Fishing reports for Devil's Lake Fishing
Brad Durick
Grand Forks
bdurick@yahoo.com
03/22/2002
07:08:21 AM
Matt, You should be fine with an 18' jon boat. The lake gets pretty rough at times but if you look at the map the lake is broken up with points and bays that you can get out of the wind.
Just a side note, I spent two summers on Devils with a 14'lund and was just fine.
Allen
Grand Forks
03/22/2002
07:02:32 AM
Matt, DL can get plenty rough. I fish in an old 16.5 ft boat with a 25 horse Johnson on it and find myself often fishing the protected shorelines when the wind is around 20 mph. This doesn't always make for the best fishing, but one of the good things about DL is it has a very irregular shoreline so you can always find somewhere to fish. 24 inch swells are not uncommon given the omnipresent winds in ND.
matt
indiana
03/21/2002
08:45:32 PM
Hello i was wondering how rough devils lake gets, I am taking an 18' semi-v jon boat up there i just wondering.Never have been there so please help me out
Jeff
GFAFB
03/14/2002
06:30:16 AM
Hey guys, first how much ice is on devils lake near the shore, and second, when does the spring spawn "normally start"? I know it all depends on how warm it gets. Thanks guys!
MnSportsFan
Perchjerker
grand forks
03/13/2002
07:41:23 AM
was out to the big "perch ocean" yesterday. so in the morning but picked up around 11. lines became tight n we jerked out 14 perch w/no vexilar we found we werent catchn the fish on the bottom n got rid of the technology for one day. later in the evening we picked up six eyes in the 2-3 pound range with one smaller one. all in all not a bad day on the ice
Van
Merrillville IN
03/12/2002
07:59:48 PM
Hello, I was wondering on the how good the walleye bite is in early June. I am staying on creel bay and does that have good fishing around it. This is my first time coming up there so i would like to be a little prepared. Also does anyone know where i can find a good devils lake map. Thanks Mr.Van
Van
Merrillville IN
03/12/2002
07:58:13 PM
Hello, I was wondering on the how good the walleye bite is in early June. I am staying on creel bay and does that have good fishing around it. This is my first time coming up there so i would like to be a little prepared. Also does anyone know where i can find a good devils lake map. Thanks Mr.Van
mike
Shawano, WI
03/12/2002
07:38:48 PM
Hey Allen from Grand Forks, thanks for the info i appreciate it. But hows about the fishing. Mainly Perch. But i would like to know what kind of quality of smelt you guys have out there someone said they are small and have a reddish color to them, Or what ever is working for the Pike. Hey to all the guys that give out info on this page Your the best, Keep the stuff coming. You have no idea how much people appreciate it.
Tyson Bohlman
Grand Forks
03/11/2002
02:39:04 PM
We fish on friday and saturday on military point. It was really slow.. On friday we went to East Bay and had some luck there but only a few. It was to windy to be out in the open to really get into it. The fishing has been slow for the last couple of weeks. Hopefully it will pick up soon.
Tyson Bohlman
Grand Forks
03/11/2002
02:39:03 PM
We fish on friday and saturday on military point. It was really slow.. On friday we went to East Bay and had some luck there but only a few. It was to windy to be out in the open to really get into it. The fishing has been slow for the last couple of weeks. Hopefully it will pick up soon.
Allen
Grand Forks
03/11/2002
12:13:27 PM
Hey Kent, you missed a good outing on DL. The wind was kinda tough, and the walleyes were not very cooperative, but my little dirt-purple jig had a great day on the perch. Don't know what it is about that little son-of-a-gun, but it's caught more than half of all the perch I have iced on DL in the past two years and Saturday was no different. Fished BT bay on the west side to take advantage of what little shelter the trees could afford in a 30+ mph wind. We kept 20 of the fish we caught, no real big ones, but most were between 9 and 11 inches. Waxworms were the hot ticket for the day, maybe 4-5 fish came off minnows.
PikeBadger
GFAFB
03/09/2002
12:16:55 PM
Graywolf,
Depends what you are targeting. Coming from Wisconsin probably means you are after the perch, eh? Try both this site http://www.edsbaitshop.com/weekly.htm and the Devil's Lake chamber of commerce site for more info.
PikeBadger
GFAFB
03/09/2002
11:53:36 AM
Blaine,
you don't have to go all the way to Devil's Lake to get some good pike action. There are a number of smaller lakes much closer that offer good action. I suspect you will be without a boat so my suggestion for Devil's Lake would be to try the Hwy 57 bridge area which is about 5 miles straight south of town. That's where I go and I've seen quite a few pike taken in that area. Caution, it's a rocky bottom area and I've left a pretty fair amount of tackle behind. Stop at Ed's bait shop on Hwy 57, they are real good about providing the latest fishing reports. Also, I've heard like Allen said that 6 mile bay and also the north end of Creel Bay is good for Northern's. I would think there would be places to fish from shore here also but I don't know that for sure. Some of the natives here could probably tell ya though.
allen
grand forks
allen_schlag@und.nodak,edu
03/08/2002
01:08:00 PM
Blaine,
Think Six-Mile bay when you think northerns on DL. They are actually just about everywhere in the summer, just look for 6-14 ft of water with a muddy/weedy bottom and you should doo fine.
Blaine Bonnett
Monre
03/08/2002
09:34:59 AM
I will be arriving to Grand Forks in August this year to go to School. I love to fish for Northern Pike. Can anyone tell me some places on the lake to try. Thanks.
