If you are reading this list, you are obviously on our website www.perchpatrol.com 

Step 1 – On our home page you need to look for the word AVAILABILITY and click on it.  A calendar will pop up and you will find front and back arrows on the top right of the page.   Arrow to the month you desire, and all the dates will appear with the current number of boats that are available on each day.  If it shows 5 boats available that means that we have room for 5 boats on that particular day.   If you want to fish more than 1 day or are interested in a doing a package, you will need to make sure that there is enough availability on each day that you are wanting to fish.

Step 2 – Go to the Open Water section on the home page and click the learn more button.   This will list all of our daily rates and packages for Woodland Resort and the Sleep Inn and Suites Hotel in the city of Devils Lake.   All of our packages in the summer are Lodging and guiding Packages.   Meals are NOT included however Woodland Resort does offer an evening dinner at Proz Lakeside at the Cove Restaurant for each night you lodge at Woodland.   The Sleep Inn and Suites offers a breakfast buffet for each day that you stay at the Sleep Inn.   Lunches are NOT part of any of the summer packages.   We encourage you to bring anything you would like to eat and drink on the boat while you are fishing.   If you are not on a package and would like to arrange your groups own meals and lodging and still hire our services, you can do that and that is why we have a daily rate for just the fully guided experience.

Step 3 – By now you have decided whether you would like to do a Lodging/Guiding Pkg or you would like to just hire the guide service by the day, and you have also checked our availability for the guide service and decided on dates, it is time to pull the trigger and get this trip reserved! 

• To Reserve a Woodland Package – you need to make this reservation by calling Woodland Resort (701) 662-5996. CLEARLY explain to them that you would like to reserve a Perch Patrol Package!   (Example – hello, my name is Phil Johnson and I would like to reserve a 3 night/2 day package fishing with the Perch Patrol Guide Service).  They will get your lodging reserved and they will also put your party on the Perch Patrol Schedule.   If you would like to request a certain guide, you can do that as well by telling them that.   No guarantees, but if the guide you desire is available that day and is not already reserved, we will do our best to accommodate your request.
• To Reserve a Sleep Inn Package – you need to make this reservation by calling the Perch Patrol Guide Service (701) 351-3474. We will answer any questions you may have, reserve your groups fishing days with the Perch Patrol Guide Service and We will also reserve your lodging with the Sleep Inn and Suites.
• To Reserve a Daily Guide Trip – you need to make this reservation by calling the Perch Patrol Guide Service (701) 351-3474. We will answer any questions you may have, and reserve your groups fishing days with the Perch Patrol Guide Service.   You will need to arrange your own lodging and meals for your group for the time you are here.

All of our guides operate a 20-foot boats and we take groups of either 2 or 3 people in each boat.   We have found that anymore than 3 people plus the guide really takes away from the experience.   Number 1 issue is safety and there are only 4 seats available on the main floor of the boat.   It is very important when we experience high winds and large waves that each person to be seated properly on the main floor of the boat.  For groups that want to fish more than 3 in a boat we do have a guide that operates a 26-foot pontoon and he can take up to 7 people.

For all Woodland Packages the check in time is no earlier than 3:00 PM on the day prior to your trip.   Don’t forget that the evening dinner is included on the day you arrive.  Check out time on your last day is 11:00 AM.

For all Sleep Inn and Suites Package the check in time is no earlier than 3:00 pm on the day prior to your fishing trip.  Don’t forget that the Sleep Inn does include a breakfast the following morning.  Check out time on your last day is 12:00 noon.

• A current North Dakota Fishing License for each day you plan on fishing with us.
• Appropriate clothing for the conditions. Warm clothes, Rain Gear, etc.
• Hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, bug spray
• What-ever food and beverages you would like to enjoy while on the boat
• A cooler to transport your fish fillets back home

Yes, within reason. It is your trip and we want you to have a great time, but we are NOT babysitters and we will not tolerate anyone getting out of control. We are NOT responsible for any injuries, accidents, or damaged equipment because someone drank too much. Please do not waste your trip and our time by over-indulging.

No.  All of our guides have life jackets on board. If you would like to wear one, please communicate that to your fishing guide. If you have a small child and have a special life jacket that fits him or her, please do bring it along. All children 10 and under MUST wear a life jacket that is a USCG–approved Type I, II, or III PFD approved at all times while in the boat. NO EXCEPTIONS, this is the law!

FIRST and FOREMOST – TURN YOUR PHONE ON, immediately when arriving the day prior to your fishing trip and when you wake up the morning of your fishing trip.  This is North Dakota where we will experience high winds and severe thunderstorms.  Either one of these may result in a delay or a cancellation and there is a very good chance that your fishing guide is trying to contact you.

Your guide will call you the day before your fishing trip by 7:00 pm and answer any questions you may have and to line up the time and where to meet you.

