ANDY MYERS LODGE
EAGLE LAKE ONT CANADA
WWW.ANDYMYERSLODGE.COM INFO@ANDYMYERSLODGE.COM
1-888-727-5865
SEASON ENDING SUMMARY,HOLIDAY GREETINGS,2011 BROCHURE,SPECIALS
The 2010 season has come to close after our last fishermen and hunters left nov 30 and is now history and what a season it was.We are already enthusiastically planning for the 2011 season,getting ready for the winter show and seminar circuit,working on new improvements,and looking forward to seeing you all again and sharing with you all the AML experience and what Canada and Eagle Lake has to offer.
On the website you can now find the new 2001 brochure with pricing,activities offered,and a schedule for this winters shows which you can download or give us a shout and we'll mail out one for you. On the message board sticky section you will find some seasonal specials and those of you repeat guests on our mailing list and or e-mail newsletter list will shortly receive a new brochure,specials,and a REPEAT GUEST AND NEWSLETTER RECIPIANT SPRING PRICING SPECIAL not being offered at the shows. Be sure and bring it with you to the shows if the dates and pricing interest you and look us up,stop by and say hi,check up on and finalize plans,talk some fishing/hunting,and just plain catch up on things. Those of who have rebooked already or indicted planning on coming please personally contact us ASAP to be sure you are in the book and everything is as you want it before we hit the shows and the busy booking season starts. It is important so we both have confirmation and then we can take care of all your wishes and services to the best of our ability and make your trip the best it can be.
But more importantly before I get into summerizing the past season and getting into plans and predictions for next season first I’d like to take this time as we approach the holidays to wish everyone from us all at AML a joyous Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year for 2011. I also sincerely need to thank all who came to visit us last season both loyal repeat guests,those who came to see us for the first time ,those that have inquired about future or return trips,those who were not able to make it the last season or two but have in the past, and all of you who have supported us but most importantly for the many friendships and good times that have evolved over the past 18 yrs (wow! The time and seasons have flown by eah?) with many more to come. Because of all of you 2010 was a successful season and we look forward to 2011 with even more determination to provide you with the great times,quality of experience, value for your dollar,and the excellent fishing and vacationing opportunities that AML has been known for than even ever before.
As you receive this the boat house,fish cleaning and guide buildings,and dock decks have been all bulldozed and the boys are busy building a brand new complete dock and lakeside service facility. It was much needed and will be a great new addition to the other new cabins,remodels and improvements we have done the past 6-8 yrs. and next season plan on a new cabin #1 as we strive to make it better every year for our guests. If the weather,spring,and everything else mother nature throws at us in this business comes together we will also be building the new gazebo for fish frys,social gathers,talking with guides and other guests at days end,etc.,by the May 21st opener or shortly after. Lund is busy refurbishing several of the guide boats and some of the upgrade boats to like new condition and we will be adding several new guide boats and upgrade boats to the fleet. New carpet and big screen tvs for the lodge,and several new cabin decks round out most of our projects for this winter.After repeated requests or suggestions over the years and a trial run last season with many compliments by all who participated we will be offering professional massages 3-4 nites per week for those who want a relaxing tune up after arriving or fished to hard and found a few aches and pains.Annette does a wonderful and very professionl job,you’ll know where to look for me at the end of each fishing day!!!
The 2010 season started off with a very early ice out in April which earlier springs seem to be more the norm now providing excellent early season weather and fishing with walleyes and pike well past spawning and fully recouperated,bass ahead of schedule,trout still shallow from opener 3rd sat of May (21st) through early-mid June and the muskys ready to rock when their opener comes 3rd week of June. . There is the misconception among many because of several late ice outs 5-6 yrs ago with some who go much further north not being able to get fishing for a few days that opener is a gamble. Not so. We have never not had complete ice out and ready to go,with good fishing in the 18 yrs we have been here.Typically we have ice out in even the latest years a full 2 weeks before and usually 3-4 weeks. Our regulars who come every year live for the early season shallow water fishing and being the first on the lake after a long winter of waiting for open water. Give it a try,you’ll be surprised,and the specials offered make it very affordable.
Weather during May through mid June avg.d 70’s and 80’s and throughout the rest of the season was generally very temperate,not to hot,not to cold,most rain spells were in the pms,and few bad storms.We did have a few windy spells but overall it was a wonderful season to be in the northwoods.
