Fish Sniffer Magazine Volume 42 Issue 14 | Page 14

14 October 6 , 2023 VOL . 42 • ISS . 14

Huge balls of baitfish and the trout eating them cloud the screen of the Lowrance depthfinder ! photo by Paul Kneeland , Fish Sniffer Staff

A small Rapala looks just like the real thing ! One of the trout kept had 19 baitfish in his belly ! photo by John Brassfield , Trucksmart

was almost completely black with clouds of bait – right under the birds ! I have never seen so much bait in Eagle Lake , or anywhere else . There were times the screen was almost completely blotted out with bait , and it would go on for dozens of yards . We fished the south basin all afternoon , following the flocks of birds . The bait and the birds moved from west to east that afternoon . We caught fish at 20 feet and 30 feet deep , in 32 to 42 feet of water . The best lures were

white ! I don ’ t know if I have ever fished white at Eagle before , but Tim had told us to try white . We caught them on white Needlefish , Hot Ticket spoons , Thomas Bouyants , medium and large Jakes and more . John did very well with a 1 ½ inch Rapala that had a big white belly . I did well with a white Macks Lure Humdinger . We ended the day with 24 trout to the boat and the average size had to be about 3 ½ pounds ! We had one fish that was 15 inches , and the rest were from 18 to 22 ½ inches ! We weighed our 3 biggest at 4.3 , 4.7 and 5.0 pounds on the digital scale ! All were extremely fat from gorging on what we assume were baby tui chubs . We went back to my cabin in Spalding and had a great meal of venison chili with garlic bread and salad . Tuesday morning we were up and launching at 6:15 am . Air temp was 40 degrees and very calm . We decided to try our favorite area and ran up to Shrimp Island on the west side of the lake . We stayed out in deeper water , which north of Shrimp is only 12 to 20 feet deep . We trolled for an hour or so with no bites and nothing showing on the graph , and then ran up to the Youth Camp to see if we could find anything there . We made 2 passes there and caught one Tui Chub on a Needlefish . Well , obviously , it was time to head back south . When we arrived at Wildcat point about 10 am , there were a dozen boats trolling amid a thousand birds , and everyone seemed to have a trout on . We joined the fray and immediately had a double hookup on big trout . It looked like a kokanee

“ It ’ s amazing what a good water year can do !” The fishing at Eagle Lake will only get better this fall , especially in October and November .

One of many obese Eagle Lake rainbows over 3 ½ pounds shown on the stern of the Fish Sniffer Rogue Jet Coastal 21 photo by Paul Kneeland , Fish Sniffer Staff convention with boats trolling around in circles and nets flying . We fished for a couple more hours and ended up landing 17 beautiful rainbows to about 4.2 pounds and released all of them . Back at the cabin in Spalding we barbequed big fat Rib Eye steaks with baked potatoes and salad for a great fisherman ’ s feast . Wednesday morning we got up about 6 am and puttered around , cleaning the cabin and putting all the gear back in the truck for the ride home . We weren ’ t in any hurry to launch , seeing we didn ’ t get our first bite yesterday till after 10 am . We got to the launch ramp and decided to try the Eagles Nest area . We knew we would get fish in the south basin , but decided to try something different . We ran the Coastal up the East side of the lake to Miners Bay , where we found lots of grebes and a few pelicans . We turned around and started trolling south in 30 to 40 feet of water and started catching fish . After landing seven smaller trout – 12 to 18 inches – we thought about moving south again . Then a voice on the radio said he just got his second 4 pounder and that was all we needed to go . Back to the South Basin , and there were even more birds , boats and bait than yesterday !!

Johns small Rapala was doing a lot of damage at 20 feet deep , and I hit 5 in a row on a yellow “ 5 of diamonds ” Jakes Spin a Lure at 30 feet deep on the downrigger . We quit fishing at 1 pm to head down the road toward home . We landed 22 fish today , including about 4 over 4 pounds . We kept three fat trout , and when we cleaned them they were chock full of 1 ½ inch Tui Chubs . I counted 19 in the stomach of the one I kept . No wonder the trout are so fat ! Eagle Lake is one of the premier fisheries in the West . In spite of the low water years , the fishery is in great shape this year . As Tim Noxon said , “ It ’ s amazing what a good water year can do !” The fishing at Eagle Lake will only get better this fall , especially in October and November . Many people fish the lake in December , and depending on ice , you should be able to launch all year . Eagle Lake RV Park at Spalding has a full service store , with groceries , fuel , cabins and RV Spaces . You can reach them at 530-825-3133 or www . eaglelakervpark . com . Tim Noxon has guided on Eagle Lake for many years , and he is always helpful to everyone interested in the fishing , even if you don ’ t book a trip with him . Call Tim at 916-201-4648 or go to www . fishtravelerguideserviceeaglelake . com

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