Pickerel Lake in Otter Tail County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Out in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, sits Pickerel Lake. Elevation runs to 1,348 feet. The water covers some 26 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. On size it sits at the modest end of our Otter Tail County list. Perham at 9.4 miles is the nearest place to stop. Fargo is the closest city, 53 miles away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Pickerel Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Fish documented in Otter Tail County include largemouth bass, black crappie, walleye, bluegill and yellow perch. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. At Pickerel Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 70°F; the cold one sits at 6°F. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Ice is part of the season here, ending near mid April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid April and starts locking again about late November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. The season on Pickerel Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. You can launch from a ramp around half a mile away. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Reames Lake, 0.5 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. The position on Pickerel Lake is worth confirming on the day.