April 26, 2012 Fishing Report

Fishing is slowly improving. We have had some warmer days which is making the shallow water bite more productive. We should be seeing more and more fish arriving daily in the shallows to feed and recuperate from the spawn. Water temps are in the upper 40's and on some days the lower 50's. The best shallow bite is really close. Seems like the mid 50's on is usually fantastic fishing! Pitching cranks or jigs and plastics is a great way to cover water. Also, live baiting with bobbers and leeches can be effective. Some fish are also being caught  near the bridges or anywhere you can find a bit of current.
The most important factor right now when you fishing the shallows is to find warm water. Really watch your temp gauge and if you can find even a degree warmer in a bay, you may just find your honey hole!!

Good luck to all! Remember this time of year is big fish time. take a picture and fish for the future!!

April 9, 2012

Up and down is the best way to describe the bite and the weather of late on Devils Lake, ND.
There are fish biting, but there are days you have to really work at it. We are in a period of lots of transitions and the best thing that can happen is for the water to continue to warm and the spawn to occur, from there the fish really move shallow and the fishing really takes off!
For best action fish current areas with jigs and minnows. Vertical jigging has been the best for us. Some days are better in the current and others are better just off of it. We have caught a few fish in the back bays retrieving jigs and plastics as well. There are some fish being caught on the Sheyenne River, best areas are below dams or other current areas.
We have been booking many groups for late April and May. Look for the fishing to be fantastic! If you are interested in a trip, give a call and we will make it happen!

March 26th, 2012 Fishing Report

Wind and more wind have opened the lake up!! There are some pockets of ice out there floating around, but the majority of lake is ice free!!
As for the fishing there are some excellent shore bites happening right now on the coulees and some of the rivers near Devils Lake. The Warwick area has been very good and there have been some nice fish caught at Channel A and further up north. Jigs and plastics are a very good presentation to use this time of year.
We are looking forward to fishing the lake later this week and we will keep you posted with what we find. We have not been in boats on the big lake this early since I have been guiding on Devils Lake. Should be very interesting!
Also, on Saturday I will be at the boat show in Devils Lake!! Stop inn and check out some of the boats that Blake's Marine has to offer!!

February 27, 2012

The bite remains good! Seems like there are days you have to work a bit and there are others where they really go. The walleye fishing has been pretty consistent, with the best bites still coming early and late. Some days the bite will go all day, it really just depends on the day. I think it is important to be fishing in deeper water or very close to deeper water to catch walleyes consistently, deeper water being anything over 25 ft.

The perch have been good all winter! Seems like the last week to ten days the bite has either been really good or really slow. Our best depths have been between 30-55 feet of water. We have had some days where we get them as shallow as 15.

Pike have been scattered in with the walleyes and perch. There have been some real tanks caught as well. 8 year old Tucker Satterlund caught a 42 inch pike all by himself while fishing for perch! Way to go, Tucker!!

Good luck to all! I think March Madness is going to be very good this year, make sure you get to Devils Lake and experience some world class fishing!!

Devils Lake: From Boredom to KABOOM!

GF Herald Article by Brad Dokken 

Photo by Brad Dokken

Fishing Report 2/7/12

The bite remains very good on Devils Lake! We are catching walleyes and perch on a very consistent basis. The best bite for walleyes is the first two hours in the morning and the last hour or two before dark. During the middle of the day, the only way that we catch walleyes on a regular basis is by fishing the edges of structure. The bite is usually really good on top of humps, points, flooded roads, rock piles, and basically any kind of structure you can find early and late in the day. To catch walleyes during the middle of the day, we have been fishing the first major drop-off nearest structure and having luck. We will usually have perch action out in the deeper water too. If you are willing to do some work, the perch are going as well. Many of the same schools are being fished and we are finding better luck getting away from the people. The key is to drill and move until you find them. We are usually able to find them and the good thing is once you do they have been pretty aggressive. We have caught some very nice perch and also seen a lot of smaller fish, so the perch future on Devils Lake appears bright!

The best bait for us this winter has been a buckshot with a minnow head. We have used spikes as well, but it seems like most days the minnow head is the preferred bait. Good luck to all! The bite should stay solid right until ice out! Conditions are good on the lake, there are some pressure ridges that you need to be careful around, but other than that, the ice is in good shape!

Photo by Brad Dokken

January 10, 2012

Weather is absolutely crazy right now! We are more like October than January. There have been many days where you can fish outside all day and be very comfortable. I'm sure cold is coming eventually, but it sure has been nice.  Walleyes have been on the feed and the bite has been very solid. Seems like they are biting all over the lake and everyone seems to be doing well. Our best depths are that 8-18 ft of water. We are catching most of our walleyes an hour before sunset, but there are days that we get some good mid day action too. The morning bite has been fair but not as good as the night bite for us.  Perch have been biting with the walleyes, we have had some beautiful perch and we have had some days where the numbers are good as well. We have catch perch as shallow as 10 feet and as deep as 50 feet. The real key to perch is moving,moving,moving until you get on the active school.  Pike have been good on Devils Lake in shallower (5-10 feet) and some of the smaller lakes around Devils have been fantastic. We have catch fish on every lure that is made I do believe, the real key is location and being on the 'spot on the spot.' It is interesting how one house will hammer them and the house 50 feet away might struggle. Really look at the GPS's, maps, etc. and find the flooder rock piles, drop-offs, edges on weeds and you will catch fish!  Good luck and remember to please be safe out there. Overall, the ice is pretty good; however, avoid the bridges,culverts, or any areas of current. We do still have a bay that has open water on East Devils Lake, there are about 5,000 geese keeping it open. This area is east of Coxes Flat. Make sure you stay way from this area!!