April 30, 2013

April 21, 2013

 

Weather forecast is finally looking better!  This week should give us some good thawing conditions with temps into the 40s and 50s.  The big question is when will Devils Lake be ice free.  My best answer to that is between May 10^th and May 15^th.  Long days and warmer temps with a little rain will help us get caught up.  Right now ice anglers are still finding difficult conditions with snow and some slush.  We should see much better ice conditions this week with warmer temps shrinking snow.  The next big season will be the outstanding fishing for spawning walleyes and pike on upper basin coulees and creeks.  With the thaw these tributaries will have a strong current and will give anglers some really fun shore fishing or small boat fishing action.   Keep tuned for this “trophy time” action! 

 

Woodland Resort is working on spring projects.  We just finished major upgrades on our shower house, Lodge 1, Lodge 2, and Lodge 3.  We are also working on our new shop that will house Woodland Marine service center.  Tons of new and exciting upgrades for our guests to enjoy this spring! 

 

Dates are getting very tight in June and July, but some prime dates are still open.  Now is the time to plan our spring and summer getaway trips!  Give us a call at 701-662-5996!

 

Kyle

Woodland Resort

 

April 11, 2013

 

Stuck in a rut is the phrase of the day!  Our part of North Dakota is still looking like the middle of winter!  Forecast shows upper 20’s to mid 30’s for the next 10 days.  Not much of a spring.  We have not melted the over 30” of ice on the lake or the snow on top of it.  We have suspended trail plowing due to flooded trails and slush conditions under the snow in many places.  Anglers that have been getting out are doing well and catching some really nice walleye and perch.  To maintain portability you need to plan on using snowmobiles or tracked vehicles.  All we need is a few days in the 40’s and we will be back to driving.  Perch Patrol Guide Service will be back on the ice this week and will be taking smaller crews for the next couple of weeks.  Give us a call, we can book you into a guided trip and have plenty of lodging open.  Snow goose hunters will have to wait for a good week yet.  No birds into our area at this time.  Think spring!! 

 

Kyle

Woodland Resort

 

March 26, 2013

 

Not much to report.  Still a ton of snow.  Forecast shows warmer weather this weekend that should help shrink the snow pack.  Still very cold and ice is not even close to melting.  Over 30" of ice and growing!!  We do have some limited plowed trails in Creel bay.  Anglers are catching some decent perch near the retreat center.  Come on Spring!  Happy Easter!!

 

Kyle

 

 

March 20, 2013

 

Winter will not give up!  -13* here this morning.  This time of the year we should be melting ice, yet we are instead growing ice!  Crazy so called spring.  Recent major snowstorms have accumulated heavy snow on the ice and getting around with out tracks or snowmobiles are now about impossible.  We have replowed trails out of Woodland Resort to Rocky Point, Military Point, north to Peterson Point and across to the Lakewood area.  Limited, but the best we can do until warmer weather shrinks the snow pack.  10 day forecast shows cold temps and only a couple of days above 30*.  This means we will have good ice into mid April.  Most anglers are delaying their trips for 10 days to 2 weeks for better conditions.  Perch Patrol Guide Service is also waiting for warmer weather to improve mobility.  Only recent fishing report is good perch fishing near the retreat center.  All of our rental houses are off the lake due to the requirement to have houses off the lake after March 15^th.   Once we get warmer weather and shrink the snow pack we should be back in business and this pre spawn timeframe can be some of the best ice fishing of the year.  Stand by! 

 

Kyle

Woodland Resort

 

 

Tuesday, February 12 2013

Monday, February 11 2013

Well, we dodged a huge bullet yesterday!!!  The big blizzard went south of us.  Not one inch of snow here on Devils Lake and after hearing some of the amounts of snow that fell in some areas that would have made travel on Devils Lake very difficult.  So we are still able to drive our trucks pretty much everywhere, we do get stuck sometimes but it is mostly due to all the clouds and foggy weather we have had the last three weeks.