If you are on a package at Woodland Resort, we will meet and load your group in the bait shop at Woodland at what-ever time you have arranged with your fishing guide.

If you are on a package out of the Sleep Inn and Suites, we will meet and load your group in the lobby or just out the front door at what-ever time you have arranged with your fishing guide.

If you are staying at a hotel in the city of Devils Lake, we will either meet you at Woodland Resort or the hotel you are staying at if they have a place for us to clean your fish.

If you are confused or are unsure, or can’t find your fishing guide, or you never received a call from your fishing guide the day before your trip, please call us (701) 351-3474 to make sure we are both on the same page.  We want to be organized.  

A typical day for us is an 8-hour day.  Included in these hours is the travel time that it takes to get to the best locations.   Your fishing guide will call you the day before your trip by 7:00 pm to answer any questions you may have and line up a time and location where to meet the next morning.   Quite often we do succeed at catching limits of walleyes.   What we can’t control how fast the limit is reached.   After a limit is reached, we kind of leave it up to your group as to how long you want to continue fishing.   We will NOT continue to catch and release fish on the same school of fish that we just limited out on.   We need these fish for tomorrow and the next day.   We can make a move and try other locations, we can try for other species, or we can go in and clean fish too.   We do quit fishing by 2:30 pm and start our way back to load the boat most days.

For the guys this isn’t much of an issue.  All of our guides carry a bucket or a container.   Please use it and dump and rinse it when you are finished.   Please DO NOT stand over the ledge of the and go over the side of the boat.  This is how accidents happens and chances are the guide does not want to clean up where you dribbled.   For the women, it gets to be a little more of a concern.   If there is a bait shop or resort nearby, we can take you to it.   It is quite rare that there will be any bathrooms nearby, however.   Most women will tell us of their situation in advance, so we can move the boat away from other boats for privacy.   All the male fishing partners will give her the bow of the boat and turn their back to her to give her privacy to use the 5-gallon bucket that is on board.   Please dump and rinse it with lake water when finished.  Please bring any toilet paper, kleenex and handwipes with you.

The Perch Patrol Guides will clean and package your fish during the open water season.   Both Woodland Resort and the Sleep Inn and Suites have beautiful, air-conditioned fish cleaning buildings with stainless steel tables, sinks with running water, and freezers to freeze your fish. 

If you are doing a Woodland Package – All payments will be made to Woodland Resort.

If you are doing a Sleep Inn and Suites Package – All payments will be made to the Sleep Inn.

If you are not on a package and are hiring the Perch Patrol Guide Service for single day trips – All payments will be made to your fishing guide at the end of the day or trip. We accept cash, Check, or Credit Card.  (Note: if you pay by Credit Card a 4% processing fee will be added)

We are here to help!  Call or text Zippy at (701) 351-3474 or shoot us an email zippy@perchpatrol.com

Our guide season for ice fishing is typically from December 15^th to the end of March.   Of course, this may change due to ice conditions. 

Early Ice – from December 15^th to January 15^th  This can be an excellent time to come for a number of reasons.   We typically have less snow on the ice as it is early in the season and we have less chance of all winters snow accumulation.   This allows for more sunlight to get through and produces more oxygen in the water which seems to make the fish a lot more active.   Another major reason that makes early ice a magical time to come is that all the good fishing locations are relatively virgin.   Being first to a lot of these spots definitely can be very beneficial.  Sometimes the fish are in shallower depths during this time which makes them easier to catch as well.

Mid-Winter – from January 15^th to March.   This time of year, we do a lot of basin fishing.  This may sound like a daunting task as Devils Lake is so expansive.  This is also the time of the season when we find some of the largest schools of perch!   Seeing perch schools that are so thick that they come out of the 6-foot autozoom on the Vexilar is an experience that no one forgets!   This does not happen every day, but it happens often enough.  Basin fishing is normally the deepest waters of the lake and getting your lure down to the bottom as fast as you can becomes very important to keep the fish below you.

Late Ice – from March 1^st to the end of March.  This is the time of year that all of the fish are at their heaviest.   Normally the females are full of eggs and have the need to eat more than usual.

This can be also the time of year where the schools of fish are at their largest as well as they are grouping up before the spawn.

Of course cold fronts, blizzard conditions, radical temperature changes, rain, fog, lack of sunshine all will slow the bite down and can happen anytime of the ice fishing season.

If you are reading this list, you are obviously on our website www.perchpatrol.com 

Step 1 – On our home page you need to look for the word AVAILABILITY and click on it.  A calendar will pop up and you will find front and back arrows on the top right corner of the page.   Arrow to the month you desire, and all the dates will appear with the current number of spots that are available on each day.  A spot is 1 person.   If it shows 4 spots available that means that we have room for 4 people on that particular day.   If you want to fish more than 1 day or are interested in a doing a package, you will need to make sure that there is enough availability on each day that you are wanting to fish.

