Devils Lake Practice

I was able to get out for about four hours Monday morning to practice on Devils for the upcoming club tourney and it was about what I expected. But first I tried unsuccessfully to access round lake and actually made it under the first bridge but couldn't make it under the second. It was worth a try. But once I decided to start fishing the reality that I was not in Escanaba anymore started to set in. The bite was slow and very tough with water clarity being about three feet thanks to all of the weekend boat traffic.

Reaction bites and power fishing seemed fruitless so I started to honker down on some deep weedlines that have produced in the past and still could not muster even one bite. It was quite windy adding to my problems so I decided to head shallow and start flipping with a jig. This did produce two good bites for me, one of which I lost and the other being a two pounder, both in the same area. I wanted to throw a frog but there is limited places for such a presentation even though I tried to make it happen. One small fish on the frog and one small fish on the deep weededge convinced me that I might be flipping for eight hours on Sunday.

I talked to two other club members who were on the lake this past weekend and they had similar experiences, few bites and even fewer keepers. I've never been a big fan of Devils and mid-August on this body of water is downright ridiculous. I still think Wamplers and Devils in August is a bad joke Bill Maurer is playing on the club but that's the reality of it and as Scott Rice showed two weeks ago, fish can still be caught.

My prediction will be for 7-8 pounds for the winning weight and I find it hard to believe anyone will catch a limit. Randy St. Amour did it a few years back so it's doable but I'll be power fishing and hoping for 3-4 bites and hope to capitalize on them. I am in a battle with several others for a "Classic" spot so I have to fish against my better judgement. It looks as if the weather will stay cooler which could help but it will still be tough. The guys that do well will probably find a school of fish on deeper weedlines and they'll have to milk that area. A good fish early will go a long way in this event and that's what I'm hoping for. I'm not sure anyone else will try and access Round Lake but I heard through the grapevine that it is a possiblity for a smaller boat. That would be the wild-card if anyone can get there. I'll post more reports if any become available.