There is no secret that the fishing has been slower than normal for us in the perch department the last three weeks but we haven't had exactly "perch" type weather either.  It sure would be nice to see the sunshine for a couple of days in a row!  We are marking all kinds of fish but the perch have developed some lock-jaw on certain days.  The walleye fishing has still been decent on flooded roadbeds, humps, and timber shorelines.  We are doing the best on Northland Buckshot rattle spoons tipped with either minnow heads or wax worms.

On the bright side of things the forecast looks pretty decent coming up.  Hopefully it will stabilize and get some of this high barametric pressure out of here.  We have had some pretty decent catches on both walleyes and perch but don't have table full of limits to show you.

Have a great week and good luck fishing everybody!!!

Zippy, Perch Patrol Guide Service

 Friday, February 01, 2013

 

Nice to see a good warm up in the forecast.  Recent cold weather sure makes it tougher to move and look for new fish.  We have had a good walleye bite this week but perch fishing remains slow.  We now have houses in many locations including Creel Bay, Bird Island, Doc Hagen’s, Dome house area, and the towers area.  Covering a lot of ice to do the best we can.  These locations are drivable from the resort on freshly plowed trails.  Warmer weather should improve fishing and lets hope we can get back on some good schools of perch.  Good Luck and enjoy your weekend.

 

NEWS FLASH:  Woodland Resort will be adding a new marine service facility with a full time mechanic to do service and repair on most boats and motors.  We will also be selling new Warrior fishing boats and Crownline cruiser boats. 

 

Kyle

 

 

Friday, January 25, 2013

Guess what happens when Devils Lake gets slammed by a cold front…..  Slow down.   We have been struggling on the bite this past week.  Sever cold weather is great for adding additional ice, but it sure can slow the fishing down on this prairie lake.  Not that we are not catching anything, but the overall bite has been slower.  We are picking away on perch and the ones that we do catch are really nice, but not putting numbers in the buckets.  Walleyes have been better.  Our houses are getting some decent walleyes and some of our guests that are staying at Woodland are doing pretty good.  Not a crazy walleye bite, but most angers are getting fish.  Pike fishing has been strong with good quality fish.

Ice conditions are good with over 20" of solid ice.  We have some snow on the lake, but not enough to stop 4X4 trucks from going where they want to go.  We have good plowed roads in Creel Bay and expanding roads into the main lake.

Welcome anglers to the Volunteer Fireman Fishing Tournament this weekend.  Over $180,000 in prizes.  Have fun and good luck!!

Kyle

Monday, January 7, 2013

Happy New Year to all!  The past week has had some interesting fishing.  Our houses are doing well on walleyes and pike, and so-so on perch.  Walleyes are going on buck shots tipped with minnow heads in 10 to 15' of water.  Pike have been good in Wolfords bay with Big tooth rigs with herring.  We are getting some really nice perch, just not big numbers.  Marking and seeing lots of perch, but they have not been slamming us.  Nicked and diming fair numbers, but not like we had pre-Christmas.  Just a matter of time before we get back on larger more aggressive perch. 

Ice is now near 18" or better and still little snow so getting around the lake in trucks is not a problem. 

Been crazy busy and all weekends are now booked for lodging for January and February.  Still have decent opening in our fish houses.  Also good options for anglers during the week.

Hope to see you on the ice!

Kyle

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Good news:  After this major cold snap we now have 15-16" of excellent ice and anglers are driving full size trucks on Creel Bay.  Main lake is questionable yet but should be good to go soon.  We have some snow, but not enough to keep you from going anywhere.  Walleyes have been biting.  Not huge numbers, but decent fish.

Bad news:  With this cold snap fishing in general has slowed down.  Tough to swallow after 10 days of crazy perch fishing.  We are pounding the ice with our crews looking for fish that will cooperate.  Marking tons of fish, but making them bite has not been easy.  Houses are getting some fish, but not large numbers.  Perch that we are getting are really nice fish. 

Need the weather to level out and stabilize and the fishing should be back on track.  Good luck!!

Kyle

Monday, December 17, 2012

Best overall weekend for perch fishing in our houses ever!  Wow.  The bite is on.  Working on updating photos today.  Check out our Facebook page for daily fish photos.  Creel Bay how has a good 10" of strong ice.  Very little snow still. 