Step 2 – Go to the ICE FISHING section and click the learn more button.   This will list all of our daily rates and packages for Woodland Resort and the Sleep Inn and Suites Hotel in the city of Devils Lake.   All of our packages are All Inclusive and include 3 things – (1) All your meals – (breakfast, sack lunch on the ice, and evening dinners), (2) All your lodging (Motel room with 2 beds), and (3) Fully guided trip and all equipment (including Vexilar for each person, Heated 2- person portable flip over style shelter with chairs, species specific rods, reels, with the proper fishing line, and all bait and tackle, buckets for fish as well).   THE most important job we do for you is scouting for you while you are fishing.   We will check in on you hour to hour and assist you as much as we can and also answer any questions you have.  If you are not on a package and would like to arrange your groups own meals and lodging and still hire our services, you can do that and that is why we have a daily rate for just the fully guided experience.

Step 3 – By now you have decided whether you would like to do an All-inclusive package or want to just hire the guide service by the day, and you have also checked our availability for the guide service and decided on dates, it is time to pull the trigger and get this trip reserved! 

• To Reserve a Woodland Package – you need to make this reservation by calling Woodland Resort (701) 662-5996. CLEARLY explain to them that you would like to reserve a Perch Patrol Package!   (Example – hello, my name is Stu Barnes and I would like to reserve a 3 night/2 day package fishing with the Perch Patrol Guide Service).  They will get your lodging reserved and they will also put your party on the Perch Patrol Schedule.   If you would like to request a certain guide, you can do that as well by telling them that.   No guarantees, but if the guide you desire is available that day and is not already reserved, we will do our best to accommodate your request.
• To Reserve a Sleep Inn Package – you need to make this reservation by calling the Perch Patrol Guide Service (701) 351-3474. We will answer any questions you may have, reserve your groups fishing days with the Perch Patrol Guide Service and We will also reserve your lodging with the Sleep Inn and Suites.
• To Reserve a Daily Guide Trip – you need to make this reservation by calling the Perch Patrol Guide Service (701) 351-3474. We will answer any questions you may have, and reserve your groups fishing days with the Perch Patrol Guide Service.   You will need to arrange your own lodging and meals for your group for the time you are here.

For all Woodland Packages the check in time is no earlier than 3:00 PM on the day prior to your trip.   Don’t forget that the evening dinner is included on the day you arrive.  Check out time on your last day is 11:00 AM.

For all Sleep Inn and Suites Package the check in time is no earlier than 3:00 pm on the day prior to your fishing trip.  Don’t forget that the evening dinner is included on the day you arrive.  Check out time on your last day is 12:00 noon.

All of our guided trips the guides provide EVERYTHING.  (including a Vexilar FLX28 for each person, Heated 2-person portable flip over style shelter with chairs, species specific rods, reels, with the proper fishing line, and all bait and tackle, buckets for fish as well).  Because we do provide everything, our vehicles do not have a lot of extra room for much more equipment.   Basically, what it comes down to is what-ever you can fit in your lap, especially if we are using the crew cab Polaris Rangers and Can Am side by sides.  If you have a favorite fishing rod that you can’t live without, you can bring it, a small tackle box with tungsten jigs and small rattle spoons, you can bring it.   The main items you need to bring is warm clothes, a good pair of warm boots, preferably bibs and a jacket, gloves, and warm hat.   You will be plenty warm in our shelters while fishing, but you will be exposed to the elements when we are setting up after moving to different fishing locations.  Ice Cleats are a must if we don’t have any snow on the ice.  Fillet knives and freezer bags and a sharpie to label the bags of fish fillets.   If you are not on an All-inclusive package, you will need to bring whatever you would like to eat or drink on the ice throughout the day.  Smaller soft sided coolers preferably.  Current ND Fishing License for each day you plan to fish with us.

All ND fishing licenses must be purchased online by visiting the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website: https://gf.nd.gov

Just go under the licensing section and fill out the appropriate information after choosing the license you would like to purchase. You can screenshot a downloaded license on you phone and our game wardens will accept that as proof of your license purchase.

Yes, within reason.  It is your trip and we want you to have a great time, but we are NOT babysitters and we will not tolerate anyone getting out of control.   We are NOT responsible for any injuries, accidents, or damaged equipment because someone drank too much.   Because of our fisheries’ abundant food source, these can be extremely light biting perch that require lots of concentration to catch.   Please do not waste your trip and our time by over-indulging!

The short answer to this is NO!   We simply do not have the room.   We provide each person with a Vexilar FL28 for a reason.   We fish relatively deep water and we strongly believe that nothing beats a Vexilar for identifying fish and small jigs and the lake bottom as well as the ability to cancel any interference from other electronics in some of the tight areas we fish.

