2015 State Record

[delcecchi]

Yeah but 11 lbs 3oz from 1940......

Wasn't that the era when Muskies in contests were sometimes found to have ingested sash weights?

[MuskieFever]

No big slaunch donkey pics?

[bassfshin24]

Just saw a video on facebook this weekend on the Ice fishing MN page of a guy releasing what he claims was a 25" largemouth He said a just really wanted to release the fish back quick so he didn't take a pic of it on the tape. Didn't look 25" to me but it wasn't a very good video either. I have a hard time believing 25" that's for sure.

[BTL]

That story from the DNR makes me wonder about the smallmouth record too. Exactly 8lbs, no measurements, and only a year for the date. Seems suspicious. Not to mention where it was caught. Maybe there were once smallies in West Battle, but we have a cabin down the road from that lake and I don't think it's had a smallmouth population in my lifetime.

[MuskieFever]

That story from the DNR makes me wonder about the smallmouth record too. Exactly 8lbs, no measurements, and only a year for the date. Seems suspicious. Not to mention where it was caught. Maybe there were once smallies in West Battle, but we have a cabin down the road from that lake and I don't think it's had a smallmouth population in my lifetime.

I agree. When I heard West Battle my first reaction was, there's smallies in there?

I'm sure Deitz has a picture of a MN 7 pounder somewhere.... If only he were reading this..

[CCGinMN]

My prediction is that the next state record smallmouth will come from Ottertail or Mille Lacs. Right now they are planning to infest Ottertail and Rush lakes with Zebra Mussels. Ottertail is like a mini Mille Lacs. As soon as the government is able to infest it (See Senate bill no. 485 and House bill no. 563), Ottertail will go through the same ecological changes that Mille Lacs did. Being that it is a lot further from the cities than M.L. and NOBODY up there cares about smallmouth, I believe it will be the lake to hold the next record.

[delcecchi]

My prediction is that the next state record smallmouth will come from Ottertail or Mille Lacs. Right now they are planning to infest Ottertail and Rush lakes with Zebra Mussels. Ottertail is like a mini Mille Lacs. As soon as the government is able to infest it (See Senate bill no. 485 and House bill no. 563), Ottertail will go through the same ecological changes that Mille Lacs did. Being that it is a lot further from the cities than M.L. and NOBODY up there cares about smallmouth, I believe it will be the lake to hold the next record.

Are you serious? (where is that facepalm meme when I need it)

[Presco]

Ottertail is an interesting lake. There are smallmouth in there, but the population is not "strong" by any stretch. Ottertail looks similar to Mille Lacs on the surface, but its a very different lake. Its all sand. It doesn't have the massive rock and rubble Mille Lacs has in abundance. In order to grow a state record, you need the habitat and forage to get there. I'd say Ottertail's habitat is not a strong point for a state record, and while the perch/walleye population is strong, its better known for lots of eater sized walleye, not the 27-28" walleye that Mille Lacs seems to produce in abundance. This would seem to indicate its forage base is very different as well.

The best fisherman I know in the area, Ross Hagemeister, will take you to 10 other lakes in the area if you want to catch big smallmouth. Plus, on top of all that, Ottertail is strongly-managed for walleye. If Ottertail has the next smallmouth record, it won't be for a long time.

[Presco]

I didn't even respond to the "plan to infest Ottertail". Sorry, but thats the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I used to live up there in the summer, and based on their reaction when I wanted to pull a dead tree out of the yard (that happened to be touching the water), I am doubtful that Ottertail is planning infest the lake with an invasive species. If you actually read the bills, neither even mentions Ottertail Lake and both bills are for flood hazard mitigation for 3 lakes 10 miles north of Ottertail.

[CCGinMN]

I didn't even respond to the "plan to infest Ottertail". Sorry, but thats the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I used to live up there in the summer, and based on their reaction when I wanted to pull a dead tree out of the yard (that happened to be touching the water), I am doubtful that Ottertail is planning infest the lake with an invasive species. If you actually read the bills, neither even mentions Ottertail Lake and both bills are for flood hazard mitigation for 3 lakes 10 miles north of Ottertail.

I did in fact read the bills. They are going to take water from Little McDonald (infested with Zebs) and dump it into the Ottertail river just North of Rush Lake and Ottertail. The Ottertail river flows into Rush and then Ottertail Lake. They are proposing to put a filter on it to help prevent the spread of zebs. This type of filter has never been tested/implemented before. Do you think the filter will be 100% effective? I don't but I am not an expert on the mechanics of it. Here is a more detailed explanation of what is going to happen:

http://www.lmkp-lid.com/venting/

By the way, I have caught numerous 5 lb. plus smallmouth on Ottertail. All while throwing a jig and shiner for walleyes. Ottertail is already a trophy smallmouth lake.

[CCGinMN]

Are you serious? (where is that facepalm meme when I need it)

[BTL]

Ottertail is already connected to so many other lakes via the river that I'd be surprised if there weren't already some zebras in there. There are a bunch of lakes in Otter Tail county that have them. I don't think adding another lake is going to suddenly cause a zebra mussel explosion and destroy the ecosystem.

[CCGinMN]

BTL, I would LOVE to debate you but unfortunately this is the wrong thread. I did start another thread on this topic under the forum: "Walleye Fishing-Perch." Feel free to provide your feedback there.

The MN state record Laregmouth was just caught a few years ago on Auburn lake. I tried to get our league to pick that lake but we came to the consensus that it is too small. A few guys in our league doubted that the record actually came from Auburn. Has anyone else fished this lake? Is it known for big bass? If the record just came out of there back in '05, maybe its twin sister is still swimming around in there.

[MuskieFever]

I've always wondered why so many anglers doubt big fish in small lakes. Some of my biggest bass have come from lakes less than 400 acres. Yes, a lot of the time the 'big pond big fish' theory holds true. However, when it comes to the metro area, some of the smaller lakes have some true giant fish, especially bass.

[KickNBass]

The size of the lake doesn't matter much. I know a lake that has produced several 7 lb bass and it is pretty small. Helps that it is semi-private. To me, optimally, you need a lake that had a small pressure/acre ratio to produce a big fish. Usually that comes in a form of a private lake, a big body of water or a sleeper lake. There's a lake I know of that you can catch monsters from at the right time but everybody that fishes it is targeting walleyes and crappies and it is definitely not a numbers lake for bass to the point where I don't even waste my time with it even with the big pay-off.