Keep On Movin’!
Hello summer fishing enthusiasts!
It is summer—for sure! For those of you that like to fish mid-summer walleye with leeches and worms—look out! Sunfish, bass and perch are all very active and occupying the same areas as the walleye (and visa versa)! If the panfish are eating your leeches and worms and you’re trying to dig a walleye out of an area, try something different, like Gulp fry worms. They do a great job of mimicking real crawlers – and while the panfish will still bite and nip at the Gulp, they usually aren’t able to pull it off your hook. Another approach I use often is to simply leave the spot where the panfish are vicious. In most cases when panfish are feeding heavily in an area, it means the larger predatory species are not feeding at that time (or it could also mean they are simply not there) —so it doesn’t pay to sit around and fish them. 
Overall, fishing is good around Otter Tail Lakes Country, but keep in mind that it’s also the time of year when you need to be on your toes and respond to changes quickly! At this time of year, fish are almost always feeding – so It’s just up to you to put a fishing system together that will get them to bite. If the fish are “off,” they will most likely come back “on” within a couple of hours, so schools that weren’t biting earlier in the day, may be biting quite a bit later in the day. Another trick I like to use around Otter Tail County in the summer is simply moving around and trying another lake. Otter Tail Lakes Country boasts of over 1,000 lakes, so if one isn’t working for you, there’s plenty of them around the corner for you to try. Cover water this time of year—for all species, but don’t forget to drain and dry your boat before moving locations to prevent the spread of AIS. And when you’re moving, try horizontally and don’t be shy to troll .5–3 mph.
The other day myself and one of my guests were casting crank baits for crappie. We realized just how aggressive crappie are as feeders – they really hit crank baits in the summertime; it’s a great way to locate them. As for searching for panfish, nothing beats a crawler and spinner over or near weeds. For bass try, spinner baits, Carolina-rigged worms or slugs around weed clumps, or top water in the slop; they’re are all good bets. Don’t forget the deep water for bass too. Don’t be afraid to work rocks near weed edges for both small mouth bass and large mouth bass.
Good Luck fishing Otter Tail Lakes Country this week!
Ross Hagemeister
Meister Guide Service
