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Posted

that's always been an odd lake but I want to fish it every time I am at my cabin. those humps look so inviting.

Posted

What is the ice update on pelican? Hoping to come up next weekend with my boy and try it with the wheelhouse. Hoping to not have to go all the way to red again...

Posted

is there trucks on ottertail? im heading there this afternoon again, thanks.

Posted

yes there is trucks on the ice. don't know if they went out from the first break though.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Anyone out on OT this weekend? Just read the lake report for Pelican Lake in Ashby and it sounded like the warm up may have messed with the ice a bit. Just wondering how the ice is looking on OT and if there is any heaving at the accesses.

Posted

Fished OT Friday night,Saturday morning and night. Fishing friday night was pretty decent we kept 4 jumbo perch and 6 walleyes. All the walleyes were between 17" and 19 1/2". We were in about 18 1/2 feet along the edge of a break. Saturday morning and night was pretty slow, only kept 3 walleyes and missed several more. We had about 13 inches of ice then when it warmed up there was a lot of water on top of the ice. In some spots there was a couple inches. People were still driving trucks out but I decided to just take the 4 wheeler. The ice is actually in pretty good shape and there were no heaves by the accesses over by the corner store.

Posted

Thanks for the ice report busse, glad to hear the ice has taken the heat rather well. Hopefully things will firm back up nice now this next week.

  • 1 year later...
Posted

Please add your report as the season gets underway again.:)

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

Reports of 4 inches on West Battle as of the 14th. Shoud lay it down pretty good the next few nights.

Posted (edited)

solid 6 inches all over Ottertail now.   saw a few 4 wheelers.  no trucks obviously.

 

corner store has an access thru its front beach, they want everyone to use that as opposed to the 1 in front of the  restaurant.

 

good bait there and a set up bar now!   (beach bums is open Friday 5pm, Sat/Sun 11am--- go support them with food/drinks!)

 

fishing is surprisingly slowwww. 

Edited by BisoNation
Posted

Hi, any reports of Rush Lake or West battle? Looking to go up there for the weekend? Thanks in advance!

Posted

House went in on west battle today from what I heard.  Drove by before dark and there was an orange cone just off the access and another one alittle ways out.

Posted

good ice on ottertail now, atv's all over, houses all over.   bite has been hit & miss.    caught some dandies the other night, even threw 2 of them back!

  • Thumbs Up 1
Posted
On 12/22/2016 at 7:46 PM, bigbluepirahna said:

House went in on west battle today from what I heard.  Drove by before dark and there was an orange cone just off the access and another one alittle ways out.

What exactly do the orange cones mean? Thin ice?

Posted

Was out on Long Lake near Vergas for the maiden voyage today and had a good 10"+ of ice.

Still no matter how long you've been out on "early ice, that first rumble at the feet makes your heart race.

 

Be safe out there.

 

 

Posted

On Ottertail Sunday morning, Decent bite. Pickups w/ Ice Castles on the lake. 12-13" of ice, which is a little too ballsy for me. I'd guess by next weekend the lake will have 15-18" with these few cold days coming up.

Posted

Big Pine as of 1/1 had 12-14" depending on spot.  Had 13" in the crappie hole on east side.  Bunch of cars and a few light SUV's/Light pickups driving around

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Hey Guys, just got back from W Battle. Caught a few eyes and perches.. Caught them in about 33ft of water. All after sunset.. Fished Rush for 1 day and caught avg size crappie and 1 11"  

Posted

Fished Ottertail again on Sunday. Went out of the Riveria access. Someone has been kind enough to maintain a road about 1.5 miles out, if not further. Caught a few dinks in 27 FOW, and landed a 22" at sundown. Watched about 20+ good sized walleyes come through on the camera. They wanted absolutely nothing to do with my bait. Once my camera lost light I marked a few on my Marcum, didn't couldn't coax them into biting. Picked up after it got dark! 

Posted

Big Pine as of 1/15 had 16" of ice on the north side.  Only drilled 5 holes and all were around 16" according to my ice scoop.  Just placed fish house out there for the nephew and called it good.  Sorry no fishing report.

