Late August Transitions and the Balance of Time
This time of year as the days shorten, the hornets get riled and start looking for meat, making cleaning Canada geese an exercise in Russian Roulette, and temperatures start to swing, two things start to occur in my life. Number one, my chunks of free time start to get divided up into smaller and smaller pieces and fall seasons start to open. Our early Canada season is in full swing, dove season opens Thursday, Crane season is on the horizon, as are Sharptail Grouse, Partridge, Squirrel, and inevitably Resident only Waterfowl Season followed a week later by our Regular Waterfowl Hunting season. The season that remains the same is Fishing.
This is a wonderful time of year, but it is really hard to get it all in. Some of us are going through some major changes in life and these changes are taking a little getting adjusted to. The point I am trying to make or making is we are dutifully trying to keep our fishing days on the calendar. Unfortunately, a few planned days on the water get eliminated due to other more important responsibilities or because there is a field full of Canada Geese that our Canada Goose Extermination Team needs to tend to.
The last scenario occurred this past weekend. We had two newly harvested wheat fields that needed our immediate attention. It was a blast, we killed 22 and 30 Canada’s respectively.
However, both mornings were originally planned fishing days. Sunday we managed to get in a cast and blast so it wasn’t a total loss of a fishing day, but I think by missing the morning we also missed a good portion of the bite. Add to that the fact that the Vikings were on at noon and it turned into a full day.
“Walleye Slayer” made an appearance on Sunday, and he did not disappoint. He boated the largest walleye of the day, an 18″ beauty. His enthusiasm for fishing is truly a joy.
We continue to troll with bottom bouncers and worms in relatively deeper water, 23 to 27 feet. This entire week we really concentrated on that 23-24 foot contour as that is where we marked a lot of fish. As the week went on, the bigger ones seemed to be a lot less active. The immature white bass and small walleyes, however, are really aggressive and going through a lot of worms is a casualty of the experience.
I am speculating that lead core and #5 Salmos are going to be the avenue to start to take to search out some more active schools of keeper eyes and Jumbo Perch.
We concentrated on two pretty popular finger bays and still were able to hook into some nice fish, just not full limits. The boys at the bait shop shared with us not to worry, the reports from people coming in were pretty much the same. It is a good thing we are stubborn, we will continue to search for the next big bite, the next Jackpot Gold Mine of Jumbos.
Monday evening presented an opportunity to make up for our missed day Saturday and we got in a good three and a half hour trolling session on one of the Big Devil’s more prominent rocky points. The 2 and 3 year class of walleyes and white bass had us jumping around the boat and action was pretty non-stop, keepers were harder to come by though. There were a lot of real good marks on the depth finder, but the smaller, more aggressive fish seemed to get to our lures before the bigger fish could have a chance at biting.
The Technology Advantage
I talk of marking bigger fish on the depth finder, we constantly hit hour glasses and pinch points that show up on our GPS, when buddies get on a good bite they call our cell phone, we brag about our successes on Facebook, post our exploits on Fishingbuddy.com and Nodakangler.com, we check the solunar table on the internet, our GPS keeps us in the fish zone longer, I-Pilots let us free our hands, Vexilars show us the fish coming to our lure.
There isn’t a gadget or electronic device that isn’t covered in the game of fishing. It has become a high tech ball game and the cost of just getting outfitted can be daunting.
Then there is the 10 year old kid that throws a plain hook and minnow off the dock in front of the Restaurant and hauls in an 8-pounder. He didn’t need electronics, he didn’t need a trolling motor or $40,000 boat. All’s he needed was a hook, a minnow, and a beautiful North Dakota sunrise or sunset to make his day.
Sometimes as I am sitting in the decoys or relaxing on the boat between bites I think about these simpler, less competitive times. Quite honestly, they are kind of missed. When 1 fish was worth it all. Limits were not even entering into our minds, just the prospect of getting one. Has technology made us greedy? Have we lost sight of our perspective and raised the success bar so far that it is unsustainable? I sure hope not.
All of these toys are fun, they make things interesting and boost our success rate, but sometimes I think they lessen the accomplishment. They cheapen the thrill a little. Maybe, just maybe, a throwback to a simpler time is needed to put things into perspective.
The Lost Thrill Rekindled in a Child’s Eye
The pictures of “Walleye Slayer” and the evident joy of catching that fish shine through in the twinkle of his eyes and the smile on his face. He is obssessed with catching a big pike, and of course, every pike he catches is big to him. I am trying to change his mind about that and get him to crave the thump thump of a Walleye and the machine gun taps of the Jumbo Perch but I also don’t want to temper his youthful infatuation with pike either. As long as it keeps him wanting to fish, game on.
Having him in the boat changes our perspective. A limit of 18 to 21 inch walleyes is no longer the goal. Getting him the opportunity to reel in as many fish as possible becomes tantamount. He caught the first fish and he caught the largest fish on Sunday, he thinks I owe him $10, and I probably do, I’ll pay it gladly, it is monetary and worth every penny; priceless in fact.
Take a Kid Fishing or Hunting
He is my son, in my mind it is my duty to take him, I want him to experience every opportunity I had growing up and more. Seeing the glow in his eyes as he is struggling to reel in a fish just puts an ear to ear grin on my face. My daughter isn’t as bitten by the fishing bug as he is right now and that is ok, she loves sitting in the blind in the decoys and that is enough. I challenge everyone to take a kid on your next outing, it is great for the soul and puts things into perspective. It rekindles ones desire to preserve this outdoor resource we have here in our corner of paradise that is the Lake Region.
