Ice Fishing Near Grand Forks

[ndericgene]

Hello all,

Let me start with a little back round. I am originally from Bismarck area in North Dakota and grew up fishing around there on the Missouri and little lakes to the east about an hour. I haven't fished to many large lakes and would like some advice. Most of the perch/walleye fishing I do are on tiny sloughs where you can throw a rock and dang near hit the other side. I recently bought a permanent shack and was looking for some advice on where and how to fish. The main lake in my sight is Devils Lake. I would like to know where to start how to start and any pointers. It will be my first time ever going to that lake. I also have a pop up so I will most likely try fishing out of that a few times before hauling the permanent. Any advice on how/where to start, keep in mind I am completely new to this lake, also would take any suggestions on other lakes within about a 90 mile radius. Thanks,

Eric

[Boar]

Well DL is ur best bet and if yu scroll down the forum list there is a NoDak forum where ur answer might be answed better. But 90 mile radius ifnyu want numbers and good perch to beside DL jit lake of the woods. Not to much farther really fly up 29 and cross over. Hitting red lake is alway worth the saturday trip for also. Good luck welcom to the forum!

[fiskyknut]

Within an hour or so to your E you also have Maple, Union, and Sara. These are smaller lakes with Panfish and Crappies and perhaps some Bass, Pike, and Wally's as well depending on which lake. Not sure just how good they are as I have'nt icefished them in over 20+ years but you could ask in the NW Mn forum and somebody would probably give you some hints/advice maybe.

I lived in GFKS for a short time back in the 80's and there were a few impoundments pretty close by we'd fish in ND.. Homme Dam, Fordville res., a coupla others I don't recall all their names though.. Been awhile!!

[kfk]

I live at East Grand Forks and generally ice fish on either Devils Lake or Lake of the Woods. DL is about a 1 1/2 drive while LOW is 2 1/2 to 3 hours depending upon where you go.

Devils Lake takes a while to learn, but ask the fishing guys at Scheels or Cabelas if they've got any reports, search the internet and ask at baitshops or even give DL baitshops a call before you go to plan your trip prior to getting up there. It's also important to get a lake map if you don't have one to identify possible fish holding structure and some of the lake maps on the market even mark popular fishing areas. Another good tool for fishing Devils Lake is Google Earth. You can see Devils Lake and the area around it before the water got high and compare older images to what the lake currently looks like using the history feature. If you don't have a depth finder or something with a mapping chip in it, I'd definitley suggest it for Devils Lake.

The ice at Devils Lake usually get alot of snow on it, making it difficult to move a permanent shack around the lake, especially later in the winter. There are a few roads plowed onto the lake, but not like you'd see at Lake of the Woods. Woodland Resort plows some roads in their vicinity so that'd probably be a good place to start looking for a home for your permanent shack when the snow gets deep. Most of the time, catching fish at Devils Lake requires moving around to find them and most hard core ice anglers at Devils Lake like to be portable.

Lake of the Woods on the other hand has roads plowed on it at many locations that make lake access easy, even with your permanent house. It can be as easy as driving out on a road, seeing where the houses are, and setting up nearby. At least it's a good way to start when you are unfamiliar with the lake. You'll almost always go home with saugers and walleyes, even when you don't move around alot to find them.

[walleye 4 me]

kfk nailed it. Biggest thing with DL is staying mobile which can be hard to do with the wheel house. If there is alot of snow go out of woodland. Lake Irvine by churches ferry is really good for eyes and pike as well. a snowmobile or atv with tracks really comes in handy most years on DL. With the wheel house I would head up to LOW and go out on Babblers road (right next to arnesens on rocky point) and fish the edges of the many reefs in that area or fish the east side out of adrians. good luck and welcome to the area!

[walleye 4 me]

Almost forgot, do yourself a favor and head up to lake winnipeg. unbelievable walleye fishing up there! you will definitely need tracks though. only about 3.5-4 hours from GF. Made it up there twice last winter and we caught many, many 20"+ eyes with alot of them 25-28". And fat too. the four 28"ers we caught all weighed about 9.5 lbs!!!