Friday, August 6 2010

Another banner week of fishing! We have had just gorgeous weather this past week on Devils Lake and the walleye fishing couldn't get much better! Almost all of our groups fishing with Mitchell's Guide Service limited out on walleyes and some northerns as well. We have been bottom bouncing with spinners and crawlers along weed lines and this method of fishing is still by far the most effective for us.

The walleyes have been ranging in size from 15 to 19 inches with some occasional 20 to 22 inch fish. Of course there are a ton of little ones that get caught and released along the way. Overall, considering the lack wind on some of these days, for these fish to keep biting is some what of a miracle in itself.

The water temperatures are in the mid 70s and the sun feels pretty powerful in the afternoons so if you are coming to fish with us this week we would like to remind you to bring plenty of liquids and some sunblock.

If you are planning an August fishing trip and want to experience some incredible walleye fishing, now is the time! Mitchell's Guide Service has plenty of room and would love to take your group fishing!

Good Luck Fishing Everybody!

PS. We apologize for the last two fishing reports that do not have photos to accompany them. Our fishing report page contains so many photographs that the memory space has reached its maximum. We are currently working on getting the report pages re-optimized to handle more photos in the near future.

Wednesday, July 28 2010

Sorry for the delayed fishing report, things have been crazy around here! On behalf of Woodland Resort and Mitchell's Guide Service we would like welcome the FLW Walleye Tour. Woodland Resort is proud to host this event and would like to welcome all tournament fans to come on out and watch the weigh-ins and cheer on your favorite Professional walleye fisherman. Thursday and Friday weigh-ins begin at 3:00 pm and Saturday the weigh in will be held at Lake Chevrolet in downtown Devils Lake.

The fishing these days is incredible! We are still catching most of our walleyes working along the weed walls in 9 to 14 feet of water. Some of our guides are drifting slowly along them using a jig tipped with a half crawler or a leech and others are using bottom bouncers and spinners. When the waves are coming into the weed lines we are working, honestly its hard to keep up with running the net! But when the winds are light and we have flat calm conditions the fishing really slows down and we have to really work hard to get our limits.

We have not trolled crankbaits very much and the reason is right now Devils Lake has way too many floating weeds. It gets very frustrating when you have over 100 feet of line out and the floating weeds keep following your line down to your crank bait.

The good fishing is still happening and will continue August is soon here and the fishing should remain spectacular!

Good Luck Fishing Everybody!

Tuesday, July 13 2010

Another fantastic week of fishing! We have had a gorgeous week of weather and the walleye fishing has been awesome. It's all about the weeds lately. We have been either trolling slowly along weedbeds or slip bobbering along them with leeches. Both methods have been very effective. The walleyes have been running anywhere from 15 to 22 inches and there are some smaller ones that we throw back along with them.

The northern pike fishing has slowed up quite a bit. We have been catching an occasional northern with the walleyes but honestly we have not really been fishing for them. The weeds have taken over the shallows and this has pretty much ended our pitching crankbaits. When the weeds are poking through the waters surface in 10 feet of water, not many fishermen have the patience for reeling in weeds cast after cast.

The white bass fishing has been very good as well when we have targeted them.

We do still have availability in July on the following dates:

Fri July 16

Sat July 17

Sun July 18

Wed July 21

Sat July 24

Sun July 25

Thurs July 29

Fri July 30

Sat July 31


George and Gene Schwarts and Brad Holstein from Kansas	Dennis Hammersmith, Brad Nelson, and Tanner Stirlon from Kansas	`Dolores Cassidy from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Tanner Stirlon from Kansas	Dolores and Brian Cassidy from Philadelphia, Penn	Jack and Larry Formo from Litchville, ND

Todd and Cathy Jensen from Hastings, MN	Brygida and James Hitchcock from Laurelville, Ohio limited out	Warren and Margie Opp from Lark, ND

Larry and Jack Formo from Litchville, ND	Tanner Stirlon with another nice one

	John Blum From Nebraska	Blum Crew from Nebraska Day 1

Chris Blum from Omaha, NE	Kyle Simonson Group from Minot, ND	Shelby, Backer from Minneapolis, MN

	Shelby Backer and Mackalya Puskala from Minneapolis, MN

Tom Dehaven from Roseville, MN	Tom Dehaven and Lyle Sorum from Roseville, MN	Tom Dehaven with another big one!