When it comes to the fishing,well,Eagle lake never ceases to amaze me. I learn more about her multi dimensional personality,capabilities,fertility and ability to produce exceptional fish of all major species more and more every season. Some time 5-6 yrs ago I predicted what was to come and it is becoming even better and quicker than I dreamed possible. As I have said many times the good ole days of fishing on Eagle were not 20-30 yrs ago it is now and coming. When it comes to walleyes now that the intelligent slot and possession limits have had 20 yrs+ and 4-5 generations to do their work and with guests now voluntarily releasing 95%+ of all walleyes over 18” it just keeps getting better and better every year.A recent study just released last spring by the MNR put Eagle Lake’s walleye population in the top 10% of all fisheries in NW Ontario,not only in numbers but especially in overall size and trophy potential. The numbers of 26-30”+ fish being boated daily/weekly now is incredible while at the same time the numbers of recruitment year classes 15-18”coming up for eating is even larger yet.It is /was more the norm than not especially on guided trips to avg. 60-100+ fish per day or more with many quality fish in the slot and over coming to the net and the chance at boating walleyes 28-32” as good or better than anywhere in NW 0ntario. Many groups primarily fishing walleyes reported boating numerous fish during their trip 26” to over 30”. Largest boated last season was 33 ½” but the number of 30-32” went well over 100.Doesn’t get much better than that.
Same with the bass. The population just keeps growing with excellent avg. size in the 16-20” range and heavily built with fish even bigger to 23” caught last season. The C/R season till July and practically 100% release by anglers has allowed this tremendous sport fish to explode in recent years.Best times are last week of May through first 2-3 weeks of June for exciting sight fishing and topwater action and the real overlooked sleeper being mid sept through 1st two weeks of Oct..we have finally got some groups to realize this under utilized fall bass fishery and last season made many believers with 50+ fish avg. 3-5#’s+ and 17-21” just mixing it up for a change of pace ½ day with walleyes or muskys.If you like big bass,want it pretty much to yourself and be able to mix it up with some big muskys,pike,and walleyes on the same trip you might want to consider that sept-early oct time frame.
Eagle’s musky fishery is legendary and that hasn’t changed except now there are huge numbers of 36-48” fish besides the jumbos she is famous for. Gone is the old reputation of 15-20 yrs ago of a big fish lake that gives them up hard.Last season besides the numbers of trophy fish 50-54 ½” we always boat the number of “action” sized fish is getting so good we rarely venture to other so-called action lakes anymore because you just don’t have that chance on them where at any cast you could also boat the biggest of your life like on Eagle. It would be to lengthy to list all the notable catches as we are boating good fish daily and always AML has been known for getting more than their share of big fish.It really is quite amazing someone has not boated a 58-60”+ fish as we had more encounters with super fish just last season than the last 4-5 put together,it will happen someday soon.The numbers of smaller fish coming up and the pure numbers of large 50”+ fish in the population spells out an excellent future for musky hunters.I really have to be proud and say as a testament to the expertise we have especially regarding this species,the quality of the guides,the guest instructors and their abilities to adapt to changing conditions as well as knowledge of the lake and her moods,the instructional seminars,rap sessions,and willingness to share information with our guests,well,you just won’t find a much better scenario for the serious or beginner musky hunter. The Fall Trophy Musky Hunt from Sept 11 through Oct 8 is always a great time with lots of big fish boated ,a lot of comdrie and repeat guys coming year after year with FALL SPECIAL PRICING.
We ran a trial ULTIMATE FALL TROPHY MUSKY HUNT 2nd week of Oct. last season with great response and will be running it through the 3rd week of Oct this season. It is an A/P guided pkg only during the primest time period you could ask for fishing with some of the best musky guides in the country. It is being run with a very limited number of guests for exclusivity of guides and locations to put the odds in the highest % possible for trophy fish
Though bigger than average pike catches started off slower last spring than expected overall we had a better than avg. season for big pike with a lot of fish boated and more than in past years that went 38-47” with a lot of 40-42” fish and 17 fish that went 45-47” and 23-25#+. The 47”er by young Hoffman was pushing 30#!!.Best times for casting for pike is May opener especially on the nearby deep trout boat cache lakes,mid June through early-mid July on Eagle when the weed beds fully develop and again mid Sept thru mid Oct when the deep water fish move shallow with the cooling water temps. There are always some big pike caught casting muskys throughout the season and during the summer months some of the biggest pike are caught on deeper structure while fishing walleyes. With the 27-35.5” slot and everyone practicing C/R on bigger pike it also just keeps getting better especially for larger fish.
