Friday, July 18 2008
Walleye Fishing on Devils Lake is unconscious right now. We are experiencing days of 60 to 80 walleyes per day. The problem is keeping the small walleyes off our lines. You can't beat the action but we find ourselves catching and releasing a lot of 12 to 14 inchers before we catch a keeper. We have been doing a lot of trolling crank baits this past week in anywhere from 10 to 25 feet of water.
The slip bobber bite in the flooded timber is still going strong as well but the same seems to be happening there too. A lot of small fish with the occasional nice one. It is common for a guide to go through a pound of leeches in a single day.
The shallow water pitching crank bait bite still exists but the weeds have really grown the past two weeks and it gets frustrating always cleaning the weeds off your hooks. The pike fishing remains strong and we are getting some nice northern pike while trolling crank baits as well.
Sorry no pictures this time. I think all the guides have dropped their cameras in the lake by now. No, I'm kidding, it is just hard to take pictures of 16 to 18 inch fish when everyone has been used to taking pictures of 20 plus inchers most of the year.
The month of July is half over and we have had a great summer of fishing so far, but it is by no means over with. We still have plenty of room to take your group fishing and as always we would love to have you. Don't miss out some of the hottest action of the summer!
Good Luck Fishing!
Friday, July 4 2008
Happy 4th of July Everybody! The fishing on Devils Lake remains consistent. The walleye fishing is still very good at times. We have had some tough days too however. Flat, dead calm conditions seems to be our enemy lately. Without a chop, we find ourselves guessing a lot as to their location. But when the wind blows we look like heroes again. We are still pitching crank baits on wind blown shorelines. It is getting a little trickier however, as the weeds continue to grow. These weed beds seem to grow by the minute with all the warm weather and sunshine we have had lately. The fish are still in these shallows but we are forced to search for clearings between the weeds and pockets to pitch our crank baits into. The slip bobber bite has been very good. We are still fishing the humps in anywhere from 7 to 14 feet of water. There can be a lot of small walleyes that are a bit of a nuisance but just about the time we are ready to leave we bag a nice one that keeps us there a little longer. Having some patience does pay off sometimes.
Pike fishing has slowed down a bit. We are still catching some pitching crank baits but it is no where near the numbers we were catching in the shallows a couple of weeks ago. Kind of makes us wonder if our fish are soon ready to move out to some deeper water?
White bass fishing remains excellent. Last week we pitched a shoreline for over two miles and caught one every cast. We kept driving the boat ahead 1/4 mile just to try and get out of them and we just couldn't do it. The wind blown shorelines and the rip rap along highways are still excellent choices for targeting white bass.
We have had a great year so far fishing on Devils Lake. May was a bummer with all the cold weather but June fishing couldn't have been any better for numbers and size for walleyes, pike, and white bass. As we are into July now, the fishing will still be very good. Our fish will slide out deeper and our methods will change from time to time. We will still have days where we will be successful pitching cranks and slip bobbering but now we will begin to explore some deeper water. We will pull spinners, lindy rigs and troll crank baits as well. The warmer water temperatures will push our fish into the 8 to 12 foot depths very soon. Now can be a tricky time and our communication amongst our guide staff will be very important as we all are trying to figure out the new patterns every day. We still have room in our schedule to take your group fishing and would love to fish with you!
Good Luck Fishing!
 |
 |
|
Jeff and Rick from Iowa had a great day pitching slip bobbering. Guided by Zippy |
Friday, June 20 2008
We are terribly sorry for the delayed report, we have had some web site issues that needed to be resolved. Walleye fishing has been fairly consistent despite the changing weather patterns this week. We have had about every kind of weather this past week from cold and rainy to flat calm to severe thunderstorms to finally warm and sunny. Yes folks summer has finally hit the Lake Region and we couldn't be happier. Water temperatures have heated up and so has the fishing.
The windy days we have had great success pitching crank baits on windy shorelines - same as last weeks report. The calm days we have enjoyed some pretty incredible slip bobber fishing. With the stormy weather the walleyes seemed to go a little deeper on us and we made the adjustment. We had great success slip bobbering structure namely humps and ridges anywhere from 8 to 14 feet deep.
Pike fishing remains hotter than ever. We are still catching most of them by pitching crank baits in shallow water. We had a few days where the water was real clear and you could see the northerns following your crank bait for 30 feet. Pretty cool to see the action of your lure and swimming behind ready to chomp is a 3 to 4 foot long brown log!
White bass fishing is also very good. Again pitching crank baits on windy shorelines and rocky shorelines especially along the highway rip rap is still very productive.
The Mitchell's Guide Service Staff faced a week of ever changing conditions and once again the teamwork approach by our guide staff really paid huge dividends for us. Re finding these fish and figuring them out during changing weather patterns is a tall task and if it wasn't for the guides constantly trying new tactics and approaches and sharing that information with one another we wouldn't enjoy near the success that we all have had this past week.
