Fishing Forecast · Minnesota · Updated August 2026

Otter Tail River Lake

Otter Tail River Lake earns a null for water quality. This forecast reads its measured clarity, depth, and trophic state — with each species' biology, the sun and moon, and today's conditions — to call when the fish move on Otter Tail River Lake and how to catch them.

55 ft
max depth: 3
fish species: 11.5 ft
water clarity: Natural lake
water body

Today · Fri Aug 7

★★★★★

The bite on Otter Tail River Lake today. Sunrise 6:12 AM, sunset 8:46 PM.

Moon: Waning Crescent · 32%
Major windows: 6:55 PM–8:55 PM · 7:24 AM–9:24 AM

Best day · next 2 weeks

Thu Aug 13

★★★★★

New Moon moon (0%). Fish the major windows at 12:56 AM and 1:22 PM.

Fishing Forecast for Otter Tail River Lake

A multi-factor outlook built from Otter Tail River Lake's measured water quality — clarity, trophic state, depth, and water-body type — combined with each species' biology, seasonal patterns, and today's live weather. It flags spawn timing, where the fish hold, and the techniques that fit this lake's water, not just the moon.

Bluegill

PanfishSummerSummer pattern

Very Good

~71°F est.

Otter Tail River Lake runs 11.5 ft of clarity — so finesse presentations and natural colors on light line tend to out-fish reaction baits.

Because Otter Tail River Lake averages 11.5 ft of visibility (clear), so finesse presentations and natural colors on light line tend to out-fish reaction baits.
Its mesotrophic nutrient level puts the summer weedline near 15–20 ft — that edge is the high-percentage zone to hold bluegill through the warm months.
With a max depth of 55 ft, Otter Tail River Lake is deep enough to stratify in summer, so coldwater fish hold near the thermocline while warmwater fish stay above it.

Techniques for clear water

tiny natural jigs, light linesmall flies & plastics

Season-by-season on Otter Tail River Lake

Season	Where	Structure	How
Spring	shallow 1–6 ft	spawning beds in warm bays, near cover	small jigs, live worm/waxworm under a float
Summer	weed edges 5–15 ft	deeper weed edges by midsummer, docks, brush	ice-jigs tipped with plastics/live bait, small flies
Fall	mid 8–18 ft	deeper weedlines and basin edges	small jigs vertically, tiny spoons
Winter / Ice	8–20 ft	basin holes and deep weed edges	tungsten ice jigs with waxworms/plastics

Pumpkinseed Sunfish

PanfishSummerSummer pattern

Very Good

~71°F est.

Otter Tail River Lake runs 11.5 ft of clarity — so finesse presentations and natural colors on light line tend to out-fish reaction baits.

Because Otter Tail River Lake averages 11.5 ft of visibility (clear), so finesse presentations and natural colors on light line tend to out-fish reaction baits.
Its mesotrophic nutrient level puts the summer weedline near 15–20 ft — that edge is the high-percentage zone to hold pumpkinseed sunfish through the warm months.
With a max depth of 55 ft, Otter Tail River Lake is deep enough to stratify in summer, so coldwater fish hold near the thermocline while warmwater fish stay above it.

Techniques for clear water

tiny natural jigs & flies

Season-by-season on Otter Tail River Lake

Season	Where	Structure	How
Spring	shallow 1–5 ft	warm weedy bays, cover	small jigs, worm under a float
Summer	shallow-to-mid 3–12 ft	weed beds, docks	small jigs and flies
Fall	mid 6–15 ft	weed edges	small jigs
Winter / Ice	6–15 ft	weed edges and holes	ice jigs with grubs

The outlook is a transparent heuristic weighting of established angling factors, this lake's measured water quality, and live conditions — not a validated catch predictor. Water temperature is estimated from season and latitude unless a recent USGS gauge reading is available. Planning a meal? Check fish-consumption advisories for Otter Tail River Lake. Always follow current state regulations.

14-Day Fishing Calendar

Plan the next two weeks on Otter Tail River Lake. Anglers target bluegill, hybrid sunfish, pumpkinseed on Otter Tail River Lake.

