Colorful catches
The Pumpkin Seed Sunfish ☀️ (bluegill).
Fish come in all shapes and sizes, and colors.
Popular catches in Otter Lake include those shown here.
Sunfish (Bluegills) are a common catch for those “still fishing” for perch. These beauties can put up a tremendous fight for a small fish. Their bright yellows, blues and oranges are always a nice surprise.
Northern Pike, or Northerns, are a sleek, thin fish with a speckled back and a large mouth. To eat, northerns are a bit boney but still a tasty catch. When I was 12 I caught a 36-inch northern pike and it was the thrill of my life 😊
Rainbow Trout are another beauty! The rainbow coloring on their lower belly is stunning. This salmonid species is also called Steelhead and an increasing number have been taken from Otter Lake in recent years.
Smallmouth Bass are reproducing well in Otter Lake and many record size fish have been caught. The smallmouth bass is potentially the toughest fighting freshwater fish in North America, and is often the targeted species in freshwater fishing tournaments.
Walleye, or yellow pickerel, are the fish everyone wants. Delicious to eat, these fish are commonly caught on lures and live bait. Walleyes are distinguished from their close relative the sauger by the white coloration on the lower lobe of the caudal fin, which is absent on the sauger. In addition, the two dorsal fins and the caudal fin of the sauger are marked with distinctive rows of black dots.
Walleyes are named for their large, glassy, opaque eyes. This odd appearance is due to a layer of light-gathering tissue at the back of the eye. This light-sensitive tissue enables walleyes to be largely nocturnal.
Happy fishing!
From left: Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout (steelhead), Smallmouth Bass, Walleye. Photos courtesy Kathy Potgeter and Erin Potgeter.