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Has anyone stayed at Bonnie Beach resort on Clitherall during the summer. Any feedback for this particular resort? I have not fished clitherall before, but I understand it is a decent multi-species lake. I have some relatives in Nebraska who would like to come up this summer during mid-July and they are considering staying at Bonnie Beach resort. I would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks, Spudhauler

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Some of my relatives have stayed here while in the area..ONCE...Very uptight people that own it and not an enjoyable time for my family...Would look elsewhere..Couple other resorts on the lake...Scenic Point would be a better bet...

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We had a Sport and Vacation Show here in Rochester, MN this weekend and a guy from Scenic Point was there. I had a good talk with him and he seemed very helpful. By the looks of things it seems to be a very good crappie lake in the Spring and then the rest of the fishing kicks in during the summer time. He had multiple pictures of very nice largemouth bass as well as some nice northern and walleye pics. Is this really that good of a bass lake? I know resort owners like to show off the best pictures at Sport Shows, so I'd like to get an opinion on this body of water from one who doesn't have as much to gain as a resort owner. The lake has peaked my interest as a place to visit. Thanks.

Andy

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I can count on one finger the number of big bass I personally have caught on Clitherall..It is a decent multispecie lake, tough walleyes...I have spent plenty of time out there over the years...

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I lived in and fished Otter Tail County for 17 years. You can do much better than Clitheral. Try Dead if you want multi species. Mike and Cheryl Harris run a nice resort. They are fun people as well. Other options here.

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Joe

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I grew up on Clitherall and have logged many, many hours in the boat chasing pretty much anything I could catch. Is it a good bass lake? Yep, it is. I've caught a few really nice ones over the years, but most of the time it's the 1-3 pounders. The bummer is that a lot of the bass bite on worms or leeches, and the people who are fishing for sunfish catch the bass and then keep them. Every time I go after the largemouth, I can pretty much assume I'll catch at least one, even if I only go out for an hour. Now there are smallies in there (catch and release only!!!) I caught one last summer and man, what a hoot! It was decent in size and I put it back immediately. I was pleased.

Walleyes are tough to catch in that lake, there is no doubt. Only a couple of years over the last 30 that I've fished this lake I have done excellent. Most of the time it's hard. There are an awful lot of rock bass in the lake and after a while it becomes frustrating to catch one after the other. A northern is picked up every once in a while by accident, but have also caught them by trolling fast with a daredevil on a weedline, or trolling with frogs or suckers. I don't fish strictly for pike too much on that lake. The best part about Clitherall is that it's a family oriented lake. The resorts all have nice sandy areas for the kids to swim, the water is crystal clear, and you can take the kids fishing and they'll stay enthused because you will catch one sunnie after another, and one rock bass after another. Then in the evening when the daytime activities slow down, it's nice to slip out and try to catch one of those walleyes amongst 100 rock bass.

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Last summer went scuba diving on Clitherall and saw many smallies & walleyes. The water is very clear down to about 30 ft. If you have ever done any diving in Otter Tail county you would be surprised at the number of fish you see. Most panfish, perch,pike, bass hang by the weedlines and those walleyes and smallies are alot deeper.

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We've stayed on Clitherall one week each summer for about 13 years, I've always thought of it as a good all-around fishing lake (but many in the area are, including the aforementioned Dead Lake and numerous others). We don't focus primarily on walleyes like so many fishermen do, but have always caught good numbers of nice sized bass and crappies, along with decent bluegill. Give Jim a call at Oak Park Resort, he and his wife Theresa are excellent hosts, very laid back and hospitable. The cabins are old but well-maintained and comfortable. Just google Oak Park Resort for the number.

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We have a cabin on Clitherall and the crappies have been overfished like there is no tomorrow. Honestly, the largest crappie we caught this last year wasn't much bigger than my wallet. Several years ago the fishing was decent, but not anymore with people taking smaller and smaller fish. The largemouth bass are a pretty sure bet, hard to catch smallies, there are very few smallies. It's takes many hours to catch walleyes- average 2-3 hours per walleye this winter. Seems like we catch a northern each outing. No tullibees. The panfish are small bait for the pike. It is a very soft bottom lake with lots of weeds.

Resort wise, I have always liked the looks of Oak Park, but have not stayed there.

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I completely concur that the crappies have been crushed the past few years.

I wish the DNR would put some special regs on this lake with the pressure a couple key areas get.

Bass fishing is decent, but every lake in the area is decent to good for bass.

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  • 1 month later...

I agree that the crappie fishing is really bad. What really hurts is when I watch people keep those small fish. Apparently they have no pride and don't care about the future of the fishery. Seems like the DNR is reluctant to impose any special regs also.

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  • 3 months later...

Well since I originaly posted this post I thought I should report on how the week went. Bonnie beach resort was a very nice resort that I believe caters very well to families. The owners were very nice and the amenities were what my family was looking for.

The fishing was non-stop action. We went through hundreds of leeches and crawlers. We did not keep one fish as all were released. The problem with the non-stop action is that I was targeting walleyes and did not catch one. If I catch another rock bass this year I may simply lose my mind and pull the plug out of the boat and go down with the ship. No, it really wasn't that bad. We also caught a lot of sunnies, bass both large and small mouth and a few crappies for good measure.

The lack of walleyes was likely my own fault as the only presentation we used was lindy rigs with crawlers or leeches. We did change depths alot from 10 feet to 35 feet, but the pesky rock bass could obviously smell my alumacraft and would not leave my starboard side.

The kids loved the rockbass and sunnies and I enjoyed the cold beer and company. All in all it was a very good vacation.

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Hey Spudhauler. You had the typical vacation on Lake Clitherall. The kids had a blast catching fish that bite like mad, the weather was perfect, the company great, and it was relaxing. Good for you.

The lack of walleyes is not your fault. There are just too many rock bass because nobody (or at least very few) harvests them. We used to have a swim raft out in 7 feet of water, and would sit on it and fish for them in the middle of the day. We could see straight to the bottom and those darn things are so aggressive that they kick the other fish out of the way to get the bait. Now imagine a walleye coming to check out your offering, when a goofy rock bass comes out of the weeds, buts in, and grabs the bait before the walleye can get a good look. No skin off the walleye's back....there's more food out there. This happens time and time again. The rock bass, sunfish, large & smallmouth bass are much more aggressive than the walleyes are, so they're the ones getting caught.

I encourage everyone to keep all the rock bass they catch on this lake. Clean them up (they clean rather easy, I think, and they're great fish for teaching a kid how to clean...that is how we learned as kids) and eat them or give them away. The walleye fishing will continue to be tough until the population of rock bass is thinned out.

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Ottertail League was out on Clitherall Monday night. 22 walleyes were registered for twelve boats. Pulling cranks in the evening and live bait on the humps were the key presentations.

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I have a place on West Battle Lake and if you plan to fish on Clitherall, I suggest you get to know the Sportsmans and Bonnie and Clydes. There the bars in Clitherall, and when you dont catch any fish at least you can drink like one there! That's just an opinion... cool.gif

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