With the Days Becoming Longer, it's More Mid-Day Fishing Time.

Hello from Otter Tail Lake’s County!  The days are getting considerably longer every day now, which means more mid-day fishing time.  Panfish, in particular, have been responding positively to the longer days.  I’ve been seeing some strong mid-day crappie action on several lakes throughout Otter Tail County, which is a relief because anglers don’t have to rely solely on dawn and dusk feeding times.  Even though the panfish seem to be getting more active, it doesn’t mean you can get away with being sloppy.  When the spring thaw is eating away at lake ice and the panfish are rambunctious, there seems to be room for error—heavier line, off-colors, larger lures, dead bait or even no bait, etc.  We’re not quite there yet.  Pay attention to details.  Think small and subtle, and be conservative with line diameter—I prefer 3 to 4 pound test lines, and mono leaders.  Vexlars or Marcum flashers are a must if you really want to keep up with the fish.  If you spot a nice bright band by your lure and it doesn’t bite, you need to change something.  Pinks and greens and golds have been strong.  For crappie, keep a watch out for swinging bait moods.  I saw a few periods this week where the preferred bait was 90% minnows, and then two days later, they really needed wax worms and would swim right past the minnows.

Northern are still biting well, especially late morning and mid-afternoon.  Mid-sized northern seem to eat nearly anything—from small panfish stuff to larger walleye/pike rigs.  Larger northern usually skip past the smaller stuff, so if it’s a big one that you’re after, use 6-10 inch suckers or the largest shiners in the tank.  Plain hooks and Fire Line leaders are a good idea, or steel leaders and quick strike rigs are easy—just put a nice healthy minnow on them, and hang them near a school of sunfish, or on weed lines and weedy drops near deep water and set your rigs and tip-ups 2-3 feet off the bottom.  I love eating northern.  Most folks complain about them because they are a slime-coated fish and they are boney.  I have two thoughts regarding those misnomers.  First of all, you don’t have to eat the slime.  If your northern tastes fishy or slimy, it’s because you didn’t rinse it enough (that goes for any species, actually).  Secondly, learn to get the bones out of the fish.  I had a good friend show me how to de-bone pike, once, a long time ago. It only took once and I got it.  Every time I discuss pike with folks—which is very often—it almost always comes down to the bones and how he or she just can’t get the bones out.  There are a million U-Tube videos on the planet on deboning northern.  Catch and keep a couple northern, watch the video, do the thing right, and then cook and eat your pike with your walleye and you won’t be able to tell the difference.  If you can, it’s probably because you think the “slimy” northern actually tasted a bit sweeter then the walleye?  Yup.  They’e tasty—give them a chance.

For walleye fishing around Otter Tail Lakes Country, they are biting better then they were last week, but it’s still a little slow.  The walleye aren’t patterning very well on most lakes.  The walleye populations, on most lakes, seem to be split.  Some fish are feeding in the middle of the night, and others are eating mid-mornig.  When the fish don’t have concentrated feeding times, then fishing is more difficult.  The morning bite slipped this week.  My groups did best this in the evening and then well after sun set—the morning bite was very weak.   If you’re set on walleye fishing, then plan on spending a long day to get a decent catch.  It’s a perfect time of the year to give walleye a break and pursue other species.  Good luck in Otter Tail County this week.

By Ross Hagemeister, Meister Guide Service