Thanks for Tanks.  When the perch have been biting this past week on Devils Lake, they’ve typically been bigger ones. DEO Photo by Mike Peluso.

By Mike Peluso

Are we on borrowed time up here on Devils Lake? It’s hard to say what this warm up will do. My guess is we will get about a week or so into March things will get dicey.

As far as the bite goes, it comes down to one word: ratty. The past week has continued to be a quality over quantity scenario for us. We are seeing some really big fish but getting them to bite is difficult, and it has been like that all winter.  I am not sure if it is going to change before the ice melts. 

Despite the challenges, the game plan for us remains starting off on a walleye bite in the morning using smaller buckshot spoons tipped with minnow heads for best results. It seems like you have to capitalize early in the morning on your walleyes.

The perch have been extremely hit and miss. They don’t seem to be schooled up at all, with a couple here and a couple there, but when you do get one on the line, it has been a tank!

On the flip side of things, if the ice goes to crap early here on Devils Lake, the Missouri River back in Bismarck is beginning to open up. As soon as I leave here, I’ll dust off the boat and start guiding the river right away.

Mike Peluso is a Dakota Edge Outdoors Contributing Writer and a licensed ND fishing guide specializing in walleyes on the state’s premier waters.