Kyle

 

Sunday, December 16 2012

     Hammer Time!!!

Well, this season is starting out like last year ended.  GANGBUSTERS!  The Jumbo Perch-a-thon has been red hot on Devils Lake this past week.  A very large school of perch was found in 42 feet of water and the Perch Patrol customers cashed in Big time!  Limits of perch have been caught the past 3 days and these are the kind of perch that stop you from reeling for a moment or two.  The walleye fishing has been also very good as well with limits coming in from just about everywhere on the lake.  We can't imagine a better start to this ice fishing season. 

Northland Buckshot rattle spoons, Forage minnows, Genz worms, Hali's with the dropper chain, Stop Light spoons, tipped with minnow heads or loaded up with wax worms have all been successful.  Plain hook and minnow below a bobber has been effective as well. 

The ice conditions are improving all the time.  We have barely any snow on the ice, so without any insulation going on we are making ice quite rapidly.  For the most part the lake has anywhere from 8 to 12 inches of ice but there still could be areas where the ice is thinner.  We strongly recommend 4 wheelers, ATV's and snowmobile for now.  Not enough ice for vehicles quite yet.

We are going to have a very busy season this year.  We have never had so many reservations in the books and as many "sold out" days on the schedule as we do right now this early in the season.  If you are at all serious about making a trip to Devils Lake this winter and fishing with the Perch Patrol, we cannot stress enough how important it is for you to get something scheduled very soon.  We want to take you fishing this season and as always once we are full…we are full.  There are still some of our regular every year customers that we have not yet heard from yet.  The word is definitely out on what an awesome season we had last year. 

Have a Great Week Everybody!!!  BE SAFE!!!

Zippy, Perch Patrol Guide Service

Friday, December 14th, 2012

Game on!  We have about 1/2 of our fleet of fish houses on the lake.  Current ice thickness in Creel Bay and Wolford Bay is around 9 to 10"  Our region missed the last snow storm that came through the Midwest, so we have very little snow on the ice.   Fishing for walleyes has been good and we are just starting to work the perch bite.  Water clarity in our spear houses is so-so but improving.  Pretty good chance we will be driving full size trucks by Christmas.  Should have more reports after the weekend.

Kyle  

Monday, December 10th,  2012

Getting closer to being full throttle open for the ice fishing season.  Devils Lake continues to grow good ice.  As of Sunday the ice reports that our crew drilled and measured are as follows:  Creel bay in front of resort 6-7 inches, Retreat center on west Creel bay 6-7 inches, Wolford's bay, 7 inches, Main bay has a lot of jagged ice and is not fit to travel on,  North Sixmile 8-10".  We have our first house rentals on Friday and our first guided crews on Thursday.  our light houses will be deployed on wed. and thur. 

Fishing reports so far are really good.  Creel has been good for smaller but decent walleyes and some perch.  N. Sixmile bay has been really good for pike and walleye.  Also some perch from the basin in Six mile bay.   Lake Irvine anglers are reporting up to 15" of ice and anglers are driving trucks.  Walleye fishing has been outstanding and good pike numbers on Irving. 

Reports will continue to improve as we gain ice and anglers.  Ice thickness vary and anglers should use extreme caution. 

Looking forward to seeing you on the ice!

Kyle

Wed. November 28, 2012

Creel Bay froze over on Monday.  Looks like most of the Lake now has good ice and should hold and grow.  Area smaller lakes are reporting good pike and some good perch action on 5 to 6" of ice.  Forecast looks decent to continue growing ice for the next week.

Heading out to the St. Paul Ice fishing show in the morning.  Looking forward to seeing our guests over the weekend at the show.  Stop down and say hi!

Kyle

 

Monday, November 19, 2012

Still no ice on the main lake.  Creel Bay froze on Sat. night,but reopened on Sunday.  Upper baisin lakes are froze and have 2 to 5 inches.  Colder weather next week should freeze the main Devils Lake. 