Date	Rating	Moon	Sunrise	Sunset	Major Periods	Minor Periods
Fri, Aug 7	☆☆☆☆☆	Waning Crescent 32% lit	6:12 AM	8:46 PM	6:55 PM – 8:55 PM 7:24 AM – 9:24 AM	11:36 PM – 12:36 AM 4:24 PM – 5:24 PM
Sat, Aug 8	☆☆☆☆☆	Waning Crescent 23% lit	6:14 AM	8:45 PM	7:55 PM – 9:55 PM 8:27 AM – 10:27 AM	12:22 AM – 1:22 AM 5:35 PM – 6:35 PM
Sun, Aug 9	☆☆☆☆☆	Waning Crescent 14% lit	6:15 AM	8:43 PM	8:59 PM – 10:59 PM 9:31 AM – 11:31 AM	1:24 AM – 2:24 AM
Mon, Aug 10	½☆☆☆☆	Waning Crescent 8% lit	6:16 AM	8:42 PM	10:03 PM – 12:03 AM 10:35 AM – 12:35 PM	6:32 PM – 7:32 PM 2:39 AM – 3:39 AM
Tue, Aug 11	★½☆☆☆	Waning Crescent 3% lit	6:17 AM	8:40 PM	11:05 PM – 1:05 AM 11:35 AM – 1:35 PM	7:16 PM – 8:16 PM 4:02 AM – 5:02 AM
Wed, Aug 12	★★☆☆☆	New Moon 0% lit	6:19 AM	8:39 PM	12:03 AM – 2:03 AM 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM	7:49 PM – 8:49 PM 5:28 AM – 6:28 AM
Thu, Aug 13	★★½☆☆	New Moon 0% lit	6:20 AM	8:37 PM	12:56 AM – 2:56 AM 1:22 PM – 3:22 PM	8:15 PM – 9:15 PM 6:51 AM – 7:51 AM
Fri, Aug 14	★½☆☆☆	Waxing Crescent 2% lit	6:21 AM	8:35 PM	1:46 AM – 3:46 AM 2:10 PM – 4:10 PM	8:36 PM – 9:36 PM 8:10 AM – 9:10 AM
Sat, Aug 15	★☆☆☆☆	Waxing Crescent 6% lit	6:22 AM	8:34 PM	2:33 AM – 4:33 AM 2:56 PM – 4:56 PM	8:54 PM – 9:54 PM 9:26 AM – 10:26 AM
Sun, Aug 16	☆☆☆☆☆	Waxing Crescent 12% lit	6:24 AM	8:32 PM	3:18 AM – 5:18 AM 3:40 PM – 5:40 PM	9:12 PM – 10:12 PM 10:39 AM – 11:39 AM
Mon, Aug 17	★☆☆☆☆	Waxing Crescent 20% lit	6:25 AM	8:30 PM	4:03 AM – 6:03 AM 4:26 PM – 6:26 PM	9:30 PM – 10:30 PM 11:51 AM – 12:51 PM
Tue, Aug 18	★★☆☆☆	Waxing Crescent 29% lit	6:26 AM	8:29 PM	4:48 AM – 6:48 AM 5:12 PM – 7:12 PM	9:50 PM – 10:50 PM 1:02 PM – 2:02 PM
Wed, Aug 19	★★½☆☆	Waxing Crescent 39% lit	6:27 AM	8:27 PM	5:35 AM – 7:35 AM 5:59 PM – 7:59 PM	10:13 PM – 11:13 PM 2:11 PM – 3:11 PM
Thu, Aug 20	★½☆☆☆	First Quarter 50% lit	6:29 AM	8:25 PM	6:24 AM – 8:24 AM	10:41 PM – 11:41 PM 3:17 PM – 4:17 PM

Server-rendered 14-day calendar starting 2026-08-07. Live in your browser shortly.