The weather is straightening out and with 80 degree temperatures in the forecast it is safe to say summer is finally here. We still have room for your group and would love to take you fishing. The reservations have really picked up however and I urge you to not wait too long as our schedule is filling quite fast.
Good Luck Fishing!
 |
 |
 |
Michael and Sarah Poellot from Grand Forks with a limit of walleyes Guided by Doug Erickstad |
Michael Poellot also tore up some nice northern Pike
Guided by Doug Erickstad |
Sarah Poellot shows off her huge white bass
Guided by Doug Erickstad |
 |
 |
 |
Al Minnerath from Starbuck, MN and Earnest Janish from Madison, SD landed their limit. Guided by Doug Erickstad |
Arthur, Mike, and John Melby from LaCrosse, WI and Owego, NY had a great day on walleyes
Guided by Doug Erickstad |
Al and Earnest also had a great day 2
Guided by Doug Erickstad |
Jerry Kremer from Ranchester, Wyoming and Steve
Kremer from Ladysmith, WI had an awesome day pitching
crankbaits.
Guided by Doug Erickstad
 |
 |
Brandon Ellwanger and David Peterson from Williston, ND hold up some nice walleyes. Guided by Jason Mitchell |
Brandon and David had an awesome day of slip bobbering. Guided by Jason Mitchell |
|
 |
 |
Jim and Arlene Couch from Gage, Illinois caught a limit of these beautiful 17 to 22 inchers.
Guided by Zippy |
Jeff Dosch of Devils Lake entertains Lonnie Tucker from Wheatland, California as they limited out on walleyes like these pitching crank baits. Guided by Zippy |
Lonnie Tucker of Wheatland, California posses with 8 pound pike.
Guided by Zippy |
Monday, June 9 2008
The crank bait bite is on!!! This past week numerous limits of walleye were caught each and every day. June is here and the Mitchell's Guide Service Staff is in full swing. With 6 to 8 guides hitting the waters of Devils Lake each day this past week, there is a lot of fish being both located and caught in numerous places. Most all of the guides have had most success pitching crank baits, namely the Rapala no. 5 shadraps and countdowns, and the no. 4 and 5 Salmo Hornets. The hot colors literally change hour by hour but some of the best colors have been "Hot Steele", chrome and blue, bleeding hot olive, viking purple, Dalmatian, black and silver, fire tiger, Tennessee Shad, etc. We are pitching windblown shorelines in 1to 5 feet of water and we seem to do the best if the water is murky to cloudy in clarity.
The Pike fishing is also as good as can be! The good news is we are catching the northern pike in the same locations we are catching the walleyes and the occasional White Bass isn't out of the question either. These northerns have been ranging in size from 4 to 6 pounds with several reaching the 8 to 10 pound range.
Each and every day the mornings usually start on the slow side and many of us are scrambling from spot to spot but come 10:30 or 11:00 o'clock - hang on! The action picks up considerable and most of our walleyes have been caught in the afternoon. It just takes a little sun to heat up that shallow water a degree or two and the fish really turn it on. Sticking to the plan - It is easy to get tired of casting and want to try a different method, but the ones who have been sticking with it have had it pay big dividends.
It is not too late to take advantage of some of the best shallow water fishing of the year on Devils Lake with Mitchell's Guide Service. We are in full swing right now guiding customers every day but we still have room for you and your buddies. We would love to have you!
 Day 1 of the Gullickson Crew after a nice limit of walleyes Ty, Larry, Dustin, and Wayne from Cody, Wyoming and Minot, North Dakota Guided by James Rusten and Zippy |
|
 Wayne Gullickson from Cody, Wyoming with a dandy Devils Lake Walleye Guided by Zippy |
 Wayne posses with a bruiser pike
Guided by Zippy |
 Dave Schnieder from St. Joseph, Minnesota Guided by Doug Erickstad  Dino Tsoulfas, Tom Stauss, and Tony Stauss from Milwaukee and Burlington, Wisconsin and Fargo, ND. Guided by Doug Erickstad
|
 Bryan and Andy from Milwaukee, Wisconsin Guided by Zippy  Bryan and Andy again with pike Guided by Zippy |
 Steve Sanders and Greg Tollers from Kansas with some dandy white bass
Guided by Bubba
Steve Sanders from Kansas with a monster walleye. Guided by Bubba |
Steve Sanders and Greg Tollers from Kansas pose with some nice walleyes they cought pitching cranks. Guided by Bubba
Beautiful Limit of Walleyes brought in by Steve Sanders and Greg Tollers Guided by Bubba |
Sunday, June 2 2008
This past week fishing has picked up considerably. Northern pike fishing is out of this world and can be caught in numerous places pitching crank baits. Walleye fishing is still on the slow side but most of our guides and clients have been bringing in limits or close to it but it seems to take all day. The walleyes have been very scattered. As for a pattern -- it's kind of all over the board. We are catching some pitching cranks in the shallows, we are catching some slip bobbering the timber, and lately we have been catching some lindy rigging in 28 to 36 feet of water. The white bass fishing is phenominal right now. We have run into schools of them and once they are located it is literally a catch every cast.