Monday, July 5 2010

Happy 4th of July everyone! Well how do you like to catch your walleye today? This is the question the guides of Mitchell's Guide Service has been asking a lot lately. All methods are working these days. Slip bobbering the flooded timber and weed lines, casting crank baits on wind swept shorelines, trolling crank baits, and bottom bouncing with spinners have all been effective methods of fishing on Devils Lake since our last report. Some days were tougher than others due to either too much wind or flat calm conditions. But the fishing has been very good overall.

The water temperatures have definitely warmed up and the fish are beginning to make a transition to a little deeper water. The weed lines have really grown and it is common to find weeds poking through the surface in 8 to 9 feet of water. This illuminates a lot of casting spots so with change so do our methods of fishing. This isn't all figured out in a couple hours of fishing. It takes a team work of guides constantly exploring and trying new methods in many different parts of the lake and then sharing the information amongst the guide staff to help make every day successful.

We have been getting a few complaints lately of people having a hard time finding openings with Mitchell's Guide Service in the month of July. So I went through the schedule book and found several days in July that we do still have available. Some days are soon full and there are a few that are wide open so here it is...

THE 12 DAYS OF JULY

Sat July 10

Sun July 11

Thurs July 15

Fri July 16

Sat July 17

Sun July 18

Wed July 21

Sat July 24

Sun July 25

Thurs July 29

Fri July 30

Sat July 31


Mike Jambretz and Keith Lind from Gillette, Wyoming	John Karfield from Rapid City, SD

Brett and Roger Kenner from Leeds, ND	Brett and Roger Kenner Limited out

Ryan, Jason, Devon, and Charles Elkin from Dickinson, ND Day 1	Charles Elkin Crew - Day 2

Richard Wicker and Jim Kramer from WI	Richard Wicker, Jim Kramer, Amel Diehl, and Ron Fingerhart from Wisconsin

Wednesday, June 24 2010

BOBBER DOWN! Fishing is back to being incredible again. Some days we have had to work hard for them but lately it has been quick limits on walleyes topped off with either non stop reeling in white bass or going casting for some northern pike. The weather has warmed up considerably since our last report and it has brewed up a storm or two along the way as well. On Monday morning most of the lake region got hit with 2 to 4 inches of rain. As if we needed more of that.

As far as size of walleyes, most of the fish we are keeping are in that 15 to 18 inch range with an occasional 20 incher or better. There are a few throw backers that we do catch with them but when you combine all of this it sure makes for some non stop bobber action. We seem to go through a ton of leeches in a days time. Bottom line is Mitchell's Guide Camp is full of happy customers and when they are happy we can hardly wait to do it all over again tomorrow!

July is right around the corner I want to remind all of you thinking about a fishing trip that the best is still yet to come. Currently we are enjoying some of the best shallow water bites of the season but July and August is normally the time of year that we catch most of our fish. Some of our 50, 75, and even 100 fish days happen in July and August. The bobber fishing will still be solid but the bottom bouncer spinner bite along weed walls will eventually take over. As the water warms up and the fish slide out to that 8 to 12 foot range the bouncin season will begin. This is some of the funnest methods of fishing one could ever experience. We do have several dates in July that are full but there are still plenty of dates that are available and we would love to have you.

Good Luck Fishing Everybody!

Steve "Zippy" Dahl

Mitchell's Guide Service


John, Nate, and Sam Bauer from Sioux City, Iowa	Wes Beilke from Buffalo, ND	Mark Feist from Wisek, ND

Evan Pollreisz from Amarillo, Texas and Patrick Johnson from Mandan, ND	Pam Kuepper and Rick Breden from New Berlin, Wisconsin	Stan Sirek, Larry Millen, and Duane from Whapeton, ND

Dan Tays from Sheridan, WY	Jim and Dan Tays from SD & WY	Jim Tays from Hot Springs, SD

Zwach Crew "Wacked em"	Larry Mills, Curt Rottunda, and Norm Pivler from Detroit Lakes, MN and Iowa	Jim Sikorski from St. Louis, MO

10 Pounder caught & released	Al Zwack from Georgia	The Stan Sirek group from Whapeton, ND


Pam Kuepper with a dandy walleye	Mathew, Mark, and Micheal Fiest from Wisek, ND

The Zwack "Attack" Day 2	Dave Zwack from Lakeville, MN

Al Zwack with a big northern pike	Dave Schneider from St. Joe, MN and Jim Snyder from Sioux Falls, SD

Dave and Doug Zwach from Lakeville, MN

Monday, June 14 2010

The fishing on Devils Lake was very good up until the last four days. The weather has been very unsettled with mostly north winds that are a sign of a major cold front. The water temperatures went from upper 60's to lower 60's. Without warm temperatures the water has also become very clear and clear water and shallow water walleyes do not mix. I don't want to sound too negative we are still bringing in limits most days but we have to work harder than ever for them. We are still catching them pitching crank baits and mimic minnows in 1 to 5 feet of water and slip bobbering with leeches in flooded timber or along the weeds.

