2022 Mule Deer Hunt article for Dakota Country Magazine.

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The North Dakota Badlands. There is something magical about the place. Aside from its beauty and more, it's mule deer country, my third attempt at filling a muley buck tag.

A couple of years ago I chased them around Unit 4C west of Grassy Butte. I saw elk and a lot of deer but never did pull the trigger. That experience got me hooked. Next time I had a tag I came down with pneumonia and couldn’t make the trip to hunt with my friend Sam in Unit 4D.

I got one more chance.

My brother-in-law Brad and sister Shelie offered to go along and help. I am a full-time job. We decided that we would take off for Medora November 3 the night before the season opens and head back on November 8. That would give me three days to hunt and two days to travel. 

We arrived at Medora the night before the season started, we met my buddy Sam at the Little Mo Saloon for supper, libations and to make a plan for the next day. Sam grew up in Medora and was my guide/gut man for the hunt.

November 4, opening day Sam had a plan for us to go down to a big ranch southwest of town. It was a little over an hour away from Medora on the south end of the unit. I was a little hesitant to go that far but once I got there I was in heaven. We met the awesome landowner Nick at his house, plus we met his beautiful family. Their place is right along the Little Missouri. Teddy Roosevelt even camped not far from their homestead while hunting the area. They made us feel like we were part of the family. 

Before we headed out, I showed them my rifle mount and how it attaches to my electric wheelchair. Then I showed them how my rifle attaches to the mount and how my extended trigger attaches to my rifle. They were impressed.

We put on a ton of miles that day. We were going up and down and bouncing all around the buttes and valleys on their place. It is something that I will never forget. It’s hard to absorb it all. We saw some deer that first day but Nick was disappointed that we didn’t see more. We did find quite a few does and one buck that I could have tried to get on. But Nick the landowner told me he wanted me to get something bigger. That first day we explored most of the north side of the ranch. I really didn’t care about seeing deer. I was in my element driving through that land of history. Nick invited us back the next day to search some more of the territory. He promised me the next day that I would be able to notch another item off my bucket list. That is to ford the Little Mo with my pickup. So, we headed back to the motel and I went straight to bed.

The next day which was Saturday we headed back down to the ranch. This day it was windy. I mean 30 mph with higher gusts. We headed through the corrals and to the south end of the property. It wasn’t too long and we were staring at the Little Missouri. Nick and Sam went first in Sam’s pickup and we followed shortly after in my pickup. I didn’t think it was going to be as deep as it was seeing there had been little rain. But it was up to the floorboards or little higher. It was a blast going through until we got to the other bank. It was steep and there were deep ruts. We tried going up but we slid off the high points and stopped. So we backed down into the river and this time we gave it the onion. Nick and Sam were on the top of the bank and as soon as we give it the onion Nick put his thumb up and smiled. They got back in Sam’s pickup and we explored some more. I don’t know how those guys see the deer they see. They would stop and glass and point out deer. Most of them I didn’t see. I don’t know how they could see them while driving? Soon enough we were at another river crossing. This time fording the river wasn’t as sketchy but just as much fun. There were deer here and there up high on the sidehills and one buck I would have tried to get on but he ran like the wind for some reason.

Soon enough it was getting dark and we started heading back to the ranch. This meant fording the river two more times. I was in heaven. Going this direction, the riverbanks were not so bad climbing out. 

We made it back to the ranch right before dark. We had some refreshments and talked about the last couple days. Nick invited us back the next day to try and fill my tag but I knew my body couldn’t take another day of bouncing around. Sadly, I had to decline. I told him I would be back in the future though. Then headed back to the motel.

The next day Sunday, Sam had a plan to hunt closer to town. He said he and his buddy Brady had some land I could get on that there should be deer. I was still in bed at the motel when Sam called me. He had a buck bedded down and it was just off the road. I could hear the wind howling in my room and I knew it was going to be a sketchy day shooting. We got packed up again and Brad, Shelie and I headed out west of town. It wasn’t long and we ran into Sam. We made a plan of driving past the buck, then I would get out of the pickup and get the rifle mount and rifle strapped on my wheelchair. This time we would use his 300 Norma Mag with 230 grain Berger bullets. Sam said we should use this because the heavier bullet would cut the wind a lot more than the 150 grain bullets I was shooting from my 270 Tikka. 

