Fall has arrived in Otter Tail Lakes Country
Fall fishing has arrived. The Lakes Country forecast for the week has “fall” written all over it—lows in the 40’s and daytime highs in the 60’s. Lake temps jumped a bit over the weekend when the daytime temps were in the 80’s, but then dropped off yesterday/Monday after the cold front entered the area.
I watched fish change locations several times last week. It seemed like they were bouncing in and out of the deep weed edges—and displayed a here-today-gone-tomorrow pattern, so keeping up with them was a challenge. Walleye, in particular, were strong one day and not strong the next. As our lake temps continue to drop, I suspect we’ll see larger concentrations of fish stay where they are until the water temps drop below 60 degrees.
Fall is an interesting time. Most folks have the inclination to hit the water early as the sun comes up, however, I’d like to offer a bit of advice. Sleep in, have some coffee, make some eggs and read the paper. Fall time fish love bright days and high sun. Most species, come much easier after lunch than after breakfast. While fish may prefer high sun and bright days, there may still be an evening bite, but I would put my money on mid-day fishing this time of year. Crappie have been tricky to find. Look for them on the base of deep drops, near deep weeds, or suspending near the bottom over the basin of shallow lake and mid-depth lakes. Sunfish are still relatively close to their summer homes, but if you can’t find them look deep as well—you should be able to see them grouped up off of deep weed edges with your electronics. Northern Pike are getting aggressive and hungry. Fish them near weeds and steep drop offs with live bait, or cast over weed stands with large spinner baits, or buck tails.
Good Luck in Otter Tail Lakes Country this week! And don’t forget to bring the camera—the trees are changing colors around the lakes.
By Ross Hagemeister, meisterguideservice.com