Pike Hard To Come By, Walleye More Than Willing
As we made the foot travel approach to our first bridge destination, it became evident that the Northern Pike ‘happy time’ spawn is in full swing. Both ditches to either side of us on our 400 yard approach were teeming with spawning Northerns.
We attempted a few casts to see if they drew any interest and those slimers had other things on their minds.
At the conclusion of the evening we did end up catching 2 Pike at another location and they were both spawned out. If Pike is your fish of choice we would suggest either delaying your trip a little or lowering your expectations.
Walleye Bonanza
The Walleyes on the other hand were on the prowl and roving schools of fish gave us periods of hot and heavy action. It was far from an every cast evening, but there were just enough of them to make it exciting.
We did end up with 12 Walleyes that we kept. All of our fish were between 16 and 20 inches with the exception of 1 21. Ten of the twelve were males, 2 females that one had eggs that were not developed correctly and made for the mistaken identification and the other one we kept by accident.
I am being told by a group, via Instagram, that there is no way those fish are males, that they are too big and we are liars.
I don’t take kindly to being called a liar about our fishing excursions, it will be the weekend’s mission to prove to these ‘experts’ that, indeed, Devils Lake male walleyes CAN and DO grow to be 18 inches long.
All of our fish were caught on the edge of the current on the upstream side of the bridge we were at (location 4 in your Spring/Shore Fishing Guide). We were using 3/4 ounce white jig heads with white gulp and twister tales. The water is quite muddy but the backwater has a little better visibility.
Steady retrieves produced more fish for us as compared to bouncing it back which kind of surprised me.
The location of the spawning ‘ditch pike’ is #107 in your Spring/Shore fishing guide, and if you want to attempt to catch some spring Pike, we would venture there, they will click back into feed mode eventually.
Other places that Walleyes are being caught at this time include but are not restricted to:
Spring/Shore Fishing Guide locations 1-7, 20-22, 87-88, 93-94, 102-106, and 108.
Spring Fishing Etiquette That NEEDS To Be Followed!!!!!!!
Some etiquette to ponder if you are thinking of making the trip up to try some of our Spring Fishing:
- Obey the signs– Road Closed means the road is closed for a reason. You may have to walk a little ways from the sign. I know a year ago they started handing out $250 tickets for those that were driving around the signs. I don’t know if it has gotten to that extreme yet.
- Drive slowly on the gravel– Very soon the farmers up here are going to be trying to get springs work done, the last thing they need is a bunch of washboarded up, ruined roads because too many fishermen were in too big of a hurry.
- Respect Other’s Space and Decisions– if someone else is at a spot that you had planned on going to, you have three things to consider/options:
- go to your 2nd spot if you don’t play well with others
- be respectful and ask if they mind company, but respect their reply and give them some room
- Also, some out there will be keeping some bigger Walleyes. That is their decision, not yours. They are doing nothing wrong, legally. Sure, we would all like to see the prime spawners go back, however, for some people this is the ONLY time of the year that they get to enjoy some truly spectacular fishing. Please try not to ruin it for them.
- Pick Up After Yourself– If you haul it in, please haul it out. Slob fishermen give all of us a bad name.
- Don’t Block the Roadway– If you are going to park on the side of the road, please make sure that you leave room for others to get by, there are people living out there and nothing irritates them more than not being able to get home after work because someone has blocked their access because they were too lazy to park on the shoulder.
- Catch YOUR fish– The limit is 5 Walleyes, not 20 because you are with 3 other people. Party fishing is not legal in North Dakota and once you have caught your 5 Walleyes, you shouldn’t be keeping more than your 5 to fill your buddies limit.
- Report All Poachers and Litterers– It is going on as we speak, too many people keeping too many fish and leaving their garbage behind. If you see it, call it in. If we are going to keep the season open year round, we must become better conservationists and environmentally cognitive of our impact on the area.
- Leave the Make Shift Launch Clear– A lot of guys tow their duck boats and little puddle jumpers up and load them in the ditches. I see nothing wrong with that. What I do see, and it is wrong, is a crew that decides they are going to leave their trailer backed in at a good launch spot. They do this for 2 reasons:
- They are just plain lazy
- They are trying to limit the number of other boats that can launch at that spot. Either way it is wrong, please don’t do it.
If you can think of one that I missed, let us know in the comments section!
Trust me, if you follow these rules and report those that don’t, we just may get to continue to enjoy this Year-Round Fishing opportunity that some other states don’t get to have.
Good Luck out there.
Great comments but I will add that throwing back bigger fish is not even suggested by the Game & Fish. The Game & Fish say that keeping bigger fish does absolutely nothing to hurt the populations in ND.