It was brutally cold, around 25° and winds were at 40 mph. I was shivering uncontrollably. We were using my pickup as wind protection and a barrier so the buck couldn’t see us. It took me a while to find him in the scope as he was on a hillside full of buck brush. He was a cool looking devil buck and for some reason he was still in velvet. He was a little over 200 yards. When I was on him I asked Sam to take my rifle off of safety and when he did that the rifle went off. Missing the buck by only inches that we could see from a video from Sam’s phone. The buck got up and ran away in a hurry. We made the decision to head to Sentinel Butte to figure out what went wrong with my rifle and to figure out the next plan.

By this time, I was freezing. Brad and Sam helped get everything loaded into the pickup and we followed Sam to Sentinel Butte. There we were going to meet his friends Brady and Cole. We met at the gas station which is also the local coffee gathering spot. That place has quite the story. The owner opened the back door so I could get in and I tilted back in my wheelchair. I am supposed to do that every hour for 10 minutes to relieve pressure. Shelie got some tea and the owner heated it up for me. I was so cold, my left arm wasn't working well. I don’t even like tea but that didn’t matter at the time. It helped me warm up. The owner also brought out a platter of baked goods including caramel rolls and pumpkin bars. They didn’t suck. While we were there, we figured out that when we put the elongated trigger on the trigger guard of Sam’s rifle it must’ve been too close to the trigger. That is what made the gun go off prematurely. But it worked great earlier when we tested it. Brady said we could use his 300 Win Mag that shoots 215 grain Hybrid Berger bullets. His rifle is topped with a Vortex Viper Gen 2. My elongated trigger worked perfectly on his rifle.

Brady said they had some family land that I could hunt on. Brady and Sam hopped in Brady’s vehicle and we would follow them from the gas station. We pulled into an old abandoned farmstead and we made a plan. Brad, Shelie and I would stay at the farmstead in the warm vehicle while they did some scouting. It wasn’t long and I got the call from Sam that they found a good buck bedded down.

It took us a bit to get to the spot. But it wasn’t nearly as rough as the stuff I had been through the last couple days. Brady was concerned about the roughness and Sam said with a laugh, “He’s been through a lot worse.” When we got to the top of the hill there was a field of harvested peas. The wind was pretty much directly in my face. Perfect to get on the buck. It was perfect but blowing 40 mph with higher gusts. I got out in that wind and I knew it was going to be a hard shot. Brad, Brady, Sam and myself made the sneak up to the edge of the hillside and got prepared for the shot. The deer was bedded 290 yards away from my position. My tray on my wheelchair was vibrating and my chair was blowing around like a kite. Brady grabbed one side of my chair trying to hold it still and Sam on the other. My eyes were watering and I was shivering. I was miserable at that moment. It took me a while to get on him with that wind and then once I was on him the wind would bounce the scope around terribly. But I finally felt like I was on him so I took a shot and it went right over its back. The buck had no clue where the shot came from. He got up and ran maybe a hundred yards and bedded back down. 

I was ready to give up but they said he isn’t going anywhere. So, I got back in the pickup for half hour to warm up. Then I got back out and we reattached the gun mount and Brady’s rifle. We then made the second sneak. We got up to the hillside and he was bedded 130 yards away. It worked perfectly. For some reason it was just as windy but at that spot the wind wasn't affecting me as much. I moved my wheelchair to get in line, adjusted my elevation by tilting a little, looked in the scope and he was right there. The crosshairs were right on him! Sam grabbed one side of chair and Brady on the other. I said, “I'm on him.” Sam dialed the scope in a little and I said, “That’s good, I'm taking the shot.” I pulled the trigger and didn’t even feel the trigger or the recoil. It felt good. The next thing I knew Sam, Brady and my brother-in-law Brad were screaming like school girls. “He got him! He got him!” I got a little choked up. It was quite the moment. We congratulated each other and I thanked them all. 