The lake trout fishing while it generally takes a back seat to the more popular and glamorous species was also good. For numbers of fish shallow the May opener through 2nd week of June is awesome,for the chance at the biggest fish end of June through Aug trolling the trout holes we consistently put numbers of fish 12-25#’s in the boat. The end of Aug through mid Sept there is an exciting and tremendous jigging bite going on that easily avgs. 20-50 trout and 10-30 whitefish an outing or more and it’s a great way to break the week up with something different. A good laker on spinning tackle from 80’ will defiantly take the curls out of your line. With a 2 fish limit and our request of C/R on all trout over 6#’s the population is stable and in great shape.
All in all when you consider an already world class fishery that is also an exploding fishery with both numbers and trophy potential of all 5 major species plus all the other bodies of water we fish via boat cache lakes,4wds,and fly-ins,the superb service and guides,top equipment,instructional programs and a willingness to share all info regardless if guided or not,the diversity and wide range of experiences available regardless of the conditions we can always pull off a good trip for you.Obviously we are excited about the upcoming 2011 fishing season with great optimisim and can’t wait to share it with you and spend time with you.
The TROPHY WHITETAIL DEER HUNTS went very well. We had 36 hunters shoot 33 bucks with the biggest being Matts 185 BC. and Chucks 163 BC.,lots of hunters were done by 2nd or 3rd day, the hunting pressure is way down from the past,we have tons of good bucks coming up (some stands had 10-15 diff. bucks on camera),and we look for a very good,even better season especially for bigger bucks in 2011. There are very limited openings for 2010 so get ahold of us soon. The last week of the hunt Nov 19-26 because of Thankgiving and other seasons in Midwest states we hold to 4 hunters max., 6 days hunting instead of 5 with lic incl in pricing. If you can get away during the holiday and or are looking for a hunt regardless it is one of the best weeks in our part of the country. Last 3 years we have had 10 hunters total all kill by the 3rd day with good bucks.Always snow on the ground so they are hungry and 80% of the does are bred so the big boys are out roaming looking for their last bit of lov’n more during daylight hours.
In 2009 we ran our first GOOSE/DUCK/GROUSE BLAST AND CAST COMBOS and in 2010 all hunts were full and guests experienced excellent daily shoots and good fishing.All hunters were avid waterfowlers having hunted all over and said it was some of best and exciting shooting they have experienced anywhere. It is a very professionally run hunt managed by my son Danny who is as passionate about waterfowling or more as he is his fishing and the guides are exceptional callers and pay great attention to small details.Scouting is done daily for next days shoot.All is incl.,accom.,pkgs. both with or without meals,guides,large decoy spreads,both layout field blinds and on water build blinds,dogs,dressing/pkging/freezing of game,private land. Hunt waterfowl a.m.,mix up hunting grouse and fishing p.m..Avg was 10-20+ geese,8-18+ ducks and a lot of shells per shoot and most of the time they were done by 10;00am. We limit the hunt to 1 group up to 4 per week for a high quality experience and consistant success. It’s a unique combo and a great way to spend a week in Sept. doing a variety of exciting hunting and fishing.
Now that Danny has decided to move north full time we are getting geared up for more winter activities on a high quality exclusive limited basis.
Our WOLF HUNTS went well last winter with 3 out 4 killing wolves and the 4th had an excellent opportunity. It is the supreme trophy hunt and a challenging animal to hunt,when you hear one howl back the hair on the back of your neck stands up!! You will hunt a combination of naturally baited heated stands and covering ground howling and distressed prey calling.This hunt can also be combined with ice fishing for an exciting combo trip.
We will also now be offering GUIDED ICE FISHING pkgs. Fish multiple lakes and species traveling by snowmobile or atvs through the wilderness from lake to lake via logging roads,trails,over portages,even making your own trail. See native wildlife in unpressured settings.Fish for walleye,pike,crappies,lake trout,whitefish,bourbot with experienced guides and all equip can be furnished. i’m sure some of you have seen the fantastic fishing on Woods and Waters tv show when John Gillespie came up to film in the past. It is his favorite trip of the season. In the past we had several groups of guests who would come year after year to experience it and have some with the guides they fished with in the summer and now we are offering it to all.For now look to the AML website and the fishing report board for posted details,or give us call.More will follow on the the AML website soon incl video clips from past winters.
As you can see we got a lot going on and take pride in doing the best possible regardless if it is fishing,hunting,socializing,services,etc to make your trip with us the best it can be. Our commitment to this goal is what has sustained us and we actually grew a bit last season through some economic times that now appear to be turning the corner.We are blessed with a high % of wonderful repeat guests and friends,missed seeing some of you and hope to soon again,met many new ones in 2010,and look forward to seeing all of you in 2011.
Again,Me ,Danny,Tessa,and the entire AML staff wish you all a great holiday season and sincerely from the bottom of our hearts thankyou for all the memories of 2010!!!!
Steve Herbeck
AML