Diehards hit the lakes in OTC
It’s chilly fishing in Lakes Country, but it seems like it’s been cold for several weeks now so it’s actually beginning to feel like the norm. If you’re prepared and dressed for cold weather, you’ll be fine.
baits and casting approaches aren’t working, give a minnow a try. Also, release all small mouth
bass in the fall—they are open to catch and release only.
Panfish have been strangely difficult to find, but looking at the lake’s basin and deeper holes is a good to place to start. You should see crappie and sunfish suspended in those deeper areas, so you’ll be able to search with your electronics rather than casting into blank spaces. Once you locate a batch, try light jigs and minnows, or plain hooks and minnows and use 1/8 oz split shots to get the baits down to the deeper depths. Walleye and bass seem to be the most assertive species to fish for now—for action and size. Be sure and bring crawlers and minnows on your fishing outings. I’ve had better action using mid-sized minnows this past week (3-4 inch suckers, shiners, or red tails are optimal). Large minnows will work but they’ll slow your action a bit—but could catch larger fish.
Good luck fishing this week in Otter Tail Lakes Country!
By Ross Hagemeister, meisterguideservice.com
