Anglers find an extended bite into late summer on Devils Lake utilizing a variety of methods for the lake’s booming walleye population. DEO Photo by Mike Peluso.
By Mike Peluso

There is a lot of transition happening on Devils Lake right now, and I’m guessing this is the story for most of our waters in North Dakota. It’s just that time of year! Water temperatures fall at night and warm during the day. Weed growth begins to die off, and lots of food becomes available.

I will say this from the last week on the water, Devils Lake’s future is super bright! Record hatches of pretty much everything that swims took place this spring with the rising water. Lots of fresh new trees and vegetation have made Devils Lake into a fish nursery and I’m excited about the next five years up here for all species; especially the perch. 

Even with the record-breaking spawn, the walleye fishing is tremendous right now. These walleyes have plenty of food to eat, and they are in a feeding mood!  Look for weed edges, rocks, trees and other areas where young of the year fry are trying to hide and match the hatch to catch them. Cranks, cranks, and more cranks are working best. However, we are still catching fish on jigs, spinners, and bobber rigs.

Water temperatures this week on Devils Lake started in the 70s and by week’s end they have dipped into the mid-60s on some mornings. That can only mean one thing, the fall feeding frenzy is closing in!  I’m seeing a lot of sportsmen taking advantage of both our hunting and fishing opportunities we have available right now in the area. 

There were some really nice walleyes caught up here in the Casino Cup Championship this past weekend. It seemed if you were on them, you were good to go and a few teams were definitely on them. I’m not sure how the winners fished, but lots of nice fish were caught on creek chubs, bobbers, and definitely cranks and jigging raps. For me guiding this week it was a mix of all the above. It’s no secret that sunken roads, bridges, channels, culverts, and the old shoreline are all places to concentrate this time of year.

I’m switching gears next week back to Sakakawea for a few so stay tuned!

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