Aerial video of Fargo-area flooding
- I-29 closure frustrates residents, but officials expected that
- View from Shakopee, Minn., woman's car
- I-29 north of Harwood to remain closed for next couple days
BRAD DOKKEN: For humans and wildlife alike, spring can't come too soon
As “tween” times go, the transition from winter to spring is my least favorite. It’s sloppy, for one thing, and the snow that remains is either too soft or too hard to enjoy for skiing or snowmobiling. My alley and backyard are mud holes, and trying to keep the car clean isn’t even an option.
RELATED CONTENTBRAD DOKKEN: Stranded in the U.S. ... while trying to get into the U.S.
For anyone who’s never been to the Northwest Angle, it’s the part of Minnesota that juts north from the 49th parallel into Lake of the Woods and is bordered by Canada on three sides. Getting there by road, which is what we had done, requires going through customs twice both coming and going.
RELATED CONTENTFishing partner lands unexpected fish on Lake of the Woods
We’d been catching just enough saugers, along with the occasional walleye, to keep things interesting when my fishing partner noticed a blip on the screen of his depthfinder, indicating the presence of a fish just a couple of feet under the ice. Thinking it might be one of those suspended walleyes that occasionally show up on Lake of the Woods, he reeled up in hopes of enticing it to strike.
RELATED CONTENTBRAD DOKKEN: High-tech Casio Pathfinder wristwatches even tell time
The Casio Pathfinder has just about everything an outdoors enthusiast could want in a wristwatch. There’s a compass, a barometer, a thermometer, an altimeter and a timer. And yes, the watch even tells time. The abundance of features on this watch might be its biggest fault.
RELATED CONTENTBRAD DOKKEN: Incident highlights the need for using caution on the ice
It’s old news now, but an incident that occurred last Sunday on Devils Lake serves up a stark reminder that ice is never safe.
RELATED CONTENTBook prompts question: Why do we ice fish, anyway?
In my case, at least, catching fish is part of it, but the attraction runs a lot deeper. And it’s not necessarily easy to explain.
RELATED CONTENTGF snowmobile route offers easy access to trails out of town
Living in city limits, we weren’t quite sure where we could ride, and we didn’t want to pull the trailer several miles out in the country to drop off the sleds.
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