Ottertail County Minnesota Fishing Report 5-31-05

By wade_kuehl 0

I had the opportunity to chase walleye with my father, Joe Kuehl and my father-in-law, Tim Zoucha. Once again, the weather made fishing a little tough this past week in the Ottertail area. The winds made the larger lakes difficult to fish. Along with tough weather, we again found a tough bite, at least in our boat.

The day bite was particularly slow. We tried several techniques and variations of techniques with very little success. The fish were definatley negative – at least the fish under my boat were! Speaking to some other fishermen in the area, the lindy rig and leech bite was going fairly well for some on Clitherall.

Our best results came from pitching jigs and slip-bobbers later in the evening, in the shallows 4-7 feet. Fathead minnows again out-produced leeches and shiners for us. Although no large ‘eyes were found, we did manage several in the "eater" class. I’ll put in a plug for Berkley Vanish. I have become a strong believer in using Vanish as leader line under slip bobbers for neutral to negative fish, especially in clear water.

While I’m on the topic of outdoor gear, I’ll add that I’ve had the chance to use my new Lowrance LMS-332C several times now and it is an outstanding unit. For those of you who have been waiting for the next big thing, these new Lowrance color units are the ticket. They sure make locating fish a whole lot easier.

Although the fish were not as cooperative as they were last season at this time I still had a great time on the water with my two dads. After all, it’s all about time on the water! Good luck to everyone this season. Be wise and be safe. – Wade

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wade_kuehl

I am a freak for the outdoors. I mainly fish walleye and smallies but I'll fish for just about anything that swims. I joined the IDO staff in 2003 and enjoy being on the Management Team. I Full Bio ›

0 Comments

  1. That’s one heck of a nice sunset shot Wade! I would imagine with the nice warm weather this week the fishing should pick up all over the north country. How long before you head back north?

  2. Thanks James. I’m not sure when I’ll be back up North. I hope to make a June trip if possible. If I win the lottery, I’ll be up there a lot more!

  3. The reason I ask is I will be up on Mille Lacs with BlueFleck from the 15th – 20th June. I have a third on the 18th but there’s room for you if you’d like to sit in and chase sumo-bronzies any of those other dates. If you’re going to be in MN during that stretch… give me a holler.

  4. Chasing smallies with you and Blue sounds too good to pass up. I’ll see what I can do with my schedule and shoot you a PM asap. Thanks for the offer!

  6. im heading up to otter tail county on june 18th for 1 week, was wondering the water temp there and how the bass walleye and crappie doing… any responses i would appreciate….thanks

  7. The water temps are around 65 degrees.It sounds like the Walleye’s are hit and miss right now.Im not sure about the bass right now.Try the shoreline breaks with a minnow or leech on a lindy rig or jig.Some reports of night cranking seems to be getting some action too in the shallow’s.

  9. I’m heading back up this weekend too. Spending Friday on Mille Lacs and then the rest of the weekend in the Ottertail area. I’ll have a report when I return.

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