They then helped me get everything back into the pickup. Then Brady and Sam went down to the buck and tagged it. They told me to head back to the abandoned farmstead where Brady’s brother Cole was with their cousin Shay. I later learned that these two videoed the whole thing a thousand yards away at the farmstead. I love watching that video.

After the shot, Cole and Shay drove up to help load the buck. It’s a good thing they did because Brady’s fuel pump went out on his pickup. What are the odds? So they threw the buck in the back of Cole’s pickup and made their way down to the farmstead. We then all got out and went over the events that just took place. It was a great time. It was now time for pictures. We found a good spot next to an old building and took turns capturing the moment. They then gutted it and told us to follow them to the Grandpa’s farm so we could quarter it out.

Once we got in to the garage the boys hooked up a propane turkey fryer right next to me so I could warm up with the flames. In no time the buck was quartered and in game bags. I also had him caped because I knew I was going to do a shoulder mount. We found the bullet and found that the top half of the heart was completely gone. Lucky shot.

After we got the buck in the cooler the boys got the garage cleaned up and looking just like it was when we got there. I thanked Grandpa for helping and he said any time. I thanked Cole and Shay. They were smiling the whole time. Grandpa told us the shortcut to get back to Medora so Brad, Shelie and I headed back to town to the Little Mo. Brady hopped in with Sam because he now had no vehicle and needed a ride to Dickinson. We told them to stop at the bar to have some supper and cocktails. Which they did. We all had a great meal and a great time reminiscing the day’s events. 

The next morning which was Monday, November 7 there was snow on the ground. It snowed all the way to Jamestown. At one point we were going 5 mph on the interstate going to cross the Missouri River. It took a while to get back to Enderlin.

I still can’t believe how everything came together. It was just perfect. There isn’t anything I would change. Everyone that I met was so awesome. Glad they urged me on to try one more time. They didn’t even know me and they were willing to help in any way. I am forever indebted to everyone that was involved. There is no way to say how thankful I am to everyone. It’s not about the kill, it’s about the memories made. And I sure made a lot of memories during this hunt.

Thanks for reading, Clint.

The history of Dakota muskies an article for Dakota Country Magazine.

 

This article was published in Dakota Country Magazine. If you want a print or digital magazine subscription or looking to do some advertising click the link Dakota Country Magazine.

They say, “Muskie are the fish of 10,000 casts.” That still may be true, but in North Dakota and South Dakota the opportunity to land one of these potentially monster fish is getting better and better every year. Muskie fishing doesn’t get the headlines like walleye or northern pike fishing in the Dakotas, but muskie have been being stocked in both states for many decades.

“The first pure muskies were stocked in 1958 in Spiritwood Lake and Lake Williams. We stocked the first tiger muskies in 1965 into a couple of smaller rearing ponds, but it was 1976 before we stocked them in 9 public fishing waters across the state,” explained Scott Gangl the North Dakota Game & Fish Fisheries Management Section Leader. 

Obtaining the first muskellunge brood stock in 1958 was found to be almost unattainable, according to an article from North Dakota Outdoors Magazine from that year. States that were raising muskie were not prone to parting with any of the eggs, fingerlings or adults, they were all hard to come by. A few commercial sources did exist then, but the cost was too high priced. Muskie fingerling (2 to 5 inches) were averaging between $1.50 to $3.50 apiece back then. NDGF Fisheries Chief Dale Henegar managed to obtain a limited number of eggs from Bemus Point Hatchery in New York. The eggs came from Chautauqua Lake, New York. The eggs were shipped before they reached the eyed stage of development. They were transported by air to Fargo, then the eggs were rushed to the Federal Hatchery in Valley City. Amazingly almost all of the quart and a half of eggs were hatched into fry. The fry were then distributed into rearing ponds and about four weeks after that the now fingerlings were ready for planting.