With the warmer weather this past week our water temps have risen dramatically. It is very common to find that 50 to 54 degree water temperature which should start to improve our pitching crank bait bite and our shallow water slip bobber bite as well.
The Mitchell Guide Service Team of Guides have been literally all over the lake this past week and are locating and discovering new fishing opportunities every day. This team-work approach of sharing information has been a key to our success especially when the going gets tough. The fishing on Devils Lake has been getting better every day and now is the perfect time to plan your summer fishing excursion on Devils Lake with Mitchell's Guide Service. We would love to have you!
 Todd Schissel, Troy Anderson and Mike from Iowa & Wisconsin leaned into some white bass. (Guided by Doug Erickstad)
Todd Schmidt from Denver, Colorado with beautiful walleye! (Guided by Bubba)  Tom Smith from Brighton, MI (Guided by Doug Erickstad) |
 Randy & Janet Grosse from Sawyer, ND had a couple of great days of walleye fishing. (Guided by Doug Erickstad)
Don Hylla from White Heath, Ill (Guided by Doug Erickstad)
 Todd, Troy, and Mike get some nice walleyes. (Guided by Doug Erickstad |
Monday, May 19 2008
This past week fishing on Devils Lake has picked up considerably despite our below normal water temperatures. With the cold spring weather the water temperature on Devils Lake is two to three weeks behind what it normally is at this time. So we have had to make some necessary adjustments. We have been meeting our guests a little later in the mornings and fishing later in the day to try and fish at times when the temperatures are at their peak. The early mornings have been very cold and we have discovered that slower presentations seem to work best. Slip bobbers in shallow water have been very successful lately and that is how most of our morning fish have been caught. As the day heats up we are in constant search for warmer water temperature. The afternoons we have had some success pitching cranks on windy shorelines along flooded timber, cattails, and eroding soil banks. Overall fishing is slower than normal for this time of year but the size of the walleyes and pike that our guests are catching are definitely worth the wait between fish. The size of the fish we are bringing in is very impressive. For both the walleyes and northern pike. We would like to thank our guests that have been practicing catch and release on some of these larger fish. There were two trophies caught over the weekend and both of these were over 29 inches.
The good fishing has begun and the best fishing is about to begin. It is not too late to take advantage of some of Devils Lake's finest shallow water fishing. We would love to have you!
 Mike Frasco from Montclair, NJ caught and released this 29 incher. (Guided by Jeff Trana) |
Matt and Mike Frasco from Montclair and Allendale, NJ with a nice catch of walleye (Guided by Zippy and Jeff Trana) |
|
(Guided by Zippy)
Guided by Doug Erickstad
|
 Matt Woodford from Vancouver, Washington with a stringer full (Guided by Zippy)
Guided by Doug Erickstad
Guided by Doug Erickstad |
Saturday, May 10 2008
May is finally here, but someone keeps forgetting to tell our friend "mother nature!" Like everywhere else in the upper midwest, the spring in Devils Lake has been a frigid one. It is hard to believe we have a hard time reaching 50 degrees. Needless to say, but not many people have been doing a whole lot of fishing lately. One fellow that did do some good was Travis Mettler from Concrete, ND. He caught this 13lb 3 oz 31 inch walleye with a white twister tail on a pink jig on April 28th. It is the new lake record walleye for Devils Lake so a big congradulations goes out to you Travis. Way to Go!
On Monday, Mitchells Guide Service begins its guide season as our first customers of the year arrive. So we should have more to report on the fishing after we have been on the water a few days.
The weather is supposed to become more normal as well. It sounds like next week we will be in the 60s. That will feel like a heat wave.
So, the best is yet to come. It is not too late to schedule an outing with Mitchell's Guide Service. June is starting to fill in pretty decent. But we still have quite a bit of room left in May as well. We are looking forward to having another banner year on Devils Lake and we don't want you to miss out on some excellant fishing. We would love to have you!
(Photo by Ed's Bait Shop)
Wenesday, April 23, 2008
Good news! This past week the ice is officially gone! Anglers venturing out in a boat on Devils Lake need to be careful and watch for floating patches of slush that continues to blow around, and for floating debrit as well. Because we had such a gradual melt, there is not a lot of runoff flowing into Devils Lake but there is some. The north end of six mile bay and channel A is flowing pretty decent and so is the Mauvis Coolee up by Churches Ferry. This truly is the shore fisherman's paradise. Anglers fishing from shore are doing very well on northern pike and some walleyes are being caught as well. We have not guided open water as of yet, but we are gearing up for what looks to be a very busy summer. Now is the perfect time to call and schedule your summer fishing getaway with Mitchell's Guide Service. We are looking forward to another outstanding year of fishing on Devils Lake. With the gas prices on the continual rise, it makes more sense than ever to leave the boat at home and plan your summer fishing vacation fishing with us. We would love to have you!
Good Luck Fishing!
