Most of this week was spent up on Devils Lake guiding. I know Devils has gotten a bad rap as of late.  I do think it a tad unfair to catagorize it  this way.  I touched on it a bit in last weeks report, but I’ll touch on it again. 

The fish you catch on Devils right now have two things in common.  One the keeper size fish are bigger than years past.  Second, they are extremely well fed!  Most of these fish are stuffed with leeches, shrimp, baby whitebass, bugs, and some mystery fish that I’m assuming are either baby perch or walleyes. 

Combine an over abundance of food and weed growth, and you have a recipe of tougher fishing.  I think the same thing will start to happen up here on Sakakawea any day now also.  

Especially now on Sakakawea when the smelt move deeper so do the walleyes.  This created a tougher catching scenario.  I say it all the time to clients this time of year.  They are (walleyes) eating prime rib, and we are offering hotdogs. 

Devils Lake fishing has changed a ton.  The normal structure like humps, roads, old shoreline etc just seems void of fish.  If you find a stretch with heavy weed growth nearby, your chances at catching fish go way up. Devils Lake walleyes right now are buried in the weeds and these weeds are not the fishermen friendly kind.  

As soon as those weeds begin to die off this fall the bite will be insane! 

I’m back up here on Sakakawea now to close out my lake guiding for the 26 season.  I’ll be here until the end of August.  I shouldn’t say completely done cause I have a couple trips on each lake in September, but September for me is a turnaround time.  

I’ll be gearing up for the late season push on the Missouri River near Bismarck.  I’ll start guiding the river Oct 1st, so if you want to still get out this fall please don’t hesitate to get ahold of me to book a trip.  It’s a great way to spend a day in between hinting.