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I put the dock in this weekend and saw these Sunday morning while the water was calm. This is on Ottertail lake and I have never seen these so I don't know for sure. What do you guys think?

 

IMG_spwalleyes_zpsckb4uhho.jpg

 

IMG_0262_zpsaon8giaf.jpg

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spawning beds, but ive never seen that on ottertail. mostly sunfish do those.

maybe they are Rock bass since that lake has millions of them

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Fish them and find out! Could be smallies, too.

"Smallmouth Bass Spawn
When the full moon coincides with water temperatures in the upper 50s to low 60s, actual spawning begins. Males clear out 2- to 3-foot-diameter nests on pea-gravel flats in 1 to 10 feet of water. After inducing hens to lay their eggs, the males aggressively guard the nests and fry for two or more weeks."

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That would be interesting if there were smalls in OT.  Fished it for many years and have never caught one or heard of one being caught.

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There aren't a lot but they are in there.  I know the OT river has been stocked in many places and that they have been caught on the east side of the lake by the main inlet.

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Look like sunfish spots to me, but I'm not familiar with what rock bass do.

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I caught several smallies last year fishing the rocks on the North East side. Only place I have been able to catch them on the lake though.

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There was no fish present last Sunday after I noticed them. But  I'll keep everyone updated if I see anything. It's been awhile but we have caught some smallies once before out on the lake and was very surprised.  

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I'm not saying they ARE smallies but that it's a possibilty.  They only way to know is to find out directly.  Maybe pinch the barbs on your hooks if you plan on releasing those new moms and dads.

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I have never seen sunfish beds like that.

I reasearched and it appears rock bass spawn on rocks.I guess it could be sunfish.

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I was up again last weekend and no fish were present. Water temp were in the low 50's and I guess sunfish start spawning at 60 degrees or so. I'm surprised the males made the spawning beds so far ahead of time but must need to rest afterwards. Now they need to convince some females to come to the area and lay their eggs.

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Looks like sunfish beds but it's a month early for that. They're also too small to be bass beds.

Is it possible these are spots where sturgeon were sucking up clams or something?

 

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I just hope to find out what kinda fish they are, hopefully they come back.  

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
    • smurfy
      Looks to me like Leech brought his chair home!!😅😆
    • Brianf.
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    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
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    • PSU
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    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
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    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
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