The object of the original plantings of muskellunge were not to bring fishing to the state, instead the purpose of the plantings were to attempt to raise brood stock. From the brood stock, eggs could be then obtained. If the fish did survive to reach maturity, they hoped to do their own stocking program. If all of that went well, they were wishing for someday in the future for muskie fishing to be an option in the state.

Spiritwood Lake northeast of Jamestown was the first location to be stocked on Wednesday afternoon, June 23, 1958, with 1,117 fingerlings. The next day the same number of fingerlings were taking to Lake Williams northeast of Steele. The two lakes couldn’t have been more different in that year. Spiritwood Lake had a substantial fish population while Lake Williams had recently been eradicated with no fish present. The remainder of the muskellunge also left the fishery and were transported to Mirror Pool. This small body of water is located in the Sheyenne National Grasslands in southeast North Dakota. Mirror Pool back then was closed to fishing and was used as a brood stock holding area.

In that first year of bringing muskie to the state, the fisheries department had no idea what the future was going to hold for this new species. They did know that they didn’t want to replace any of the existing game fish, they just wanted to furnish something new in the way of recreation. It was much too early to think about fishing muskie but they had a guess of what could be expected if the program was successful. They were estimating a minimum size limit on these fish would be in the neighborhood of 30 inches. They also figured most of the fishing public would not bother to specifically fish for muskie when catching an easier limit of northerns in the same amount of time.

Brian Blackwell, the Program Lead for Fisheries Research and Survey for South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks said, “Muskies were first introduced into South Dakota in 1975 at Amsden Dam when 2,000 fingerling muskies were brought from Valley City National Fish Hatchery in North Dakota.  An additional 5,000 muskie fingerlings were stocked into Amsden Dam in 1976.” The comments from the public began soon after the introduction of the new species. On a memo, the then South Dakota Fisheries Chief Bob Hanten, Sr., wrote that he had accepted the first muskies on the spur of a moment and wished he had thought it through before stocking them.

Muskie were introduced into 14 South Dakota waters between 1975 and 1999, including three Missouri River Reservoirs. Both pure and tiger muskellunge were stocked with various sizes of fish; fry, fingerlings and yearlings. Amsden Dam was the only fishery to become established in the state, other waters unfortunately were deemed unsuccessful because of a limited return to anglers.

When Gangl was asked why muskellunge are stocked in North Dakota, he replied, “The main reason we stock muskies today is the same reason they stocked them back in 1958: to provide a diverse angling experience for those anglers who want to target them.  There are a lot of anglers who fish for muskies as a unique species, so there’s value in that.  But there is also the trophy potential of catching a large muskie.  We generally don’t manage fish populations solely for trophy fishing, but our muskie fisheries are one area that we do.  With low density stocking rates and a 48” minimum length limit, muskies are protected from harvest statewide until they reach truly trophy sizes.”

“In South Dakota and most states, muskies are present at a low abundance and would never be considered a species utilized for trying to control an overabundant species,” Blackwell explained. He went on to say, “In South Dakota, muskies are stocked to provide anglers with a unique opportunity to catch a muskie. Many South Dakota anglers have never caught a muskie and catching a 40+ inch fish would be considered a bonus to just catching a muskie.”

There are 40 lakes in the state of North Dakota that have been stocked with either pure or tiger muskellunge since the program started in the 50s said Gangl. “Most of those didn’t provide much return, “emphasized Gangl. He went on to say, “Currently, we’re maintaining muskie fishing in six lakes (nine lakes if you count each lake in the Garrison Diversion Unit canal separately) across the state.” The current lakes include Audubon, Ashtabula, Garrison Diversion Canal Lakes (West Park, East Park, New Johns, Heckers), Red Willow Lake, Wood Lake, and Larimore Dam.  There is also a healthy population of fish in the Sheyenne River that were entrained through Baldhill Dam after being stocked in Ashtabula. Muskies can attain lengths exceeding 50 inches in a few of these North Dakota waters.

