Its officially catching season!
By Randin Olson Lock Jaw Guide Service
Otter Tail Lakes Country is kicking fish out faster that you can unload the boat! Walleye to Panfish and everything in-between is settling into there summertime patterns. This is good news for us fisher people. The fish are moving into predictable summertime locations and that opens up more opportunities for us. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to fishing, but below is what I have been seeing in the lakes area.
Ol’ marble eye is showing up everywhere from 8 FOW to 30 FOW. jigs and minnows, puppet minnows, cranks, live bait rigs, spinners, soft plastics are all filling the livewell these days. Main lake reefs and major shoreline structures are all holding fish. Want to fish shallow? there is a bite there. Want to fish humps? there is a bite there. The point I’m trying to make here is that the fish are everywhere and you can just about throw anything at them.
Mr. Musky has now made his way to his summer cabin and can be found easily, catching him will be harder. The summer peak period can be fantastic for musky, but make sure you are covering water and locating as many fish as possible. Pay close attention to lunar cycles. Identify majors and Minors and go back to your milk run during these times. Bucktails, Cranks, Topwaters are my go to presentations during this time, and please handle these fish with care and release them as soon as possible.
Bucketmouths are spread out as well. Shorelines are producing lots of action, but focus on deeper weeds for bigger fish. Spinnerbaits, Finnese worms, Cranks, Topwaters and Jigs have been the top producers in my boat. The key this time of year is not to get hung up on one spot, but rather fish hard and fast and cover water to find those aggressive fish.
Panfish have joined the party in the weeds as well. Small jigs tipped with crawlers or leeches are triggering fish in depths from 6 FOW to 15 FOW. slowly move along the weed edge until you run into a pack of fish and then slow down. And remember to let those big fish go so we can continue to call this Panfish Paradise.
Now is a great time of year to be out catching! If you want to learn any of the above techniques, or just want to sit down and catch fish. give me a call at Lock Jaw Guide Service 218-640-0158