We’re on that end of the lake too; been here since the 11th. We’ve done our ~10 day vacation every year this time for over 30 years. I don’t claim to be a pro but OT is typically pretty challenging for eyes this time of year. We’ve had some good days over the years but they are few and far between. They can certainly be had and the people that are in tune with the lake seem to do pretty well. We’ve gone with a guide a few times over the years and we went this year and even he was not real optimistic about the state of the walleye population in the lake (and we just caught a few fish). Usually you’re targeting humps (there’s a million of them) in 20-30 feet of water, but we caught a couple up in 7-8 ft as well. So many places on the lake to try so it is kind of cool in that regard.
As far as panfish, there supposedly are some in OT but I’ve never pursued it. I’m not sure where you’d start. If you’re not tied to OT there are many lakes within 15 minutes that would give you plenty of action for the kids – I’d be happy to pass on some names.
Another heads-up, swimmer’s itch is pretty bad this year. Last year was the first year we’d ever heard of it and we were warned again this year. First couple days we didn’t see it much but after a couple days of wind blowing into our shore it was really bad. Luckily I only went in up to my knees that day but it looks like I have chicken pox where I did go in.
