Scenic View

By Andy Anderson

I’m happy to be back in Williston after being at one of our buying shows. This one was in Reno and the weather was just as nice or nicer in Williston.

I looked at all kinds of guns and hunting accessories and bought a bunch of new goodies for the store. I also lost a little money at the black jack tables and to the one armed bandits, and went to a comedy show that was very good.

But also seeing a million people made us very happy to come home. I think all of us in North Dakota have a little hermit in us. Winchester is under going some major changes and has at least temporarily quit building the model 70s and 94s. They may be out sourcing some of their guns, but for now, those models are a thing of the past.

There’s not a lot of new calibers this year and we are seeing some downsizing of the more recent calibers that did not make a big hit.

Leupold has made some major changes and their new scopes should start shipping soon. We looked at lots of pistols and will have some new brands and models available this spring. Heavi-shot will no longer be available through Remington as it has lost its contract with the Heavi-Shot company which will be building and marketing its own product.

Stagnant fishing

I do not know a lot about what is going on for local fishing but have been told there has been little change. Some are talking about a little improvement on the perch lakes and I would encourage you to hang in there till dark as the best bite has been the last hour of the day. That can also be true of bluegill.

The river is still producing some sauger and walleye but I have not heard much from the lake. Last week I mentioned the slow fishing and had a few good reports right away from the lake.

Hopefully that does continue and the fishing gets better as we get into late winter and spring.

Good luck to all the guys headed for Devils Lake this weekend. It would be great to see some big winners come from Devils Lake; my wife has already promised me the pickup!

Springbrook Derby

The U.M.M. Springbrook Derby is coming up next weekend on the 4th so hopefully the weather holds. Great derby with lots of prizes that has become quite a social event for the area. I would like to thank all of the groups and people responsible for putting these derbies together, it is great to have something to do that so many people enjoy.