Water Temperature And Therefor Depth Are Keys This Time Of Year
I talk to a lot of fishermen from the upper midwest. Lots of Minnesotans, Wisconies, Iowegians,(we kid because we care) South Dakotans, and even some Corn Huskers. Devils Lake has become a very popular vacation destination for the outdoorsman. Mostly due to the fact that we possess some of the best fishing and waterfowl hunting opportunities in the U.S
Devils Lake is a plethora of activities for the avid outdoorsman, all wrapped into one area. People from out-of-state come to conquer these opportunities. Many have seen a TV show or read an article on Devils Lake in a magazine. The TV Show Host or Article Author raved about how wonderful their experience was and urged the viewers to make the trek to the Northern Tier of North Dakota and try their luck.
So, many come. Many drive, hop on a train, or fly to this Sportsman’s Paradise on the Plains, nestled in the middle of the prairie pothole region. They have big expectations and big dreams.
All too often, those dreams are squashed by many factors: size, weather, timing, and naiveté.
Size
A person doesn’t really get a good perspective of 200,000 acres of water until you get here.
One tiny bay on one of the many Northern Feeder lakes that feeds the monster that is DEVILS LAKE!
More shoreline than the state of California!
I don’t know if that statement is true or not but, living here all of my life, I’ve heard it many times.
In that shoreline lies the golden ticket to Early Season Open Water fishing for Walleyes (and Pike and White Bass).
Weather
This one is all about hitting it right. Some times you get lucky and have 3-4 wonderful sunny days. As it often is up here on the Northern Tier however, April, May, and June can be unpredictable. I’ve said it a thousand times:
If you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes, it’ll change!
And not always for the better. One of the worst snow storms I’ve been alive for occurred on May 1st, we killed 36 Snow Geese that day!
Naivete
This is not Lake Erie, or Winny, or Lake of the Woods. Forget about finding structure, and humps, and reefs. Leave your Lindy Rig at home in April, May, and June.
The fish are super shallow on those miles and miles of shoreline.
The truest statement about fishing that can be proclaimed when talking about the Big Devil is that :
10% of the water holds 90% of the fish
In springtime and early summer, that 10% is almost all under 5 feet of water, and most likely, especially now, under 3 feet of water.
Yes, I said under 3 feet of water. The unique ecosystem of Devils Lake has many transition periods that work like clockwork. That ticking time bomb is rooted in the temperature of the water. The shallows warm up the quickest and therefore the shallows hold the active fish at this time of year.
So many of our guests from out of state, especially the first timers, just can’t fathom this fact. The reluctance to believe that a person can pull Walleyes, and BIG Walleyes out of the shallows like that is what leads to so many having their expectations dashed on the rocks of the very rip rap they should have been pitching into.
In the case of pike this time of year, SUPER ACTIVE!
Those pike will be active from sun up until sundown and in April, May, and Early June the prospect of ‘100 pike days’ is not the exception but the rule. So many pike will be hitting your jig heads and crank baits that it will cut the shelf life of your lures down to about 50 casts.
That’s a mug only a mother could love, or a fisherman!
So many Pike will be hitting your lures you will doubt the presence of any other fish. This is usually far from the case and there are most assuredly Walleyes and many White Bass in the vicinity they just aren’t as active as the Pike yet.
Timing: Afternoon -VS- Morning
Devils Lake at this time is a “Pitcher’s Paradise”.
If you like pitching lures, the time to come to Devils Lake is upon us. You will have your fill of Pike in the early hours of the day, however, slowly as the sun warms the shallows, you will begin seeing Walleye follow-ups. And then, like a light switch flipping on, those follow ups will turn into hook-ups.
The water temperature will have risen just a few degrees, but that temperature rise will trigger the dinner bell for those eyes.
For this reason, when I say shallow, I mean SHALLOW!
Weed beds, rip rap, sunken road beds. Any places where the darker coloration of the bottom picks up more sun than the surrounding areas will be hot spots.
Too many times I will talk to guys after a day of fishing and they will comment how they are struggling to find the Walleyes. They caught lots of Pike, even found some White Bass, but those darn Walleyes just weren’t there.
They were there alright, the timing just wasn’t. If they would have sorted through the active Pike and waited for the water temperature to get right, they would have discovered that the Walleyes were there the whole time.
Tomorrow, we will present to you our Open Water Prep Part 3: Weapons of Choice.
We will show you exactly what you need to bring to conquer this shallow water, Pitcher’s Paradise. In the mean time…
Just a Devils Lake outdoor junkie. This is my blog. Follow me for fishing reports, waypoints, and other information that can help make your day on the lake a success!
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Read on for the latest fishing reports. I also offer limited guided day trips and up-to-date waypoints where I’ve recently caught fish.
See you on the lake or in the field!
