Traditionally, we find walleye shallow on Devils Lake during the month of May, and this year has been no exception. If there is a new wrinkle this year however, that wrinkle would be that the water is clearer than most years. I attribute the clarity to the fact that we have had little run off coming into the lake. What we have had is an excess of wind so far, but the wind has definitely seemed to help the bite most days. While this list would be our top picks for North Dakota’s Devils Lake, you could also apply this list to any of the dish bowl prairie lakes that include many of the small lakes through the Dakotas and also include some of the larger natural lakes in eastern South Dakota like Bitter Lake and Waubay Lake. This list of tackle will catch walleye through the month of May.
Slip Bobbers
For simply catching fish, especially in inclement weather or for surgically picking apart shallow structure like rock piles, weed edges or submerged timber, very few presentations can be as effective as a slip bobber. Our winning combination would include Northland’s Lite-Bite premium balsa slip bobber with the brass grommet. We like to error on the side of large for slip bobbers (1 ¼ inch) so we can add a little bit extra weight so that the bait falls fast and can be casted further. Below the slip bobber, we typically add an upside-down tungsten bullet weight (1/8th ounce) and a 1/8th ounce Northland Tungsten Short Shank Jig tipped with a leech. Top colors include Parrot, Gold Shiner and Glo Moonlight in stained water.
Favorite Shallow Crank Baits
Of course when it comes to finding fish and simply eliminating water and reacting to changes in wind, covering water with shallow running crankbaits is proven. If you are ever in doubt as to where to start or where to fish, you cannot go wrong with putting the bow mount down in six to eight feet of water and covering water by casting crankbaits up shallow until you find fish. The preferred crankbait can vary depending on the slope of the shoreline, weed profile and aggressiveness of the fish but there are a few cranks that seem to stand out. Here is our top list of proven performers.
- Rapala Shad Rap Size 5
- Northland Rumble Shad Size 5
- Rapala Countdown Size 7
- Berkley Hit Stick Size 9
- Northland Rumble Shiner Size 7
- Berkley Flicker Shad Shallow Runner Size 7
Good colors include anything with a perch or chartreuse theme including Hot Steel and Fire Tiger along with chrome or silver color schemes and anything with white. My absolute favorite crank colors on Devils Lake include Nordic Perch, Hot Steel, Bleak and Wonder Bread.
Soft Plastic Options
Cranks enable you to cover a lot of water fast but there are many days when jigs and soft plastics can really compliment cranks and can outproduce cranks with some shoreline tapers or when fish are just a touch off and won’t chase crankbaits. For soft plastics, look for jigs that have a stout long shank hook with a wide enough gap in the hook for pairing with the bulk of plastics. Some of my favorite jigs for plastics include the Northland MVP Jig and the Northland Slurp Jig Head. The sizes we use the most include ¼ ounce and 3/16th ounce. Top soft plastic options generally have a paddle tail for added vibration. Our favorites include the Northland Eye Candy Paddle Shad in both the 3 ½ inch and 4-inch sizes. Other top picks include the Keitech Easy Shiner, Scheels Pro Swimmer, Berkley Ripple Shad along with the Walleye Assassin Turbo Shad.
Jigs and Live Bait
No May tackle list is complete anywhere without mentioning jig and live bait options. On the prairie lakes, we are often tipping jigs with both leeches or half a night crawler but minnows are important on some fisheries. Because this is often shallow water fishing, we are typically leaning on 1/8th ounce, 3/16th and ¼ ounce jigs. Our absolute favorite pitching jig for live bait is the Northland Stand Up Tungsten Short Shank Jig as the collar snugs up live bait and the jig tips up and rolls up as it is dragged across the bottom.
Finesse Rigs
Because of the wind and turbidity, you can often get away with running the boat over the top of fish in water as shallow as six or seven feet on Devils Lake. When the summer progresses and we start to run a lot of deeper structure and weed line edges, we use bottom bouncers a lot on Devils Lake. Bottom bouncers in particular do a great job of cutting through algae and keeping the presentation out of slime and weeds. Early in the year however, we do use live bait rigs that are more finesse. At times, we will cast short snelled rigs at fish or simply drag an extra rod next to the boat while we cast. Especially early in the morning before the water warms up, we will find the fish a touch deeper in that five-to-eight-foot range. Finesse rigging catches a lot of walleye for us in the morning in particular. Our favorite overall rig is a 1/8th ounce Tungsten Cylinder Weight, swivel and two-foot snell with a plain size 6 octopus hook or Northland Gum Drop Floater tipped with a leech.
Additional Notes: Devils Lake and many of these natural lakes in the Dakotas are truly combat fishing. High water cycles have created great fishing opportunities, but many trees and bushes are now submerged where you can snag a lot of tackle. We typically use braided line for everything we do and using a heavy fluorocarbon leader like 20 pound Seaguar because of the sheer number of pike you will have to handle at times.
