Rough weather moves through Otter Tail Lakes Country
If it’s raining in Otter Tail Lakes Country when you want to get out fishing this week—go fish in the rain and take notice how pleasant it is (and also take note how well the fish are biting!). If it’s lightening—stay onshore, and wait for the lightning to pass.
Rough weather has been poking at parts of Minnesota this past week and Otter Tail County has seen some bouts of heavy rain, and quick-moving thunderstorms—but hasn’t caused significant damage or flooding to crops, homes, or lakeshores. Stormy weather is a part of all seasons, and summer is no exception. What does stormy weather do to fishing? Fish are fish and they do what they do and you won’t know what’s going on on the lake until you’re in your boat. The overcast, rainy and windy days this season haven’t bothered the fish a whole lot. I might see a shift in the size of the fish we’re catching or a change in how fast we have to troll to get them to bite, but for the most part, the fish just keep on doing their thing. In fact, there’s a rugged peacefulness about being on the lakes in rough weather—because there is very little lake activity. Walleye and crappie and sunfish and bass have all entered into their mid-summer patterning. This is good news for anglers. When fish finally get into summer patterns, there is very little change in patterning until later in August—when we have a significant loss of daylight. Basically, when you locate fish and catch some now, there are only minor adjustments to make over the next 5 or 6 weeks. Pay attention to your lures, colors, leader lengths, the depth your fishing and the type of bait you’re using. When you’re having a difficult time catching fish in your current pattern and the usual “stuff,” you might just have to tweak it a bit and the fish should start biting again.
Good Luck fishing in lakes country this week.
By Ross Hagemeister, meisterguideservice.com