Roberts noted that spring and fall are the best times to fish Otter.

"Silver Rat-L-Traps are very popular, and I also sell a lot of Crème Cast Masters," Roberts said. "Silver and green or silver and blue tend to be productive, and long minnow baits like Husky Jerks or Rattlin Rogues catch fish."

During the summer months, Roberts said the bite shifts to early and late in the day.

"We get a lot of guys fishing dawn or dusk," she said. "Stripers boil shad, and when they do, you can see it from a long way."

When boils occur, anglers can have a blast by running surface walkers or zipping bucktail jigs through the school.

"The first point north of the spillway is called 'Striper Point,' " Roberts said. "This is a good all-around place to fish."

Numerous points throughout the lake also attract hybrids, and the area around the spillway tends to be productive for anglers fishing live shad or trolling crankbaits.

Otter Lake has a $10 daily-usage fee, but annual rates are available. For more information on the lake, call (217) 627-2416. For lodging information, call the Carlinville Area Chamber of Commerce at (217) 854-2141.

COFFEEN LAKE
Coffeen Lake, a 1,100-acre cooling reservoir, is the pride of Montgomery County, and as many anglers are finding out, this deep impoundment is turning up big stripers.

Scott Withers of Indian Grove Fish Camp, (217) 537-3001, said people who fish Coffeen for stripers usually have no trouble catching a limit.

"We see a lot of stripers in the 8- to 10-pound class," Withers said. "They catch them all year, but it seems like the hottest part of the summer is the best."

During the summer, productive fishing generally focuses on structures outside the cooling loop. Most anglers targeting stripers troll a tandem crankbait rig on a three-way swivel. Shad and silver patterns tend to work best. Other anglers opt to troll 1/4-ounce Roadrunners. Withers added that the bigger stripers are caught when trolling. During early morning and late evening, schools of stripers chase shad on the surface. Surface lures and crankbaits ripped through the frenzy work great.

Withers said that early and late in the season, stripers concentrate off points in the warm water of the cooling loop and are caught by anglers using deep-diving crankbaits, bucktail jigs and jigging spoons.