Graywolf
Wausau, WI
03/06/2002
03:20:22 PM
I'm going out to Devils Lake for the first time on the week of the 19th-24th. Any inforamtion on where we can start and what the ice conditions may be? Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Mike Orness
Devils Lake
mike@ornesscreations.com
03/05/2002
03:31:10 PM
Since the cold weather Ice is safe. just stay away from the pressure ridges and submerged stumps.
Mike Orness
Devils Lake
mike@ornesscreations.com
03/05/2002
03:09:06 PM
I live on east bay (cliffs) and I go out in the morning and evening (after work) I find that these are the best times to mark fish and catch them. The past two sundays I have fished 12 hour days and the bite is best in the morning as early as 4:30 until 10am (depending upon how hungry the fish are) and then I go to work... I try to get bak on the lake by 5:30 and fish till 7pm or 8pm. This past Saturday, I caught a 19" walleye and a few smaller ones. and then went out sunday and didn't even take a fish home to clean. I caught some eyes and perch but they were small. I have noticed on the vexilar that I can get the fish off the bottom, but getting them to bite is another story. what i found the best is this: fish with 2-4 poles... have 1 pole with 8lb line and a buckshot forrage minnow or rattle snakie, and attract the fish with vibration.... then watch your vexilar for the fish to show up... jig your pole with lighter line with a genz worm / or other .. and minnow about 1-2 foot off the bottom and let it sink... watch the fish come off the bottom and then raise your lure about 1-2 inches and drop it.... the fish should take it, and set the hook. if this doesn't work.... just jiggle the end of your rod ever-so-lightly, or drag your float to the other side of the hole. this will give the lure some motion (in case your lure is just sitting there spinning circles)
I have been fishing in about 17-26 ft all winter and have about 35 perch in the freezer and about 12 eyes. (i only keep those worth cleaning or the ones that don't swim away)
It's all in the presentation. I love my vexilar fl-8 and FL8-slt!!!!
anyone can me with questions mike@ornesscreations.com
cateyepike
Grand Forks
cateyepike@hotmail.com
03/05/2002
01:57:45 PM
Made a treck out to Devils on Sunday. Fished in Creel Bay and by the towers for the first time. The fishing was very slow we moved all over the place and all we could do was watch the fish on the Vexilar. I tried everything in my tackle box and not a Perch.
I was noticing some of the guides quit setting up shacks for their clients and were moving every 10-15 minutes. It became obvious that they were having a tough go as well.
Right before dark we did finally find some walleyes, so the day didn't end as glum as it could have.
Tyson Bohlman
Grand Forks
03/05/2002
01:32:56 PM
Fished the all over on Delvils on Saturday and didnt have to good of luck. We drill over 35 holes and only caught a few. We tried north 6 mile bay,grams island, the dome house and military point. We had the best luck at 6 mile bay. We caught a few at around 5:30pm. I was marking them but they we just coming up and and going back to the bottom. I was talking to some guys that were fishing in the areas we were and they said it was slow too. Going to give it another shot this weekend
Randy Rice
GFAFB
03/04/2002
01:18:54 PM
Hey Pike Badger, I used 4lb line and was at 26ft. The bite was very light (nipping at it like perch) and I'd just for the bobber to go under before setting the hook. I used one of those foam bobbers. A couple of times the fish would come off the bottom as I was dropping a minnow down, as much as 2 or 3 ft. I didn't try 28 ft or deeper. There were a lot of people in the morning but it looked and sounded as if no one was catching fish. I talked to a couple of guys early on and told it was slow, but I didn't raise a flag when it got good. I'll always post a report though. The Vexilar has made a big difference. Good luck if you go, I'll see you there.
Allen
Grand Forks
03/04/2002
01:00:18 PM
PikeBadger, You would be well served to use either 4 or 6 lb test line when fishing DL for walleyes and perch through the ice. When I use 4 poles, two have 4 lb and two have 6 lb line and I don't notice a preference from the fish, but have when I had 8 lb line on a pole. Like Randy, Saturday was a decent day for me (after a fruitless morning). I started in the trees on the east side looking for the early morning bite. It NEVER materialized for me. Then I spent until 1:00 p.m. looking for perch that would bite. Finally caught some northeast of the sunken road in 24 ft of water. Towards evening, I went back to the trees (west side this time) and caught 10 walleyes from one hole using a rattling jig and a minnow head. Biggest walleye was 16 inches. Ended up keeping 6 perch (threw back another 8) and kept 3 eyes for the day.
PikeBadger
GFAFB
03/03/2002
08:49:57 AM
Hey Randy, what size line did you use? I take it the fish bite was very light and you had to be right on them? Did ya see or hear of alot of fish being caught in your area? The underwater road is 26 feet deep? What would that make the road ditches? About 30? Am thinking of going out to Devil's next week but don't know exactly where to go.
Randy Rice
GFAFB
03/03/2002
05:09:31 AM
Went to Black Tiger Bay on Saturday the 2nd. The ice is firm and thicker than last week (obviously). Fished the sunken road (26 ft), and marked fish in the first hole I drilled. Had some problems with the fishys willingness to bite. Drilled a few more holes with the same results. I spent the entire afternoon over 1 hole, but that's cause I started catching fish. I took home 5 walleyes and 2 perch, the 2 biggest eyes were 16". Lost 2 that were at least that size. Sometimes jigging worked but mostly I used a bobber with a hook or a teardrop (I was using it for perch and the walleyes hit it so why change), and a minnow. I also released 4 smaller walleyes. Great day for me.