Fishing summary 5/29 to 6/3
Just finished fishing Eagle lake 5/29-6/3 out of North Shore Lodge. Arrival found sporadic weather patterns and surface water temps averaging high 50's to low 60's in the backs of bays. Walleye fishing was outstanding for larger fish average 23" - 29" and in good numbers. Larger bags could be had if you target the smaller males, they could be found off rocky points adjacent to spawning bays in 10' to 15'. But the real ticket again was chasing the larger females, they had to be looked for, but when found proved to be very willing to put on an aggressive bite. Vegetation appeared to be behind normal times and these larger females were relating to the edge of last years weed line average depth 7 to 8 feet. They were almost always found on the edge most exposed to the wind which is textbook and proved to be imperative this week. Once found, a little patience was needed as although you got bit enough to keep your interest there appeared to be a couple of times a day where they broke loose. These fish move around enough in spring that you have to trust what you are seeing on your electronics. Stay with them and the bite will come. Live bait rigs were the first choice but they could be had with crankbaits, which was necessary at some off the windiest times, when boat control for live baits was almost impossible. When live baiting, spinners and jigs are your best choice, we chose spinners. Backtrolling along the outermost edge was the key. If your motor has a tap button to lower your rpm's ensure you bring it to it's lowest setting before you start. A superline such as fireline helped detect what your bait was doing and alerted you quickly that you have picked up a weed which is common when fishing last years vegetation. As a side note this lake appears to be in midst of a Boon for larger walleyes. Having fished this lake since 76 I would tell you that this is some of the best Walleye fishing I have seen in many years. A big shout out to the management of this fishery as they have truly made this into a world class walleye lake. They are big, healthy and beautifully colored. The future of walleye fishing here looks promising for a very long time.
Smallmouth fishing was also very good, casting the shallows in most bays produced regular bites. I was curious to see if after the early 70 degree and sunny stretch just before the opener if we would find fish on beds. We did not as it appears the cooler water temps won out. We checked several of the best bed areas and saw no fish. From there we checked staging points and found a few. The majority of the fish were found in last years bullrush. They were very spread out but were very aggressive on the bite for the entire week. Most fish caught were 16" to 19" and very healthy, they also displayed excellent color. Rattle traps(outside edges) and spinnerbaits(inside slowrolling) were most productive. Chatterbaits, once a craze on the bass circuit, works extremely well here, they come thru the vegetation better than any other baits we've tried. It is not uncommon to be finding fish in three foot or less in the spring and it's critical to have a bait that can get thru clean. We used a 6" thin wire leader to prevent bite offs from Pike. This did not deter any off the smallmouths aggressiveness. Eagle lake has always proven to be an excellent bass fishery and does not disappoint. Large average size smallies are the norm in spring with a chance for true trophy's 5 to 6 pounds.
Northern Pike for the 3rd year in a row appeared more elusive. The normal spring spots ended up showing more Musky than large pike. I believe it might be necessary to fish the opener next year if we want to have the consistent large pike action that we have seen in the past. It appears that the majority of the largest pike are vacating the shallows(2'-4') earlier than in years past. The lack of new vegetation did not help and some larger pike were caught wether casting or incidentally while walleye fishing but my guess is many of the biggest (42"+) had already left for deeper water. Some bigger fish should return when weed growth improves. As noted above many Musky are being seen and hooked with a large size range. Musky season is currently closed and all hooked fish should be quickly water released whenever possible.
A big thanks to Mark and Brenda our hosts and a very special shout out to Julian the best dock man in the business, he was a great help.
Eagle Lake once again proved it is an incredible fishery that continues to produce. If you are looking for a canadian trip like your dad and grandfather used to talk about Eagle is starting to have that feel.
