Going to DL Feb. 6

I am headed up to DL for some fishing on Feb. 6. We are thinking about fishing Big Detroit otherwise I heard that there is a small tourney on Rock Lake. Any fishing reports on any of the local lakes would be much appreciated.

This is just a report from the web (MN Explorer) but might help…

Quote:

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DETROIT LAKES
Walleye are hitting rattling jigging spoons tipped with a fathead
minnow worked in 17-24 feet of water along some of the deeper weedlines and
breaks. Pelican, Lizzie, Detroit, Toad, Cotton, Lida, Big Cormorant,
Floyd, Height of Land and Island lakes are all giving up fish,
especially during late afternoon and evening hours. Panfish can be found using
tiny jigs tipped with waxworms. For crappies and sunnies, hit Little
Detroit, Town, Little Cormorant, Lida, Prairie, Floyd, Cotton, Big Toad,
Little Pelican and Lizzie lakes during lowlight hours. Northern pike
continue to be taken from the weedlines on tip-ups and shiners, and on
jigging spoons.

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If you head into Ottertail County, be sure to stop by Ben’s Bait Shop at the corner of Hwy 78 and 210, Battle Lake, Minnesota. Or call 218-864-5596. They’ll give you the goods on fishing the area.

— Wade

Thanks for the help.

The fishing report is “mostly” accurate. Cormarant is a tough bite. All the lake are producing, but not at the same times…ie Height of Land is max18ft depth and weedline is 13-15. Big Detroit is 90ft with weedline at 18ft, and the bite times are varying, some in the am, some the pm and some at dark 30, and a couple of the shallow stained waters like Rock, HOL, Rice, Marshal etc are day time active bite for some eyes. The lakes turn on and off. Pine has been the most consistant bite. Check with John “Baitman” at Quality Bait and Tackle…844-2248 for up to date info. Maybe we can get Paul or some locals to jump on with reliable info. I have been working on a new building and have not been getting out. My word is from a couple of buddies that are getting out. We just recieved 22′ of new powder and we are -28 today with no forecasted high abouve 0 until Feb 3rd.

Thanks a lot for the fishing and snow report. I am heading up for snowmobiling, but I really would like to do some fishing also. We stay right by Rice Lake so I would probably be fishing Rice or Rock. I will give Quality bait and tackle a call. Thanks, and don’t freeze.

Brad, thanks for the update! How many days ’til spring???

Here’s the latest I got in the email from Explore MN…

Quote:

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DETROIT LAKES
Numbers of panfish are being pulled from Cotton, Wolf, Height of Land,
Floyd, Big Toad, Little Detroit, Little Pelican, Prairie, Stump, Little
Cormorant and Lizzie Lakes. For the most fish, try small jigs tipped
with waxworms. The deeper holes seem to be best for crappies, and the
bluegills are most active near the weedlines. A few walleye are being
taken late in the day, beginning at 3:30pm, until one-half hour after
dark. The best approach has been a rattling spoon tipped with a minnow
head. For walleye, hit Big Detroit, Big Cormorant, Pelican, Lizzie,
Strawberry, Crystal, Toad, Floyd, Cotton and Franklin Lakes.

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I’m thinkin that report is probably from Dick Beardsley. I know he bases some of that off of info he gets from others. I am going to tell you not to waste your time on Cormorant. If the weather breaks like it is supposed to, jigging spoons will be the ticket. During this cold snap the smaller jigs and minnows under bobbers was the ticket for eyes…..this is from some very reliable sourses. We are supposed ti be in the teens for highs by the weekend. Strawberry and Cotton are deep water (20-24ft) bites. Big DL and Toad are just off the weedlines at about 17-19 on DL and 13-15 on Toad. Don’t Know anything about the others mentioned. I will mention as before….Big Pine is one of the most consistant producers as of late (Dec till now!)

Thanks a lot guys for all of your help. Friday night we fished Rice Lake for a couple hours. We caught 8 crappies all over 11 inches. Saturday night we fished a couple hours again and caught one 13 incher. All the fish were in 10 feet and they come mixed in with some snake northerns and bullheads. Saturday, I fished a tournament on Rock Lake. The winner was a 3.5 lb. largemouth. We caught a lot of small northerns and some walleyes. One northern in our group took 15th.

Funny story…Saturday, 2 minutes into the tournament, I caught a little northern. Everybody told me that there was a prize for first fish. I cut the line, threw everything on the ground, jumped on the snowmobile and went full throttle straight to shore. The entire time, I was racing a truck coming from the other direction. I got there, weighed my fish first, and then they laughed when I asked for my first fish prize (there was none).