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Ottertail Lake

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I would like to find out if anyone else thinks that a slot limit such as the one in place on Mille Lacs would be a good idea. I think we would have a lake with a strong population of larger fish instead of a lake full of 13 to 14 inchers

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Paul Rohweller Mentor

Paul Rohweller

Posted
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Heheheh , gotta love that name..
I had that conversation with the dnr last spring over at the walker lake hatchery. Personally I feel the Mille Lacs slot would be a tad bit restrictive on the tail. I would love to see a 15 inch minimum voluntary size limit like is being implemented on big and little pine. Maybe the local sportsmans clubs and lakeshore associations could take this on? The old generation meat hunters are fading away and Im looking for brighter days ahead for ottertail.. My two cents.. Paul

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Paul Rohweller
Pine to Prairie Guide Service
218-962-3387
http://fishingminnesota.com/pinetoprairie

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Scoot Grand Master

Scoot

Posted
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Paul and Dink (sorry I couldn't resist),

Do you guys think the primary reason for small fish on the Tail is due to meat hunters? I can't say that I'm a firm believer in any other explanation, but it seems too simple for that to be the only or even the primary reason why Ottertail is full of little spuds. Big and Little Pine have meat hogs too and they still produce some nice fish.
What do you think?
Scoot

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Gissert Grand Master

Gissert

Posted
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I read some time ago that the 'eyes in Ottertail have slow rates of growth compared to other lakes. I cannot recall for sure where I saw this info, but it may have been from a test netting report on the DNR website. I will try to find it and post a link.

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Paul your idea about a voluntary 15 inch limit would help, but I dont think the voluntary part would be any deterent to the meat hunters. I have seen the bodies in the cleaning shacks and the livewells on Ottertail. I have fished many many tournaments on lakes all around N.D. S.D. and Minn. Ottertail has been the most difficult lake to try to catch a 15 inch walleye, you can always catch a bunch of fish they seem to be everywhere. I would think the people who call the lake home and the resorts would try to get something done. The name says it all on Ottertail

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Paul Rohweller Mentor

Paul Rohweller

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Ottertail is a very prolific producer of walleyes. It seems to me I heard a while back that there was a shortage of the proper sized baitfish for the two to three pound range walleyes. Heres another thought, people are not fishing for the bigger fish on this lake.
Theres big numbers of dinks, cigars etc etc in there and they have to come from someplace! The dnr doesn't stock the tail exept to replace what they take during the spawning run. Any thoughts on this? Paul

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Paul Rohweller
Pine to Prairie Guide Service
218-962-3387
http://fishingminnesota.com/pinetoprairie

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There are plenty of 15"+ fish in Ottertail. If you're not getting them, frankly, you are not looking in the right place or spending too much time in marginal areas. The Fact is, the majority of the nice fish spend their time feeding a lot shallower than most anglers fish. Les than 10 feet of water during the day thoughout mid-summer to be blunt--Not in your classic spots! Cover a lot of water with cranks or bouncers and you'll be amazed. Mille Lacs needs a slot to protect it from the enormous pressure it receievs EVERY DAY. Otteratil is greatly under fished!--all year. Meat hogs are there, but they are not the reason for the "dink" problem. It all boils down to effort and strategy.

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