The white bass fishing has been very incredible in certain parts of the lake. Most of our clients catch and release them but sure do have a ball catching them. We are still catching northern pike and some of the northerns brought in this last week were over 10 pounds.

So far June has been very cool and the upcoming forecast looks very nice with 70 to 80 degrees for the next 10 days. This should give us a little algae bloom to cloud up the water and improve our fishing dramatically.

Good Luck fishing everybody!

Steve "Zippy" Dahl

Mitchell's Guide Service


Greg Tollers and Steve Sanders from Louisberg, Kansas Day 1	Steve Sanders with a nice northern	Greg and Steve Day 2

Steve and Greg hold up nice walleyes	Greg and Steve pound the bass	Janet Magnuson, Clare Anderson, and Nancy McFarland from Iowa

Greg and Steve Day 3	Wayne, Noah, and Erik Froehling From Wisek, ND	Denise Jacobson from Fargo, ND

Steve and Kevin Baltus from North Carolina and St Paul, MN	Rachel and Dr. Reed from South Dakota	Dan and Jim Tayes from Sheraton, Wyoming and Hot Springs, SD

Jacob Frazer from Illinois	Jacob Frazer does it again!	Jacob and Jeff Firolken from Illinois

Jeff Firolken from Illinois	Carl and Tanya Larson from W. Fargo, ND	Nick, Sam, and John Bauer from Iowa

Don Below and Carl Hodge from Illinois

Thursday, June 3 2010

I am going to sound like a broken record...but again this past week the fishing has been fantastic! Mornings have been a little slow for pitching crankbaits but the slip bobbering has been very good. From 11:00 am on we start pitching crank baits, mimic minnows, and Berkley rip shads with a jig head and "Hang On!" the walleyes, northern pike, and white bass just about tear the rod out of your hand.

Mitchells Guide Service has been in full swing the past 10 days and the team-work and communication between guides has gotten us through some tough days especially mornings when things have been on the slow side. It is an honor to be a part of this very "elite" team of guides and thanks to the team work not a single group that we have had this past week has left without their limit of walleyes. And it's only going to get better! The water temperatures are now in the 60's and climbing. As long as we have decent weather, a little wind but not too much, the best is still yet to come for this shallow water fishing bonanza.

Good luck fishing this week!

Steve "Zippy" Dahl

Mitchell's Guide Service


Jason and Gene Olberding from Marshaltown, Iowa	Hank Mull from Colorado	Tom Murphy and Hugh O'Brien from St. Paul, MN

Lee Gruver from Huffman, Texas	Larry VandenBrink from Levington, Kansas	Rick Cook from Eaton, Kansas

Cook Crew from Kansas	Greg Palashewski and Greg Hess from St. Cloud, Minnesota	Brian Conrad from Woodbury, Minnesota

Ed Dahl from Maple Park, Illinois	Ed and Brian limit out day 1	Tim and Gordon Moore from Madison, Wisconson


Ed and Brian limit out on day 2	Greg and Greg proudly hold up some dandys

Tuesday, May 26 2010

The fishing has been fantastic this past week. Nice limits of walleyes and northern pike have been taken and there are even some pretty good reports of white bass biting as well. The weather has been a bit of a roller coaster infact yesterday and today and we have had to cancel all of our groups due to either thunderstorms or high winds. So the water temperature has heated up and so has the fishing. We are still catching most of our fish pitching crank baits and mimic minnow in the shallow backwater bays and we have had some success slip bobbering the shallow water as well.

The schedule for Mitchell's Guide Service is now in full swing. Our staff of guides is going to be very busy from here on out so look forward to more timely fishing reports and more photos as well. Now is the perfect time to take that first fishing trip of the season and enjoy one of the best shallow water walleye bites on the planet. We would love to take you and your group fishing real soon!

Good Luck Fishing Everybody!

Steve "Zippy" Dahl

Mitchell'sGuide Service


Joe Styles holds up a nice one

Jason Mitchell even caught one! Jim and Janet Robinson fought off some

rough water and caught a mess of walleyes

and northerns

Hammer time! 5/15/10

Kenji Motomatsu from Japan had a great day limiting

out on nice walleyes and some nice northerns too!

