North Dakota’s Devils Lake is a phenomenon of high water that has created some unique fishing patterns. A natural, closed basin lake that has tripled in size over the past thirty years. In the fall, one of the most productive patterns is trolling crankbaits on the flooded roadbeds that can be found throughout the lake. Many of these roadbeds and railroad grades can be found on many map chips and are not a secret. To be fair, many of these locations can hold walleye throughout the summer but I would argue that these locations really fire up in the fall.
In the fall, many of our most productive locations are between ten and thirty feet of water where there is a sharp break and a hard bottom. Roadbeds provide this ideal structure. The ditches are often steep and lined with rip rap or rock that once protected from erosion when the lake was much lower. The tops of the road might be old pavement or gravel. There are literally several miles of flooded roads on Devils Lake including old bridges that are now underwater. The best roadbeds typically have a sharp breaking ditch into deeper water with rock. Well known fall hot spots include the old roadbed at the mouth of Black Tiger Bay, the railroad grade in Mission Bay or the infamous Golden Highway in the Minnewaukan Flats. There are also several more roadbeds located throughout the lake.
Besides the fact that these locations simply load up with fish during the fall, what also makes these locations special in the fall is the fact that there are so few people left fishing. Throughout the open water season, there are many well known locations and patterns but with so many good anglers on the water… we often find ourselves trying to outthink other angers and look for locations that are under the radar or left alone. In the fall, you can focus on community spots and do very well because of the drop off in anglers on the water. Many of these roadbeds not only produce walleye but also produce big fish.
Trolling crankbaits down the top of the road can be very productive but we also find at times where we catch bigger fish by running cranks along the ditch or sometimes in the deeper water next to the ditch. GPS is obviously important for not only finding the roads but also trolling and boat control. Even with GPS, it can help with your boat control if you can visualize where the road enters the lake, so you have a point to aim for. Most of the roads do go in a straight line either east to west or north to south. When trolling these roadbeds, a tip for boat control is to not overcompensate as you slide off the road. Trolling with the bow mount can help immensely with boat control, especially in a cross wind.
In the fall when water temps drop below fifty-five degrees, we often catch more fish with crankbaits by dropping our trolling speeds down to 1.3 to 1.6 miles per hour which seems slow for trolling cranks. At the lower speeds, run the crank next to the boat to make sure you have enough wobble. Another tip is to use either lead core or mono. The lead core sags a lot at slower trolling speeds where there is belly in the line. This sag offers some cushion similar to mono where the hook ups seem better with fish that just nip the bait. There comes a point as the water cools down where fish just don’t seem to t-bone or swallow crankbaits as much. We have also seen falls where water temps keep falling to the point where the trolling crank bite dies off and we have to slow down with rigs or jig smaller stretches of roadbed with jigs and minnows or glide baits like Jigging Raps or Tikka Minos.
Productive crankbaits can vary on the day but proven winners in the past include Flicker Shads, Rumble Sticks, Flicker Minnows, Long As and Tail Dancers. Don’t be afraid to use bigger profiles in the fall, often using baits that are eight centimeters or longer. In the summer, Devils Lake is notorious for trolling patterns that demand small lures like small Jointed Shad Raps, Rumble Bugs or Hornets but I find in the fall, the bigger baits often become more productive.
Fall is a special time of year to fish Devils Lake. Huge rafts of bluebills can be seen around the lake. You will hear the occasional shotgun blasts of duck hunters. Very few people will be on the lake fishing, and you can troll cranks on some of the most well-known locations on the lake and catch beautiful fish. These patterns are happening right now and will hold on for at least a few more weeks.