Kyle

 

 

 

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Winter weather is here giving us the move from Fall to Winter.  We had a really good fall waterfowl hunting season.  Recent heavy ice on the fields gave the birds little to eat so most left our region Sunday night. Very few birds remain.  Sad to see them go!  Our crew is working hard to get our fish houses and ice fishing gear ready.  Besides updating our existing houses we are getting ready to build 2 more and working with the Zack Shack folks on a new larger house for our fleet.  We are Devils Lake's largest fish house rental company and  are excitited to get back on the ice.  Devils Lake is still open, but the upper basin lakes are frozen.  Getting some early reports of good pike fishing.  Spear season opens on December 1st and we hope to have enough ice to get them out.  Bookings are strong for this winter, so if you have some dates in mind give us a call at 701-662-5996 and we will book you in.  We will be at the St. Paul Ice fishing show on Nov. 30 – Dec. 2.  If you are in the area stop down and say hi! 

Kyle

 

Thursday, September 20, 2012

The fall season has definitely hit the Lake Region this past week.  High winds, cold temperatures, and very unstable weather has definitely impacted our fishing and not for the better.  We are still catching limits of fish pretty much every day but the overall size has been down.  Most of our fish are in that 15 to 17 inch range and a few 14 inchers to satisfy the getting the limit.  The northern pike numbers have been down as well.  A lot of fish are on the move lately and with all the fronts that have hit us we are having to work harder than we have for quite a while to limit out for the day.  Some of our guides seem to think our lake has gone through the turn-over period as all lakes do.  This happens when the surface water gets colder, which it has, it gets heavier that the water on the bottom of the lake and the two switch or "turn-over."  Who knows?  The bottom line is once the fish get used to it they will turn on again.

On the bright side of things the forecast for all next week looks absolutely beautiful!!!  Highs back in the mid 60's with plenty of sunshine.  This should be the nice shot of stable weather we need again.  When the sun is shining you will not find a more beautiful time of year to fish, with all the leaves changing color and the beautiful sunrises and sunsets.  You are going to make sure to bring your camera.

Our methods have been many lately as all of us have been trying many different tactics and many different places to catch our fish each day.  Some of our guides are holding strong with the bottom bouncers and spinners, some of our guides are jigging rock piles and current areas, and some of our guides are trolling crankbaits with lead chore.  All of these methods have proven themselves to be very successful in the fall season.

The rest of September looks very busy.  October needs help however.  The best of the fall fishing season is ahead of us.  For those of you that are coming to visit Devils Lake to hunt waterfowl, a day or even a half day of fishing with Mitchell's Guide Service can be the highlight of your trip.  We are offering again this year the "Hunter's Special"  This is a half day of afternoon fishing with Mitchell's Guide Service after your hunt.  See below for more information…

 

Tuesday, Aug . 8 2012

This just out from ND Game and Fish.  North Dakota is making a great contribution to the duck fall flight this year – incredible!!

 

Duck Brood Index Up from Last Year

North Dakota's 2012 fall duck flight is expected to have twice as many birds as last year.

Mike Johnson, game management section leader for the State Game and Fish Department, said the fall flight estimate is a combination of the breeding duck survey and the brood survey.

Results from the breeding duck survey in May indicated the duck index was up 16 percent from 2011 and exceeded the long-term average by 112 percent.

May water conditions were down 57 percent from 2011 and 6 percent from the long-term average.

The mid-July waterfowl production survey revealed the duck brood index was up 110 percent from 2011 and 155 percent above the long-term average. Average brood size was 6.9 ducklings, down 0.8 from last year. The long‑term average is 7.1 ducklings per brood.

The water index in mid-July was down 48 percent from last year, but still 10 percent above the long-term average.

The index does not count every water body or duckling in the state. Instead, representative transects across the state are sampled each year. Over time, survey results provide biologists with trend information that allows annual comparisons of waterfowl production in the state.

