10-25-2011

This will be my last fishing report of the year, but it will not be the end of my fall fishing. Things just do not change enough at this time to keep reporting.

Not much has changed since the last report. Pelican Lake is still my destination of choice. There is a new ramp there now. Trolling is working the best for me. Leadcore line and larger shad baits are working the best. #7 Flicker Shads in Ghost White and Hot Tiger (both Scheels exclusives) and #7 RS Shad Raps in Glass White and Perch have been my best lures. Salmo Hornets are working as well as Jointed Shad Raps in similar colors.

FireLine with deeper diving baits like Reef Runners and Deep Tail Dancers will catch some fish, but they are not working as well as the Shad baits. Jigs and Gulp! have caught a few too.

There are also good fish to be had trolling the Golden Highway as well as pitching crank baits to shallow rocky structures around the lake.

It is tough to get eating size fish. It has been a lot of catch and release lately, but that is fun too.

Enjoy the fall bite!!! This will last until the ice stops us from getting there.

10-4-2011

Things are getting better by the day; however, weather can still slow the bite.

Trolling #7 Shad style baits on lead core is still working well. If you don't have lead core, long lining with FireLine can get you deep enough too. Flicker Shads and RS Shad Raps are working well. So are Salmo Hornets and Jointed Shad Raps. It seems that any color will work, but perch or white stands out by the end of the day.

The fish seem to be on average a bit larger than what we saw this summer. 18 to 22 inches is pretty common now and a few monsters are coming each day.

Pelican Lake is hot and there is a brand new ramp there too. Water temps are holding steady in the mid 50s and there is no sign of the bite slowing. I am sure as temperatures drop, there will be a good jig and minnow bite coming.

For now, enjoy the fall; Big Walleye, Ducks and Geese, Grouse and Pheasants. Decisions, Decisions.

9-26-2011

Fall is here and the fish are fired up, big time!

It was 10 days between my Devils Lake trips and in that time, the water temp had dropped nearly 20 degrees. On Saturday the temperature was 56 degrees.

The weeds are dying off and the fish are leaving them and heading toward their favorite fall locations. Our success came on deeper rock structure in Pelican Lake. Trolling #7 Flicker Shads and #5 Jointed Shad Raps produced modest numbers of fish, but the size was awesome. Fish averaged 20 inches and the largest of the weekend was a beautiful 28 incher. White and Hot Tiger were the best colors followed closely by Chrome and Blue.

This fishing is only going to get better as water temps continue to fall.

Big Fish, No Crowd, gotta love the fall.

9-9-2011

Talk about consistent fishing. That is Devils Lake for the last two months. Not much has changed at all. I am not sure that will stay the case, but let's enjoy it while it lasts.

Bottom bouncers and spinners till dominate the catches. Slow Death rigs are also working very well. Don't waste time with more than half a crawler, they just won't hit it. Actually, why even use a crawler? A 3 inch piece of a Gulp! crawler is all you need. Not much live bait in my boat the past two weeks.

Areas that are producing are the humps in Ft. Totten Bay, Stromme's, Birkland Point, The Golden Highway and Old 281. Depths vary from 12 to 30 feet of water. It is honestly hard to not catch fish right now.

There is a shallow water bite going too. Pitching cranks between weed beds and the cat tails can be good. It is hit and miss, but when you find them they are really nice fish. #5 Shad Raps and Flicker Shads as well as 3" Berkley Ripple Shads are producing there.

The water is starting to cool and the fall fishing bonanza is not too far away. Man, hard to choose, Grouse, Geese, Deer, or Fishing. I'll take the fishing!!!!

8-29-2011

Walleye Fishing continues to be red hot on Devils Lake. It is actually hard to find a place to not catch fish.

I have been spending most of my time pulling spinners and bottom bouncers. Colors really do not matter. Orange, Gold and Copper blades have been good, but so has everything else. Half a crawler is all you need. The last two days, I personally never used a crawler. Berkley Gulp! 3 inch Fry with about half an inch cut off has worked wonderfully and you can use the same one most of the day.

