Bizarre appeals to this fisherman as he travels
Everyone that knows me very well knows that even when I try to be normal I just ain’t. I am attracted to the stuff that is off the beaten path, the non traditional and in this case the phenomenal. The town of Devils Lake, ND sits at the bank of the lake it is named for. This lake is the poster child for the term modern day phenomenon as local citizens witnessed it grow from 40,000 acres in 1990 to more than 160,000 acres by 2008 swallowing up farms, county roads, a state highway and half the town of Minnewaukan. Any of you that like to read, there are many articles published on the internet about this and I recommend it. As for luring me, it took more than the bizarre to get me there. It is among the very top Walleye lakes in the nation and Walleye was my target here.
On June 29, when my plane flew over the lake descending toward Devils Lake Regional Airport, my window seat allowed me to see what I knew did not look good. This lake is big, but I was seeing huge white-capping like it was the Pacific ocean. The plane touched down and I could see the trees bending over from the wind. I wondered if my first day of planned Walleye fishing would be cancelled due to straight line wind. As I walked through the airport I stated to an airport worker as I walked by her, “It seems like the wind is blowing 50 mph.” She replied, “that is exactly what it is blowing - 50 mph. And there I was ready to fish. I thought I needed a mirror so I could see what a fish eyed fool looked like. As I got my rent car I told the woman at the counter, “I should have brought a surfboard.”
I called my guide Mark Bry, owner of Bry’s Guide Service, after driving and sight seeing around the lake and he informed me the forecast for the 30th was 15 mph with up to 30 mph gusts. He picked me up at my hotel (Sleep Inn) and we hit the lake pretty early and as we drove across the shallow end of the lake I saw barns and houses that had been overtaken by the lake and even the top of a tractor sticking up.
Walleye fishing is different and takes a little time to get the hang of it, but Mark taught me how to get them while working on my first catch which was a Northern Pike. Very similar to Pickerel, this predator fish is fun to catch, fights good and is edible. The one I caught here was colored a little different than their usual brown skin with yellow specks probably due to the time of year. It wasn’t the target but better sport than Walleye making it fun. Anything I can’t get at home falls into the exotic category for me and that makes it cool. I had heard of them all my life so to boat that predator fish in a northern land far away was just as exciting as it was for me to get that first big channel cat as a kid.
Back to the Walleye. This fish is one of the toughest to get hooked especially using different kinds of hooks. I missed several due to my inexperience with the species, the type hooks, and fighting the 20 mph wind. When we finished I had the five fish limit and the Pike that we took back to Mark’s shop and filleted. He had two other guides working that day also with clients and we all put the fish together and Mark and his helpers fried the Walleye in flour, beer batter, and corn meal. All three were as good as freshwater fish get. He grilled the Pike that had one long narrow strip of meat from each side bone free. It was pretty good, but I overate on the Walleye. I fished from the shores of this lake until dark driving all around it. I made friends with a man about 12 to 15 years my senior at my hotel that was in town for a revival and when I told him I had an open spot on the boat for a friend he got excited and said I would love to come with you. He would join us the last day.
The next morning Mark and I had a repeat of the first day but with calmer conditions as my Walleye education continued. The leeches and night-crawler bait netted the catch of Walleye again with the same tasty results. This fish spoiled me early on for flavor. It would be a long while before I caught another freshwater fish to rank higher in flavor. One evening I caught a huge Walleye from the shoreline by a highway that had been diked with rip rap due to the rise of the lake over the years. I got him using a swimming grub just like the ones I use at home to catch large-mouth and spotted bass. I used the car wheel and tire to measure him and it looked like 27 to 28 inches best I could tell. I then made a miserable attempt at a selfie with a fish that didn’t want his picture taken. I am not a selfie type guy and with a fish, that wasn’t a good idea. I let this big fish back in the water to swim free again. He was lucky I was in a rent car without all my stuff. I knew It would be all road tripping after this. No more flying unless I had to.
Mark called me at my hotel and asked me, “did you see the weather forecast?” I said yes, have you ever fished in 40 mph wind? He said no, are you wanting to try it? I said if you are willing me and my friend here at the hotel both are. The forecast was 40 mph wind and 40 degrees-IN JULY.
I privately based my judgement in regards to safety on his handling of the boat in the 25 to 35 mph gust the first day and knew we had a good captain. My other thoughts were, I didn’t come up here to try out a hotel. We hit the water for the last time as it hit us. Me and my new fishing buddy got in the back of the boat and swiveled the seats facing out the back and sat down which was the only thing to do in a 40 mph wind.
No casting was necessary. When we threw the lines in the air the wind caught them and took them 50 or 60 feet back right where we wanted them. And believe it or not we caught Walleye in 40 mph wind. I said, Mark you will forget most of your other trips you guided, but you ain’t never gonna forget this one. He said no, I will not forget this one. And I won’t forget it, coldest I ever seen it in July. 40 and 40 was not a good combination to boat fish but my being so far from home in a town with only one thing to do made me say, let’s do this. Thanks Mark for endorsing a crazy client’s desire to fish in crazy weather in the craziest lake in the US. I cannot imagine a more fun way to experience North Dakota for my first visit to it.
Mark is a fishing guide almost year round and a hunting guide in season. He also owns a lodge called the Fish Rehab. He showed it to me after one of the Walleye feasts. It is extremely nice and set up right. I would have stayed there but he had it booked. I have intentions of going back again and ice fishing with him.
He is equipped for it as good as any in the the nation being one of very few that owns a Sno-Bear, a tracked machine with cabin that hauls several fisherman. Yellow Perch, walleye, and pike can all be caught through the ice in the winter. Mark is at Bry’s Guide Service on Facebook and brysguideservice.com on the internet. Wind is not such a wildcard for ice fishing for the obvious reasons.