Looking To Be A Banner Year!
Weekends are starting to pick up as people are getting the itch to get out and do some fishing. We are still at a stalemate with the ice making process but are making a little bit of progress. Still some open water areas out there that will cause some issues for days to come. The weather will turn over the next 48 hours and we will be getting into those ice making temperatures.
Perch!!
A lot of Devils Lake Perch showing up on the cleaning tables around the area. We have been fortunate enough to be able to be doing just that. Most of our Perch have been coming out of 17-30 feet of water either in the trees or along some sort of structure; points and sudden drops. Have drilled the open basins of a couple larger bays that are accessible at this time and haven’t run into any big schools yet. We recommend focusing on those intermediate areas for this early portion of the ice fishing season.
Slip bobbers with a plain hook and a minnow have been very effective lately. Jigging is still getting its fair share of fish, gold varmint with a minnow head for us, but the bobbers lately have REALLY been knocking them dead.
Walleyes
Lots of these to be had as well. Lake Alice and Lake Irvine are still putting out a lot of fish, it can be day to day up there, one day they are on fire and one day the just seem to go dormant. The ice on both lakes is not uniform and conditions up there are far from stable. We are still recommending that you drill as you go.
On the main lake, flats in 5-8 feet and flooded structure in 10-15 feet of water have been the best areas that we have found.
Buckshots, Gold Varmints, Jigging Raps, and Tundra Tackle lures are all working for us to entice the Walleyes to bite. Tipping each with a minnow head is vital and we would try it without doing so.
Strategy For Early Ice: Perch and Crappies
So far this year, the ‘grind on them’ philosophy has held out to be the most productive strategy. Stacked up, violent, Perch schools has not been the norm. Cruisers and short flurries has been what we have seen. Drill, drill, drill until you come across a few holes with multiple marks or one or two active fish, there will be more in that vicinity. Shorten your distance between holes and look for the area with the biggest concentration. You might pop 3-5 Perch:
Bang, bang, bang!
And then the school wanders a little. We have been sitting tight and waiting for more to cruise through. Sometimes, hole hopping works as well to try to stay on top of them, however, our best successes the last week have been to wait out the short periods of down time and prepare for the next flurry.
Good Luck out there
Hold On To Your Rod!!
And…
Turn Fishing Into Catching
With…
DevilsLakeFishingReport!!
Looking to go to devils within a couple week any recommendations for places to stay on a budget ?
You can’t go wrong with Woodland Resort, and their Motel rooms are extremely reasonable and everything you need is right there with access, bait, and everything.
Your daily reports are fun to read. I am a long ways away but still check your progress. What a great fishery.
How is ice on military point area? Planning a trip in a few weeks wondering what ice conditions are
That would be one of the problem areas we speak of, some lingering open water areas between Military and Rocky pts. making any fishing in that area unsafe at this time.
Great site
Agreed love the info!!
Can you please send me more information would like to come from Nebraska
Can you elaborate on what more information you would like us to provide. Our Weekly fishing report is on Monday’s with Walleye, Perch, and Crappie Alerts throughout the week. Our Weekly Ice Conditions Report is on Wednesday, and our Weather and Solunar Forecast is on Thursdays. Tuesday’s are our Tactics day. Any other specific information can be attained by emailing us at [email protected] or using our Facebook Page to send us a message. If you would like to schedule a guided trip or a follow you can call or text at 701-351-6414.
Great info.