Fishing guides get in on the tradition fun

By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

With Minnesota’s fishing opener coming up this weekend, no doubt there will be countless boats on the waters of Otter Tail County and across the state. Making up a small fleet of those fishermen will be Phil Jensen and Todd Cameron, business partners in PT’s Fishing Guide Service, centered in Otter Tail County.

Each May, the two longtime friends will get together with their families to partake in the fishing opener festivities, which often coincides with Mother’s Day weekend.

“That’s actually perfect,” said Cameron of the Mother’s Day crossover. “We fish and provide all the fish for the Mother’s Day fish fry. Fresh walleye and the family brings a dish to pass. Now we’ve got grandkids that come, sisters, brothers, that type of thing. We’ve been doing this for a long time.”

Cameron said that he actually joined Jensen’s family tradition after the two became fast friends in 1998. Prior to his joining, the Jensen family had a longstanding tradition of fishing each opener weekend on Otter Tail Lake.

“My grandfather’s first trip to Otter Tail for opener was in 1917 and between my grandpa, and my dad, and myself, we have not missed one since,” said Phil Jensen. “My grandpa and my dad have passed on, but somebody from our family has been out there opening since then.”

Jensen said that for some people, it’s the deer hunting opener weekend with its rituals, traditions, and festivities that get them excited. He said it’s that type of excitement and annual tradition that the Jensen family does when it comes to the fishing opener.

“It’s just something that our family has always done,” he said. “We’ve had up to seven, eight, nine boats at times. People sleeping on the floors, couches, and recliners. I guess it’s just been a big family time and Sunday has been a big fish fry and typically it’s Mother’s Day.”

This year, Jensen is looking forward to put another check mark on the calendar for the family tradition. He said that a few members of the family that were longtime fishermen have passed in the past few years and the number of boats out on the water has dwindled a bit. Despite those losses, he is determined to keep on the family tradition and pass it along to his grandchildren, the fifth generation of fishermen.

“I’m sure we’ll have a couple of boats for sure,” he said. “The grandkids have different activities, so they might not be there Saturday morning, but they’ll get down there sometime during the weekend. It’s just a great time for our family to get together and carry on the tradition in fishing Otter Tail Lake. Like I said, my family’s got history going back there since 1917, it’s just something that we do. We wouldn’t ever think about not doing it.

“I always joke that it should be a state holiday,” laughed Jensen.

Cameron explained that he first became acquainted with Jensen in 1998 when Cameron was working as school superintendent at the Barnesville Public Schools. He hired Jensen as the high school’s principal and soon found out their shared love for fishing.

“We obviously hit it off pretty quick when we found out how much we both love to fish,” said Cameron. “From there, it just became a tradition every year on the opener. We get together on Friday night of course and talk smart, we talk about past years and what we’re going to plan to do for the weekend, so that’s how the tradition started for me.”

Fishing opener on Otter Tail Lake for the past 26 years, Cameron looks forward to the camaraderie that comes with the event each year. They meet at Jensen’s cabin on Otter Tail Lake to figure out their game plan for the weekend ahead. He listed four hot spots that are popular places to fish on Otter Tail Lake each year.

“We’ve got traditional spots that we like to go to on the opener,” he said. “We like to fish the Balmoral area, where the creek comes in by Balmoral, that’s traditionally a good location, a good place to start. Also off of County Highway 1 where the Otter Tail River comes in, that’s a popular place to fish at the start.

“Then where the Dead River flows into Walker Lake,” he continued. “Out in front of Zorbaz where the outlet is. Typically where post-spawn, the walleyes like to congregate in those areas before they disperse out back into the lake. The spawn is over, so we’re not having to deal with that.”

Cameron and Jensen are walleye fishermen. That’s their main focus and their “bread and butter” as Cameron put it.

“We focus on walleye, that’s kind of where we’re at,” said Cameron. “We’re not fishing for northern pike and we’re not fishing for bass, we’re walleye fishermen. So we’re gonna be fishing jig and minnows and hopefully, we’re gonna get some sunshine and some warmth so that the spot tail shiners will move up on the shorelines and they’re pre-spawn, the minnows. The spot tail shiner is like filet mignon to the walleye.

“I always tell people,” he continued. “A walleye can be plumb full and it’s kind of like going out for a steak dinner and there’s a piece of desert out there, you’re favorite one, that’s what the walleye looks like when they see a spot tail shiner, they can always eat one more. The walleye look at the spot tail shiner the same way, they can’t resist them.”

Cameron said that the spot tail shiner is a popular minnow to fish with these days. He said that quite a few people are also using plastic, artificial minnows and swim baits. He uses 1/16 and 1/8 ounce jigs in about 6-10 feet of water.

“These walleyes are post spawn, so they’re hungry, they’re eating,” he said. “We like to move, so don’t fall in love with any one spot, the best spot is where you’re catching them. Just because they were here last year, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re gonna be here again this year. You can’t catch what’s not there, so move. And if you have to, move again.”

Between planning for the annual event and catching fish during opening weekend, Cameron said that his favorite part of the whole weekend is spending quality time with his friends and family.

“Phil’s my brother from another mother, he really is,” he said. “We’ve been best of friends since that day in 1998 and it’s worked really well for us and of course, we started PT’s Guide Service 16 years ago, so we’ve been business partners for quite some time.

“It’s just a lot of fun planning for the opener and the excitement that comes with the opener, getting together with family and friends, talking stories of the past, traditions that maybe you’ve had going for a long long time,” he continued. “The catching is the bonus, I’ve always said. It’s the camaraderie of planning and preparation and that type of thing. I think that’s what I enjoy the most out of it and maybe that comes with maturity and age too.”

One of the highlights over the years was roughly 10 years ago when the weekend of fishing opener arrived and Otter Tail Lake was still iced over, making it practically impossible to fish the lake at all.

“The lake was still iced over yet, except for the shore lines,” said Cameron. “So we went and fished Walker and of course Walker is adjacent, the Dead River flows into Walker and that’s where the fish hatchery is. Phil said, ‘I’ve been putting my boat in on the opener for 45 years, I’m putting it in and I’m gonna run up and shoreline just to say I had my boat in on the opener.’ So, he put his boat in and ran up and down along the riviera public access with his boat. He didn’t fish or anything, because there was so much ice, but at least he can say he had his boat in on Otter Tail on the opener. He’s never missed.”

Cameron said that he’s looking forward to opening morning on Saturday and that he expects there to be a decent amount of activity.

“I’m anticipating a very good opener, being we’re ten days plus past the spawn and in this post-spawn period, the fish will be really comfortable,” he said. “They should be out there on the break lines, so I’m expecting a pretty decent bite for the opener.

“You know, Mother Nature can play a part in this too,” he continued. “We’ve had anywhere from 70-80 degrees on the opener to snow on the opener. It’s hard to predict 10 day forecasts, let alone tomorrow’s forecast. A little breeze and a little wind is always helpful, especial on a lake like Otter Tail, it’s very clear. The zebra muscles have really cleared the water clarity up. Sometimes that dead calm, that’s not the best situation, they talk about the walleye chop—absolutely, I like a little wind.

“We’ll sometimes day the wind is our friend,” Cameron laughed. “But please try to keep in under 20 miles and hour if you can!”