ottertail area ice reports

[axel]

JUST RETURNED FROM FISHING IN OTTERTAIL COUNTY AND WANTED TO GIVE PEOPLE A HEADS UP. WE DRILLED SEVERAL HOLES BEFORE VENTURING OUT AND I HAVE NEVER SEEN MORE INCONSISTANT ICE. THE LEAST WE FOUND WAS ABOUT 5 INCHES AND THE MOST TEN. WATER WAS ON TOP OF SOME OF THE LAKES BUT IT APPEARED TO BE ABOUT 6 INCHES OF GOOD ICE AT LEAST THE PLACES WE CHECKED. WE SAW A SMALL CAR ON WEST LOST LAKE AND YOU WOULD NOT CATCH ME OUT IN ANY VEHICLE. WE USED A FOUR WHEELER BUT FOLLOWED SHORELINES. FOLKS BE CAREFUL!!!!!!!! THERE ARE REASONS YOU DO NOT SEE THAT MANY SHACKS ON CERTAIN LAKES.

[slammer]

What lakes were you on and how was the fishing?

[us8420]

I just got back from fishing in the ottertail area myself. i definately have to agree with axel, the ice is very spotty and inconsistant. make sure to drill plenty of holes and check for ice thickness before going out too far. as far as the fishing goes, i would consider it as inconsistant as the ice. be mobile and don't just rely on your fishing hole that has produced before. we hit several spots over the last three days (hope you guys don't mind if i keep the exact locations to myself), and the results as i said were mixed. bluegills and crappies were very unpredictable, had to change jigs several times. waxies seemed to work well, as well as the shrimpos. the fish we did manage to convince to bite were caught in 8-12 fow. but of course lake area was limited due to ice we were not willing to take a chance with.

folks, be careful out there, better be safe than wet. can't wait to get back up there.

[jerkin'm]

Good report, and I think most of us PREFER you keep exact fishing locations to yourself... Nothing worse than one of your own hotspots getting talked up and then hammered....

[Mark Christianson]

Keep the spots quiet US. I think most will agree on that.

Even keep the small lake names hush.

Some tactics, depths, etc is all cool with most people.

I hope to get up there soon and try some lakes.

Put the new Otter to the test.

[DigitalFisherman]

Thanks for the reports... How much snow did you folks pick up with this storm? Am comming up to the Battle Lake area on Sunday to hit the favorite honey hole and need to know if the snow shoes are in play.

[slammer]

Should have rephrased my sentance. Wasnt looking for exact spots! More on the order of ice conditions.

[axel]

SLAMMER, THE FISHING WAS DECENT FOR PANFISH ON THE LAKE WE FISHED. MY OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAKES WE DROVE BY AND CHECKED IN THE DALTON AND UNDERWOOD AREAS SEEMED TO HAVE SOME OF THE SAME THINGS LIKE THE WATER OR SLUSH ON THE TOPS IN SPOTS. THE LAKE WE FISHED HAD THE WATER ON TOP IN SPOTS BUT HAD GOOD ICE UNDER IT. BUT I WOULD NOT TRUST ANY WITH OUT CHECKING IT FIRST. LIKE I SAID IN MY EARLIER POST THE THICKNESS IS VERY INCONSISTANT SO EVERYONE NEEDS TO USE CAUTION AND COMMON SENSE. WAXIES SEEM TO WORK THE BEST. GOOD LUCK.

[slammer]

Thanks axel. Took the house out on Otter Tail last Sat(10th) and had 7-8 in. of good clear ice. I hope the past few warm, windy days didnt make too big of a mess out there.

[CabinBoy]

Slammer, I'd check on your house. Pulled ours off yesterday and there was 3-4 inches of water on top of the ice. The area that flooded around the house had a thin layer of ice on it but broke as soon as you walked on it - what a mess!!! Talked to a couple of guys today and they said it was still the same. Nobody fishing at all today on the west end. Season was off to a good start too, hope this doesn't screw things up too bad.

[Gissert]

Did a little check on South Turtle yesterday. Many wet spots, pretty sloppy overall. I did not check any thickness.

I went over to Ottertail and fished on the west end. I ran out as far as two miles on the west end, and I did not find any water in the spots I went with the wheeler. The tape measure showed 10.5 inches in the holes I drilled. (The fishing was pretty dang good, too)

Some guys are driving full size trucks out to the houses just off Greystone. I think I'll wait a bit longer for that. It was real easy to get around with a wheeler.

Went out again on S. Turtle this morning and it was getting better, though I still found wet spots. It was -15 so the slush should start consolidating.

[tashit]

Thanks for the report Gissert. I'll be up fishing Ottertail and other area lakes after Christmas for a few days. I hope the eyes are still biting because I sure can't find them down here!

