Devils trip- looking for curent snow/ ice surface conditions

[firefish]

Hey All-
A group of friends and I are coming from Ohio from Jan 23-29, and a few of us do not have trax or snowmobiles.  I'm wondering if 4x4 4 wheelers and Polaris Ranger would be feasible for your current conditions.  Any help would be appreciated.

[Eyes R Bitin]

Check out http://devilslakefishingreport.com/2016/12/28/wednesday-weekly-ice-conditions-report-5/ for some current info.  Sounds like tracks are nearly a must have.  Sad to say, I don't have.   

[firefish]

Thanks for the reply. After reading that article, maybe we should push the trip back a couple weeks and hope for cold temps to stiffen up the snow.

[cwavs1982]

Firefish - see you are going to be up there for awhile.  Could you call the hotel that you are staying at and see if they could get a guide to drive you out to spots?  That way you aren't putting a huge strain on your equipment and you still get to fish.  Hate to see someone postpone a trip only to find out that the bite was really good on your weekend. 

[firefish]

Firefish - see you are going to be up there for awhile.  Could you call the hotel that you are staying at and see if they could get a guide to drive you out to spots?  That way you aren't putting a huge strain on your equipment and you still get to fish.  Hate to see someone postpone a trip only to find out that the bite was really good on your weekend.

That is an option, but for some reason I'm being stubborn.  Lake Erie is my home lake, so over the last several years I've added to my arsenal and have made the best(for my budget and preferences)ice fishing setup.  I really tend to take too much crap with me, but I always have what I need and it is stored securely.  I suppose I really just want to use my stuff since I have so much time and money invested in it.  Most of the group have tire chains but I realize that they aren't tracks.  I just have yet to run into anything that I couldn't manage on Lake Erie.  We get plenty of slush pockets and shove ice and drifting snow but, being from out of state, I just don't know how much different the conditions are compared to what I'm accustomed to.

[sunniewally]

A FRIEND OF MIN TALKED TO A GUIDE A COUPLE DAYS AGO AND TOLD HIM TO STAY  HOME  PRETTY MUCH TRACK OUTFITS ONLY AND POOR ICE.

[firefish]

A FRIEND OF MIN TALKED TO A GUIDE A COUPLE DAYS AGO AND TOLD HIM TO STAY  HOME  PRETTY MUCH TRACK OUTFITS ONLY AND POOR ICE.

[wirenut45]

Hey All-
A group of friends and I are coming from Ohio from Jan 23-29, and a few of us do not have trax or snowmobiles.  I'm wondering if 4x4 4 wheelers and Polaris Ranger would be feasible for your current conditions.  Any help would be appreciated.

firefish; my son ,n, i are going same time as you. will be taking smitty sled ,n, will walk out if need to. only walking here in pa anyway. got harness for son(29 yo.) to pull load. he,s a big hoss anyway, so we,ll be ok. in a typical day here this old boy covers prolly 3-4 miles of lake, so D.L. WE SHOULD BE O.K. packing lite in smitty, drill auger, 2 rods each, small tackle boxes in pockets, tu.s, 1 gal bait bucket, etc. gonna call woodland mon. & see if they have 2 man shanty available to rent( cancelations) i think they take you out in track vehicle. anyway, this is our 1st DL trip, i dont care if all ice melts, i,m going. will rent boat ,n, fish that way if i hafta. lol wire

[BowHunter1527]

firefish; my son ,n, i are going same time as you. will be taking smitty sled ,n, will walk out if need to. only walking here in pa anyway. got harness for son(29 yo.) to pull load. he,s a big hoss anyway, so we,ll be ok. in a typical day here this old boy covers prolly 3-4 miles of lake, so D.L. WE SHOULD BE O.K. packing lite in smitty, drill auger, 2 rods each, small tackle boxes in pockets, tu.s, 1 gal bait bucket, etc. gonna call woodland mon. & see if they have 2 man shanty available to rent( cancelations) i think they take you out in track vehicle. anyway, this is our 1st DL trip, i dont care if all ice melts, i,m going. will rent boat ,n, fish that way if i hafta. lol wire

