South Long Lake Fishing near Pelican Rapids, Minnesota

• Overview

  South Long Lake is set in Otter Tail County, Minnesota. It sits at 1,339 feet above sea level. The water covers some 91 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The edge runs 2.3 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Some 12 miles away sits Pelican Rapids, the nearest settlement. It is 51 miles to Fargo, the nearest city. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on South Long Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. 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. On South Long Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 69°F in July and bottom out at 6°F in January. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid April. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about late November. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. At South Long Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. If the gate is shut, Zorns Lake at 0.6 miles is the nearest alternative. Treat access at South Long Lake as something to verify.