Pelican Bay, Minnesota: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Look for Pelican Bay in Otter Tail County, Minnesota. Everything around it is rolling bush. Some 12 miles away sits New York Mills, the nearest settlement. Perham follows at 12 miles, then Wadena at 21 miles. Water in the same corner: Donalds Lake lies 1.4 miles on, Long Lake 1.6 miles off, Pickerel Lake lies 2.1 miles on, Portage Lake 2.4 miles off and Buchanan Lake lies 2.5 miles on. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Pelican Bay

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. The mouth fishes hardest when the run is at its strongest. Slack water is dead water on a place like this. Records held for Otter Tail County cover largemouth bass, black crappie and walleye. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. Fish Pelican Bay where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 6°F and July at about 70°F, the water has a wide range to work through. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. After mid April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Open water usually runs from mid April until about late November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. The season on Pelican Bay follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. There is a mapped slipway roughly half a mile away. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Failing this one, try Donalds Lake, 1.4 miles away. Where Pelican Bay is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.