Ottertail MN

[Crowman]

I am coming from Wisconsin to Ottertail Lake in Minnesota this weekend. I am wondering if anybody could give me information on the fishing in the area. Where are the walleyes found at this time of year out there. Also, how is the panfishing in the area. Thanks for any help provided.

[Lindley]

Reports from my area are very good for walleyes; in fact too good because too many big ones are being caught and kept. Jigs and minnows near inside weedlines near steep drop-offs.
Good luck

[Lindley]

Here's an article I found in on a local site:

Otter Tail , Otter Tail County, MN
We fished Otter Tail this past Tuesday evening (10/3/00) and had fantastic fishing along the weedline breaks in 16-17 ft. With the west wind we were fishing the east/southeast side on a break that runs east and west and then turns and heads south on the far east end. The walleyes were stacked in the corner and were extremely aggressive. Golden shiners on a 5 ft. Lindy Rig did the trick. Since it was a last minute, spontaneous decision to go fishing we didn't have tackle boxes or our own gear and were lucky enough to find my dad's rods in his boat rigged with Lindy Rigs. My reasoning for mentioning this is the fact that had we been fortunate enough to have a single jig in the boat I anticipate we would have just hammered em'. As it was, we boated 20 walleyes in a span of two hours, with the vast majority of the fish running 17." After trolling into a stiff wind and then drifting back to the corner with the use of a windsock we noticed that the fish were stacked in the corner and decided to anchor in 25 ft. and float back close to them. My partner fished right over the side of the boat and was catching walleyes and one-pound perch. I simply casted to the corner and by the time the minnow hit the bottom the fish was already on. It isn't very often anymore that you can watch the line go taunt following the cast and the old rod tip bends right over and then they just slam it. Needless to say, we had a blast. We did pick up two 18" eyes at about 8:30 p.m. using #7 Shad Raps over an 8-10 ft. flat. We called it quits shortly thereafter. I look for Otter Tail to turnover following this weekends predicted lows in the teens. Walleyes will then go deep (40-60 ft.) during the daytime while coming into the shallows at night. A jig and a minnow and crankbaits will be the weapon of choice from here on out if the lake does indeed turn. By the end of October the lake should be transitioned and I expect walleyes to be at locations typical of springtime fishing. Look for cranks to really start producing in 4-8 ft. in the evening later this month and for the weedline breaks to come alive again in late October/early November. Otter Tail has been the best and most consistent walleye producer this year from the opening bell to the present day in the state of Minnesota. I look for it to continue on its season long rampage once it freezes over as well.

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[Walleye king]

I recentaly was also out on the big lake. I and another brought in a limit of 12 nice eyes from 21 to 35 feet of water. This only took about 45 minuets to do. If we would have fished two hours like this other guy we would have brought in at least 60 eyes. Our fish ranged from 17 to 19 inches.