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
OUTDOOR RECIPIES: Indian-spiced Sturgeon with Mint Yogurt Sauce
Molly MacGregor of Walker, Minn., caught a keeper-size lake sturgeon April 27, when she and fishing partner Chris Weir-Koetter of Bemidji participated in a Becoming an Outdoors-Woman sturgeon fishing event on the Rainy River.
RELATED CONTENTTalkin’ with Dokken: Why do woodpeckers peck on metal?
Brad Dokken answers the question: Why do woodpeckers peck on metal?
Crisis on the prairies
Conservation groups, wildlife officials converge in Bismarck to explore options for stemming the loss of wetland, grassland habitat
RELATED CONTENTOUTDOOR NOTEBOOK: N.D. spring duck numbers dip slightly
Facts and news from the outdoors
BRAD DOKKEN: The sounds of a June evening
One of the best things about having a place in the boonies of northern Minnesota is the opportunity it provides to really hear what nature has to say.
TALKIN’ WITH DOKKEN: Getting rid of that skunk smell 
What’s the best way to get the smell off a dog that’s been sprayed by a skunk?
OUTDOOR NOTEBOOK: DNR confirms new zebra mussel finding
News and facts related to the wildlife and the outdoors
10 places to set up camp
June is National Camping Month, and here are 10 destinations within a few hours’ drive
RELATED CONTENTOUTDOORS CALENDAR: Junior Summer Sporting Clays Program registration and informational evening
A look at upcoming events related to the outdoors
Columns
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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