 

Tuesday, July 31 2012

The fishing this past week for all the guides on Mitchell's Guide Service was absolutely one for the record books!  If you are one that follows our weekly fishing reports, you have read that each week seems to top the previous one.  Well, this past week the walleye and northern pike fishing we have enjoyed just cannot get any better.  The numbers of fish we are catching and the size of the fish are so impressive our customers are absolutely blown away!  Just take a look at the many photos below.  There really isn't a whole lot more to say than fishing on Devils Lake right now with Mitchell's Guide Service is as good as it can get.

We are still slow trolling bottom bouncers, spinners, and crawlers along weedlines.  This method has been the ticket for us for the past month and probably will be for the next month.  The weeds are still holding the larger fish and when they see 3 or 4 spinners swim by loaded with a juicy night crawler, they just can't help themselves but to hammer it.

This incredible fishing will continue and the best news of all…WE HAVE ROOM to take your party fishing!   We do have a lot of groups in the books for August but we have plenty of room to add more.  There is plenty of summer left and you will not find better fishing anywhere in North America than what we have going on right here, right now.  SO, lie to the wife (or bring her along), Call in sick, (or bring the boss) Gather your friends, bottom line is, it is time to pull the trigger or set the hook on a world class adventure!!!  See you soon!

 

Saturday, July 21 2012

The weather has been red hot and so has the fishing!!!  It has been an incredible week of walleye and northern pike fishing, heck we even got into the white bass a time or two!    We have been very fortunate to catch all of our limits in the morning when it was a little cooler.  The afternoons have been a little on the miserable side, especially if there is no breeze, as the temperatures have been in the 90's.  Our biggest issue we face right now is the water temperatures have been 80 to 82 degrees.  This makes it tough for us to keep fish in the live wells alive all day long.  So we have to keep an eye on them.  We have been catching such beautiful walleyes and we cannot let them spoil.  This is North Dakota and we all know the weather will cool off eventually.

I feel like a broken record as to our methods.  We are still working weed lines with spinners, bottom bouncers, and either night crawlers or Gulp minnows.  We did cast for the white bass with Mimic Minnows and crank baits.  We have been very busy guiding lots of parties and we have had all of our guides on duty.  With all of our force working everyday the number of spots that we have in our war chest right now is at an all time high.  Honestly, their isn't enough time in a day to hit all of them.  The good fishing seems to have been exploding for us.

This has been one of the best July fishing months we have ever had.  Every week seems to top the previous one.  August will be no different.  There is so many fish in the Devils Lake system right now it is unbelievable.  The larger ones are not everywhere and we do have to work harder for them but it would be hard to find better fishing than Devils Lake is kicking out on a daily basis right now. 

Our schedule has been very busy and we are busy coming up.  We do manage to always find openings some how some way so if you are thinking about bring a group to fish with us, we will do our best to find room for you.  We wouldn't want you to miss out!!!  We would love to have you.

Have a great week and We hope to see you very soon!

Steve "Zippy" Dahl

Mitchell's Guide Service

 

Thursday, July 12 2012

We had a spectacular week of fishing this past week!  The summer Mitchell's Guide Service is enjoying right now is turning out to be one for the record books.  Both the numbers of fish and the size of the fish has been very impressive.  Although we can't gaurantee limits everyday…it is happening pretty much everyday.  This past week we have had a lot of hot and very calm conditions to deal with.  This is usually a bad combination on Devils Lake.  News Flash!!! Not this year.  We have been catching fish right through it.  The size of the walleyes and northerns are unreal.  Not every walleye is over 20 inches but every day we seem to catch 3 or 4 of them.  The size range our customers have been keeping are anywhere from 15 to 20 inchers and some between 20 and 24 inches.  We have also had a number of guests release some over 24 inches and for that we Thank you for investing in our future!

As for methods…bottom bouncers and spinners have been pretty much the method all of our guides have been most successful with.  We have been catching fish on mostly crawlers, some leeches, and Berkley Gulp minnows.  Still working along weed edges in anywhere from 8 to 16 feet of water depending on the spot.  This is really a fun way to fish as we are constantly exploring and finding new areas as we fish.  The lake level of Devils Lake is down about 2 feet from our all time high and some of our old spots are once again loaded with nice walleyes.  The northern pike have been pretty much with the walleyes.  We have had some attack the walleyes as our guests are reeling them in.  This makes for some excitement in the boat to say the least!

