report 8/15

[Steve Herbeck]

6/15
water temps low-mid 60's and slowly rising. was a nice week weather wise 70's all week with a couple nite time rains.
bugs have not been an issue except for some misquitos at dark.
walleyes
most exceptional catches have come shallow in 3-10' of water with 4-8'most consistant. rocky points and if they have some timber even better in between or separating bays that are windblown and shallow rock piles are where the jig bite and most concentrations of fish with exceptional catches have occurred.jigs and minnows/gulp,flicker shads/cranks.
there is also scattered movement going on to the flats and increasing daily as fish are starting to key in on spawning and new minnow hatches ,larve,and anticipation of the upcoming mayfly hatch as water temps rise and grass/weeds emerge. look for flats with mud bottom,newly emerging grass and weeds.the concentrations of fish on these flats will be where the greenest and heaviest grass is emerging and shallow rock/hard bottom areas within them.these areas are best slowly trolled with spinner rigs (gold and chart been best),and shallow cranks.if concentration or pods of fish encountered mark and go back and jig till they disperse.fish are really moving around so don't spend alot of time on a spot without significasnt success. it is common to fish a good spot that has been good with only a couple fish,hit it or someone else does several hrs later and a group of fish has moved in and it's hammer time.if they are there they are aggressive and catchable.
lake trout
at 35-60' 25-35' down.best action has been on ajoining boat to or cache lakes.20-50 fish days norm. spinner rigs with sucker strips,spoons,and jigs with gulp or tipped with shiners.fish avg 2-6#. trout on eagle still scattered and moving to trout holes with transition basins on the way been best but avg size fish 8-20#. 40-70',30-40' down with cleos and wolfies.best trolling speeds 1.2-1.5mph.
bass
for the most part now bedding. rabbit hair leech jigs,jig and craw,tubes,drop shot and plastics or minnow on bed if clear water,not windy and able to sight fish will result in exceptional catches. fish up and over 20" caught last week.if dark and or windy, grubs and jig,tubes,x-raps over general areas.topwater just starting.
pike
most pike on eagle have been avg smaller with occasional bigger fish to 36" coming in areas with alot of small walleyes. most big pike suspended untill weeds cover comes up. try trolling cranks in basins with bait schools 12-20'for bigger fish.
remote 4wd and fly-in lakes shallow,dark,weedy have been excellent and by far best opportunity for numbers of pike and chances at pike 40"+.last week there were numbers of fish 36-45" boated up and over 20#. in line spinners and spinnerbaits in lily pads.logs, and emerging cabbage beds 2-8' of water.
musky
opens today. just finishing spawning or recently completed. been alot of encounters past 3-4 days with walleyes and small pike being grabbed and sightings by bass fishermen in very shallow with the sunny days and warming water.
best bets to start is just that, shallow areas with alot of small walleyes,backs of dark bottom bays, even up and in the reeds,shallow rock piles,small rocky island clusters nearby are also worth a try.
#5-7 inlines spinners,5-8" minnowbaits,jerkbaits would be good first choices and erratically worked to provoke responses.will have alot more info by mid to weeks end on this species and we'll be after em. it is one of the latest spawns in many years so we'll see but some very big fish have been encountered d very shallow and seen acting agressive towards struggling and fighting walleyes,small pike,and bass and emulate that. not all muskys probably only a small % are actually in that pattern. telemtry studies have proven that a lot of the biggest females go to nearest deep basin from spawning areas and recoup there 16-24' down so don't be afraid to try trolling over these area from spot to spot casted.
minnow baits like jakes,grams 70-100' back and #8-10 blades run 50-60' back with 4-6oz of weight at 3-4 mph will put baits at those depths and right speed for reaction.
been a great season so far,guests leaving with nothing but positive comments on the transition and just getting better in all aspects,staff is doing awesome,i'm getting on the water daily,relaxed and able to spend alot of quality time with guests helping them daily . feel like a kid again! if you haven't got a trip booked give us a call or e-mail for remaining availablity.would be great to share with you the AML expereince.
herbie

[The Outlaw TJ]

Hey Herbie,

I was just wondering what kind of success you've had since musky opener. Does your advice from your previous post still hold true with general location and lure type/size or have you perhaps experienced any different patterns over the last few days? Also, would you have any spot recommendations for someone fishing the Eldorado, Muskeg, Midway, Camp 6 area?

Thanks for the info.

[Steve Herbeck]

there are some fish extremly shallow,bass like stuff in reeds,timber,etc but things are moving along and progressing quickly with most early summer type stuff holding fish.look for weeds and shallow rocks nearby and or weed/rock combos.moving fish on a variety of baits/presentations incl last couple days topwater and jerkbaits but blades far and away best so far. good luck man!!