Again this year I had the great good luck to fish out of AML from August 20th through September 9th. In an uncertain world, I treasure every moment of it, and, in case you are wondering, it doesn't get old at all: by the end I was skipping breakfast and dinner to fish from dawn to dark. Everybody on the team at the lodge went far out of their way to accommodate everything I could need or want for a great trip. I hesitate to provide a fishing report because things are changing so fast up there at this time of year. We ended up with hot, flat weather and water temperatures in the high 60s or low 70s, and the fish were turning on during short windows determined by forces known only to them. You needed to be on good spots fishing hard when the window opened, and then exciting things could happen. Now it is cold and raining on the lake and things are undoubtedly very different as it begins to head toward turnover. When I first arrived in August, the fish were not moving in the weeds much, even though the weeds still looked very good in most places. Later, the fish were almost as likely to come out of the weeds as off the rocks, but I imagine the weeds are rapidly falling apart now. Most of the best action for catching fish was on blades, and it is a good idea to experiment with blades that make a different vibration than just the standard double 10s. Single blades, willow leaf blades...get creative. Fish were also following crankbaits and plastics, though it was harder to get them to eat them; and Herbie caught a fish on a topwater as third bait through behind a blade and a bulldawg. The fishing was often challenging, but we were seeing big ones up to supertanker size, and I boated 18 fish over 40 inches in 20 days, headed by a 52 and a 49, if that gives you any useful indication. I was terribly sad to leave and can't wait to get back to see friends, staff, muskies and Eagle Lake.
Bill Hedden