Ice and fishing report

[Jeff Dosch]

Ice conditions on Devils Lake range from 18-24 inches and we have some colder weather moving in for the weekend. With hardly any snow cover we should add a couple inches at least this week. We have been driving across the entire lake for a couple of weeks now and the ice is consistent the whole way. The walleye bite is good in the mornings and late evening hours and the pike bite continues to be excellent. I had a group of 10 out this last weekend and we caught 98 pike in two days. Each day we only spent 6 hrs fishing pike so it tells you how fast the action was. The big news of Devils Lake now is that the PERCH are starting to bite. At least 4 different areas have been producing fish for us and the numbers are getting better everyday. With all three bitting the rest of the season looks like its going to be great!

[Scoot]

Great news here! Thanks very much for keeping us informed, Jeff. Now, if I can just get my butt out there!!!

[dougger222]

Gotta get back out there. In the middle of April last year spent three days fishing around the casino and 6 mile bay and had a great time. Little fishing pressure and plenty of friendly locals. It was nice being able to park any were and take the atv without paying any access fee's which really add up taking lots of trips to Northern MN.

Lots of eater eye's, perch and saw lots of 2-2.5lb crappies.

[2 DA GILLS]

What do mean saw lots of 2 - 2.5 crappies? Caught? On the camera?

Thanks

[Chad Halvorson]

Are you sure they were not White Bass? Although I wouldnt be surprised it has what it takes.

[hanson]

I believe that they could have been crappies.

Last spring at late ice, I stopped in Ed's Bait Shop in Devil's Lake to get some bait and try to find some QS rigs for my tip-ups. All the dang stores in the cities put their ice stuff away too early so I was out of luck getting quick strikes.

Anyway, they were showing me polaroids of recent catches that were indeed big black crappies. I started to wonder why I kept driving to Upper Red. They were 15-16 inchers no doubt.

I believe that these 2 to 2 1/2 pounders could be crappies.

DL is also full of white bass too but how can you confuse a crappie for a white bass?? Maybe you can.

[White-tips]

Had a buddy from Fargo up there 10-12 days ago and caught 7 crappies 13.5" - 15.5" in the mouth of 6-mile (about 17 f.o.w.). Saw many, many more on the camera, but he said it was the most neutral he'd ever seen fish behave. He said if the line moved AT ALL, they would just swim away scared. He's hit Devil's very hard all winter and he said it's been that way all winter. TONS of fish everywhere and absolutly refusing to bite 85% of the time. He did trick an eye also about 26" last week that went back in. Minnow and plain hook only way he can catch a fish. And DON'T jig or move it when there's fish in the area, on your vex, or in camera view.

[Tyler Holm]

Well, this post pretty much seales the deal for me. Now I have to make a trip to NoDak- Devil's Lake before the ice melts. Great..What am I going to use as an excuse to the wife this time?

[Down to Earth]

Tyler,

I'm sure you have a few Aces up your sleeve you haven't used yet or at least in a while to get on up there. Or if things don't work out you can live vicariously through me. I'm heading up the weekend before my birthday with my dad. We have two days booked with Jeff Dosch's Guide Service. I'm getting more pumped as it gets closer to going.

Andy

[iffwalleyes]

Before everyone gets too fired up about heading to DL for crappies it should be noted that there is a small population of them in the lake. I as a matter of fact didn't even know they were in there till this past year. I wouldn't think you could target crappies by themselves. Now if you are fishing for perch you may stumble across them. This would most likely be the case. But the pike fishing has been super this year up there. And the walleyes sure can hold there own. I think I will be up there the weekend after the LOW ICE event. Time to target some pike 4 tip up a piece. This will allow one to cover some territory.

[2 DA GILLS]

I will be making my first trip (ever) to the lake on March 16-19. Sounds like I will not want to spend time focusing on crappies.

What is the ice like this year? What are the chances we will still be able to drive trucks on the lake at that time. We have 4 wheelers, but would prefer to not haul them all the way out there.

Should be a good time.

[iffwalleyes]

Trucks will probably be fine at that time of the year still they have better than 20" last I heard. Tough to say this time of year though things can change quickly.

[Scoot]

Jason, I heard a truck went though last weekend- is that true? I got the info from a pretty reliable source, but it was second hand info (and we all know how that can go). Did you hear any word of this?

Regardless of this rumor (that I'm trying NOT to start here, BTW), I'd have to agree with Jason- ice should be good for a while still.

[iffwalleyes]

No I had not heard that. I am sure it is possible though as it is anywhere. I guess I would say you should have a back up plan read in the line of wheelers or sleds. Probably sleds they have gotten some pretty good snow up there this year. I know Jeff can give us a better update on ice and snow.

[jigginjim]

Is anybody fishing on the minnewauken side of DL? Have family there but they don't know about the fishing.

[Kyle Clifton]

Fish the Flats al the time and its been pretty dead for the last month. It got hit pretty hard the early part of the year.

[dougger222]

The crappies I saw that ran 2-2.5lbs were in other anglers buckets. Fishing Red a lot over the past 6 years didn't really interest me as much as the sumo perch or nice eye's in Devil's.

May be up there the 20th-23rd. Thinking either Winnie, LOW, or Devils. Have a sleeper house out of Zippel and now it seems the reports from there are finally getting normal again.