fishing report 8/3

[Steve Herbeck]

8/3
AML-EAGLE LAKE
as we move into aug and early sept days are starting to shorten,nites lengthening.natures signal early fall is slowly approaching and around the corner. fish are responding and putting on the feed bag.temps been averaging high 60's to mid 70's and projected to stay relativley stable in that range for a spell. comfortable fishing weather.water temps stabilized to mid to high 60's and should not change much the next couple weeks.should be a great upcoming fall through sept into oct too.
walleyes are on a great bite both numbers but better yet lots of big fish too with the big fish bite just getting better. hoffmans in 3 days had over 400 walleyes with 9 30" or better and many 26-29". blums also concentrated on the bigger fish bite and had lots of fish 23-29/5/8 but just couldn't break the 30" mark.
25-32',slowly dropping deeper off the edges of reefs and humps and on top of deeper humps and hard bottom areas . eater fish will be thick schools tightly grouped together,bigger fish will be in loose pods or singular fish off and away from the edges of the bigger schools.many times fish suspended 4-6' off bottom.touch bottom,lift up,stationary weights with long leads of floro. with the bigger bait being used big pike are being consistantly boated 34-44" along with an occasional musky,several caught weekly with many t-boning big walleyes and just holding on for a few thrills and stories. use 12-17# floro,light drag setting or back reel,you won't get cut off very often and still catch walleyes too.
best musky action coming off rocks because we are fishi ng them more now and can fish many more spots quicker in a day but weeds look great,thick ,topping, and holding fish.some of the beds are very thick and take alot of time to wade through them picking them apart. short accurate casts.on the rocks blades,cranks and dawgs and longer casts covering more of the water column from very shallow to 20'+, in the weeds 10' suicks,topwater,spinnerbaits,buzzbaits. biggest fish was young jack mcneils 52.5",his first fish. uncle tom with the brent group also got his first musky at 50.5".most of the catches avgd 42-48" first part of last week with fish getting used to the drop in water temps from a week ago and the bigger fish showing up more regularly with stabilization of water temps and caught from thurs on so next and upcoming weeks should be dynamite.
some nice pics on www.facebook.com/AndyMyersLodge from last week.
still got 1 availablity for aug 24-31 and some from sept 7-oct 16.
stay tuned and good fishing to all!!!
herbie

[DanR]

Diggin' this report. I can't wait. I'm like a rabid dog. Spending 1-2 hours a night on Google Satellite and the hotspots map. Ughhh, can't get there soon enough. Bill Hedden and I have been trading daily emails, just cause talking about Eagle Lake and the upcoming time up there makes us "feel better".

Lovin' the water temps in the 60s, I just hope there isnt a hot spell to muck this all up before I get there. Otherwise, it's gonna be a banner trip.

You say the weeds are topping and thick. Is the weed growth better than the last few years? Have they made a comeback? If the water temps stay in the mid 60s, how long til these weeds start to get fuzzy/slimy and start the downswing? I know the fish still use them, but I like the thicker topping stuff, its easier to find the thickest clumps and hammer away. Especially since I only get a few weeks up there and the weedlines are different every year...by the time I find em (if they arent emergent) and get my runs locked in...its time to go home. All the more reason why I need to be up there all summer.

-Dan