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Posts: 239
Location: Illinois | The last 2 years we have stayed at cole groves eagle lake lodge on the northeast side of eagle lake. We stay through the last few days of sept into oct. In 2 years we have caught only 2 musky. We're no musky experts, and primarily throw bull dawgs, grandmas, mag shad raps, etc. We know of the reputation of vermilion bay and some of the islands on the west side of the lake, but there's got to be musky within a reasonable distance to our lodge. We get a great deal at cole grove's and don't want to leave, but 14 hours in a car and a 1 musky/yr avg leaves a bad taste. Any help would be appreciated! |
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Posts: 1185
Location: Iowa | I fish Eagle every year about the same time...we stay at Andy Myers Lodge...2 years ago we caugh 11 in a week, the year before that 1, and the year before that 2 (each time we saw 20-30 fish during the week though). That time of year is not known for its numbers and weather is such a huge variable. The only thing you can do is keep fishing really. I have noticed that most of the fish we see we're off the secondary breaks, and most fish we saw were on plastics like pounders of monster medussas. I was able to raise quite a few on depth raiders as well. Most of the fishing we do is in Vermilion Bay, some days we went out the West Arm, some days we went down past Detour Point toward Nash's Bay. It's a great lake but, it can be real thought that time of year especially if the weather doesn't cooperate. Hot and calm is not so good, cold and nasty is what we hope for. Hope this helps, don't give up on the lake either. There are lots of tankers that roam especially in the Vermilion Bay area! |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | i've been going to Eagle for about 10 years and the baits have pretty much stayed the same for getting fish moving and producing: grandma, double-10's, shallow invader, depth raiders, triple d's. over the years it's pretty typical to catch a dozen fish with a big one and a handful of missed, lost or operator error situations. that said, last year our boat put i think 2 or 3 fish in it for the week (it was brutal).
my best suggestion is to understand presentations for neutral or negative fish that will get them to move and then regardless of how boring or difficult it is, throw what produces. if it's really, really bad there and you don't have a grandma on ripping it aggressively then i think you're missing out.
with little to no production in two years my suggestion is to spend more time on boat position and spots … one thing i found on eagle is not to crowd the reefs, they are all really complex and it's important to get to know them intimately. on the calm sunny days get up onto them and mark em up in detail on your electronics so that you can be more accurate when fishing them.
finally, wind, wind, wind … fish the wind on eagle and know the spots that are being fed by it. this means having lots and lots of spots so that you can fish the ones being fed.
good luck … she can be a fickle b!tch, that's for sure!! |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | It can be a pretty darn tough lake to fish at any time of the year, that point in the fall even more so. As far as location goes, I wouldn't be second guessing that whatsoever. There's no magic over in the west side or in Vermilion Bay, you are probably actually more likely to put up better numbers on "your" side of the lake.
I've talked to a couple of good sticks recently that made some adjustments and started trolling and banging cranks into the rocks and bagged some quality fish, all on that side of the lake in October. If trolling really isn't your thing, then just focus on pounding the big cranks into the rocks and see what happens. Make sure you have baits that are making contact with the rocks to see if that triggers them |
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Posts: 239
Location: Illinois | Thanks for the responses! I'm not one for trolling, but from the research I've done, it seems like trolling deep cranks (hammering them off the rocks) is the way to go. I would prefer to throw pounder bulldawgs/medusas until my hands fell off, but if that's not gonna produce, then I am willing to give the alternative a try. Supposedly the lake was turning over last year, and the year before it was in the 70's. Secondary structure in about 15-18 ft and any bottle necks is where I'm going to try and concentrate my efforts. Any preference to leader length and manufacturer? |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | yup, rippin (violently) crankbaits is the best way to catch fish when it's tough there from my experience … or listen to the guys who are out fishing everyone and pay attention. i learned something last year for that time of year that woke me up = s-a-n-d … whodathunk |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | If you aren't getting solid help from the lodge in terms of spots then I would really try to get someone who knows the lake to mark up a map for you. There are quite a few very famous spots on that lake that are within close proximity and should be hit on a daily basis and probably multiple times. Doesn't guarantee any results but there's a lot of unproductive water out there and part of the battle is making sure your boat is in the right locations consistently... |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | or drive to canyon … i shoulda done that last year. |
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Posts: 8777
| We're usually there a month earlier, so I'm not going to tell you how or where to fish. We've gone three days without even seeing a fish, and had two dozen fish follow in the last few hours of the day. We've gone 4 days with nothing and put 6 in the boat in two hours on day #5. We've had days where we saw one fish. (and caught it) A LOT of guys go home empty handed after a week, so don't feel bad. I've always managed at least a few fish for the week and usually a decent one in the mix, but we've come close to blanking for the week a few times. You just haven't hit a window. You will, just about the time that you are thinking: "Why did I drive 13 hours to come up here and fish??! I HATE this lake! This lake SUCKS! %^#* YOU, Eagle Lake!!!!" |
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Posts: 65
Location: Garrison, Mn | Go stay at Andy Meyer's lodge, those guys there want you to catch fish. They will tell what is working and where, and you tell them the same. No secrets in that camp |
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Posts: 239
Location: Illinois | AML has been brought up several times, but when we price out the trip, it ends up being double the cost. I guess you can't put a price on a fish of a lifetime, but then again, nothing is guaranteed! |
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Eagle lake in September into October