Sunday, May 16 2010

Fishing the past couple of days has steadily improved. Mid 70 degree temperatures and plenty of sunshine has brought the water temperatures from 46 degrees to anywhere from 50 to 54 degree temperatures. We have been spending most of our time in the shallow water back bays both pitching crank baits and mimic minnows and slip bobbering as well. This shallow water bite provides some of the funnest methods of fishing of the year. Not only is it fun exploring all the new water we seem to get as a result of the flooding but there is nothing like feeling that explosion of a northern pike or a big walleye hitting your crank bait as it is reeled in. We highly recommend that you bring along a pair of polarized sunglasses so you can see all the fish that follow your crank bait right up to the boat. For those of you who love to cast, It doesn't get any better than this, and the best fishing is just beginning.

Tuesday, May 11 2010

Stop the presses!!! My how things have changed since our last fishing report. Just when spring was way ahead of schedule, the birds were singing, and the fish were biting, April ended and May began. Along with it came a whole new weather pattern. Frigid cold temperatures, rain, lots of wind, and we have even had some frost in the mornings. The water temperature on Devils Lake went from a way ahead of schedule 55 degrees to a 46 to 49 degree range that doesn't seem to change no matter if we fish the big water or the shallow water back bays.

The fishing has been affected. This time of year the fishing is usually best in the shallow water because it is the first water to warm up but we need sunshine and warm temperatures to make this happen. The upcoming forecast does sound a little promising as we are supposed to be 70 degrees and sunny by the weekend so hopefully this will kick start our spring again and warm this back up again.

Pitching crank baits in the shallows will still produce northern pike but the walleyes have been tough to come by. The best walleye fishing we have found so far has been in the current either by the bridges or the culverts.

Our schedule really picks up next week so we should have more reports and more regular reports from now on. Good luck fishing everybody!

Wednesday, April 14 2010

It's gettin to be about that time of year again! Actually things in the Devils Lake area are way ahead of last spring. As of yesterday, the ice is completely gone. We have already hit the 70 degree mark a couple of times and with the big rain we just had, the grass is just about green and probably will need to be mowed for the first time. Hard to believe it is only mid April.

With this rapid spring upon us, the Mitchell's Guide Service staff is readying their fleet and preparing for war. There is a sense of urgency in the air and the way the phones have been ringing, the 2010 season is not far away. These warm temperatures should also kick the spawning into high gear as well and will hopefully make for a another record year of successful walleye reproduction for the Devils Lake fishery. The good old days are right now for Devils Lake. We have the best walleye fishing in North America and the outlook for this season could not look any better. We are coming off a tremendous season last year, the winter months saw very little fishing pressure due to all the snow, heck these fish forgot what a lure looks like! Now is the time.

For the first time ever, Mitchell's Guide Service and Woodland Resort had a booth at the NW Sport Show in Minneapolis, MN at the end of March. By the way, we would like to Thank all of you that stopped by and booked a trip for this summer or just stopped by to visit. One question that we were continually asked was "When is the best time to come and fish Devils Lake?" The answer to that question really depends on how you like to fish. Most of May and June our fish are pretty shallow 1 to 5 feet of water. So we pitch a lot of crank baits and work the shorelines. As the water warms up the fish move deeper and our methods change. The months of July and August, we spend a lot of time trolling spinners with bottom bouncers along weed beds and flooded roads. We also do some trolling crank baits in 10 to 25 feet of water as well. We have a flooded timber bite that lasts the entire summer so we do a lot of slip bobbering with leeches which also is a lot of fun. September and October can be a smorgasbord of many methods as some fish go back into the shallow waters again. We do a lot of jigging over the side of the boat, trolling, and casting crank baits as well.

So you can see the fishing on Devils Lake is very good entire summer. Going by the last two seasons, we have caught larger fish in May in June but generally work hard for them, meaning it usually takes all day to get a limit. July and August we usually catch more numbers of fish and there are times we have 50 to 100 fish days. Of course we only keep our limit but catching and releasing a lot of fish makes for an eventful day on the water.

Some things you may want to consider:

With Spring way ahead of schedule, the hot pitching crank bait bite may be earlier this season as well. You may want to consider an early to mid May trip.

Again, Devils Lake is on the rise. There is going to be a tremendous amount of construction work in the Devils Lake area. Roads are being raised and so is the many miles of dike that protects the city of Devils Lake. With the number of construction workers in the area needing lodging and places to stay --

BOOK YOUR TRIP EARLY or you may have trouble finding lodging.