Plastics for Devils Lake

Again, I'm pretty much all eyes on this.  Don't do it often.

Power Grub has caught me some walleyes.

I have used the Assassin Turbo Shad

Power Bait swim shad styles also.

Other than that, I don't even remember half the names of plastics I fished.  Really, I don't have as much confidence in plastics unless on the tailrace (I was made a believer on Gulp this spring) or in constant casting situations like casting off of bridges or near culverts.  In other words, where fish are aggressive.  I guess Devils Lake would definitely qualify by the sounds of it!

Sorry I can't offer anything else!

I can share that my favorite soft plastic bait of all time is the now discontinued berkley power jigworm.  They had a color, I think they called it orange pumpkin, but it looked like a nightcrawler with an orange tail.  I caught so many Missouri River walleyes on those baits, it made me sick when they stopped making them. Luckily, I still have about 10 bags of them. 

Pumpkinseed is available.  That sounds similar but I don't know what makes and models it is available in.

This shad looks interesting:  Berkley Inshore Power Pogy
 
Especially in the penny color.

Wow, I looked at YUM.  Might as well buy crankbaits for what they want for their plastics.

I havent said anything to anyone about this because I had been trying it for the last two seasons to see if it was actually worth talking about and well, it works and works real good in the trees and especially in the really thick weed lines.

Bass Pro shops makes some awesome hollow plastic (rubber) crawdads that you use a weighted shanked 4/0 hook. They are 100 percent weedless and the image of them is so close to a real crawdad after molting; my daughter seen one on the boat floor and thru it over thinking it was the real deal They are deadly in the timber. Between jigging it on the bottom to just swimming, stop and go, off the bottom has worked very well.

I have also tried working sub surface swim baits in the upper end of the water column such that of a Bass Assissan. I have had no luck on the walleye with them but the Northerens love them in the weeds.

Moving down a little in the water column, white and chart spinnerbaits have yieled me some walleyes but definitly more northerns. A countdown and slow roll approach. They have there place but all in all, not my go to lure for walleye. (definitly my go to for bass though)

On my list of new tactics this year to try is going to be "drop shoting" for the eyes in the timber and weeds. This will target the middle to lower part of the water column and naturally force the walleyes to strike upwards. I will let you all know how that worked next year.

Tim,

You think YUM is expensive try the Trigger X plastics. I have a buddy down in FL that is using it and now swears by them. He is sending me some grubs and leeches to try so more to follow.

Tim,
If you really what to catch fish, you can fish Devils Lake.  You just have to turn east of Minot. 

I like a challenge, I go west  ..

I'll hit you guys up sometime this year.  Maybe.  Kinda don't like you guys much...heh, heh.

http://www.stormlures.com/products/luresdetail.cfm?modelName=wildeye_swim_shad234&freshorsalt=Fresh&type=soft_lures
prl color has worked welll,great in the weed beds for walleyes,easy to use for children,or less experinced fisher-people 

Carolina =

Pan fried walleye mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm try one you would be surprised

I was really getting tired of Stange pushing swimbaits in Infisherman (and still am really).  But, I have to admit they work.  I don't mess with the small sizes, usually start with the 4" models and use up to the 6".  The Storm swimbaits have been good to me.  I also use shad bodies from Action Plastics.  Also use the Powerbait stuff, just more of a pain to get because you usually have to order from a saltwater type dealer.  I didn't like the one bag of Gulp bodies I tried, they are soft and tear way too easily. 

I also learned that I like fishing some of the baits flat instead of std. rigged.  They just seem to glide better, this could be important in timber (in which I don't have a ton of experience).  I use pretty big jigheads too, 1/2 to 1 oz.  The Owner jigheads rock, you can't bend the hooks.  You may want to go lighter than that in the timber though. 

I stocked up this spring on swim baits, with Oahe coming up I really think there will be some good fishing with them.  Slip bobbers too.  Like Permo said, casting cranks in snaggy territory will get expensive, so the swimbaits will help.  But from my experience last year, they will go fish for fish with cranks.