Minnesota DNR's lake study gives away hot fishing spots in Otter Tail County There's a leak in the tight-lipped angling community.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently released data not only describing lake health, but fish population (including size expectations) and locations for anglers to launch their boats.
Did I miss something, it looks like they are just telling you what the fish populations are, thats something they have done for years. You just need to go to the lake finder page on the DNR website.
They didn't tell where or how to catch the fish. They just said what lakes have healthy populations of fish. Thats not a real secret in my opinion.
I very much agree with nofish. All these lakes have been known for years...Not an "ooops" more of a "hey there are more lakes out there that are good." Which just shows the DNR is doing a GOOD job!
The DNR's job, or one of their jobs, is to report on the lakes under their jurisdiction. They've been doing fish surveys for years and years, and publishing the results of those surveys. They report on where folks can launch their boats and maintain many of the accesses.
That's what we pay them to do. If my experience is typical, what I see on the lakes I visit is that most people catch nothing. Most of the anglers on the lake haven't a clue where the fish are, despite all the education and information available.
Telling folks that there are nice northerns in a particular lake does nothing to help anglers catch those northerns. In fact, I often watch other anglers while I fish, and rarely see bent rods in most of the boats.
We pay the DNR to keep track of what's happening in our waters, and I expect them to tell us what they know. I'm more concerned about some web sites where you can find GPS coordinates for hot spots. Now that's a bad thing.
There will be days when the fishing is better than one's most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse. Either is a gain over just staying home. ~ Roderick Haig-Brown, Fisherman's Spring, 1951
