Devils Lake Walleyes PWT Style - Part 1

DEVIL'S LAKE DIARIES

If a person is looking for the perfect sportsman's paradise Devils Lake, ND is the answer... search no more! This mammoth natural prairie lake (130,000 acres) has tripled in size the last ten years. The extraordinary water rise of 25 vertical feet has been a "good news - bad news" situation since the lake began to rise in 1993. The good news is that there are more fish to be caught than ever before. The bad news is that rising flood waters have taken quite an economic and emotional toll on its residents. Government figures point out losses totaling 400 million dollars. Fish flourish, people adapt. High water has provided superb habitat for the fish to live and reproduce. Devils Lake, over the years, has been one of the relatively few fisheries that produces good fishing all year long. Its immense size can be intimidating to the average angler.

THE MOTHER LODE:

Devils Lake is a place where seasons never end... they just change. This diverse fishery warrants numerous presentations. How many times have you fished the same rig or jig all day? Have you ever felt lost on the water, unable to choose a proper approach? Sometimes we avoid making choices so that we don't have to make the wrong call. Versatility gives us the luxury to make choices, but the problem is that it becomes necessary to make them. Time on the water gives the fisherman the experience to develop skills and confidence in making proper decisions. A fisherman who practices versatility will succeed where others fail. Versatility is crucial in our quest to feel comfortable in our thought processes on the water. If there ever was a body of water that allowed an angler to experiment, this is it.

LAKE CONTENT:

At lease half the challenge of walleye fishing is finding the fish. I'm sure we have all heard the old cliché "ten percent of the water holds 90% of the fish". Well, 90% of Devils Lake water holds fish. With a maximum depth of 50 feet, fish can be anywhere they want to be. The lake is really a combination of a lake/reservoir personality. It has traditional rocky points, sunken islands, flats and basins along with sunken roads and more flooded trees than you can imagine. Due to dramatic seasonal differences in water clarity and poor light penetration, weed growth is minimal. Summer water visibility is typically in the one to three foot range. Algae blooms are common in summer. Scuba diving excursions during the "dog days" of summer have shown us that a period of flat, clam water will produce quite a collection of algae bloom on the surface...but five foot visibility on the bottom. Let the wind blow and the algae becomes suspended throughout the water column. It looks like a green blizzard, making it difficult to see your hand in front of your face. Due to the huge influx of water, farming practices allow an endless supply of nutrients in fertile runoff water. This accelerates the food chain. One thing to remember about Devils Lake is that with all the clutter (algae and fresh water shrimp) in the water, it is sometimes difficult to mark fish on your electronics. Our Lowrance X15 does a great job of probing, penetrating and interpreting the depths. These units are vastly superior to anything we have run in the past.

The water is loaded with forage. The fish are fat and sassy. We have never caught a skinny fish in Devils Lake. The fish are available year round with no closed season and liberal bag limits. No wonder this body of water has unbelievable potential. Walleye, northern pike, perch and white bass are the limelight fish in Devils Lake. Walleyes will be the featured fish in this program.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. What habitat does Devils Lake offer? High water has produced abundant cover. Flooded fields, farms and forests of trees abound. One estimate stated that there were approximately a million flooded trees in the lake. Sunken islands, shallow weeds, old road beds, ditches and culverts, flooded sewage lagoons, livestock dams, rock piles, rip-rap, farmsteads, barb wire fences and cattail sloughs ... talk about diverse structure.

2. What presentations can I use? The mainstays would be casting and trolling crank baits, bobber fishing, bottom bouncing, vertical jigging and pitching jigs. Certain weather conditions such as monstrous cold fronts call for slow rigging techniques.

3. How do I find the fish? Contact local bait shops for hot-bit information and purchasing updated contour maps. Talk to the locals...they know what's happening. There is no substitute for time on the water.

4. What forage is available? The lake holds countless, and I mean countless, fresh water shrimp. These small invertebrates measure about a half inch in length, but provide a protein-rich food any time of the year for all sizes and species of fish. Dave augured a hole in the ice this winter and when he removed the augur there were about one thousand shrimp flopping in the snow. Other natural forage would include perch, juvenile white bass and fat head minnows.

5. Is fishing available year round? There is no closed season on Devils Lake.

6. How about bag limits? Walleye-5 daily, 10 in possession; Northern- 5 daily, 10 in possession; Perch- 50 daily, 250 in possession ( this is being reduced to 35 daily and 100 in possession); White Bass-no limit.