Methodology

How this forecast works

A plain solunar table only knows the moon. The LakeQuality Fishing Forecast starts there and adds what actually decides where and how fish bite on Otter Tail River Lake — factors we measure rather than guess:

Water clarity — Otter Tail River Lake's Secchi reading flips the playbook between clear-water finesse and stained-water reaction baits, and sets the low-light bite window.
Trophic state & depth — nutrient level and max depth set the summer weedline and whether the lake stratifies, which tells you how deep to fish.
Water-body type — natural lake vs. reservoir changes the structure that holds fish.
Species & season — each species' spawn-temperature window and seasonal movements, matched to the lake's estimated water temperature.
Sun & moon — the solunar major/minor periods and dawn/dusk twilight in the calendar below.

The species outlook is a transparent heuristic weighting of these established factors, and it now also factors in today's live conditions — wind, cloud cover, and the barometric (pressure) trend, recomputed for the current day. It's not a validated catch predictor, and water temperature is still an estimate from season and latitude unless a recent USGS gauge reading exists. It's the analysis a solunar table can't do, grounded in Otter Tail River Lake's real, measured water quality.

How to read the calendar

Major periods (≈2 hours) are centered on lunar transit (when the moon is highest in the sky) and lunar opposition (when the moon is directly underfoot). These are typically the strongest feeding windows.

Minor periods (≈1 hour) are centered on moonrise and moonset. They're secondary windows that often produce well — especially when they coincide with sunrise or sunset.

Day rating combines moon phase (peak near new and full moons, when lunar gravity is strongest) with the overlap of major periods and the dawn/dusk twilight. A 4–5 star day stacks all three.

At Otter Tail River Lake (lat 46.39°N), the longest day of the year is around June 21 with 15h 48m of daylight. The shortest is around December 21 with 8h 35m. Plan summer trips around the early-morning bite (as early as 5:00 AM) and the long evening window before sunset.

Frequently asked questions

What makes this better than a solunar fishing table for Otter Tail River Lake?

A solunar table only uses the moon. The LakeQuality Fishing Forecast adds Otter Tail River Lake's measured water quality — its clear water, trophic state, depth, and water-body type — matched to each species' spawn window and seasonal movements. That measured data drives where the fish hold and which techniques fit this lake's water, then the solunar calendar below adds the sun/moon timing. It's a transparent, multi-factor outlook, not a validated catch guarantee.

What is the best time to fish Otter Tail River Lake today?

Today's solunar calendar for Otter Tail River Lake (lat 46.39, lon -96.00) shows sunrise at 6:12 AM and sunset at 8:46 PM. The strongest fishing windows are around major solunar periods at 6:55 PM–8:55 PM and 7:24 AM–9:24 AM, plus the 30-90 minutes around dawn and dusk.

What does the moon phase mean for fishing Otter Tail River Lake?

Solunar theory holds that fish activity peaks during major periods (when the moon is overhead or directly underfoot) and minor periods (moonrise and moonset). Fish feeding tends to intensify during the days surrounding the new moon and full moon, when lunar gravity is strongest. Today's moon at Otter Tail River Lake is Waning Crescent (32% illuminated).

When are the longest and shortest days at Otter Tail River Lake?

At Otter Tail River Lake's latitude (46.39°N), the longest day of the year is around June 21 with about 15h 48m of daylight. The shortest day is around December 21 with about 8h 35m of daylight. Sunrise and sunset shift by roughly 6 hours between solstices.

Are major or minor solunar periods more important?

Major periods (about 2 hours, centered on lunar transit and lunar opposition) are generally considered the strongest feeding windows. Minor periods (about 1 hour, centered on moonrise and moonset) are secondary but still productive — especially when they overlap with sunrise or sunset.

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The species outlook is a transparent, multi-factor heuristic built from Otter Tail River Lake's measured water quality (clarity, trophic state, depth, water-body type) and established species biology, and it now also factors in today's live conditions — wind, cloud cover, and the barometric (pressure) trend, recomputed for the current day. It's not a validated catch predictor, and water temperature is still an estimate from season and latitude unless a recent USGS gauge reading is available. Solunar times use lat/lon and Meeus astronomical formulas, shown in Central Time. Always check local regulations and current conditions before fishing.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

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