It's All Open Water From Here!
Finally – reports and news flashes of anglers falling through the ice are over!
Sadly, the only reason some folks stopped walking on the ice this spring is because the ice is gone. By late last week, I was wondering if some people believed in gravity (or drowning) at all? I couldn’t believe where fisherman were walking! And I couldn’t believe that the last half dozen people that went through the ice in Otter Tail Lakes Country could get out—even rescue crews struggled to get to some of them!
Anyway, we’ve gone past ice and have entered our open water climate—and it’s exciting! My new Lund and Mercury are at Hoot’s Sports in Perham getting rigged and readied, and I’ve been spending time making tackle and gear orders from Berkley—it’s the perfect time to prep! To top that off, I’ve been getting calls to get people on panfish outings. Spring has certainly sprung!
As eager as I am to get on the lakes in my new boat after the ice comes off, I like to let things settle for a week. There is a fair amount of debris floating around the lakes and rivers from winter time activities and foul weather. Even after waiting a week (most years) to let the junk wash ashore, I’ve still encountered boat damaging objects like: pallets, tree branches, giant floating bogs, lots of treated lumber of all sizes—presumably used for fish-house blocking material, and have even seen a few dead-heads over the years! I also think letting the water warm for a few days is good idea—it makes fishing better.
Early ice out panfish often jam themselves into very shallow water, seemingly to soak in the warmth and sun. When they do this, they are very tricky to get to without spooking. Our lakes need to get past the initial shoreline warming stage. Anglers want entire bays and larger volumes of water to warm to make consistent panfishing. The more warm water, the more difficult it is to cool when colder weather approaches (which will keep good panfishing in tact). Finding lakes and bays that have stained/darker water is a good idea.
The water in shallow dark bays with at least moderate vegetation–both submerged and around the shoreline—is the fastest warming water type in Otter Tail County, and quickly attracts panfish in high numbers. For early action, avoid clear water lakes, where water just doesn’t warm very fast, but are good choices later in the spring when the dark-water lakes are getting too warm.
Enjoy our open lakes and spring panfishing in Otter Tail County in 2017! Keep your eye out for invasive species alerts around the lakes and make sure your boats and trailers are weed and critter free when you come and go from the lakes this spring—thanks for your help.