FIRST and FOREMOST – TURN YOU PHONE ON Immediately when waking up!   This is winter in North Dakota and things happen…storms and blizzards happen, vehicles not starting happens, no travel on roads and highways happen, extremely icy roads happen.   All of these may result in a delay or a cancellation and chances are your fishing guide is trying to contact you.

If you are on a package at Woodland Resort, we will meet and load your group in the bait shop at Woodland at 7:00 am

If you are on a package out of the Sleep Inn and Suites, we will meet and load your group in the lobby or just out the front door between 7:00 and 7:15 am.

If you have 3 or 4 people in your group, we can pick you up at Lake View Lodge, or any hotel in the city of Devils Lake at 7:00 am.

If you have a group size of only 2 people and are not staying at Woodland, we will meet and load you at Woodland Resort at 7:00 am in the bait shop.  Unless other arrangements have been made.  PLEASE DON’T BE LATE!

Most of these arrangements have been made at the time of your reservation.   If you are confused or are unsure, please call us (701) 351-3474 to make sure we are both on the same page.  We want to be organized.  

Yes, we do target walleyes from time to time but we our largest concentration of the fishing we do is perch fishing.   It is what 95 percent of our clientele come here for.   Because of that, perch fishing becomes the species that we are best at targeting.  So, that being said, our knowledge of the best walleye locations does not even compare to our knowledge of perch locations.   But….there are times when the walleye fishing is better than the perch fishing.  Cloudy overcast days, foggy days, snowy days, are normally the better days to target walleyes because the bite will normally last longer and sometimes all day long.   Bright sunny days are normally the worst days because it is such a short window to catch them and once that sun comes up it is normally over with.  These sunny days often produce the best perch fishing.   The fish definitely dictate what we fish for.   Our guides take great pride in putting you on the best fishing opportunities we can while you are here.   We WANT you to have success.   We don’t always make the best choices but more often than not we do.    Having a group of 4 also helps give you’re group the freedom to target what you want to as well.   Split groups of 2 that want 2 different species is a nightmare for any guide.  Groups with 3-day trips that have reached their possession limit on their first two days, will definitely be targeting walleyes or northern pike on their third day.

To best answer this question, I will tell you that targeting walleyes early and then loading up and traveling to the other end of the lake (Up to 60 miles) to target perch normally isn’t something that is going to produce a very successful day.   Why?  Because instead of heading for the perch right away and doing your travelling in the dark, now you are spending some of the best fishing hours of the morning loading up, travelling, unloading gear and driving on the ice to the perch spot.  If it is forecasted to be a bright sunny day, the walleye bite may only last 45 minutes to an hour.  There is opportunity cost to no matter what species we fish for as we simply cannot be in 2 spots at the same time.    We encourage you to come with an open mind and be willing to fish for the species that is producing the hottest action at the time you are here.

A typical day for us is an 8-hour day.  Included in these hours is the travel time that it takes to get to the best locations.   We meet and load up your group at 7:00 to 7:15 am and usually are wrapping up our day between 3:00 and 3:30 pm.   If your party would like to call it a day before then, just mention that to your guide. 

For guys this is an obvious answer, it is just done outside.   For the women, it gets to be a little more of a concern.   If there is a bait shop or resort nearby, we can take you to it.   It is quite rare that there will be any bathrooms nearby, however.   Most women will tell their male fishing partner to go outside the shack and go for a little walk and while they are away, she will use the 5-gallon bucket that is in the house, dump it outside and rinse it with snow, slush, or lake water.   We know this is a bit rustic but at least you are able to go to the bathroom in a sheltered and heated environment.   Please bring any toilet paper, kleenex and handwipes with you.

The Perch Patrol Guides do NOT clean fish during the ice fishing season.   Please bring you own fillet knives, freezer bags, and a sharpie to label your bags.   Both Woodland Resort and the Sleep Inn and Suites have beautiful, heated fish cleaning buildings with stainless steel tables, sinks with running water, and freezers to freeze your fish.   If you need some instruction, please communicate that with your guide and he will show you how. 

Woodland Resort does offer a fish cleaning service and a lot of guests will hire them do the fish cleaning and packaging.   You are responsible to arrange for these services and his payment.  Bridger Wayman (701) 230-0354 is his name and contact information.  

If you are doing a Woodland Package – All payments will be made to Woodland Resort

If you are doing a Sleep Inn and Suites Package – All payments will be made to the Sleep Inn

If you are not on a package and are hiring the Perch Patrol Guide Service for single day trips – All payments will be made to your fishing guide at the end of the day or trip.   We accept cash, Check, or Credit Card.  (Note: if you pay by Credit Card a 4% processing fee will be added)

We are here to help!  Call or text Zippy at (701) 351-3474 or shoot us an email zippy@perchpatrol.com.