Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats Inc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 9, 2025
Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122
Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™)
For the first time in seven seasons, North Dakota’s second AIM Weekend Walleye Series Warrior Boats/Pure Powersports Open qualifier will be heading to Devils Lake on Saturday (May 10), where the spawn is on or just finished, the lake’s warm bays are prime targets and that means the prospect for big fish and weights.
“We switched it up this season and instead of high summer or early fall, made a spring date with Devils to see what it can produce,” said Denny Fox, national tournament director. “The early word is that the largest natural lake in the state is low and any current you may have seen in the past is slow. A warm-up late in the week may fire up those post-spawners. The ‘where’ part of the winning equation may just be decided in the lake’s warm bays. We haven’t been here in spring since 2018, so look for a lot of action on the lake’s west side, it appears.”
“The Devils event is only Part One of our Saturday double-header for you, Fan Nation. Part Two is close to 600 miles southeast on the Mississippi River’s Pools 8 and 9 leaving from Genoa, Wisconsin. We’ll preview that one here as well, but let’s see how Devils is setting up.”
Dylan Martell of Hazen, on North Dakota’s west side, has been on the lake one day so far this year in his Mercury 400 V-10-powered boat, searching for fish with LiveScope, and he’s liking what he’s found so far. He’ll be back out Thursday and Friday and will be with Thomas Leintz, also of Hazen, on Saturday when they leave the launch site at Woodland Resort on Creel Bay. It will be his third tournament there, and his first time to fish Devils in spring.
“It was very good,” Martell said of his recent foray. “I saw a lot of post-spawn fish and still a handful that were pre-spawn, and based on the one day I spent so far it will take into the 40-pound range to win. We did have a good day,” Martell said.
“We had a lot of high-20-inch fish, 27s and 28s. It fished really well for us. We used a combination of live bait and artificials. They were biting pretty much anything. But you’ve got to key in on the right areas, that’s the most important thing. There’s been no runoff (winter snow cover here was minimal). Usually there’s a big run of walleye into the coulees (valleys and channels that often fill with snowmelt), but this year it’s not happening. I’m guessing, but more people will probably head west. The fish seem to be more scattered.
As Peyton Sumners of Williston, about 245 miles west of Devils, says, with this lake, you never know until you get there, and he won’t be on the water until Thursday as well. He and partner Grant Werkmeister, also of Williston, will be in Werkmeister’s 2090 Warrior Tiller that is powered by a 250 Mercury Pro XS, with Garmin LiveScope among the electronics. In his second season of both fishing Devils and AIM, he was quick to predict.
“I’d say 30 to 35 pounds will win it. But with Devils you never know. I’ve heard the water is in the mid-50s and super clean right now,” Sumners said. And like the rest of the field, he’s predicting that most if not nearly all, will be heading for the west side of the lake to find fish.
“It’s proven us right before. Pre-fishing’s been good there always, the tournament not so good. I’ve never fished AIM there in spring. We’ll be using a lot of jigs and plastics, and LiveScope of course,” he added.
“I don’t like it (the lake’s western portion) because it’s a vast area but that’s where the fish are. I prefer fishing the east side and that’s where they’re not at, so we probably won’t waste time going to the East Bay. We will be looking for fish and casting to them. Especially if the water’s that clean, you have to stay away from them. They may be in the weeds,” Sumners said. Problem is, it’s spring, so weed growth is still low.
Ethan Pankow of Minot also will be on Devils for the first time this year Thursday. He and partner Bryce Hall of Burlington will be checking things out with both their boats, and Saturday they’ll be in his Mercury 400 Verado-rig with Garmin LiveScope in the electronics. He’ll also be checking out the west bays. They finished fifth here in the division championship last year. But that was September, a light year or so away from what conditions will be Saturday.
“It seems the bite is better there in spring, but we’re not sure how things are going to set up. We have a few spots in mind, and we’ll scan around with our LiveScope and see what we can see,” Pankow said.
“From what I’ve heard and depending on the water temperature the spawn is over. It’s been warm, and hopefully they’ll be hungry. I think we’re going to try to find some warmer water and start out on the west side and bounce around to check things out.
“We’ll be using jigs and plastics or minnows, or we might bust out a crawler. We could end up throwing jerk baits. We won’t do any trolling,” he said. “We’ll be targeting individual fish with our LiveScope. It seems like the lake has good fish, so I would guess all of 30 pounds may take it. It’s the second time I’ve ever fished it, so that’s what we’re going to be shooting for.”
Will the bridge carrying Highway 20 across the lake provide enough current to stack up walleyes waiting for a meal? Or will those warm western bays heat up? The latest forecast is for temperatures in the mid-70s and sunny, but a with North Dakota “breeze” from the south at 18, gusting to 28 mph. We’ll find out on Saturday afternoon if that wind will play a factor in what side of the lake, and where, teams headed to.
North Dakota teams will meet online for the 7 p.m. registration and rules meeting. Saturday morning boat inspection starts at 5:30 a.m. at Woodland Resort, and teams will be released starting at 7 a.m. Boats must check in by 3 p.m. The awards ceremony takes place at the resort. Good luck, all teams, and stay safe!
Watch for updates on the action at both Devils Lake and the Mississippi Saturday at AIM’s Facebook page. Don’t let the fun pass you by. Sign up for all AIM divisional qualifiers at aimfishing.com.
You know you want to. You know you can.
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