My best area has been near Ft. Totten. Water depths form 18 to as deep as 40 feet have produced fish. The Golden Highway is still producing as is Birkland Point in East Bay.

There are some larger fish shallow, but the bite is much slower. It needs wind and is early in the day or just at sunset. Casting #5 Shad Raps and Flicker Shads in areas where there are not many weeds has produced some nicer fish. White and Bleak are the colors for me.

Be ready for some excitement, twice this week I had pike attack my walleye on the way to the boat. Gets the heart thumping for sure.

8-22-2011

Two tournaments got in the way of recent reports, but I have been home for a while now and the fishing is incredible.

Not much has changed in the last month. Anglers need to decide what they want from their day; numbers or size. Right now, it seems to be impossible to do both.

For numbers, bottom bouncers and spinners are the trick. Areas that are rocking are the Golden Highway, Ft. Totten Point, Camp Grafton, The Storm Sewers, and Birkland Point. Use half a crawler or a leech and you will have success. #3 blades in Colorado or Indianas are working. Slow death gets 'em when nothing else will. Colors change from day to day. Silvers, Golds, Perches and whites have all been good.

For larger fish, look for shoreline with the wind blowing in. Cleaner banks have been better than those with weeds. However, if you can find cabbage, you will find walleye. Areas in Ft Totten Bay, East Bay, and East Devils Lake have had shallow fish. The wind helps a lot, but there have been some fish caught without any. It is much slower when calm. #5 and #7 Shad Raps and Flicker Shads have been the go to lures. Bleak, Silver/Blue, and Purpledescent have been the best. I have had some great luck on a custom painted White Bass #5 Shad Rap form Dutch Fork Custom Tackle as well.

Things will only get better as fall approaches. Keep checking in for more reports.

7-11-2011

It was a fun week to be on Devils Lake. It took hard work, but limits came 5 days in a row and all from Different areas of the lake.

Early in the week, the flats produced good catches. The Minnewaukan Lagoon as well as Maddock Ridge produced fish on bobbers. With an east wind, old 281 put out some nice fish casting #5 Shad Raps and Flicker Shads. Bleak and Blue Tiger were the best two colors.

The weekend moved us to East Bay and things went well there too. The White Bass fishing was incredible near the overflow to Stump Lake. A fish every cast. The walleye bit well in Hay Bale Bay casting cranks. #5 Shad Raps and Flicker Shads in the same colors as above were great choices. When the sun went away, crawdad and perch turned on. We caught a few nicer fish on Eskos as well.

I hate to ask for it, but wind is a necessary evil for the shallower bite to be good. When it was calm, we had to use bait and go deeper.

I will be gone for the next two weeks. This week it is ICAST in Las Vegas. The next week is the MWC in Mobridge, SD. My next report will be August 1st. I am sure a lot will change by then.

7-5-2011

Fishing this past week proved to be some of the best of the year so far.

The fish are still shallow, 4 to 7 feet of water seems to be the best. If the wind is blowing, casting crank baits (#5 Shad Raps and Flicker Shads) or swim baits (Ripple Shads or Mimic Minnows) is working well. If it is calm go to the slip bobbers with leeches.

Areas that produced good catches were the old RR tracks in Pelican Lake, the 101 Ranch on Grahams Island, and East Lake Road in East Devils Lake.

When casting lures, be prepared to catch a ton of pike. Many of them are small, but there are plenty of nice ones mixed in. The white bass seem to be more plentiful in the eastern part of the lake.

6-27-2011

The past week had me fishing the main lake in preparation for the MWC event. Fishing was good when the weather was bad. We had several nice catches pitching to shallow windblown shorelines. #5 Shad Raps, #5 Flicker Shads and #7 and #9 Countdown Rapalas were great producing cranks. ¼ oz Nuckle Ball Jigs with 3 inch Berkley Ripple Shad bodies were also great performers. Bleak was unstoppable as well as Pearl White for the plastics. Areas that produced fish for me were Knutson's Bay, Blue Bill Point and the 101 Ranch.

