Devils Lake or LOTW?

Looking to plan a trip in February with the wife for 2 days of ice fishing. We’re looking at either location, so I’m looking for opinions

Devils Lake – looking at 2 options, first staying at a resort and using their fish house for 2 days with them taking us out and picking us up each day. Second option would be staying at a resort using their fish house for one day then on the 2nd day using our own gear and taking the truck out on the lake exploring on our own.

Lake of the Woods – Looking at 2 options here, first a resort that provides transport to and from their fish houses for daytime fishing and second would be getting a sleeper house from one of the resorts. My wife does like the idea of a sleeper house to see what its like and from what I have seen, there is at least 1 resort that you drive your truck out on their roads to the fish house so you have transportation if you need to come back in for anything. Question – is there much of a night bite on LOTW?

Having never fished either lake, I’m looking for opinions. I would guess that there may be more action on Devils Lake being that you can get perch, walleye and northern all in the same areas, but I have also seen (on TV) perch, walleye, sauger and northern out of the same spot on LOTW too.

Has anyone fished both locations? If so, which did you like better and why?

Thanks

Both are great fisheries. LOTW’s is not known for their night bite. Seems to shut down right at dark. If you have never spent much time on either I would go with a guide and fish house for the first day on both. Try that for at least one day and then venture out on your own the next day. Be aware that Devils lake does not have much for plowed roads so if there is a bunch of snow you might need snowmobiles or live with limited travel by truck. LOTW seems to have a much better plowed road system. Also if you want a sleeper house I would go to Red lake. They can have a very good night bite at times. I would suggest Bear Paw guides service and houses on Red. Steve & Tyler do a great job on getting you on fish. Cant go wrong with either. Have a great trip!

PS: Where are you coming from?

I have ice fished both a few times. February can be a tough month for fishing (both action and mobility). Something to keep in mind if you plan to spend a day going out in your pickup are plowed roads. By February we usually have a lot of snow to deal with. With so many resorts on the south shore of LOW there are usually a lot of plowed roads going out pretty far. DL doesn’t have as many resorts. I know Woodland resort on DL plow roads but they usually only go so far. If you really want to explore DL you really need something with tracks (unless there isn’t much snow but that’s pretty rare for February).

As far as night bite goes LOW is known for more of a day bite (gentleman fishing hours they call it). I’ve never spent much time after dark fishing but most you talk to don’t bother. Maybe an eelpout every now and then. Not to say you couldn’t catch a nice walleye after dark but it doesn’t seem to be too common.

DL usually stays busy throughout the day. I have fished after dark on DL but only for maybe an hour after sunset. Sunset was the busiest then the action slowed down. I’ve heard of a group that was catching perch after dark in 45 feet of water but I don’t think this is common. If I had to pick between DL and LOW for a nite bite I would pick DL as you can move in shallow easily for the evening.

Thanks for the info guys. The night bite isn’t a huge determining factor, which Lake do you prefer for sun up to sundown?

I fish Devils Lake 20+ times a winter and went to Lotw last winter in February for the first time. In my opinion you’re going to catch lots more jumbo perch at Devils Lake but probably way more walleyes and plus the saugers at lotw. We kept 14/16 and 15/16 walleye and sauger limit in our 2 days of fishing lotw and at Devils Lake it isn’t uncommon to keep your 20 perch within an hour if you’re in a hot spot. You’re going to catch lots of fish at either place it’s just a matter of if you want more perch or more walleyes.

Thanks Brady. Can i ask where you stayed at LOTW?

We would be coming from southern WI. Looks to be less than an hour difference between going to LOTW and Devils Lake

I ice fished LOTW for the first time last winter, fished it a lot open water but first ice trip last year. Anyways, stayed at Zippel Bay Resort, nice folks, we caught plenty of fish. We stayed in a sleeper, pretty decent, they came and checked on us regularly. In my past experiences and speaking with others LOTW dies out after dark, however I fished all hours as long as I was awake and caught my two biggest walleyes around midnight ironically. Nothing huge, but both were right around 26″, lots of fun. Pretty much a can’t miss either way you decide. I would consider Leech and possibly Red Lake as well. .

I’ve not fished either on the ice, but I’ve wanted to do LOW for a few years now. From what I’ve heard and read, I’d do LOW on the ice. Save your trip to DL for the open water season. Rent a boat if you don’t want to pull one all the way out. The fishing is not difficult but what I tell people all the time is, you’ve never SEEN anything like DL open water.

Flooded timber, railroad beds washed out with the twisted tracks still running through, fishing flooded highways, casting in old farmyards at old farm buildings now in the water. It’s pretty surreal.

The one option you can consider if you do choose DL for convenience is Amtrak. You can take the train to DL and Woodlands will pick you up from the station. If you live southern WI near Madison or Milwaukee this would allow you to travel without the hassle of driving.

ET

Actually the Amtrak deal is no longer an option, looked into it a couple weeks ago on the perch express website and they said that because of all the oil fields, the Amtrak no longer goes to devils lake

bigstorm wrote:

Thanks Brady. Can i ask where you stayed at LOTW?

We stayed at Sportsman’s Lodge on Oak Island. It’s on the northern part. Came in through Canada so it wouldn’t work for you guys

I fish Devils a bunch every year. There is little to no bite after dark on Devils. Sun rise and set are your best walleye times with sunset usually being the better option. When the suns out, so are the perch. Like stated by Brady, if you’re on a good school you can really do some damage. Devils can be your best friend or it can make you want to sell everything you have. It really lives up to the name. Haven’t fished LOTW through the ice, heard great things about the walleye bite.