Otter Tail River(Red Rive

Red River Lake is a 305-acre impoundment of the Otter Tail River located in west-central Otter Tail County approximately seven miles north of Fergus Falls, MN. An active hydroelectric dam owned by Otter Tail Power Company is located along the west shoreline. The Otter Tail River flows into the lake along the east shoreline and is navigable upstream to West Lost Lake. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth of Red River Lake is 55 feet; however, 45% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. Historical secchi disk readings have ranged from 7.4 to 12.5 feet. The majority of the shoreline of Red River Lake is undeveloped. A DNR owned public water access is located off of County Road 3 along the north shoreline of the lake. Shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and gravel. Emergent aquatic macrophytes such as hardstem bulrush and common cattail are rare; however, wild rice is very abundant around the entire shoreline of the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as wild rice provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms, and can actually absorb and break down polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. They also serve as an important nursery area for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. A reduced daily bag limit regulation for sunfish (10 per day) was implemented in 2021. The objective of the regulation is to maintain the quality of the Bluegill size structure. A special spring trapnetting survey was conducted to collect baseline data on the Bluegill population, which will be used for regulation evaluation purposes in future surveys. The Bluegill population is abundant and has a quality size structure. Seventy-two percent of the Bluegill sample was 7.0 inches or greater in length, while 35% was 8.0 inches or greater in length. Age data indicate that Bluegill reproduction is consistently good. Bluegills attain an average length of 7.6 inches at five years of age. Anglers can also maintain the quality of angling by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large-size fish while allowing the harvest of more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more opportunities to catch large fish in the future. Red River Lake was listed as infested with zebra mussels in 2017. Aquatic invasive species are threatening Minnesota waters. Aquatic invasive species can potentially harm water quality, water recreation, aquatic habitat, native species, and fish populations. Anglers can help prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species by following watercraft transportation laws.

Red River Lake is a 305-acre impoundment of the Otter Tail River located in west-central Otter Tail County approximately seven miles north of Fergus Falls, MN. An active hydroelectric dam owned by Otter Tail Power Company is located along the west shoreline. The Otter Tail River flows into the lake along the east shoreline and is navigable upstream to West Lost Lake. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth of Red River Lake is 55 feet; however, 45% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. The secchi disk reading during the 2015 lake survey was 7.4 feet. Previous secchi disk readings ranged from 9.6 to 12.5 feet. The majority of the shoreline of Red River Lake is undeveloped. A DNR owned public water access is located off of County Road 3 along the north shoreline of the lake. Shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and gravel. Emergent aquatic macrophytes such as hardstem bulrush and common cattail are rare; however, wild rice is very abundant around the entire shoreline of the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as wild rice provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms, and can actually absorb and break down polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. They also serve as an important nursery area for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. Red River Lake can be ecologically classified as a bass-panfish type of lake and this is reflected in the assemblage of the fish community. Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and Bluegill are the dominant gamefish species in the fish community of Red River Lake. The Northern Pike population is abundant. Age data from recent surveys indicate that Northern Pike reproduction is consistently good. Upstream marshy areas provide an abundance of suitable spawning habitat for Northern Pike. Pike ranged in length from 12.5 to 27.2 inches with an average length and weight of 19.4 inches and 1.6 pounds. Northern pike attain an average length of 20.7 inches at four years of age. Bluegill abundance and size structure tends to fluctuate depending upon year class strength. Age data from recent surveys indicate that Bluegill reproduction is inconsistent and that one year class generally dominates the fishery. Fifty-six percent of the Bluegills were 7.0 inches or greater in length. Bluegills attain an average length of 7.3 inches at age-IV. Data collected from a spring electrofishing assessment indicate that Red River Lake has a balanced Largemouth Bass population. Age data indicate that Largemouth Bass reproduction is consistently good. Bass ranged in length from 6.5 to 19.8 inches with an average length and weight of 13.6 inches and 1.6 pounds. Bass attain an average length of 14.7 inches at four years of age. Anglers can maintain the quality of angling by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large-size fish while allowing the harvest of more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more opportunities to catch large fish in the future.

Red River Lake is a 305-acre impoundment of the Otter Tail River located in west-central Otter Tail County approximately seven miles north of Fergus Falls, MN. An active hydroelectric dam owned by Otter Tail Power Company is located along the west shoreline. The Otter Tail River flows into the lake along the east shoreline and is navigable upstream to West Lost Lake. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth of Red River Lake is 55 feet; however, 45% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. The secchi disk reading during the 2010 lake survey was 12.5 feet. Previous secchi disk readings ranged from 9.6 to 10.2 feet. The majority of the shoreline of Red River Lake is undeveloped. A DNR owned public water access is located off of County Road 3 along the north shoreline of the lake. Shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and gravel. Emergent aquatic macrophytes such as hardstem bulrush and common cattail are rare; however, wild rice is very abundant around the entire shoreline of the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as wild rice provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms, and can actually absorb and break down polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as northern pike, largemouth bass, and panfish. They also serve as an important nursery area for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. Red River Lake can be ecologically classified as a bass-panfish type of lake and this is reflected in the assemblage of the fish community. Northern pike, largemouth bass, black crappie, and bluegill are the dominant species in the fish community of Red River Lake. The northern pike population is abundant. Age data from recent surveys indicate that northern pike reproduction is consistently good. Upstream marshy areas provide an abundance of suitable spawning habitat for northern pike. Pike ranged in length from 13.7 to 31.6 inches with an average length and weight of 19.6 inches and 1.7 pounds. Northern pike attain an average length of 22.5 inches at four years of age. Data from a spring trapnetting assessment indicate that the black crappie population exhibits consistently good reproduction. Crappies ranged in length from 4.9 to 12.2 inches with an average length of 9.1 inches. Twenty-nine percent of the crappies were 10.0 inches or greater in length. Black crappies attain an average length of 10.4 inches at five years of age. Bluegill abundance tends to fluctuate depending upon year class strength. Age data from recent surveys indicate that bluegill reproduction is inconsistent and that one year class generally dominates the fishery. Sixty-six percent of the bluegills were at least 7.0 inches in length. Bluegills attain an average length of 7.4 inches at age-V. Data collected from a spring electrofishing assessment indicate that Red River Lake has a balanced largemouth bass population. Age data indicate that largemouth bass reproduction is consistently good. Bass ranged in length from 7.5 to 18.3 inches with an average length and weight of 15.1 inches and 2.0 pounds. Bass attain an average length of 13.4 inches at four years of age. Anglers can maintain the quality of angling by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large-size fish while allowing the harvest of more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more opportunities to catch large fish in the future.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Rock Bass, Hybrid Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Black Crappie, and Walleye in Otter Tail River(Red Rive. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Otter Tail River(Red Rive. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Otter Tail River(Red Rive has a maximum depth of 55 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Otter Tail River(Red Rive is from 2015. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

Yes — Otter Tail River(Red Rive has confirmed zebra mussel. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.