Rice Lake Fishing in Otter Tail County, Minnesota

• Overview

  This water sits in Otter Tail County, Minnesota. The water sits 1,319 feet up. Around 83 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. The full circuit measures close to 2.1 miles on foot. The nearest place of any size is Perham, 5.9 miles away. New York Mills is 11 miles and Frazee 15 miles. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Rice Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Fish documented in Otter Tail County include largemouth bass, black crappie and walleye. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. The near bank of Rice Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 6°F in January up to 69°F in July. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Winter locks it down, and mid April brings it back. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about late November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Time your trip to Rice Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Boedigheimer Lake, 1 mile away, makes the obvious fallback. What applies at Rice Lake may have changed since it was mapped.