Posted

How sloppy are the lakes with this warmup?  Wondering what boots to wear tomorrow

  • 10 months later...
Posted

Cold temps coming next week.  Let us know the conditions if/when you get out

Posted

I was in central Becker County yesterday shallower but bigger lake and we had 7" of crystal clear ice.  Lake was LOUD till about 2/230 when temps warmed up a little bit but the ice was making and pushing at shore line pretty good.  I haven't been down to Ottertail County yet but possibly will this weekend.

Posted

Finally looking like the temps are going to stay down next week should start making good ice.

Posted

I haven't looked today but the weekend of the 16/17 I have a trout trip planned up north and every year I go up there it gets colder then heck and I am willing to bet that weekend will get cold!  We need the cold and judging off the radar yesterday with most of the snow staying west it shouldn't affect the lakes too much.

Posted

Any one have an ice report from Ottertail? I know it was almost wide open last weekend. Wondering if I will be able to fish the first break this weekend. 

Posted

Walker have you tried facebook? lol  That'd be a good topic.

Posted
21 hours ago, Chill62 said:

Walker have you tried facebook? lol  That'd be a good topic.

I'm thinking that would be a better option. I had a buddy check out Ottertail for me last night and it had less than an inch in front of the Corner Store. He walked out about 5 feet and the ice started breaking. 

Posted

Yikes!  I haven't fished OT County yet but been on four different lakes in Becker.  Last weekend bigger shallower lake was at 7".  This weekend skinny long deep lake was at 8" and it had a side by side on the lake. Large body of water that when it warmed up reopened had 8".  Went to my honey hole and had 10.25-10.5" on it.  Dang near drove out but figured I'd wait so I drilled about 150 holes yesterday and didn't find any thin ice spots.  My shoulder hurts from drilling holes this weekend and carrying around my big 10" auger lol.  

Becker County report.  Fish were SPOOKY!!!  Tried a few lakes for panfish and didn't really get into them but they were spooky.  They prefered smaller jigs tipped with wax worms, tried soft plastics but they wanted real things this weekend was my finding.  Fished a lake Saturday night right before dark had tip ups out and jigging with spoons.  One eye came on a tip up other 4 came on spoons.  Had guys 15 feet from me on both sides both catch 2 and the tip up was another 30 feet the other way and I didn't get a bite or a mark!!!!  That's my luck though. 

People catching walleyes what I'm hearing are downsized baits on dead sticks.  Buddy got a 6.5 pounder C&R on a crappie/fathead fishing for perch mid day.  I don't know if weather has them in a funk or what.  Panfish are spooky and smaller jigs worked better 4 mm and 3 mm had better results then 5 mm.  5 mm I was finding was spooking fish when they would get near.  I drilled holes from 42' to 14' and had best luck when sun came out in 38 feet but I could follow the schools shallower as the sun set ultimately ended up in 19-21' for crappies and gills.

Posted

Ottertail Lake.   Sunday Night   2 inches maybe... saw 2 guys on a bucket out in front of corner store.

wednesday morning.. some crazy guy with a 4 wheeler out on first break with a permnant house..    which I think is nuts

