What’s Left??

Well, not much really.  In a nutshell, Devils Lake is Walleye, Perch, Pike, White Bass, and Crappies.  Technically speaking there are a few Tiger Muskies left from a little stocking years ago and the odd Sucker here and there.  That rounds out every fish that swims in the Big Devil.

There will be reports that surface from time to time that someone caught a Carp, it is always the misidentification of a Sucker as there has never been a documented case of Carp in DL.  I saw 2 pictures a couple years ago of two different fishermen that show a Smallmouth/Largemouth Bass that both supposedly were caught in Devils Lake but the Game and Fish never confirmed and I highly doubt that they were Devils Lake Fish.

The state record Bullhead is listed as a Devils lake fish as is the state record Striped Bass.  The Bullhead is an anomaly and the Striped Bass that were stocked decades ago never reproduced and are all almost assuredly dead.

One of the things that makes Devils Lake such an attractive fishery to fish is the lack of rough fish.  No Carp, no rough fish in general and we up here on the Northern Tier strive everyday to keep it that way.

It doesn’t restrict us from dreaming and thinking:

What If?!

What if some desirable species were stocked in the Big Devil.  What would be the after effects?

Bluegills

I have already written an entire post on my Bluegill fetish.  I am pretty confident it is not going to happen and in the grand scheme of things I think that it is probably a good thing.  They would directly compete with our Perch and Crappie populations and I think Perch and Crappies are enough.  It is a nice little Pan Fish Fantasy but not something that I think any avid Devils Lake fisherman wants to see come to fruition.

Tiger Muskies

Please, for the love of God and all things Holy, NO!!!!! We already have enough super predators swimming our waters, we don’t need another.  This little experiment was already tried with the Game and Fish stocking some years ago.  There was actually a pretty good one caught this winter.  I remember 14-15 years ago when 2 over 30 pounds were pulled out of Channel A in the spring.  One was by one of our students at the middle school.  Mike Sylling pulled a 52 inch 30+ pound Tiger out and that made big news in school and in the area.  With our Pike population doing as well as it is though, I don’t want to see another Apex predator added to the mix.  Leave my poor Perch alone!

Muskies

See Directly Above!

Smallmouth/Largemouth Bass

Repeat the paragraph above.  Really see no benefit in adding one of these feeding machines to our waters.  The disruption of our ecosystem may one day be irreversible.  People don’t drive 100’s and 1000’s of miles to fish for Bass in Devils Lake and these voracious feeders would put a dent in the population of the fish that people DO drive from afar to chase, i.e. Walleye and Perch.

Stripers

It was tried once and they didn’t reproduce.  The added expense of continual stocking could be spent in other ways.  I see no benefit and always question why they were stocked in the first place.

Asian Flying Carp

We have always talked about how much fun it would be to take off from the landing, head to the cormorant trees, put one guy up in the captains chair in the front of the boat with a Benelli, cruise along and take out some fish eaters as we pulled a drive by.  Highly illegal and something that we would never do, but fun to ponder.  Imagine doing the same except with flying fish.  I have seen numerous videos of guys on the rivers out east where these invasive species have invaded rivers.  There is a guy in full body protection with a net trying to snap these fish out of the air as the boat cruises the channel.  I don’t really want to be coming around Rocky Pt. headed to our destination and have to worry about a 5-pound missile launched from the water.  Everyone needs to do everything possible to keep ANS out of the Big Devil.

Salmon

They are in Sakakawea, they do quite well there and are actually fished for.  Their population goes up and down with the forage.  Devils Lake’s main forage is our Freshwater Shrimp.  Are they big enough to sustain a viable Salmon population.  Sakakawea, being a river fed reservoir is viable Salmon habitat.  Is the Big Devil.  We have coulees that feed the lake but is that influx of water enough to create a ‘river like’ system.  I don’t believe so.  A stocking of Salmon would probably result in a couple of years of fishing for them and then an abrupt die off.  Not worth the effort or expense.

Trout

Moon Lake down by Valley City has them, so do a few small ponds that are stocked around the state.  Devils Lake definitely has some deep holes where some Lakers would probably thrive.  I think the salinity of our waters would hurt there survival.  Devils Lake has a high salt content.  I might be wrong on that, but it seems to me that Trout do best in pristine, clear waters; THAT is NOT Devils Lake!

Sturgeon

Imagine trolling deep for mid-summer Walleyes and:

BAM!

You hook into one of these Goliath Prehistoric fish!  That would be a fight for the ages, the lead core would be put to the test on that one.  Again though, a primarily river system fish primarily found in much clearer, fresher waters.

The Verdict…

I think most locals and many regular tourists would agree, as I would, leave her as she is.

The Big Devil is healthy.

Our natural reproduction, while cyclical, is working.  There are young of the year fish, the year classes seem strong, and Walleye fishing this summer has been nothing short of spectacular.  The 8-10 inch Perch were plentiful last winter and we are seeing some Perch numbers starting to show up this summer.  The only major stocking regiment we would like to see is maybe boost the Perch numbers a little and make a concerted effort to increase the Crappie numbers.  The Crappie numbers seem to be taking off a little and with a little boost we believe that we could add Devils Lake as a Crappie destination along with the Walleyes and Perch.

My affection for this Lake, this area, and my home State of North Dakota and the Northern Tier are as strong now as they have ever been.  Anything and everything that endangers the lake is instantly raised to Public Enemy #1.

At the top of that list is ANS, particularly Zebra Mussels.  Please help us in attempting to keep any Aquatic Nuisance Species out of Devils Lake by being diligent in assuring that all vegetation is clear of your boat and to thoroughly disinfect your boat and trailer if you are coming from other waters, especially those out of state.

Good Luck Out There!

Some spots to help your upcoming trips onto the water:

Hold On To Your Rod!

And…

Turn Fishing Into Catching

With…

DevilsLakeFishingReport!!