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Posts: 118
| Howdy....I might have an opportunity to fish Eagle Lake....I've never been there....trip would be in September.....wondering about water color?.....navigation hazards and maps......would you bring your own boat or use a camp boat?.....other guys setting up the trip....I know Andy Meyers is up there.....what other camp's are on Eagle that you've had good luck with.....anything you can tell me about the lake and the fishing would be great.....thanks in advance.... | |
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Posts: 1760
Location: new richmond, wi. & isle, mn | Been a few years,but I've stayed at Andy Myers a dozen times. You'll learn more of eagle in one trip from herbie and his staff , if willing, than anywhere else. Water varies from gin clear trout water in the west arm to more color south and every thing in between. The lake will bite you and definitely change who you are as a fisherman for life | |
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| I don't believe that you'll learn more there than anywhere else. I know you'll have a better chance running into Bob Mesikhomer and his scout boats though! Staying on that end of the lake is a good bet for some quality fish however we stayed in Littleneck Bay each and every trip I've been up there as a teenager and ALWAYS did well, although it was a long trip all the way down to where you'd fish with the Andy Meyer's guys. After a couple years going I was able to navigate it map free, it's kind of like knowing the roads...eventually could get all the way down to Osbourne and Niven after I followed the dad and bro who were in the guide boat. That's a pretty promotion about Andy Meyer's though, I've heard lots of good things about it.
Eagle Lake will forever be in your dreams once you leave that place, and you'll always want to go back. Aside from the fish I saw on Lake Tomahawk a few october's ago, Eagle holds the largest ski's I've ever seen and the variety of fishing you can do there is incredible. Trolling the reefs was always fun! You'll see a ton of moose, a ton of big fish and of course Eagles. Oh yeah, and rocks in places you wouldn't expect them. Study HARD before you go, best advice I have. | |
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| My father, brother and I have fished eagle for the past two years. Both times we stayed at Big Eagle in Littleneck bay, (in other words we fished the big eagle section of the lake) and both times we fished in August.
If your own boat has a good trolling motor on it, I would recommend bringing that, the winds can be strong on this portion of the lake and can blow you off spots you want to fish in a hurry, especially the reefs. We found in August the fish had moved away from the weeds and onto rocks, points and saddles or island clusters in or near big water.
There are a lot of hazards in this lake and section of the lake and as was mentioned above I would take a good long look at a map and have which ever lodge you choose go over a map with you about the hazards. The rocks just seem to come out of no where sometimes, so keep your eyes open.
As far as places to go and what to fish, we did fairly well on walk the dog glide baits, like the doc, bucktails and last year we did pretty well on 10" jakes with white in them. Partridge point held a lot of fish, the reefs, rock points, the inside between perkins island was good with walk the dog top waters last year.
Good luck and have fun! Also try searching up some of the other posts on eagle lake in the forum there is tons of info from guys who are up there all the time. I would also look at Andy Myers website, he has a forum which he updates his fishing reports, again very useful information. | |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | Def. want to bring your own boat, unless you stay at AML which has great camp boats with bow mount trolling motors. I would def. consider hiring a guide as well as you can spend a lot of time fishing unproductive water if you don't know any better...
I've been there several different times of years and in many different kind of conditions. I've had great weeks, "ok" weeks, and weeks that make you want to beat your head into a wall. It is a beautiful lake, has some quality fish in it, and you can have a good trip if you time it right with weather and maybe a little luck...it is certainly not an easy lake to fish by any means though. | |
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Posts: 8781
| What's it like? It can be tough. It can be the worst fishing you have ever encountered. It can also be some of the most amazing fishing you will ever see. When the fish are moving, it's mind boggling how many fish you will see, and big ones at that. Lots of followers. Lots of stuff to hit if you go East. West Arm is like a whole different lake. Down into Boulder is like a whole different lake. We've gone three days without as much as a sniff. We've also had days where we raised 25 fish, and more than half of them were 50" and over. We've had days where we saw two fish and caught both of them. We've had days where we saw 20 and caught none. We've had days where we had 3 fish in 4 casts. I've thought about going to LOTW, or Waibgoon, or Lac Seul, or Dryberry. But I've seen enough big fish in enough places where I could fish Eagle and nowhere else for the rest of my life.
Edited by esoxaddict 1/18/2013 3:10 PM
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Posts: 462
Location: Syracuse, Indiana | esoxaddict - 1/16/2013 1:39 AM
What's it like? It can be tough. It can be the worst fishing you have ever encountered. It can also be some of the most amazing fishing you will ever see. When the fish are moving, it's mind boggling how many fish you will see, and big ones at that. Lots of followers. Lots of stuff to hit if you go East. West Arm is like a whole different lake. Down into Boulder is like a whole different lake. We've gone three daysw without as much as a sniff. We've also had days where we raised 25 fish, and more than half of them were 50" class fish. We've had days where we saw two fish and caught both of them. We've had days where we saw 20 and caught none. We've had days where we had 3 fish in 4 casts. I've thought about going to LOTW, or Waibgoon, or Lac Seul, or Dryberry. But I've seen enough big fish in enough places where I could fish Eagle and nowhere else for the rest of my life.
