Share your catch
US

Otter Tail Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Otter Tail County's largest lake, which the DNR calls the tenth largest lake entirely within Minnesota, with three state public water accesses.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Flow
215 cfs
Air / High
71 / 73 F
Wind
SSE 19 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 05046000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Otter Tail Lake feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The release below the dam is running 215 cfs, falling. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 19 mph, falling pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 73. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:58 AM-11:58 AM and 10:29 PM-12:29 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Smallmouth bassExcellent

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 63 F with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Minnesota requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $25.00 for residents. What a Minnesota licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing smallmouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with DNR before you keep anything. The season dates for Minnesota, read off the agency, are on the Minnesota seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Otter Tail River below Orwell Dam.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 05046000.

244297350215 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 96 years of October 23

At 215 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 05046000 (Otter Tail River below Orwell Dam) is at the 41st percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 96 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 273 cfs; the highest was 1,500 cfs and the lowest 9 cfs.

p10 28median 273p90 676

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 05046000; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp71 F
High / Low73 / 58 F
WindSSE 19-34 mph
Pressure1013.8 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 43%
Sunrise / Sunset07:51 / 18:21
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Otter Tail Lake this week

Today is the pick of the week on Otter Tail Lake, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:58 AM-11:58 AM and 10:29 PM-12:29 AM
Minor period
4:22 AM-5:22 AM
Sun
07:51 to 18:21
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 20 mph
Rain chance
43%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Otter Tail Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

When to come: the Otter Tail Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Smallmouth bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Otter Tail Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Smallmouth bass led the card at good. High of 75 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 70 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 70 F, wind to 17 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

Minnesota requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Minnesota license required. Statewide limits apply on Otter Tail Lake; the 2026 regulations list no lake-specific rule. Otter Tail River (Otter Tail, Becker and Wilkin counties): smallmouth bass catch-and-release.

Access

DNR public water accesses: Riviera (north shore; closed for reconstruction from Aug 17, 2026, reopening expected late October 2026), Pelican Bay/Sportsmans (east) and Riverside (west).

About this water

The largest lake in Otter Tail County and, per the Minnesota DNR, the tenth largest lake entirely within Minnesota.

Fishing Otter Tail Lake: the full guide

The lake

Minnesota DNR describes Otter Tail Lake as the tenth largest lake entirely within Minnesota and a popular boating destination. It is fished under statewide regulations: the 2026 Minnesota fishing regulations list no special limits for Otter Tail Lake itself, though nearby lakes in the county carry their own.

Public water accesses

The DNR runs three public water accesses on the lake: Riviera on the north shore, Pelican Bay/Sportsmans on the east side and Riverside on the west side. Riviera, first built in 1983, closed on August 17, 2026 for reconstruction with larger trailer stalls, two concrete ramps, two boarding docks and clean-drain-dry spaces, and is expected to reopen in late October 2026; launch at the other two in the meantime.

The Otter Tail River

The lake sits on the Otter Tail River. Minnesota's 2026 regulations make smallmouth bass catch-and-release on the Otter Tail River in Otter Tail, Becker and Wilkin counties, so read the river rules if you fish the inlet or outlet. The USGS gauge on this page, 05046000, is on the river below Orwell Dam near Fergus Falls, far downstream of the lake, so it does not show lake conditions.

Common questions

Is there a special walleye rule on Otter Tail Lake?

No lake-specific rule is listed in Minnesota's 2026 fishing regulations, so statewide limits apply. Several other Otter Tail County lakes do have special rules.

Where can I launch while Riviera is closed?

At the DNR's Pelican Bay/Sportsmans access on the east side or Riverside on the west side; Riviera is expected to reopen in late October 2026.

Does the gauge on this page show the lake level?

No. USGS 05046000 is on the Otter Tail River below Orwell Dam near Fergus Falls, well downstream of the lake.

Is fishing good at Otter Tail Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Gull Lake61 miSheyenne River68 miBig Stone Lake83 miLake Bemidji84 miCass Lake86 miGreen Lake87 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 05046000 β€” Otter Tail River below Orwell Dam
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 16:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 46.4000, -95.6300 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.