It’s Transition time!
Happy September everyone!
Check out this photo of a dandy September walleye!ย And check out the great weather and nice morning conditions. September in Otter Tail County means clear air, awesome fall colors and great fishing!
Water temps have been steadily dropping the last two weeks. The lakes peaked out at around 81 degrees this summer, and have cooled down to 68 degrees as of yesterday afternoon. What does that mean in terms of fishing? When the lake temps cool down, the fishing heats up. Nearly all species of fish around the county are changing their habits from summer to fallโitโs transition time! Where you found crappie two weeks ago will not yield the same size or numbers if you tried that spot today orย tomorrow. The same goes for walleye, northern, sunfish and bass.
However, unlike the other species, small mouth and large mouth bass are a bit more forgiving. In many cases they donโt need to move too far to be in a โnewโ zoneโespecially the bass that were established deep this summer. As for the bass that spent their summer along the shorelines and under docks and trees, they will move away from those areas and join their deep counterparts (usually along the deep weed line or over weeds on drop-offs). Crappie are difficult to find on deep lakes, but are still relatively easy to locate on shallow lakes where they simply canโt get lost in a deep lake basin because there isnโt enough depth in some lakes to provide that pattern option.
Walleye are beginning to set up in fall patternsโtry jigs and minnows or minnows and live-bait rigs.ย For now, I like smaller minnows like suckers and red tails. Soon, however, Iโll be trying to find the largest minnows I can find for walleye– 4-6 inch minnows make great bait for both walleye and northern in September.
Get out to the lakes in Otter Tail Lakes Country this Septemberโdonโt miss it.ย Enjoy.
Ross Hagemeister | meisterguideservice.com