Back on the Water
We finally got back on the water after quite a few days of inclement weather keeping us on dry land. We were worried about having to try to get back on the fish with such a long layoff.
Thanks to a stiff 15 mph south wind, part of the guessing game of where to fish was taken care of and in short time we were able to pinpoint a 9 foot ledge that was holding some really nice Walleyes. Dalmatian Salmo #5’s and Scatter Raps were again the ticket to a really nice 10 Walleye limit. We were fairly aggressive and kept the trolling speed between 1.5 and 2 mph.
I cannot express to you the importance of finding that old shoreline ledge that is holding the right sized fish. Sometimes is takes longer to identify the correct ledge than it does to boat you limit. The signs of transitioning fish is apparent as some of the shallower spots that we were whacking them 2 weeks abo are barren now. This got me thinking of how fish behave on the Big Devil:
Transitions on “The Big Devil”
Many different fishing waters offer different options. Some are small bodies of water with no structure and basically just shallow bowls with uniform depth. Other, more complicated fisheries are loaded with structure, loaded with different depths, rocks, ledges, weed beds, flooded flats, and such. Both types offer different challenges and opportunities.
Devils Lake is of the latter. Name an underwater structure targeted for fishing and 9 times out of 10 “The Big Devil” has it. Flooded flats? Check. Sunken Shorelines? Check. Submerged weed beds? Check. Flooded farmsteads? Check. Old house foundations? Check. Fragments of an entire town? Check. Various pieces of abandoned farm equipment? Check. Rock Piles? Double Check.
All of this structure and underwater environments in varying depths of water create a wide range of areas to focus on throughout the fishing season. We live here on the northern tier of North Dakota where the temperate climate we endure brings about definite temperature fluctuations. It is these water temp variances that create fish transitions on the big water.
April Fishing
Since our fishing licenses renew on April 1st, we will start there. April usually means post ice out or very late ice. A person can really put a whooping on the Perch and Crappies at this time if the ice is still stable enough to travel on. Walleyes are targeted in the water flow areas of Six Mile Bay and the Mauvais Coulee. Pike seem to be everywhere. The shore fishing is at its best starting at this time.
May Fishing
As April turns to May, the shallows become our focal point. We are trying to find the warmest water possible, as this will present the most active fish. Often times this means venturing to the extreme northern end of the Devils Lake system and fishing the feeder lakes: Lake Irvine, Dry Lake, Mike’s Lake, and Chain Lake all provide excellent Crank Bait pitching for Walleye playing fields.
June Fishing
Late May and Early June is usually much of the same with the added aspect of emerging weeds in the shallows. We are, in general, still pitching cranks, but can also bring out the slip bobbers and the spinners with bottom bouncers and entice weed bound Walleye and Pike out from their Weedy ambush hiding place.
Perch are hard to come by at this time as they are usually so embedded in the weeds hiding from the bazillions of super predators swimming around that it doesn’t pay to target them.
Mid June to late June, in recent years has been a two-inning ball game, pull spinners and snap jig the rocks. Walleyes, and BIG Walleyes, can still be had shallow pitching, but to really put the whooping stick to the almighty Eye, pulling spinners with leeches along weed edges and sunken ledges and old shorelines is the ticket.
This is also the period in which we start to see the Perch venture out of the weeds as that area has seen a temperature rise that just isn’t comfortable for them.
July Fishing
July presents the dog days of summer and we usually see high 80’s and 90’s in air temperature. The waters of Devils Lake rise up into that high 70’s range and we start to see split pea soup in shallow. The spinner bite dips a bit deeper, onto that second shoreline ledge in 15-25 feet of water. This is the time of year that I really start to perch hunt. Most of the Perch have left the weeds and are schooling up on these ledges and in sunken timberlines.
August
Late July and pretty much all of August is much of the same, we often bring out lead core to get #5 Shad Raps and #5 Salmos down into that 20-35 foot range where a lot of the Walleyes and Perch have migrated to find cooler water. This is also the point in the year where the pendulum usually starts to swing back and everything kind of goes in reverse, we start seeing more fish back in that 10-15 foot range. We can attack the weeds again for numbers.
September
September, for me, means shotguns and Canada goose decoys, canola fields and Mourning Dove Kabobs. The fishing, however, is still very good. Pulling Spinners, Pulling Lead Core, Slip Bobbers, and Pitching cranks can all be used at this time of year and there are catchable, keeper fish in every depth.
November is a risky endeavor on Devils Lake, storms can come up quick as can the wind and the chilling waters are not great for taking a dip. The best bet at this time is back in the shallows or the rock piles and humps. Late November some years sees us tip-toing out onto 3-4 inches of ice to target structure-hugging walleyes.
