VOL . 41 • ISS . 10 June 24 , 2022
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WHAT ’ S HOT continued from page 2
get some sleep before the alarm clock went off at 4 am ! Saturday the weather was cooler with high overcast clouds and a slight breeze . John and Brian joined me in the 21 Coastal and we headed back up to the Shrimp Island area . Dave Barsi was fishing with Al in his 18 ’ Duckworth . They started on the east side of the lake , trolling north . The bite was slower today , maybe because of the cloud cover and falling barometer . The area north of Shrimp island is one of my favorite early season spots , but with the low water levels it is very hard to troll up there at this point . After losing a couple lures to the rocks , we decided to troll south and stay in deeper water . We caught a few fish in 10 to 15 feet of water on the downriggers set to 10 feet and on the side planers on the surface . Then we trolled down the main channel in 40 feet of water , still catching trout from the surface to 15 feet deep . Al and Dave were struggling a bit , and they finally trolled across to the west side where there was more action . Brian , John and I finished with 16 trout to the net and quit about 2 pm . The best lures were red / gold Mag Lip , watermelon Speedy Shiners , and Tasmanian Devils and Big Jakes in frog color . Saturday night we had the gang over to our cabin for a birthday dinner for John and I . Again , a wonderful potluck dinner , including a wonderful Tomahawk rib eye steak , and finished off with good whiskey and fine cigars ! Sunday John and Brian and I plus Al and Dave , went out again , in spite of the Small Craft advisory we had been hearing on the radio . It was an ominous sign that the south wind was blowing about 10 to 15 mph when we launched at 5:30 am . We decided to go back where we had found the trout yesterday . Because of the south wind , we decided to start at Wildcat point and troll north – with the wind – towards Pelican Point . We caught a couple trout right off , but noticed how quickly the wind waves were building . Al and Dave stayed at the south end , and were catching a bunch of fish . They were way ahead of us , about 10 to 2 . By 8 am the lake had turned into a fury of white caps and 2 to 3 foot rollers . Talking on the radio , they said they were knocking them dead with red / gold Thomas Buoyant spoons at 8 feet deep . Luckily , I had a few in my tackle box , and Brian and I each put one on . I had just set my rod in the holder when it went off and I was into a nice 20 inch rainbow ! It was starting to get really nasty at our northern locale on the lake , so we pulled everything in and ran down to the south end to try to get into the lee of the wind . Once there we trolled with the wind for a while , and when we turned into the wind , I had to fire up the 200 hp Evinrude to control the boat ! But the wind really fired up the fish as well . We stayed in 30 to 40 feet of water to avoid the rocks , and had 2 double hookups and a triple hookup !! On the triple , I had to keep at the helm to control the boat , and just held onto the rod while John and Brian landed
John and Brian enjoy a double hookup of big rainbows in the wind at Eagle Lake .
Dave Barsi of Oak Run with a pair of fat 20 inch Eagle Lake rainbows caught trolling a Thomas Buoyant spoon in red and gold 8 feet deep at Eagle Lake . Photo Courtesy of Al Fiske , Foresthill
their fish ! Finally , John took the wheel , and Brian helped me land a beautiful 21 inch rainbow ! About then , the dark clouds we had been watching surround the lake descended upon us and it started pouring rain ! With the wind , the rain felt like pellets hitting your face . But the bite remained on and we kept fishing ! The hot bite slowed down around 10 am , and we were soaked . The rain slowed up , but the wind increased if anything . I would guess it was blowing 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 ! Thank goodness we were in a high sided , very seaworthy Rogue Jet Coastal . We headed in about 10:30 after landing 22 trout to 22 inches and 3 ½ pounds . The hot lure was the Thomas Buoyant in red / gold , but we also caught fish on hot pink and orange Apex ’ s , Mag Lips and Speedy shiners , all trolling between 2.0 and 2.4 mph , when we could actually control the speed in the gale ! What a wonderful , exciting day of fishing !
Photo by Paul Kneeland , Fish Sniffer staff
John Brassfield eyes the coming storm as it approaches at Eagle Lake . Photo by Paul Kneeland , Fish Sniffer staff
Eagle Lake
Eagle Lake is low but in good shape , and the trout are fat and sassy . The boat ramp at Spalding is out of the water , but you can launch at the south shore ramp with no problem .
For information on renting cabins and real estate , contact Dave at Heritage Land Co ., ( 530 ) 825-2131 or www . eaglelakeheritage . com .
Eagle Lake RV Park offers camping , RV supplies , fuel , and a full store and market . You can reach them at ( 530 ) 825-3133 or at www . eaglelakeandrv . com .
Tim Noxon of Fish Traveler Guide Service has been fishing the lake for years , and he is a fountain of knowledge on how to catch Eagle Lake trout ! Call him for a fishing report or to reserve a trip at ( 916 ) 201-4648 or go to www . fishtravelerguideserviceeaglelake . com