14.5" x 12" Perch – Devils Lake

We decided to make a quick trip out to Devil’s Lake and back. It was definitely worth the effort.

My first fish on the ice was a football 14.5in X 12in. We let the real big ones go, so how much does something like that weigh?

We caught perch from 8 feet to 50 feet. What a great perch Fishery. The ice was thick (maybe 24″-30″) but pretty rotten. I guess they didn’t get as much snow as we did here in Alexandria so the ice wasn’t near as good.

Hard to beat sunny and relatively calm when you’re in North Dakota.

Dang Joe! Nice haul. I’d think that perch was just shy of 2 lbs. Give or take a little based on eggs… My buddy caught a couple out there this year that measured just over 15 inches and weighed just over 2. Those were in mid Feb….

WOW Just amazing!! Congrats Joe.

Hard to even imagine a perch that huge around this neck of the woods. Colossal perch!

Was looking at the assortment of the catch and wondered about the walleyes mixed in. Remembered that ND has a continuous season. Wow, what an overlooked opportunity for many of us still looking for some walleyes this time of year along with those big perch.

Hope to get out there at least once in my life to try that.

Did you go out of a particular resort that you’d recommend?

I had one similar to that in NE SD last year and it weighed 2 pounds 4 oz. I’d say your fish is within a few ounces either side of that. Great fish regardless!

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

Hope to get out there at least once in my life to try that.
Did you go out of a particular resort that you’d recommend?

Andy, we just stayed in town and went off of a couple road accesses. Lakeview is a very good place to stay though and I have some friends that stay their frequently.

Every time I’ve been on Devils it’s amazing how few people are out here. So if anyone is the type that likes to start out in the area where the anglers are… Well I’ve only been here a few times, but I’ve never seen more than a handful of people. I always wonder where is everyone. I’ve gone mid winter too and I only saw 10 anglers that weekend. This lake is just huge with endless options. It’s a fun lake.

Thanks guys she was just amazing to hold. In the OP picture I’m not posing by the way… I really just couldn’t stop looking at it The belly was so big and she was about ready to drop her eggs. 12″ around was the staggering number to me. I’ll defiantly be back out there. Here’s a better picture.

I love that lake so much! Didn’t make it out there this year but I am going to try again next Winter. That point behind you looks familiar! If it’s the same spot I am thinking of it was a great spot for us too!