"This is the month when things get started," said Jeff Hendrickson, fisheries biologist with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. "Ice-out can differ by several weeks in North Dakota, depending on the weather and severity of the preceding winter, but April seems to be the month when the bulk of the anglers get back onto the water and start looking for spring walleyes."

Anglers hitting the water this month must prepare for any conditions that Mother Nature can throw at them, as April is a month of extreme contrasts. By looking at current water conditions, and using last year's action as a barometer, you'll find that a couple of fisheries seem to stand out as qualifying as our top picks for this month's walleye bite.

Coming off of yet another record year, Devils Lake takes top billing as this month's walleye hotspot, and will probably yield more April walleyes than all other North Dakota fisheries combined. It's no secret that Devils Lake is king when it comes to catching spring walleyes -- and this could be the best bite yet.

"I have been at the lake for over 18 years, and it just keeps getting better," said Kyle Blanchfield, owner of the Woodland Resort. "I seem to say that every year, but the lake never lets me down. Just imagine a lake this size that has had new vegetation cover for nine consecutive years!"

Many fisheries are lucky to have a few strong year-classes of walleyes, but Devils Lake has so many that it's hard to pinpoint any particular year as the best. "We have a ton of fish of all sizes in the system," remarked Blanchfield. "I can't imagine fishing getting any better than this. A lot of anglers actually get bored with catching walleyes and try different tactics and off-the-wall techniques just to throw a little excitement into the game."

In April, the lake's walleyes seek spawning areas and stage along the rocky points, sunken islands, flats, roadbeds, and submerged timber this time of year. "We do not have a lot of structure in the lake other than about 2 million submerged trees, and the fish will hold to what is available -- no matter how insignificant it can appear at first glance," said Blanchfield. "The guys use a lot of jigs and live-bait rigs this time of year, which is pretty standard anywhere on the lake. Weather and wind dictates how and where to fish, but the fish are pretty cooperative."

And what Blanchfield calls "cooperative" constitutes more than just a meager bite: The lake has produced a ton of walleyes over the past several seasons. Although the greatest part of the spring bite consists of bread-and-butter fish, now is also one of the best times to tie into one of those trophy walleyes -- a "trophy" here being generally considered to be a fish over 8 pounds.

There are no big secrets to catching fish this time of year, and almost everyone is having success, according to Blanchfield. "No matter how you like to fish, Devils Lake will produce walleyes," he said. "That's part of the fun here. One day you're drifting or pitching jigs, and the next day you're fishing vertical, or slip-bobbering. It is a lot of fun right now, and I just can't imagine a better place to be this month than on Devils Lake."