This is true but I remember once upon a time the game and fish thought you couldn’t hurt the perch population either. With no limits to big limits to oops we might have a problem. Also harvesting big fish reduces the chance for big trophies. Let’s put them back to ensure good fishing for our next generation.
And part of us agrees with yo also Troy. Realize too, these are no longer technically ‘Devils Lake’ fish being caught in the Northern Basin but Lake Alice and Lake Irvine fish. 3 or 4 really dry years and those two bodies of water will no longer be able to sustain their current fish populations. Wouldn’t it be better to utilize those fish now than let them go to waste later?
Quite the mindset you got there. The devils Lake guides sure seem to rely on that fishery up there. I’m pretty sure they don’t believe in that theory at least I hope not. I wasn’t talking just about the lakes up north either. I’m just saying let the big females back this time of yr. Plenty of males to go around. Maybe game and fish should actually do some research on how many fish actually do come back into Devils lake. Oh ya and the early season should be closed for out of staters so they don’t ruin our lakes also.
Seems like I’m not alone.
Johnny Dircks gets it.
Troy,
We aren’t going to get into an argument with you on this subject. Truth of the matter is, as of right now, the fishing season doesn’t close in North Dakota and not one person who is fishing the northern reaches of the Devils Lake Basin is breaking any laws. One thing I do find hard to believe, is the implication that all Walleyes in Devils Lake travel from Main Bay, Creel Bay, or East Bay up through Six Mile Bay, though Dry Lake, through Chain Lake, through Lake Alice, and under 2-20 bridges and culverts and will spawn in the next 5-6 days and then turn around, swim through those bridges again, through Lake Alice, through Chain Lake, through Mikes Lake, through Dry Lake, down through Channel A, and back to Six Mile bay to the main lake again. And every Walleye in Devils Lake does this, that would be an unprecedented mass of biota.
Nowhere did I say to keep every female and 5 pound walleye that you catch , Troy. In fact we promote releasing the bigger fish and conservation. I think, personally, that the fishing season North of Highway 19 should close from April 1st to May 15th.
However, that is not the case, it remains open. That isn’t going to change anytime soon. The best we can and will do is promote best practice. If you read our Spring Fishing Rules of Etiquette, you would know that.
Good Luck out there.
DLFR
Please, enlighten us to the wisdom of the one, the only, Johnny Dirks;)
Missed the newsletter subscription so now I have checked it. THX
Good article with some great etiquette points. And yeah, I agree with you, nothing sets me off faster than being called a liar. From all I hear, Devils Lake has the best walleye fishing in the state, and if I can pull a 26″ male out of little Lake Hoskins down south here, then I don’t see any reason you shouldn’t up there.
I’ve only been to Devils once and that was last year, we are head led out again in a couple weeks. How do you think the shore fishing will be? We are also bring a little 12ft boat with a trolling motor. Any tips or input would be greatly appreciated.
The 12 foot boat will be key as dry lake, and the other northern feeder lakes should be good at that time and the channels adjacent to the big lake will have returning post-spawn walleyes in them.
Thanks Travis
I forgot to mention, we will start at the channel A bridge.
Nice informative article. I’m confused though about the fishing spots referred to with a number and a Shore Fishing Guide. Is there something I have to subscribe to or purchase in order to make sense of all this?
The locations referred to in the post coincide with the locations for our Spring/Shore Fishing Guide. It can be found on our waypoints page.
Is the spring waypoint guide for shore or boat fishing?
Shore fishing. Some of the spots can be accessed by boat but most are for the shore fisherman.
Last weekend we fished Channel A. There were a million people on the Devils Lake side where the channel enters the lake. We decided not to fight the crowd and fish the actual channel by the railroad tracks. Lots of current. Did not get a bite. I’m guessing we should have followed the crowd?
Traditionally the lake side is better, however, that up stream side will heat up ad Dry Lake will turn on very soon. As will all of the Northern feeder lakes.
Thanks!
Travis, we will be at devils lake late Wednesday night, do they bite after midnight? Once again starting by the channel A bridge.
Thanks
Traditionally not a big night bite. I guess I have never tried it during the pre spew and spawn and if you have some glow jigs you might be able to fool a couple. I would say get your rest and get after it an hour before sunrise. The golden hours on devils lake are… well… GOLDEN!
Thanks Travis, where is the best fishing now? Is it a good idea to take my john boat up from the channel A bridge towards Dry Lake? Is the channel good for fishing Between Ch. A and Dry lake? Sorry for all the questions, just looking for some guidance.