Fishing is fabulous in Otter Tail County

June 23, 2022

Otter Tail County, MN Fishing Report

Fishing in Otter Tail County has been amazing as of lately. Our local lakes have warmed up and it has made the fish more active and feeding very aggressively. Since things were very “special” this spring with our slow spring and then very wet conditions almost everything can be found in the same area on the lakes, and it is making fishing very fun because you do not know what will be biting next.

Last week we found fish sitting at the base of sharp breaks and we swore they were walleyes and started throwing ¼ oz jigs with 4-inch paddle tails and we ended up getting 13-14.5-inch crappies. We ran out of daylight soon afterwards so the next day we set up for panfish to get into those big crappies and they were all 18–22-inch walleyes. Made it very interesting with our ultra-light rods and four-pound test.

Crappies

Crappies can be found up in the weeds or on the flats. We are having great luck pitching jigs and plastics in 7-14 feet of water around cabbage. Biggest thing we have noticed is to make sure you have a minimum of 5 feet of water ABOVE the cabbage.

Bluegills

Bluegills have been very active feeding in the cabbage and are in the process of finishing spawning. Drifting or trolling a plain hook with a split shot 2-3 feet above the hook with a chunk of nightcrawler has been working best. Focus on the edges of the weed lines and do not be afraid of going into the weed line and trying to find them at the base of cabbage.

Walleyes

Walleyes have been roaming everywhere it seems. A local tournament angler won a big tournament pitching jigs at docks catching big walleyes because bait fish were near the docks in recent weeks. We have been picking a few up while crappie fishing in the cabbage. We were finding them on the edges of breaks sitting on top of sunken islands but close to the break and finding them at the bases of the breaks where it meets mud. Live bait has been best for us, and it was a very strong minnow bite but I’m hearing in the last few days its switching to a crawler and leech bite.

Bass

Bass anglers have been doing well pitching jigs in the weeds and throwing search baits on shallower flats adjacent to thick cover. Northern Pike in the past few days have really gotten aggressive and we found smaller pike up shallow, but the bigger pike were out roaming the flats near mid lake structure. We were getting them with large minnows trolling adjacent to the structure.

Kayak Fishing

With the warm weather please take a moment for safety. Kayak angling has taken off and with the sizes of a lot of our Otter Tail County lakes it has been perfect lakes for them to get out and enjoy the sport and not all of them are bright colored or easy to see. Stay safe and do not forget to wear a life jacket! For more information on fabulous fishing visit https://ottertaillakescountry.com/interactive-map/?fwp_place_categories=fishing-hunting.