Paradise Lost!
“Greedily she engorged without restraint,
And knew not eating death;”
I love where I live, I cannot get enough of the splendor that is the northern tier of North Dakota. Some see nothing, just a flat featureless terrain. I see bounty in every nook and cranny. Yes, the Mountain Relocation Project was completed thousands even million of years ago, but this left the divots that give us our Outdoors Paradise. Like Eve in the poem, we have both opportunity and choice. We can engorge on it without restraint or we can learn from the mistakes of the past and present and do our duty to preserve it for those kids we are now taking out.
We keep a lot of fish, we clean a lot of fish. We do not keep more than our limit and we do not filet prime condition big spawners. We shoot a lot of ducks and geese, we are proficient at it, and every single one of them gets eaten. I eat more goose and duck jerky in the fall than I care to actually know, its so good though.
We cannot sustain an abuse of the resource. I strongly urge everyone to become a conservationist, we can be our own biggest supporter or our own biggest enemy.
Recipe Alert!!
From time to time I will be giving out some ways to prepare the fish and yes, the ducks and geese that we harvest. For a while in my life I ate just about nothing but wild game. I got creative and have many different methods of preparation. Also, in my second job, people clue me in to new and sometimes interesting ways to ‘change it up’ if you will.
One of the visitors to the website, Craig W., clued me in to an interesting and quite honestly, delicious way to prepare Walleye. The Recipe came from his wife and I have gotten to try it once, but let me tell you; easy and spectacular. Here it is:
2 ilbs walleye, 16 oz. lemon juice, 1/3 cup salt- chop the walleye into 1/4 by 1/4 inch chunks and marinate in the salt and lemon juice for 4-8 hours or overnight.
1 bunch fresh cilantro, 1 bunch fresh parsley, 1 yellow onion, 4 medium tomatoes, 4 jalapeño peppers, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil,black pepper, cayenne pepper, tabasco sauce-finely chop all the vegetables and mix with the remaining ingredients. Combine with the strained Walleye. Enjoy with chips or as a cracker spread. It’s AWESOME.
Stocking and Regulations
The fact that for many years, the Fish and Wildlife service and North Dakota Game and Fish Departments, did not stock any Perch in to Devils Lake yet took eggs and roe from Devils Lake Perch really makes me question how much more quickly we could have gotten back on our feet as a world-class perch fishery. I think those ‘good ole days’ are back on our doorstep. I think we are about to enter a time, short term anyway, of some real good Perch fishing on the hard water.
Years when we catch a lot of perch on the open water, usually, we have above average ice catches of the Gold buggers. We are seeing a lot of Perch both in our creel bag and from other accomplished anglers. This bodes well for the coming Hard Water season. Look for our Ice Fishing Preparation tips coming soon to Devils Lake Fishing Report
We missed the opportunity to restock Perch more quickly. Let me float you this idea. How about Bluegills and Crappie? I am not a biologist, just a fisherman. I have only fished Blue Gills once, but I would love the opportunity to do so more often. Is the Blue Gill a legitimate option for stocking in Devils Lake.
The Crappies really seem to be taking off, if there was a concerted effort to stock even more, could we have a world class crappie fishery to go along with our Walleyes and Perch. Educate me on the pros and cons of doing so. I would love to see some Gills come to the Big Devils and have the crappie population really explode, especially for the Hard Water season.
One regulation I would like to see changed is dealing with the over abundance of small pike. I know I am going to irritate some people but I feel very strongly, that if some adjustments to the rules were made to Devils Lake, our Perch and Crappie populations would surge.
Why not make it mandatory to keep any and all pike under 20 inches. Our waters are absolutely infested with these hammer handles and I think they need to be thinned a little. Too many Devils Lake fishermen throw all pike back. Require these smaller, voracious feeders to be kept. You can get a pretty good filet out of any pike and they are pretty good if you know how to debone them. Just a thought.
Uncharted Territory
On a normal year, I have just about put my long rods away. For me, in the past, September through November has been a shotgun and decoy affair leaving zero time for fishing. With the development of Devils Lake Fishing Report, that is no longer an option. We have to keep fishing, which has been a very fruitful and enjoyable endeavor. I’ve loved it.
I am still going to get out in the field, I am a waterfowl junkie. There will be weekly expeditions onto the water though and it will be interesting. Following the fish back into their fall transition is going to be educational to say the least. There are going to be days that we struggle, but we will not be denied. Through persistence and throwing enough darts, we hope to hit the bullseye a few more times before the boat is trarped and the reels are stored. Stay tuned to see how we do.
Buy Waypoints from This Report
Specific Bays and Locales: I cannot express to you enough how many fish we are finding on the 23-27 foot ledge in the finger bays. They are stacked. Many are small eyes and immature white bass, but right along with them are some straight pig walleyes. Worms and spinners continue to produce but deeper water cranks are catching as many if not more. If you are a lead core enthusiast, break it our because it is time. The bridge areas for snap jigging and slip bobbing are picking up. The northern feeder lakes, though usually weed infested at this time, are still, still on fire. If you have a smaller boat and can still get into them the walleyes are boing very cooperative. Some areas to concentrate on are North 6 Mile Bay, Rocky Pt./Military Pt, Highway 57 and 20 bridges, 6 Mile Bay bridge, Mauves Bridge, Woods-Rutten Bridge. The Flats tear drop islands, Patience Pt. and Haley’s hump are holding a lot of fish, though as with our 23 foot ledge, you gotta sort through the smaller fish.
