Otter lake help?

[djcoop52]

Saw a post on here about Otter lake so I did some looking and it looks like a great lake lots of structure and deadfalls. Thinking about giving it a try how is the crappie fishing there and where is the closet place to spend the night we are about 3 hours away so would drive down in early am fish spend the night someplace fish the next day and then come home. Any suggestions or pointers would be appreciated. I have a 90 hp so the 115 restriction not a problem is the lake no wake or just 115 hp restriction?

[clfarms1]

The closest place to stay is Springfield about 35-45 minutes away for a nice place, There might be a place at Carlinville, but wont be as nice. There are some no wake restrictions north of the bridge I believe. I have fished it a few times and not really impressed with it as a crappie lake myself, depending where you are coming from Shelbyville would be a better choice there is a 30 dollar launch fee for 2 days also

[Nchilders]

Nice lake, great bass fishing. However there are a ton of small crappie. Will have to weed through them to find anything worth while. Carlinville would be the closest place to stay, and yes 15$ a day to fish. I'm with the above post I would consider shelbyville if that is an option for you.

[Tarzan]

Saw a post on here about Otter lake so I did some looking and it looks like a great lake lots of structure and deadfalls. Thinking about giving it a try how is the crappie fishing there and where is the closet place to spend the night we are about 3 hours away so would drive down in early am fish spend the night someplace fish the next day and then come home. Any suggestions or pointers would be appreciated. I have a 90 hp so the 115 restriction not a problem is the lake no wake or just 115 hp restriction?

I would think there are closer places to stay than Springfield, but I might be wrong.

I would call the office and ask: Thomas Moroney - 217-381-6377 (cell)
If you are going to use minnows, I'd ask if they have them yet.

It IS a Beautiful Lake, one of the prettiest I've been to in Illinois, lots of coves and cover and 40-50' deep at the dam end.

There are NO Length or Creel limits on Crappie at Otter. Shelbyville has a
15 Fish Daily Harvest Limit with only 5 Fishless than 10 inches and 10 Fish greater than or equal to 10 inches.

There are no-wake zones near the ramp and around the private docks, which are also close to the ramp and just south of the bridge.

I've caught lots of Crappie there in the past, but that was during the spawn. I'm still learning how to find and catch them at other times and at all lakes.