The canal lakes of the Garrison Diversion Unit (West Park, East Park, Heckers and New Johns) have the longest history of consistent muskie stockings, with maintenance stockings dating back to 1980 replied Gangl.  “That longevity has a lot to do with their reputation as muskie fisheries.  Along with that, the canal lakes have good water quality and forage that muskies need to live long and grow large.  This is one of the systems where we’ve tried to consistently stock pure muskellunge, and the state record pure muskellunge was caught from New Johns Lake in 2007,” Gangl added.

When Blackwell was questioned about what lakes were stocked in South Dakota, he answered, “In the past, muskies and/or tiger muskies were stocked in East Lemmon, Belle Fourche Reservoir, Marindahl, Beaver, Poinsett, Mitchell, Kampeska, Cochrane, Lake Sharpe, Lake Francis Case, Lewis and Clark Reservoir, and Amsden. Today, muskies are stocked in Lynn, Middle Lynn, Highway 81 West, Sinai, and North Island.”

Currently there are no plans for either North Dakota or South Dakota to stock any new lakes with muskie. Both states have tried to expand in the past but have found the lakes that are managed now with muskie are the ones most suitable for what this species needs to flourish.

One may ask themselves why stock this species when there are so many lakes with northern pike in each state. Both states want to provide anglers with a unique opportunity to catch a trophy fish.

SDGFP currently only stocks pure-strain muskies. The pure strain will obtain larger sizes and live longer than tiger muskies. In addition, stocking only pure-strain muskies would allow SDGFP the ability to have broodstock to procure eggs and milt if a future need arises, explained Blackwell. He added that to increase the chance for survival, muskie currently are not stocked until they are one year old and approximately 12-14 inches long. The muskie that are stocked come from Iowa. They are raised until they hit that 12-14 inches at the Blue Dog State Fish Hatchery, which takes around a year. With this size of fish, they should be able to escape any attack from any other fish.

NDGF on the other hand stocks both varieties. Gangl explained, “While we would choose the species based on their growth rates and maximum size potential, the reality is that pure muskies have been difficult to obtain from our sources on a regular basis, while tigers have been more readily available in greater numbers.  If you look at our stocking records in recent years, we’ve reserved the limited pure muskies for some of our smaller stockings and used the tigers in the larger waters where we need bigger numbers to fill the request.”

NDGF do their muskie stocking in the fall, right before ice-up.  “In the past we stocked them at smaller sizes like our other northern pike or walleye fingerling stockings (1.5-2”) but we had lower survival and lost a lot of muskies to predation.  One observation our staff made was that the newly stocked muskies would linger near the stocking site, and made easy pickings for birds.  Waiting until fall allows us to grow them much larger, typically reaching 8-10” or larger when they’re stocked.  We’ve also been trying to stock them as late in the season as possible, right before ice-up, to avoid many of the predacious birds that have already moved south,” replied Gangl.

“Prior to 2001, fry (< 0.5 inches) and small fingerlings (< 3 inches) were commonly stocked. Many of these small muskies were likely eaten by other fish or were unable to survive the winter. Today, stocked muskies are 11 to 15 inches long when released,” mentioned Blackwell. He added, “In 2022, Middle Lynn Lake received a stocking of 115 adult fish (average length 34.6 inches) from Utah. These adults previously served as brood fish at Lee Kay Fish Hatchery in Utah.”

Both North Dakota and South Dakota work with other state fisheries that raise pure and hybrid muskellunge. The fisheries departments trade varieties of fish between each other depending on their wants and needs. Neither North Dakota or South Dakota have documented any natural reproduction or recruitment of muskie.

South Dakota records:

Muskellunge -        40 lbs., Amsden Dam, April 16, 1991 - Daniel B. Krueger.

Tiger Muskellunge - 37 lbs. 7 oz., Lake Sharpe, May 30, 2003 - Jason Besmer.

South Dakota currently has a catch-and-release-only regulation on muskies. Thus, it is unlikely a new record will be set unless an angler happens to have a certified scale.

North Dakota records:

Muskellunge - 46 lbs. 8 oz. 54" New Johns Lake, July 03, 2007 - Cory Bosch from Mandan, ND. 

Tiger Muskellunge - 40 lbs. 0 oz. 45" Gravel Lake, June 26, 1975 - Marvin Lee from Rolette, ND.

