Glen Schmitt

When you consider fishing in the Orr area, Pelican Lake usually comes to mind, and for good reason. It’s a large body of water (over 11,500 acres), with exceptional multi-species fishing opportunities. Pelican draws anglers and vacationers from across the country on a year-round basis.
But there’s a much smaller fishery just to its east that shouldn’t be overlooked. Myrtle Lake, which is almost 900 acres in size, also provides the opportunity to bag multiple species.

There’s an abundance of lakes throughout Crow Wing County that consistently produce respectable panfish. Among them are Middle Cullen and Upper Cullen, which aren’t necessarily known for kicking out huge panfish, but there certainly are plenty of them big enough for the frying pan.

If there is such a thing as the perfect fishing lake, Lake Osakis might be it. This 6,389-acre system is about as fine a multi-species lake as you’ll ever find in which to drop a line, and its abundant and diverse habitat creates an angler’s dream scenario.

Otter Tail County’s reputation as one of Minnesota’s premier destinations to consistently catch panfish and largemouth bass is well deserved.
There just seems to be a lot of lakes throughout this area that have the physical characteristics that suit those fish species.

But there’s a unique fishery located just east of Isabella that’s different from others in this area. Dumbbell Lake is just 406 acres in size, it’s tucked away in the scenic Superior National Forest, and it carries good numbers of walleyes, smallmouth bass, and, yes, muskies.

The somewhat long path to the public access on Hubbard County’s Spider Lake can be an interesting jaunt. It’s basically a one-way road, just wide enough for a single vehicle, which means if you meet someone going in or out, one of you is going to have to decide who will back up.

There are a lot of lakes in Itasca County, so a system such as Little Jessie Lake near Deer River often gets lost in the shuffle. But the lack of angler attention to Little Jessie can be an angler’s advantage, especially if you’re one of those folks who simply likes to catch something – just get bites on a given outing – and not be surrounded by lots of other anglers while doing it.