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Devils Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Devils Lake: North Dakota's closed-basin lake, where NDGF's 2026 outlook rates walleye as doing well, white bass above average and perch rebuilding.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Lake level
1449.88 ft
Air / High
69 / 70 F
Wind
SSE 18 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 05056500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Devils Lake rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. The gauge reads 49.88 ft, easing 0.09 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind SSE around 18 mph, falling pressure near 1005 hPa and a high of 70. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:11 AM-12:11 PM and 10:43 PM-12:43 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

WalleyeExcellent

Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Northern pikeExcellent

The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Yellow perchExcellent

Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

White bassGood

The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55Β°F.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 62 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

North Dakota requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $29.00 for residents. What a North Dakota licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing walleye here? Check the size and bag limits with NDGF before you keep anything. The season dates for North Dakota, read off the agency, are on the North Dakota seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from DEVILS LAKE NEAR DEVILS LAKE, ND.

Gauge height, last 30 days

USGS gauge 05056500.

49.8550.0250.1949.88 ft09/2310/0210/1210/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp69 F
High / Low70 / 52 F
WindSSE 18-32 mph
Pressure1004.6 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain98% cloud, 9%
Sunrise / Sunset08:07 / 18:32
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Devils Lake this week

Today is the pick of the week on Devils Lake, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
10:11 AM-12:11 PM and 10:43 PM-12:43 AM
Minor period
4:36 AM-5:36 AM
Sun
08:07 to 18:32
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 18 mph
Rain chance
9%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Devils Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55Β°F.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: cool water, from ice-out through spring, in fall and under the ice

A long, duck-billed predator of weedy lakes, slow rivers and backwaters that ambushes fish from vegetation. Wisconsin DNR points out that, unlike most of the state's common game fish, pike do their best feeding in cool water. The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

When to come: the Devils Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Walleye
White bass
Northern pike
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Devils Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Walleye led the card at good. High of 72 F, wind to 15 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Walleye led the card at good. High of 61 F, wind to 11 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 71 F, wind to 14 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

North Dakota requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

A North Dakota fishing license is required. The 2026-28 proclamation's statewide limits apply: walleye, sauger and saugeye 5 a day combined, northern pike 5, yellow perch 20 and white bass 30. In the Devils Lake complex south of US Highway 2 only the listed live baitfish species are legal, so read the bait section before you go.

Access

Grahams Island State Park (four-lane ramp, bait shop, fish cleaning station, winter ice access).

About this water

Closed-basin natural lake in Ramsey and Benson counties, ND; record level 1,454.4 feet in June 2011 (ND State Water Commission).

Fishing Devils Lake: the full guide

A lake without an outlet

The ND State Water Commission noted in 2011 that at current levels Devils Lake has no natural outlet. From its 1993 low of 1,422.62 feet it rose 31.78 feet to a record 1,454.4 feet on June 27, 2011, spilling into and absorbing Stump Lake along the way; it would overflow naturally into the Sheyenne River at 1,458.0 feet. The state finished a pumped outlet from the west end to the Sheyenne in the summer of 2005. USGS gauge 05056500 on the lake shows the current level on this page.

NDGF's 2026 outlook

NDGF's 2026 fishing-waters report says the walleye population continues to do well, with many fish under about 18 inches and an above-average number of 15- to 20-inch fish. Northern pike numbers are a little below average, mostly 20 to 32 inches, with trophy fish present. Catchable yellow perch are scarce, so NDGF expects slower perch fishing in 2026 and a rebound from 2027 after good reproduction in 2025. White bass numbers are above average, with most fish about 14 to 16 inches.

Grahams Island State Park

North Dakota Parks and Recreation runs Grahams Island State Park on the lake, with a four-lane boat ramp, a bait shop and a fish cleaning station. The park hosts national and regional fishing tournaments and gives access to the lake for ice fishing in winter.

Common questions

Why does Devils Lake change size?

It sits in a closed basin with no natural outlet at current levels, so wet years raise it. It rose almost 32 feet between 1993 and its June 2011 record, and it would spill into the Sheyenne River only at 1,458 feet.

How is the perch fishing in 2026?

Slower than usual: NDGF found few catchable-size perch for 2026, but good 2025 reproduction should bring more perch to anglers starting in 2027.

What are the daily limits on Devils Lake?

Statewide limits apply: 5 walleye, sauger and saugeye combined, 5 northern pike, 20 yellow perch and 30 white bass.

Is fishing good at Devils Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Jamestown Reservoir72 miPipestem Reservoir75 miLake Ashtabula79 miLake Metigoshe90 miRed River of the North91 miLake Audubon107 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 05056500 β€” DEVILS LAKE NEAR DEVILS LAKE, ND
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 48.0463, -98.9976 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.