This is The 2013 Fishing Opener is this Saturday, May 11! While many Otter Tail County, Minnesota lakes remain covered in ice, many of the smaller lakes with inlets and outlets should be free of ice by Saturday. Ottertail County lakes that are 1,000 acres or less, especially those with current, should be ice-free by Saturday. Lakes that are 1,000-3,000 acres may be open by the 11th. Larger area lakes with rivers and creeks running in and out of them should see ice-out on the weekend, but not before. Such lakes include Ottertail, Rush, Big Pine and Little Pine. The walleyes are beginning to spawn and can be seen in the shallow current areas where there is open water. There has been no sign of shiner minnows, and they are not expected to show up until at least 4 or 5 days after ice out. If some of the smaller lakes start losing their ice mid-week, it might be possible to find some early-spawning shiners by Saturday or Sunday. The best advice for the opener is to search out the smaller lakes that have water flowing in and out; keep your fingers crossed that the walleyes will have completed their spawn by the weekend.