Turtle River Lake

[Otter]

Never fished TRL before and want to give it a try. Is there a bait shop close to there so that I don't have to drive in to town and then back to the lake? Is the launch ramp decent? For walleyes at this time of year, which bay would be the best place to start (will be fishing in the morning).

[ZEEPO]

There is bait at the gas station right before you get to the lake, its next to a catering business on the south side of the highway. The ramp is really nice and should not be a problem. Dont know which bays to fish as I will be there in two weeks and have not fished it this year. Good Luck and post how you did. zeepo

[Matt Breuer]

71 Mart is the gas station near TRL. They've got all you should need!

Otherwise Newby's just across on 22.

I would try some midlake humps if I were you. Start off in your shallow spots, then move off into the mid-teens to low-twenties.

Good luck!

[TMan]

Hey Otter,

The ramp on the North side of the lake has been pretty shallow last year and earlier this year for your Ranger. It might be better recently with all the rain. The ramp on the west side is deeper, trust me.... The road to the west ramp is right next to the 71 Bar off of old Hwy 71. Go south on that road (Hwy 22 I think) and take a left about a 1/4 mile down the road.

TRL is a tough lake at times, not a lot of Walleye by DNR survey standards, but still fishable.

Good luck.

TMan

[wooly1]

TMan,

Been fishing this lake for decades and never knew there were two accesses.

From your directions, the second one is on the west shore of the north arm.

[Otter]

Now that I look more closely, I can see that there were two lines from the launch logo to the lake. They were so close together that didn't realize that there were two. Anyway, I went to the one next to a bar called The Other Place and it was deep enough now, but will check out the deeper one the next time that I'm in the area.

[ZEEPO]

The west ramp is diffently deeper but the north one has more parking and room to turn around. I think the west one is maintained by the town of turtle river, or it used to be. That bank really drops off to deeper water, normally very few people use that ramp. Good Luck, Gary

[TMan]

Otter, if you got in the access by the OP without a problem(Us locals, or displaced locals anyway, call it the OP...)you're better off using that one, as it does have more room and parking.

Wooly1 - even old dogs learn new tricks I've fished the lake so long I used to access on the EAST side, figure that one out...

TMan

[ZEEPO]

Ok Tman lets test your memory of the lake. There used to be at least 9 resorts on the lake, the easy ones are ranbow, green acres and shady lane. Can you name any of the others? zeepo

[wooly1]

TMan,

That's one rugged access. Only for those with 14er's and smaller boats.

This old TRL dog keeps trying the same old walleye tricks expecting different results. I usually get the same results, go figure. Walleyes but sporadic and spread out. A good day is one keeper.

Zeepo,

Tough question. Wow. Was there a Sunset resort in the mix?

[TMan]

Wooly - it was when I was a kid (Physically, not mentally...) and we had a 14'...Good ol times. Used to spear that lake too with Pop and there were/are some Hogs out there.

Zeepo - you don't think I'm going to let a Kansasite stump me do you? Some resorts were Crystal Springs, White Hill Haven, Sandy Beach which was over by the other landing I think, one called Ogeybeck or somthing like that, and Shady Lane resort which is now an association or somthing, right off of the 90 degree turn on 22. I can't recall if a Place in the Woods was another resort previously or if it was built brand new. As far as Sunset, that rings a bell Wooly but I think you might be thinking the one in Washkish that closed....?

[wooly1]

"A Place in the Woods" is relatively new (15 years?). That was a undeveloped point of land before.

There are some huge northerns in there. Best time to get them is early season, when they lounge in the bays post spawn. This time of year I believe they are deep chasing tulibees.

Zeepo,

Was there an Ottersted resort, just north of Shady Lane same side in the bay?

[ZEEPO]

I think that one was there in Thompsons bay. The one at the end of the lake where the river runs out on top of the hill was called bayview. Sunset hills was one in the east arm. Everybody would get into there metal boat and troll around the lake. More pressure back then than now, only now fishing is more defined with the electronics. See in about 9 days and counting. Zeepo

[ZEEPO]

Forgot OMA resort which was right down from rainbow before you get to the point. My parents will remember the rest. Tman we will be on TRL from July 16-30, come look us up we are staying at rainbow and will be in a silver cajun with KS tags or a blue ranger with MO tags. Zeepo

[TMan]

Thanks for the invite Zeepo, I was just there last weekend. I grew up there but now live west of Mpls 40 minutes but still travel up there still very often. In fact I'll be back there on the 30th but then heading to Blackduck for the week. I own, inherited from my Dad this winter a house on 22 just past the A Place in the Woods resort so I get up there regularly. It might be for sale sometime if your interested....