In North Dakota it is illegal to take or possess any muskellunge less than 48 inches in length. The daily and possession limit is one fish over 48 inches.

North Dakota and South Dakota lakes that are managed for muskie are restricted from darkhouse spearfishing. The reason being that it may be difficult for spearers to tell the difference between a muskie and northern pike, especially in cloudy water.

There are three common pattern variations for the largest member of the pike family, muskellunge; clear, spotted and barred. Background colors of the fish can vary depending on water clarity and other environmental characteristics of the water body. All three patterns may be present in a certain location but one may be dominant.

Tiger muskellunge hybrid, a cross between a female muskellunge and a male northern pike, sometimes has an alternating of stripes and spots, or narrow paired bars on a light background. The coloration should never be confused with a northern pike that have a pattern of horizontal rows of light, round to oval spots on a dark background. Another characteristic that differs between the varieties of the pike family are the number of pores on the underside of the lower jaw. Pure muskie have 6-9 pores, hybrids have 5-8 pores and northern pike have 5 or fewer pores on each side of the lower jaw.

Tiger muskies are sterile and cannot reproduce like other hybrid fish. Because of this they spend most of their time thinking about food rather than other stuff and things.

Catch rates for these monster fish are very low compared to other species, hence the name “The fish of 10,000 casts.” Muskie spend most of their time somewhat inactive. To get the fish to strike anglers need to cast where they are but this doesn’t necessarily mean they will take the bait, so to speak.

Muskie like to hide in the edge of weed beds because they are a predatory fish and like to ambush their prey. They can reach burst of speeds up to 30 miles per hour when they are on the attack. Muskie seem to feed when the weather stays consistent, no matter that be rain or sunshine.

Anglers who go after muskie have learned that this species of fish will hit any size lure. The larger the lure doesn’t necessarily mean the larger the fish that could be caught. The lure size will vary depending on what depth you are fishing at.

For muskie to reach a large size, they need good-sized forage, such as cisco, white sucker or carp. Muskie can grow fast and reach very large sizes compared to many other fish species in the right environment. They can live as long as 30 years in their natural environment. Muskie also like cool water that they can move to because they do not do well with warm water temperatures.

The muskie has been an exciting addition to fishing opportunities in some North and South Dakota lakes. With the recent expansion of muskie opportunities, anglers don’t have to travel as far for a chance to catch one.

If you haven’t given it a try, put muskie fishing on your to-do list. With the stocking efforts by both the SDGFP and NDGF Fishing Departments catching your “Fish of 10,000 Casts” doesn’t have to be that far away.

***

Joel Isaacson of Valley City, North Dakota caught this 40-inch muskie in eastern North Dakota on December 17, 2024. Isaacson had never fished for muskie specifically before that night. While fishing for walleye in the same spot earlier in the season, he had muskie snap his line, so he decided to order a 7-inch glide bait to go after the species with 10-pound line.

“It still feels pretty unreal, especially since they say it's a fish every 10,000 casts, and it only took four for me,” Isaacson mentioned. He released the fish hoping that the muskie population can continue to thrive in the future.

Isaacson explained, “The fish didn’t put up much of a fight. I reeled it in pretty close, but I couldn’t get it onshore right away due to the steep, rocky shoreline and I didn’t have a net either because I really wasn't expecting to catch anything. So, my friend had to come with waders to help retrieve the fish. I had it on for about 10 minutes, just sitting in front of me without much resistance, until he was able to hand it up to me on the rocks.”

Don B caught this muskie while fishing the Sheyenne River on October 22, 2024. Don who is from Enderlin, was jigging for walleye when he thought he got a snag. 20 minutes later with help from a friend who had a large net, they were able to land Don’s first ever muskie. They estimated the muskellunge to be 41 inches before they released it. Gangl added, “We didn’t stock them in the river, but we have seen a substantial amount of entrainment through Baldhill Dam.  So, the Sheyenne River has a pretty strong muskie population right now.”

Thanks for reading, Clint.