December, ICE FISHING!!!! I truly love this time of year; I am an Ice Fishing fanatic. I love drilling holes and discovering the pot of gold on the bottom of the lake. December ice fishing means structure for eyes and usually shallow flats or timber for perch.
January again sees a transition as the big perch schools begin to go a little deeper and become basin roamers.
February is feast or famine time. This time of year I am usually targeting 30-50+ feet of water looking for those mega schools of fat Devils Lake Jumbo perch.
Late February and most of March is kind of like migration season. The fish are moving towards their spawning areas and I have a few select spots that I target exclusively at this time of year for Jumbo Perch and the elusive Devils Lake Mega Crappie.
And we start all over again.
Information is king on Devils Lake
With all of this fish movement, knowing when and where to go is vital. Information is key on Devils Lake throughout the year. There are a lot of ways to acquire it. Ice fishing you will see a set of Binoculars on just about every dashboard; I chide my fishing partner about his “Wisconsin Fish Finders”. GPS and Digit sharing have become common and beneficial. The bite on Devils Lake often times can change like the weather, just wait 5 minutes. A calm dead water day can turn into feeding frenzy bite mania as a 10 mph wind picks up. I am a disciple of the idea that Devils Lake fish move in transitions, and that if you keep good enough records and journal your days on the water, you have the information that will make you successful. Stop by your local Bar and Restaurant or Cleaning station to collect some of the most vital fishing information there is out there.
Using this data, I have developed an opportunity for you as a fisherman to capitalize on predicting these transitions and cashing in on my detailed records. Year after year, I have gone back to certain areas that, like clockwork, attract fish as the calendar get longer. An example of this development is below:
Pulling Plump Perch in the Dog Days of Summer
Plump Perch are there for the taking. The Perch have started to migrate out of those safety-providing weeds and are starting to congregate on the intermediate ledges. Attack the coveted schools with 2 oz. bottom bouncers, #0 or #1 spinners with a slow death and small stinger hook tipped with a half or quarter night crawler. I usually try to keep the speed under 1 mph, as you hit a school you will feel the machine gun tapping of perch nipping at the crawler. Often times the swing and miss to swing and connect ration can be 10:1. It is pure exhilaration though when you pop that 13-14 inch Devils Lake Jumbo.
My favorite areas to find these Golden Schools are North Creel, North Six mile, Patience Point, Doc Hagen’s, Dead Cow/Mattson’s Bay, and East Devils Lake Jerusalem area. I will use the bow mount against the wind and just drift the spots where I have identified that there is a school.
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Fishing the Solunar Table
This is full moon week. Of all the weeks in the moon cycle to be fishing, it is imperative that you get out and fish this week. Tuesday was the Full Moon and the 4 star day, but the rest of the week is also elevated stars. The calendar itself with its majors and minors look like this:
The Process of Water Elimination
The goal of fishing is, obviously to catch fish. Anyone who tells you that “We ALWAYS hammer them” is a liar. No one always hammers them, it is just the nature of the beast. I have the pleasure of talking to some of the best walleye fishermen on Devils Lake everyday through my employment and friendships that I have established.
Even they have bad days, but a bad day of fishing is still better than a great day of work, even if the fishing IS your work. Also, by being on the water actively fishing you are constantly collecting information, collecting data if you will. Sometimes that data is waypoints where fish bit and new hot spots. Other times, last night for us, a guy is just not on ‘em.
We tried a new area, selected some ledges to try to find some perch and deeper water Walleyes. We were only on the water for about 2 hours. In that 2 hours however, we were able to eliminate large chunks of water for future outings. A bad day of fishing isn’t always a wasted day of fishing.
Buy the Waypoints from this Report
SPECIFIC BAYS and LOCALES: Going off of water elimination, the North end of Creel Bay has slowed considerably, there are some fish hanging on the towers pole rocks but many are small, about a 6 to 1 wee snapper to keeper ratio. Wind blown shorelines in 9-12 feet of water are places to target for trolling cranks right now. Some spots that are holding good fish right now would be Bluebill point, Old 281, Highways 57 and Highway 20, The deeper Stromme Addition weed beds.
For snap jigging the bigger fish, the rocks on the Main Bay Tower Pylons, Lost Jig, and Rocky Pts. Big Rocks are all holding fish, just not huge numbers, however if you pull one it is probably going to be a good one. Military Shoreline on the main bay side and the North End of 6 mile are starting to heat up also.
