Great Fall Fishing Is Knocking At Our Door!
Fall is rapidly approaching. I even heard the word “frost” in tonight’s weather forecast!
As an angler, I’m relieved. That great fall fishing is knocking at our door; 
I’m looking forward to cooling water temps, cool afternoons and great fall fishing. I’ve been seeing major changes in the lakes around Otter Tail Lakes Country. By the end of August, the water temps were continually in the mid-70’s. That’s warm water! While there was decent fishing around the county, it was getting tough to find consistent strong fishing. Now the water temps have cooled to 68 and 69 degrees and the fishing is beginning to swing back into gear.
Walleye seem to be scattered on most lakes right now, but bite well when you find them. I’ve been catching walleye in all depth zones, but the nicer fish are shallow—6-12 feet. I see a lot of size-clustering this time of year. If you catch several small walleye in a row, then you’re probably in a spot where they are all small—so it’s time to move. When I find nice walleye, there are usually more nice ones in the same school. Northern are consecrated near weeds. I like to fish small, shallow lakes when the water is warm so I don’t have to worry about trying to find northern in deep zones—which is where they prefer to be because they are cold-water fish.
Trying pulling cranks baits over weedy drops or over weed-topped islands. You can also try casting crank baits, spinner baits or troll sucker minnows over weeds near drops—cabbage weed is preferable. Sunfish continue to bite. I am still catching most of my sunfish on the deep weed lines or deeper (depending on the depth of the lake). Find larger, deeper-class lakes around Otter Tail County for crappie. Try and fish them over deep weeds on deep weedy flats or over weedy points or islands. Use 1/16 oz jigs tipped with Gulp minnows or fry and slowly troll over weedy zones.
Good luck fishing Otter Tail Lakes Country this September—it’s the best fishing of the season!
Ross Hagemeister