When the weather got nice, things changed. Most of the good tournament catches came from pitching weeds. Either cat tails or cabbage beds were the ticket. From listening to the weigh in, the same lures mentioned above produced well. My best weed bad was in Golden Pond.

The winners uncovered a new thing here at Devils Lake. They were trolling #5 Flicker Shads in 4 feet of water along the construction area of HWY 57. The constant commotion of the road project kept the water dirty and put the fish there in a feeding frenzy. They weight 10 fish for over 30 pounds to win both the MWC and the Devils Lake Chamber Tournament.

6-20-2011

Fishing is steadily improving, as long as the weather does. The past week brought steady weather and great catches of walleye and pike. The Pike are everywhere, so be prepared to catch a ton of them. Walleye are a little tougher to locate, but once you do, life will be good.

Shallow windy shorelines still seem to be the answer, but there are some fish beginning to appear in deeper waters off shore.

Bleak #5 Shad Raps were the hot ticket this week, but in some deeper areas, #5 RS Shad Raps worked very well. At times, the 3 inch Ripple Shad was phenomenal as well. Pearl White ruled there.

Areas that produced the best were No Fish Bay and the shorelines near the Gap. There are some fish being caught west of Old Hwy 281, but use caution crossing the flooded highway.

6-13-2011

Things are changing and it seems for the better. For a few days this past week, fishing got pretty tough. It was hard to find any concentration of walleye. The past few days, it is the exact opposite.

The water temperature on the main lake has reached the high 50s and even low 60s in places and the walleye are transitioning to the main lake. Find a nice windy shoreline with clean water and you will have a blast. Casting lures like #5 Shad Raps, #5 Flicker Shads, and #7 Countdown Rapalas will put fish in the boat. Bleak, Firetiger, and Perch all caught fish for us the past few outings. Shorelines near the Mauvais Coulee all seemed to have fish on them.

The bobber fishing is picking up too. Chicken Ridge and the Mauvais Coulee trees produced a few nice catches over the weekend. Smaller leeches and plain hooks, not jigs, produced the best. I am sure that is a day to day thing, so try it all.

6-6-2011

It is that time of year when you never know what will be there when you set the hook. This week we spent most of our time in East Devils Lake and the fishing was incredible.

The catches were all mixed bags. The walleye fishing was good, the pike fishing ok, and the white bass were incredible. Pitching to windy shorelines was the key again. The more wind the shallower the fish. The area near the outlet to Stump Lake was good as well as the Kirks Refuge area. A few walleye came from flooded roads in East Devils Lake as well. Every road had at least a fish or two.

The Berkley Ripple Shads still amaze me at what they catch. This week the #5 Shad Raps turned on in a big way. Hot Steel and Bleak were the best colors by far.

5-27-2011

Spring fishing on Devils Lake can be incredible and it is finally getting to that point. The lake looks completely different with the two new feet of water we have gotten this spring. Once you get past that and look for the right conditions the fish will be there.

The key this week was warmer water. Water temps above 56 degrees produced fish. Temps below that did not produce as well. Fishing windblown shorelines made a difference as well. Look for gravely areas with or without cat tails or flooded timber.

Casting was the technique that worked the best. Crankbaits and soft plastics were both productive. Bone White Storm Thunder Cranks in size 6 and 3 inch Fire Tiger Ripple Shads on quarter ounce Nuckle Ball jigs were by far the top producers. The fish seemed to come by keeping the boat in 8 feet of water and casting near the shore. Most of the bites happened in 5 to 6 feet of water.

Eaters were harder to come by than fish over 20 inches. This is not uncommon for Devils Lake at this time of year. Please be responsible and release the larger fish and keep the smaller ones for dinner.

If this week was any indication, Devils Lake will be a lot of fun again this year.