Happy summer everyone! I can’t believe summer’s actually here this week. We’ve had a couple small periods of summer but have been interrupted by small things like POLAR VORTEXES and damaging winds and flooding rain fall. It’s been like fishing from a yo-yo. The main question this season has been, “Has the high water affected the fish?” It’s a good question. The answer I’ve been giving has been very “Ross” very “fisherman vague.” Fishing is what it is. Everything influences fish in some degree in some way, continually, forever. We do not know, nor will we ever know, how the high water has affected the fish this season because we don’t know how the fishing would have been hadn’t we had the surplus water. We’ll just set that question in a continuum and let it be. What I do know for certain is that the water temps have struggled to get above 74 degrees since Memorial Day. The warm temps got washed away by the chilled rain water. Water clarity is different this season in the lakes in Otter Tail Lakes Country too. I guess for the most part most lakes are a bit more clear than other years but seem to have a greenish/brownish tint—we have yet to have consecutive algae blooms either. These factors have created difficult fishing for pan fishermen around Lakes Country, but have made walleye catching easier for a lot of anglers. Water clarity and color changes influence how fish see and can change where fish are located. Most lakes in Otter Tail Lakes Country have up to 20 inches of extra water in them and it has changed where fish and are located. In many cases the high water has provided new special opportunities for fish. Spots on lakes that weren’t suitable or deep enough for fish last year and the last 100 years are now plenty deep for fish—especially panfish. The biggest reason fishing has been tough for many fisherman is because the fish are simply in different locations (maybe in spots they’ve never been before and may never be again). The 2014 season is extraordinary. What and how the fish see is different as well—as mentioned—because of the cooler temps and deeper water. Therefore, the colors that work this year may be different than last season. Bright colors that normally work well for walleye are not working as well as they should. Keep on your toes. There is hope. The most important thing to know and understand about fishing Otter Tail Lakes Country in 2014, is that the fish are still in the lakes, you may just have to look a little harder and try some different colors and different lures and fish a little slower, and then stand back because they will bite well once you crack the code. Good Luck on the lakes this week and enjoy the weather. Ross Hagemeister, meisterguideservice.com