Good luck on TRL! Use blue Phelps half face jigs!

[ZEEPO]

We leave Sunday for two weeks, we will be leaving on the 30th. My dad starting going to TRL in 1966 and we have been going ever since. Email me at [email protected] and let me what the pattern you found the fish. We normally like to throw crankbaits in the weeds and on the bars and catch a little bit of everything that way. My brother and I are going to try to make it to petterson lake in a canoe. We fished Moose some last year but going up to Petterson there is a huge beaver dam that blocks the way. My son and I went down the river 2 years ago in kayaks and went up to gull lake and fished, that used to be the thing to do. Good luck on the 30th, Zeepo

[DJE_BL]

I am heading up to turtle river lake this weekend. Staying at Place in the Woods. First time fishing the lake. Any suggestions on a good place to start. Walleye or Bass? Any info would help.

[wooly1]

Hey DJE_BL,

Try the reeds for bass. Tossing plastics. Bigger is better. You will have some fun catching and releasing hammer handles pike along with bass. Going bigger helps keep the rock bass and perch to a minimum.

Walleyes, I would suggest pulling cranks. The walleyes were suspended at about seventeen fow a few weeks ago.

Dusk and dawn, walleyes can be found from 7-11 fow near weedlines. Leeches were the ticket but now I would include some minnows, just in case.

Good luck, not the easiest lake to master but they are out there.

P.S. There are some nice crappies in the lake if you can locate them. Try straight across from the resort, at the tip of the reed point. They were not there when I was there, but may be now.

[Eli82]

I have not been on TRL since 1976. My Grandparent's ran Whitehill Haven for many years, and I have many happy memories of WWH, and TRL. I have thought about taking my family back there for a long weekend or more, but am not familiar with the area any more. Is 'A place in the woods' the only resort left on the lake? How big a boat can you launch at the public access? Are there good topo maps available in the area? I remember the lake sorta, but it's been 29 years, and I was 13 YO the last time I was on TRL. THX in advance. Eli82

[wooly1]

Eli82,

Rainbow Resort and A Place in the Woods are your only options. Rumor has it that Rainbow may be selling their cabins and A Place in the Woods will become a language camp for the Russian language.

I would give them a call to see if they are taking reservations for next year.

The access on the north end is capable of handling boats as large as maybe 25 feet. I put my 17' boat in with ease.

There are good fishing maps availble for TRL.

You will be pleasantly suprised that although there has been some change since your last trip, in is small in comparison to most.

I think you will find it is worth the trip. Enjoy!!

[Eli82]

thx for your response. I will check them out. Are there any state or fed campgrounds in the area that would be nearby TRL for a long weekend?

[wooly1]

Closest state park would be Lake Bemidji State Park on north end of Lake Bemidji. Just up the road from the Bemidji Golf course.

[Steve Foss]

The earlier comment about the pike in deeper water chasing the tulibees is right on. However, those tulibees (ciscos) start heading shallow for their autumn spawn as the water cools (starting now or darn soon), and the big pike, which prefer colder water than smaller pike, come right on in after them and gorge. If you cruise the shallower bays and look for tulibees dimpling the surface, troll through with shallow bigger cranks in silver/black colors. Now and then you'll spank a big ole girl walleye, too, because they're big enough to gobble a 1-lb tulibee.

I was able to take advantage of that fall tulibee spawn on Beltrami before a bad winter killed off a big portion of the population some years back. Pulling musky-sized jerbaits across shallow points as they slope down to the main lake, however, remains a great big pike tactic at and after fall turnover, when the monsters come in shallower.

My pike experience on Turtle River Lake was limited to two summer vacations about 20 years ago at one of those now-expired resorts. I caught some nice pike, a handful of 2 to 4 pound walleyes, and remembered how wonderful that lake was to be on.

I also remember a language camp back at the end of a certain bay where on one cold walleye opener years ago the walleyes were AWOL but the crappies were sucking down the minnows big time, and we feasted on crappie that night (after finally thawing ourselves in front of the fireplace). But, well, that's another story.

[Chris Haley]

Unfortunately everybody else found those crappies also!!! Now it's hard to find any in TRL!!! They can still be had. However, there are many better choices in the area these days.

[Steve Foss]

Yeah, I know a few solid crappie spots on a couple lakes in the area, but my lips are locked!