LOL good luck with this. While yes you can walk out to some spots, DL is such a big body of water that one day your fishing close to the rd on main lake and the next you could be an hour away with a mile drive out to a spot. The other thing is if your packing lite then you may not have all the great you need. The temps on this lake are not like any other. Nothing blocks the wind and its one of the coldest places as is, it can get very dangerous in a hurry if you dont have all the gear you need, IE extra clothing, good shelter (thermal if you have), and a heater are a must.
Just spoke with a buddy that guides on DL and yes tracks are almost a must and if you don't have them youre  beating the crap out of your vehicle just to fish a few spots. I was supposed to go a few weeks ago and postponed the trip to see what the weather brings. If it warms up some and gets rid of some of the snow, then freezes it might be good in a month. We come from MI so its a long drive and a big trip for us so we want the best chance we can get to be on fish. If your coming from far away and cant get a vehicle with tracks or a guide, I would seriously consider another lake or postponing your trip. For most this a bucket list trip so whats the point if you come and just get the crap beat out you and not catch that many fish bc you cant access where the fish are biting. The fish are constantly moving and movement is part of the key to fishing this lake.

[firefish]

Thanks for the replies.  I've decided to go to Sturgeon Bay instead.  We may give it another try later in the season, as you said this is a bucket list trip and if I can drive 7 hours to Sturgeon Bay instead of 16+ hours to Devils Lake and still rip something through the ice, it will suffice for the time being.  I really thought we were going to get an actual winter in Ohio this year, but I guess not.  As I type, it is 3:30AM and 53F.  SMH

[goggleye]

this weekend I was driving my F150 on devils and stump lakes   - i think soon i will need to buy an extension for my new pro-4

[firefish]

Well, we are back on for our trip to Devils.  We were going to go to Green Bay, but the weather has started to take its toll on the ice, and it's not going to get any better.  We are going to run chains on our atvs/utvs and take tow straps along.  Hopefully by the time we get there the conditions will be formidable and we are able to enjoy ourselves.  Starting Tuesday I will try to post conditions and fishing reports.  Good fishing to everyone!

[Ranger619]

Why do you have to go to Devils Lake ? After our trips to NE South Dakota I won't even think about Devils Lake anymore. They never got the killer snow North Dakota got after Christmas and you catch just as nice of fish. Just my opinion good luck and hope you get em !

[firefish]

Are you talking about the prairie potholes?  In all honesty, I'm only just learning about some of the other offerings that are offered out west. And I'm now learning about stocking data offered, I guess it has more to do with notoriety that Devils gets. Everything just kind of happened all at once

[Ranger619]

Yes check out Waubay,Bitter,Opitz,Enemy Swim,Poinsett they're all good for walleye and perch with Enemy Swim being good for gills & crappie also. I just named a few there's a ton of them in  the NE part of the state. We stay in Webster.

[firefish]

Thank you very much!

[firefish]

Day 1
4 wheelers can get around fine in the areas we went, not fast, because it's rough but no problems getting stuck at all
As far as fishing goes, it wasn't what I had hoped for but we did catch fish. The 2 of us finished the day with 11 perch over 10" several throw back walleyed and a +30" pike.
We fished near lakeview lodge east of the powerlines in 35'.
We had friends that fished with "the" lodge in the area and didn't put the first perch on the ice. They ended the day with one walleye and one pike.

[firefish]

Day 2
Not as good as the first day. We went to Stump Lake today and only managed 8 perch and a 2# walleye. We found out that we were either fishing in too deep of water or were too far from the structure for the first half of the day. Once we moved into 13-15 fow around the trees, we were able to pick up some fish. Tomorrow we will likely fish the main lake and some of the bays around lakeview lodge. Our friends that are using Woodlands' shacks had another bad day, but they did mark a lot of fish. They cleaned 3 small perch and one 30" pike. 

[Herky10]

Thanks for the updates firefish.  We are heading up there next weekend.  I hope that you guys have better luck the rest of your trip!