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      I wonder like divers, if we let them decompress every 10' for 1/2hr. If that would help?  🤔  It would slow the bite down a bit!  🤭
    • carlsonmn
      That was a better study compared to last winter when they setup the vertical tube nets and tried to release exhausted fish from being studied and expected them to be able to swim straight down a 3' hoop net.     That lake's crappie population from this latest video was pretty deep at 40-50', and no doubt from those depths that is barotrauma for most.  That is deeper than most crappie holes but certainly how some are. However from helping give fish a good release from the 35' and less range and tracking them with live sonar most of them swim at a shallow angle back to the depths and I watch them rejoin the school and be active.  Uncut Angling's video helped counter some of the initial narrow findings.  
    • SkunkedAgain
      If you fished with me more often, you'd never have to make this statement...   38" of ice - love it. I'm really going to have to dig around for my auger extension. I don't think that I've needed it in over a decade.   Too bad nobody has a locomotive chugging across the ice to do some logging, like the good old days.
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  Ice fishing remains strong across the south shore of Lake of the Woods out on Big Traverse Bay.  Resorts and outfitters on some parts of the lake have ice roads extending over 16 miles staying on nice schools of walleyes and saugers.  Many fish houses are over deep mud.  Some are on structure.  It is always fishing of course, but overall, February has been very productive for most anglers.   Extensions are being used on ice augers as the ice continues to thicken.  The thick ice this year will be good for the extended ice fishing season Lake of the Woods enjoys with fish houses out through March 31st, walleyes and saugers open through April 14th and a pike season that never closes. Most fishing activity is taking place in 26-32 feet of water.  Anglers are finding a healthy mix of walleyes and saugers, with a good number of jumbo perch in the mix this year.  Some big eelpout are also showing up.  Anglers are reporting plenty of fish for fresh fish frys and usually extra fish to bring home.   The one-two punch of a jigging line and deadstick is the way to go.  On the jigging line, jigging spoons with rattles tipped with a minnow head have been consistent.  Lipless crankbaits and jigging rap style lures also doing well.     Lures with a light have been working well in the stained water.  Please remember, in MN, lures with a light or water activated light can be used as long as the battery is mercury free and the hook is attached directly to the lure and not as a dropper line.     On the deadstick, a plain hook or a small jig with a live minnow 6 inches to a foot off of the bottom.    Some days, mornings are better, other days, it's the afternoons.  There is no distinct pattern, they could come through at any time. On the Rainy River...  The start of the day and end of the day have been best for those targeting walleyes on the river. A jig and minnow or a jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head is also producing some fish. Some big sturgeon being iced by ice anglers targeting them.  It is a catch-and-release sturgeon season currently.   Although ice conditions on the river are good, they can vary significantly due to the current, so anglers should always consult local resorts or outfitters for the most up-to-date safety information and fishing advice. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing has been strong in the islands area of Lake of the Woods. Resorts continue to move their fish houses around, staying on the best schools of walleyes.     Anglers are catching a nice mix of walleyes, saugers, and jumbo perch with an occasional pike or tullibee as well.     Big crappies are still being caught just over the border.  Fish houses are available, check with a NW Angle resort for info on crappie fishing.   Lake of the Woods enjoys an extended ice fishing season with fish houses on the ice through March 31st and walleye and sauger seasons open through April 14th. Perch, crappie, and pike seasons remain open year-round.    
    • leech~~
      Maybe you should put rattle wheels down, if your going to sleep for 6hrs! 🤭 😆
    • JerkinLips
      Monday was my worst day of winter fishing on Vermilion in the last 4 years.  Caught only one 14" walleye in nearly 8 hours of fishing.  Missed two other bites and was marking very few fish.  Maybe the fish were taking Monday off after a big weekend.   No more water came up on the ice under my house.  Think it was because I haven't banked snow around it for a couple of weeks so the bare ice around the house is getting very thick.  I measured 38" of ice under my house and the Ion barely made it through even with the extension installed.  Needless to say I banked around the house this time.  Another lesson I learned today is don't drill holes if ice is frozen on your blades.  I did that on one hole and it didn't center properly and drilled at an angle on the edge of the opening.  Hope I can correct the location and angle on my next trip up.   Not much change in the surface lake surface conditions.  The drifts may be a little higher and are definitely harder.  There are still a few bare ice spots on the lake.  Very little activity on the lake today.  There are about 3 dozen houses from McKinley Park out to Birch Island.  Another person pulled there house off today, and I am sure many more will pull theirs off this coming weekend.  Only 13 days left of walleye season.    
    • leech~~
      A good start for never picking up a bow!   IMG_1910.mp4
    • leech~~
      Um, #metoo   leech~~ Author 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders Posted January 26 My whole goal for the rest of this season.  Is to watch KC lose and Taylor cry!  🥳
    • smurfy
    • Wanderer
      Smurfy is happy.
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