Today’s Other Fish
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I said I wouldn’t comment on pike as an ‘other’ fish on Devils Lake. However, it would be criminal not to do so, and so we lead off our Wednesday ‘Other’ Fish series with the dreaded slimer.
I really don’t like pike. Just the slime alone is enough. Add to that the fact that they are voracious feeders and will gulp down anything that they can fit down their ugly mugs and you have my most hated Devils Lake species. They are Perch killers, and Walleye killers, and White Bass killers; even have evidence from today on that one:
In my eyes, the only good pike is a dead pike. I wish the game and fish would come out and put a bounty on them like some of the trout lakes in Colorado. A guy could make a pretty good living on Devils Lake with a $20 per pike bounty.
But, they are fun to catch, I will give them that. A 2 pound pike can put up a pretty good battle. The only bad thing is you will eventually have to take him off the hook. Make sure you bring a towel if you are going to target these snot rockets! If you want to hunt some down and do us a favor by taking some Perch Predators out of the gene pool, we can help you with that:
We don’t really think you will have to buy those though!
WHY? You Ask!
Cause they are everywhere. In the Spring, 100 Pike days are the rule not the exception and the sheer number of 2-7-pound pike swimming the waters of the Big Devil is simply astounding. If you go to ANY weedy shoreline right now, you will get sick of catching them, trust me.
They will damage your crank baits, slime up your boat, and cut up your hands. If you are a Pike enthusiast, get to Devils Lake NOW!
They are on the feed and your Pike obsession will be sated.
Pitch any color crank bait, a #5 or #7 into the shallows along weed lines and trees and you will have many Pike follow ups and a lot of hook ups. One today actually hit the lure OUT OF THE WATER as we were retrieving it to cast again. It was breathtaking and a little scary for the faint of heart. Just about jumped in the boat.
If you savor slime and want to catch some Pike, Devils Lake is your place to be.
Today’s Outing
Besides the numerous Pike, we were able to connect on some Walleyes today as well. The days started slow as we figured it would with this recent weather and we could only find 53 degree water. We changed locations, the water temps started to rise a little and we finally found a cattail edge where the water was between 57 and 58 degrees by late morning/early afternoon.
Hot Steel in Scatter Rap #5 and #7 was the lure/color of choice and a very slow retrieve was required for the Eyes. Speed it up and, you guessed it, PIKE!
The Main Lake is only going to heat up from here on in and aside from the special occasion trip to change things up, that is where we will be making the rest of our trips.
Good Luck Out There!