[Gissert]

Dont be afraid to move. The first spot I tried looked good on paper, but was dead dead dead.

The second spot was very ordinary looking on the map, but the fish were there.

[PRFISHER]

Truck went down yesterday on Ottertail, supposedly on 14 inches of ice in 12 feet of water

[Gissert]

I hope no one was hurt.

My wife called me and said she heard that report on the radio. Any idea of where this happened?

I got a real uneasy feeling watching a couple of those bigger trucks running out there after dark as I loaded up my gear on Saturday night.

I am gonna stick to the 4 wheeler for a while yet.....

The Otter Tail ice I was on looked really good. I did not find any water of slush anywhere I went. Went for a ride on the sled yesterday afternoon. North and South Turtle still have a lot of water and slush. Heard reports that Stalker is pretty sloppy too.

[GRAND DAD]

Gissert am on my way up there right now going to try OT for the first time I always say that but am going this time am bring my fish house out there with me I will be on the lake for 2 days or so am going off the ramp on the side down the road from Bens bait is there any thing I need to watch out for end not looking for any spots but what my be the best depth I wll be pulling it out with my 4 wheeler

[PRFISHER]

Sounds like they all got out....

Here is one for you. I was coming back from Perham on saturday and there was a full size extended cab pickup at the Pelican Bay Access with a 20-24 motor home behind going out. The only problem was right in the access the fish house axels broke through and there they sat with a pickup hooked up to a sinking fish house, not very deep there but put it this way I wouldn't have driven that contraption out on 20 inches of ice. People don't think they just "have" to get out there. Get out with the portable for a while, then put out the big house give it time...

[Gissert]

GRAND DAD -

I take it your are going out by Greystone? That is where I went out. They have a volunteer paybox for the access, well worth it for it's convienece.

If you get your bait at Ken's, I am sure they can give you the latest information.

I started off a breakline in 22 feet of water, and marked nothing. I moved deeper, and was getting fish in 28-29 feet. Some folks are doing good in the mornings and evenings a bit shallower, 12-18 feet or so.

The best thing you can do is just drill holes and chase until you start marking fish. Sooner or later, you should get on some perch, and the walleyes often follow.

There are several small groups of houses out on the west end now.

[tacklebox7FF]

every hole I drilled out on ottertail I never seen 14 inches of ice... the most I seen was 11.. i heard too the truck went through on 9 inches of ice.. that's a little more believable than 14, and still I wouldn't of drove my truck out there...the ice thickness is pretty spotty sometimes on OT. People just have to use a little common sense.. Driving on the lake now is like taking a cold dip, busting the checkbook out, and buying a new truck....

[tashit]

Well my weekend up at OT was a nice success. Between 3 of us we caught close to 20 walleyes between 12-19", plus the big one of the weekend going at 24.5" This was on the same spot that we nailed them in mid-October. It was pretty constant action, although a lot of the missed bites were most likely perch. There were also several fish that I lost about half-way up that were sure walleyes. I also caught the biggest eelpout I have ever seen in my life. Now I haven't seen a whole lot but this one was a monster. I hate those things so I didn't even pull him up the hole but now I wish I would've weighed him.

We were fishing between 16-20 fow on a nice little break using Shiners.

There was plenty of slush but we pulled our shacks out with snowmobiles and really didn't have any problems. I saw a few full size trucks driving on a plowed road but I kept my distance from them.

[Moose-Hunter]

What's the latest and greatest news from Ottertail? Ice conditions? Any fish?

LOL!! I gotta ask... duhhh... should I bring my auger extension? LOL!! Couldn't resist...

[ChuckN]

Hey Dan,

Ice ranged from 11-14", maybe a bit thicker in spots. The problem with the ice was the slush. Lots of water out there. Last night was pretty chilly, so hopefully it froze a lot of that stuff? ATV's seemed to move a lot better this weekend compared to last weekend. Snowmobiles would still be my choice.

Fish were snappin in spots during the peak bite time of dawn/dusk. Slower during the day it seemed, but perch were snappin...just small perch for the most part.

You still won't catch me driving a truck on any lake in the area, except near the shoreline to park.

[Mert]

Anyone been on W Battle lately? Was out over new years and got some eyes, but getting around was tough...just 8" ice at N pt and a lot of slush pockets. I'm meeting some friends/family there for a fishing get together on 1/27. Wondering if anyone's driving out there yet. Guessing not likely due to the warm weather.

[Gissert]

I was tooling around out there Saturday on my ATV. Never measured the ice thickness, but I was still running into some big slush fields.

I saw some full size rigs out between north and South point. Pretty risky, IMO.