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

• Overview

  Second Silver Lake is listed under Otter Tail County, Minnesota. Mixed forest runs right down to the water. With some 189 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. 16 miles away sits Fergus Falls, the nearest town. It is 63 miles to Fargo, the nearest city. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Second Silver Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Survey and observation records for Otter Tail County include largemouth bass, black crappie and walleye. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Work Second Silver Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 70°F for July and 7°F for January. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Once it clears, about mid April, the fishing comes on quickly. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. The season on Second Silver Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Third Silver Lake at 1.1 miles is the sensible second choice. For Second Silver Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.