We still have some room to take your party fishing.  Honestly, fishing could not get much better than it is right now so its time to pull the trigger on a world-class adventure!  We would love to have you!

Have a Great week of fishing and we hope to see you soon!

 

Sunday, June 10 2012

Another very good week of fishing was enjoyed by all fishing with Mitchell's Guide Service this past week.  The numbers of larger walleyes were a little less than previous weeks but the overall numbers of walleyes caught were up significantly.  In other words we are having to sort through more fish than we have had to so far this season.  This probably will continue as the water gets warmer and also due to the extremely high reproduction rates we have had in the last 3 to 4 years.  Oh well, I guess we have to go through more bait and catch more fish!!!

We are still the same old, same old as to our methods of catching our fish.  Most of our guides are slip bobbering with leeches in 3 to 8 feet of water or casting Rapala Shad Raps, Berkley Flicher Shads, Northland Mimic Minnows, and Salmo Hornets.  The weeds are starting to show some signs of growth but have not yet begun to take over the shallows.  The water temperature is in the 64 to 68 degree range.  Mix all of this in with some sunshine and it all adds up to perfect fish catching conditions.

Great numbers of Northern Pike are being caught just about from one end of the lake to the other and we are also enjoying pods of white bass in certain areas as well.  We have had some not so perfect days this past week in regards to the weather.  We have had to deal with a lot of wind and some rain as well but all of our guides seem to make lemonade out of lemons and still put a quality day together for our guests.

Mitchell's Guide Service is in full swing right now and things are very busy.  Nearly all parts of the lake are being targeted by someone on our staff just about everyday.  It is this type of team work and communication that seperates us from any other guide service in the industry.  We do also realize that we couldn't afford this luxury without all of our guests that come from all over the country that come and fish with us.  So as long as we keep all of our guides busy and on the water everyday the success that all of us enjoy is incredible.  We just want to say THANK YOU for you business and encourage all of you to KEEP COMING!!!

Have a Great Week of Fishing Everybody!!!

Steve "Zippy" Dahl

Mitchells Guide Service

 

June 3, 2012

Another week and all I can say is INCREDIBLE!!!  It is hard to find words to describe the spring we have enjoyed so far this season.  This is by far the best shallow water bite in the history of Mitchell's Guide Service.   That is saying a lot because we have had some incredible springs in the past.   Both the numbers and size of walleyes and northern pike we have been catching on a daily basis is amazing. 

Not much new to report as to our methods.  We are still either slip bobbering in 2 to 8 feet of water along shorelines or we are casting crankbaits and mimic minnows along windswept shorelines.  Both are very effective.  One day the bobbering is better and the next the casting is better — go figure?

Our shedule is really looking jam packed coming up but we do still have some availability.  As always we will do our best that we can to find a spot for your group.  We wouldn't want you to miss out on what we have been enjoying so far this season.

In the past, we have had a lot of customers ask us about more up to day reports rather than the weekly fishing report that we put out once per week.  This season the guides at Mitchell's Guide Service are putting forth a tremendous effort posting pictures daily sometimes even hourly on the Mitchell's Guide Service Facebook page.  All you have to do to receive these up to date daily reports of fish being caught and the success we are having is go to Mitchell's Guide Service on Facebook and click the LIKE button and you are all set.

Zippy, Mitchell's Guide Service

 

Sunday, May 27  2012

Another week of fantastic fishing was enjoyed by all who fished with Mitchell's Guide Service this past week.  We did have some pretty windy conditions to deal with and ended the week with a major cold front but the good news is that the fishing was outstanding anyways.  As you can see in the pictures below the size of the walleyes and the numbers of walleyes that were caught were both very impressive.  The northern pike are still ravenous as well and we did catch some pretty big ones while catching walleyes.  We have caught a few white bass but no numbers of them as of yet.  Perhaps it is still a little cold for them.

Our best success remains to be either slip bobbering the shallows or pitching crank baits, mimic minnows, and plastics.  Kind of depends how you want to catch them.  We even had some of our guides trolling crank baits for a couple of days and they were successful as well.

