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
OUTDOORS CALENDAR: Northwest Sporting Clays 200 Minnesota Circuit Shoot
A list of upcoming events related to the outdoors
OUTDOOR NOTES: Minnesota elk season won’t include Grygla
The Department of Natural Resources won’t be offering an elk season this fall near Grygla, Minn., because of low populations in the area.
VIDEO: Avid hunter takes up photography during hunting off-season
Zach Johnson spends most of his spare time in the fall hunting waterfowl and deer, but the UND student has started chasing the birds with a camera during the off-season. The results to date have been favorable.
RELATED CONTENTBRAD DOKKEN: The tale of the reunited rack
I joined Mitch Haaby of Roseau, Minn., earlier this month for a story about collecting antler sheds. My goal wasn’t to write a “how-to” or “where-to” story about hunting for fallen antlers — enough people are scouring the woods already — but instead to tell a story about Haaby’s passion for deer hunting and how collecting antler sheds helps prepare him for hunting season.
RELATED CONTENTTALKIN WITH DOKKEN: Where are all the hummingbirds?
Brad Dokken answers the question: Are there hummingbirds in the Grand Forks area, and what can one do besides a hummingbird feeder to attract them?
Minnesota fishing guide looks back on hosting Dayton
Park Rapids, Minn., event will be remembered for its ‘firsts,’ Durham says
RELATED CONTENTCombing the woods for antlers 
For avid archery hunter Mitch Haaby, hunting for shed antlers is part of an ongoing process to learn more about bucks and the habitat they use
RELATED CONTENTTALKIN WITH DOKKEN: Would there ever be a Governors Opener on the Red River?
Brad Dokken answers the question: Has East Grand Forks ever tried to host the governor for the fishing opener? In years past, we have had bang-up openers on the Red River fishing for catfish as opposed to chasing walleyes.
OUTDOOR NOTEBOOK: DNR launches swan study
The Department of Natural Resources is asking farmers in northwest Minnesota to report trumpeter swans they observe on agricultural lands as part of a study to document the birds’ use of croplands.
BRAD DOKKEN: Chorus frogs usher in spring
It’s the little things you notice when spring finally arrives after a long winter.1
RELATED CONTENTColumns
BRAD DOKKEN: Old snowshoes get a much-needed workout
There was no set agenda last weekend when I headed east to rendezvous with some friends at a deer shack in the woods not far from the Big Fork River in northern Minnesota’s Koochiching County.
RELATED CONTENTBRAD DOKKEN COLUMN: Hunters need to be aware of fire risks when venturing out this fall
I’ve thought about that fall several times the past couple of weeks because the conditions are eerily similar on both sides of the Red River. It’s dry out there, extremely so.
RELATED CONTENTBRAD 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.
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