First Time Trip to Devils Lake in Spring

[sartellangler05]

Hello all, looking at booking a campsite at Woodland this spring. I have never been here before, or fished the lake for that matter. I am looking for best dates for fishing trophy walleyes and pike. I am looking at end of May or beginning of June. Anyone with past experiences please chime in. Thanks!

[sartellangler05]

Bueller....Bueller....nobody been out there?

[kfk]

I have no idea what Bueller, Bueller is , but it varies from year to year when the best time is. You should be good any time in that period.

[MattL]

Late May/ Early June should be crazy good for both walleyes and pike on Devils. I took a few trips to Devils last summer and did real good, although I did not get into any trophy sized fish (mid twenties for walleyes and mid thirties for pike) - but the numbers of "keeper sized" fish should keep you satisfied if you cannot locate trophy fish. That time of year the fish should still be shallow and your best bet is probably pitching jigs or cranks to shorelines and sunken roads. You can also do well with leeches and slip bobbers. I never really fished trees much, but there should be a good bite there as well - and there are a lot of flooded trees in Devils! Don't be afraid to go super shallow if the conditions permit. It's not uncommon to catch them as shallow as 2'-3' deep that time of year. Most of my fish that time of year were caught in 4-8'. Good Luck!

[sartellangler05]

Sweet! Thanks for the info Matt. Going to book for first weekend in June I think.

[MuskieFever]

I'd call woodland's and try to go prespawn. Usually early may. That is, if you are looking for a giant shallow.

[BoxMN]

Bueller....Bueller....nobody been out there?

Separates the over 40's from the under 40's crowds I use that all the time too! (For those younger, look up Fast Times At Ridgemont High movie, back when Sean Penn didn't have gray hair, haha!)

BTW some friends sent me some pics of the perch and walleye they caught last weekend and .... holy cow... fat perch!!!!! And lots of them.

[mpester]

Alzheimer’s setting in Box? That is from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. But Fast Times at Ridgemont High is an even better movie in my opinion. If you have not seen either, watch them both.

[eyeguy 54]

swim baits and countdowns casting time early to mid may. fun fun fun !

[BoxMN]

Alzheimer’s setting in Box? That is from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. But Fast Times at Ridgemont High is an even better movie in my opinion. If you have not seen either, watch them both.

Hahaha! Yep, I am losing it!!! Watched them both many times, probably under the influence each time Thanks for the correction, haha!

[sartellangler05]

Hah I'm 26, but have seen all the classics.

[Raider4ever]

Keep this tidbit tucked away, just in case. We were up there one time for a weekend staying out of Woodland's and it was dangerously windy (nobody had boats out) either day. What we did was drive up Hwy 2 and look for the side roads that were elevated by boulders and such due to the rising water levels. We would fish either the windblown side or the leeward side (if there was one). Did way better on the windward sides and absolutely POUNDED bigger Northerns and white bass. Did we lose out on Walleyes? Yeah, we did but that didn't really bother us because we wanted to try the white bass fishing anyway and the NP were a bonus (Thank God the bait store in town had the bigger rattle raps on sale along with wire leaders). The trip was saved by a plan B. We also did well on white bass in Six-mile Bay/Channel A area.

[sartellangler05]

Is the wind up there pretty common keeping boats off the lake? That would be frustrating driving all the way and not being able to get out on the boat. A guy I talked to here in Cloud said last year it was windy one day and they didn't even get to fish.

[kfk]

It happens where it gets too windy to go out in a boat. Watch the weather forecasts. They're pretty good nowdays up to 10 days out. Have a backup plan in mind. If it gets too windy to fish Devils Lake from a boat, fish from shore. Fishing the Red River for trophy channel cats may be an option also since you'll be right there on your way up to DL and you can usually fish that in the wind.