20 June 23 , 2023 VOL . 42 • ISS . 9

the boat . Unfortunately , on his 3rd jump he tossed the gold Yakima Bait MagLip right back at us ! Then the trouble began . I was only running one side planer on the shore side of the boat , and the MagLip grabbed the bottom 3 different times , all resulting in having to reel in all 4 lines , plus the side planer , and then spend time backing the boat up 300 feet to retrieve the lure . We decided to head back south to deeper water , and to leave the side planer in the boat ! We trolled south past Wildcat point and out in the middle of the lake in 44 feet of water . It was a slow day , with 6 nice rainbows landed from 15 to 20 inches . The weather was beautiful until about noon , when some nasty looking thunder clouds started to gather all around us . We managed to load the boat and drive back to the cabin at Spalding before it all let loose ! We had nickel size hail that threatened to put holes in my fiberglass roofing on the back deck , and it was so loud we couldn ’ t hear each other . Thankfully it only lasted 20 minutes , and then just turned to rain . We all gathered at Al & Deanna ’ s place about 6 pm for a wonderful potluck dinner with grilled steaks , chicken , pork and lots of side dishes . We headed back to our cabin fairly early . We needed to get some sleep before the alarm clock went off at 3:45 am ! Saturday the weather was cooler with 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 right out of the boat ramp to Pikes Point . 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 . We trolled up to the Youth Camp , and Brian landed a fat 21 inch rainbow on a purple / blue silver Excel spoon at 12 feet deep . That was the only hit we had in about 2 hours of trolling . We decided to slow down and put on smaller spoons to see if that would turn on the bite . We trolled right along the bank at the youth camp in 16 to 20 feet of water . We saw lots of fish on the Lowrance , and I had a good hit on my Vance ’ s Sockeye slammer set at 15 feet on the Canon downrigger . The fish felt nice and heavy , but didn ’ t fight much until it got close to the boat , where we eventually netted a fat 17 inch Tui Chub ! We trolled up and down the Youth Camp slot a couple times , and John got a 15 inch rainbow on a red Sure Catch Spoon , and we landed 7 other Tui Chubs , including one on a Jay Fair trolling fly . We had enough green fish , so we pulled in the gear and ran back down to the south end and trolled the deep water again . John got 4 nice trout on a dark brown / orange Excel spoon . Talking to Dave and Al on the VHF radio , Dave had landed 4 of their five trout on a bright yellow / orange / Tequila Sunrise Speedy Shiner ! 2 totally different color , but both caught some stingy trout . It was the first time I have ever fished a day on Eagle Lake and not caught a trout ( I did catch 4 nice Tui Chubs !) 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 we were out again at 5 am . Decided to

Brian Garcia of Alta with a nice pair of Eagle Lake Rainbows caught trolling blue / purple / silver Excel spoon . Photo by Paul Kneeland , Fish Sniffer staff

A Beautiful Day on Eagle Lake before the thunder clouds come in .

Photo by Paul Kneeland , Fish Sniffer Staff

stay near the boat ramp at first , where Dave and Al had been catching them the last 2 days . We stayed all morning between the boat ramp and Wildcat point , trolling back and forth in 44 feet of water . Saw lots of fish on the graph at 25 to 35 feet , and that is where we caught them . I think a lot of the marks were Tui Chubs , but we did catch trout there as well . Brian did well with his Mackinaw special at the beginning – he had 6 trout before John or I got a bite ! But then we caught up to him . I got a nice 21 incher on the same Excel and John got a couple on a 5 of diamonds yellow small Dardevil . The we slowed down again to 1.5 to 1.8 mph and caught a few on the small spoons again . I got one on a green trolling fly , and a couple on a copper pink spotted sockeye slammer . We ended up with 15 trout to the boat , and kept 6 from 18 to 21 inches – beautiful fish ! Everyone but Al and Dee went home on Sunday . Bridget and I stayed and had a nice quiet evening in our cabin on my birthday with excellent whisky , great cigar and Tomato Soup cake for desert ! Eagle Lake is low but in better shape than last year , and the trout are fat and sassy . The boat ramp at Spalding now has water on it , but no boats are launching because of the shallowness of the bay . The south shore ramp is in good shape with plenty of water . Eagle Lake RV park offers camping , cabins , RV spaces and supplies , fuel , and a full store and market . You can reach them at ( 530 ) 825-3133 or at www . eaglelakervpark . 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

The fog lifts as Al Fiske and Dave Barsi troll the calm waters of Eagle Lake in Al ’ s Duckworth .

Photo by Paul Kneeland , Fish Sniffer staff

Fish Sniffer publisher Paul Kneeland with a fat 20 inch Eagle Lake Rainbow caught on a red / brass Thomas Buoyant .

Photo by Bridget Looney

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