The water temperatures have been for the most part in the high 50s to low 60s and overall our afternoons have been better fishing than the mornings.  We have been picking our guests up a 9:00am lately and we are still a little on the early side of when the bite seems to kick in.

It was a busy week for the Mitchell's staff of guides and it is fun to have all of our guides back to being busy working.  It is so nice when you have a team of guides to communicate with to not only locate more fish but to compare notes with as the day progresses.  We have a big body of water to keep tabs on every day and the "Team-work" approach is by far the key to our success.

Our schedule is filling in quite rapidly and we want to encourage all of you to come and partake in this shallow water extravaganza.  You won't be disappointed!  We are off to a great start and it looks like we are headed for an incredible summer!

Good Luck Fishing Everybody!

 

Friday, May 11 2012

Can't imagine that fishing could get much better than we have had the past 10 days!  Limits of walleyes and lots of beautiful walleyes were caught and numerous northern pike mixed in between.   We want to Thank our clientele that we have had in camp for letting some of these walleyes over the 23 to 24 inch mark back to swim another day.  These are some of our best reproducers in the system and it is just nice to see that so many of our guests not only understand how important these fish are to the future of our fishery.  We had Ken Miyamoto from Bloomington, Minnesota catch a 30 inch walleye, release it and is going to have a replica made.  He had to lay down for a minute after that one!

We have been having all of our success either slip bobbering in 4 to 6 feet of water with leeches and pitching Mimic Minnows the 3/8 oz size on wind swept shorelines.  As I mentioned earlier, we are catching pike right with the walleyes.  When you combine the two species, we are having 100 fish days.  Tough on the hands, and the tackle box!  But it truly is a ton of fun.  These are the kind of fishing trips people dream of taking and they are happening right now with Mitchell's Guide Service!  Call in sick, lie to the wife, just get here!!!

Good Luck Fishing Everybody!

Steve "Zippy" Dahl

Mitchells Guide Service

 

Tuesday, April 17 2012

Well mother nature kind of showed us who's boss the past ten days.  High winds, rain, and frigid temperatures took away a lot of desire to go fishing lately.  We were able to sneak out on 2 of the nice days we had and we did catch some dandy fish.  The walleye fishing was by no means on fire but the size was incredible.  When you are catching only 1,2, or 3 an hour that sounds slow but when you see the size of them it definitely encourages your patience to kick in.

We have been catching most of our fish on slip bobbers.  We are just anchoring along shorelines in 8 feet of water and casting our bobbers into the shallows.  Plain hook and a leech have been the best.  We also did catch some fish casting mimic minnows with the paddle tails on a slow to medium retrieve.  The fish have been scattered.  It seems like nothing, nothing, nothing and then boom! You catch 2.

The forecast the rest of this weeks into next looks very much improved.  Mostly highs of 50s to 60s with light winds.  Next Monday it is supposed to get up to 73 degrees!  Now that sounds a little more like it!  This should really warm up the shallows and give us some excellent fishing.  We do have room if you want to get an early trip in, we would be happy to take you!

Good Luck Fishing Everybody!

Zippy, Mitchell's Guide Service

 

Friday, April 13, 2012

Fishing has been hampered with tons of wind the last 10 days.  rain today, but looks like a good day tomorrow.  Not many folks out with boats, but shore anglers are doing fair to good.  My guess is the Pike are done spawning and the Walleyes are just starting or part way through.  Our first guided crew is out today with guide Nick.  We also have a crew in taking advantage of our last snow geese flocks in the area.  Boat ramp has been in for a couple of weeks and we now have our service and fuel docks in. All marina docks are ready to go. Water should be on in the campground in 2 weeks or earlier if possible. Woodland Resort is nearly 100% ready for summer. Still have a few good projects to finish, but it is sure nice to be this far, this early! 

 

 

Thursday, March 29, 2012

 

Ramp dock is in!  Looks like a really nice weekend! 

 

 

Monday,  March 26, 2012

 

ICE IS OFF THE BAY!!!!!