For these reasons, and more, it is my favorite splace in the world. I'll second the Andy Myers Lodge comments. Great people, great guides, and they WILL put you on fish. Areas around AML have (most) hazards marked. East and west, not so much. I hire a guide for at least a day or two each year, just to get reaquainted with the water, and to see what is working. Linking to another thread, I woke up this morning dreaming I was there! | |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | putting my deposit in the mail this week for my 9th trip i think ... 8 or 9 anyway. echo all the comments made. eagle is a body of water where you have to work to get dialed in and if you work hard enough and figure out the puzzle for your week you will have a great trip. it's a mental/physical challenge i take on to keep my soul alive and wouldn't want to be without my week on the rock.
herbie and his staff at AML provide a camp, but they provide you with a team to benefit from and contribute to. that's what i find unique about the experience.
hey dave ... hope all is well! | |
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Posts: 1828
| To save you from the details and history:
Should I take the offer to go to Vermilion Bay on Eagle for a week with a group of strangers to fish muskies by myself?
The details:
I somehow was invited up to the cabin of a guy from work. This is a very nice fellow, with whom I chat only a few times a year. One day, while telling me about his last trip up there, he asked if I would be interested in accompanying his group in July. They are lake trout fishermen, and their group is usually short of guys in July, since it's not the best time of year to fish lakers. So he said they usually have room in their July trip for another guy. I would have to bring my own boat, but that's not a problem. It seemed the invite was pretty sincere, but I have a feeling that it's one of those things that will only happen if I follow up on it. As in, he might not ask me again, so at the risk of sounding like an idiot, I would have to ask him later if he was really serious, and tell him I'm really interested.
All that said, how serious should I be about pursuing this opportunity? Keeping in mind I (a) have never been there, (b) barely know the guy, (c) don't know his friends at all, (d) can't afford a guide, (e) would have no fishing partner(s) unless I wanted to fish lake trout. Since I would be fishing solo, I'd never stray too far from the cabin, which I believe is in the Vermilion Bay area.
I think by writing this out, the answer became obvious to me. I'd be stupid not to go, since this would probably be my cheapest option to fish that lake. Maybe someone wants to tell me it wouldn't be worth it? I wouldn't mind hearing some other considerations. | |
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Posts: 8781
| Well, jaultman...
I'd spend some time looking at maps, and figure out a plan of attack. We do a lot of our fishing way East, and South. But my largest fish to date (49.5) was caught right in the Vermillion Bay area. There's plenty of good stuff to fish in and around VB - nice weeds just East of Johnston's point, Strawberry Island, McCall's Island, and Musky Point to name a few. That time of the year, I might try all the weedy areas in Myers Bay (just East of V.B.) as well, though I've never fished them so I can't say for sure. If you're staying in that area, there's no reason to go miles and miles to fish. | |
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Posts: 118
| Is there an accurate map of Eagle Lake comparable to the Canadian Hydrographics maps of LOTW?.....and is there a lowrance compatible chip from navionics or other mapping source?.......thanks | |
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Posts: 1828
| pondigger - 1/18/2013 5:03 PM
Is there an accurate map of Eagle Lake comparable to the Canadian Hydrographics maps of LOTW?.....and is there a lowrance compatible chip from navionics or other mapping source?.......thanks
I was going to ask the same thing. Sounds like some of the resorts have paper maps available. Is that the only way to tune in to the Island names, bay names, etc.? Are there any somewhat-accurate depth maps? And anything electronic available? I searched Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources site and found nothing. | |
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Posts: 1828
| Paper maps here:
http://www.canadamapsales.com/en/catalogue/AnglingMaps/OntarioLakes... | |
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Posts: 1
| Fishing Hot Spots has a pretty good map | |
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| I've been fishing eagle lake for many years and recently have been able to spend some real quality time on the lake. What I would tell you is the navionics premier Canada chip is currently the best available (they were mapping the lake last year but I do not think anything new is out.) that along with the fact that most of the hazards are marked in the VB area and you should not have a problem. (chip not as accurate way south) | |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | Doesn't a MI chapter have a week long outing up there every year ? That would be cool time to go and learn about Eagle and the techniques to put fish in the boat.
Anybody know what I'm talking about ?
Jerome | |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | Top H2O - 1/26/2013 3:04 PM
Doesn't a MI chapter have a week long outing up there every year ? That would be cool time to go and learn about Eagle and the techniques to put fish in the boat.
Anybody know what I'm talking about ?
Jerome
Madison Capital City Chapter goes first week of September and yah, it's a great time with some good folks. Cory Painter is the organizer and it's getting geared up as we speak. it's open to members of other clubs and a good way to learn the lake quickly. | |
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What's Eagle Lake Ontario like.....?