Eagle Lake Best Fishing Locations Depths

EAGLE LAKE FISHING REPORT
May 17, 2012 Pre-Season Discussion
Copyright Protected and Registered by Valerie Aubrey
R u Mobile? WeR2!! Text and send photos to Val @ 530 249-1430
Fishing Season Opens May 26; Memorial Day Weekend

BITE TIMES ACCORDING TO MY GPS: These are provided for fun!  Weather and the barometer can add variables.  But, if I thought I had a chance of getting that last fish and had an hour before the bite was supposed to come on....would I stay out and fish that extra hour? That answer is YES.
Saturday May 26: Excellent: 4:37 AM to 5:55 AM & 4:15 PM to 6:15 PM / Good: 10:15 AM to 12:15 PM
Sunday May 27: Excellent: 4:58 AM to 6:58 AM & 5:18 PM to 7:18 PM / Good: 11:18 AM to 1:18 PM
Memorial Day May 28: Excellent: 5:03 AM to 8:03 AM & 6:23 PM to 8:23 PM / Good: 12:23 PM to 2:23 PM

Preliminary Discussion:  I will be discussing our observations and what determines where the fish will be. We will be out on the water later this week but we have certainly been around the lake in many areas. We walk the shoreline several times a week and observe quite a bit. If there is one thing I can tell you is that the trout have been foraging the shoreline in small pods of 20 to 40 individuals. They have been rolling on the surface during the hatch which starting to get earlier as our overnight temps have been holding above freezing. When the wind is blowing and the shoreline water is muddy 50 ft from shore, the trout have been holding tight to the line between the murky water and the cleaner water (which is generally deeper as well). For weeks, the trout have had the same routine from the Circus Grounds south shore all the way up the west side to Shrimp Island! The south basin will be slow to warm up so we can expect to find fish close to shore as well as those who duck out of the bright sunlight on a calm day. Mostly I expect to find the fish anywhere from 2 to 6 ft deep in 4 to 8 ft of water early but that would be working the humps and bumps. Then they will generally move out to 10 to 20 ft of water to rest. The east side also has fish. From Camp Ronald McDonald to Eagles Nest, small scattered pods of trout generally hold in the depths and scattered but often rouge trout forage closer to the shoreline. I always run a top line between 4 and 6 ft deep and a leadcore in which I can drop to around 24 ft. 21 ft to 24 ft deep has been one of my lucky numbers in the triangle formed by Merrill Campground, Wildcat Pt and the Circus Grounds. And strangely enough it is not unusual to hear from folks who dropped in a night crawler at 30ft deep off Eagles Nest and came home with nice limits.  Pelican Pt has also always provided good fishing just be careful of the rocky ledges. The north side has some good water near the tip, but as you get closer to the tules on the west side, it shallows up a little too much. The south side is rocky but always holds fish. If you are not familiar, don’t try to dance with the rock piles, there should be plenty of fish in 10 to 15 ft of water. Set your depth for ½ of the depth of the water you are fishing and you should do just fine. Opener’s have always provided pretty good fishing for most folks. If anything, the weather is more unpredictable than the fishing!!
 
OPENING WEEKEND SUGGESTIONS: If I were to launch in Spalding, Plan A: I would head towards Pelican Pt let out my lines in 18 to 24 ft of water and head into the ledges & feel out the fish. I would be running a brown leech on one rod and florescent orange on one other. Burnt orange and a watermelon wooly bugger on my husband’s rods. I run top lines (130ft behind the boat) and leadcore’s. For shallow water up to 25 ft deep I use 50 to 70 ft of leader off my leadcore so when I let out one color to the water I am 100ft behind the boat.  Distance behind the boat when trolling shallow water is a must.
 
We got the cooling off period we needed…now we just have to not heat up again too quickly. Water temps still holding around 60-64 (which may even drop a little if we keep seeing slightly cooler high ambient temperatures.  So as long as we can hold on, we should still have fish in all the basins of the lake
 
Worse case for the northern basins is accessing slightly deeper water in the channels; IE The Narrows between Troxel and Buck Pt’s up north and  Between Rocky Pt and the Youth Camp and north of the tip of Pelican Pt. Generally the trout do come in shallow to feed as long as the water temps are below 64F @ 65F on the surface you could be doing a lot less catching. But, we’ll have to wait and see what goes. I do know it is warming up fast. Our trout will be seeking shelter from the sun and since the tules are no longer an option, they don’t have much choice but to go down. Boat traffic out of Spalding is going to stir up the water. If we still have trout find the drifting silt line and troll in and out of the heavy colored edge and the clearer (not always clear but clearer than the other side in comparison). 
 
BEST FISHING LOCATIONS AND DEPTHS: Until the trout settle into their summer mode in mid to late July (or when the water temperature of the south basin reaches 70+ degrees surface temperature) they remain scattered in many areas of the lake. Once the lake temp exceeds 65F in the north and middle basins, the trout are heading south to the Youth Camp where there is deeper water. Around 68F the trout will begin to head further south. At that point, they have to go over the top of the Miners Pt rock pile or around it near Slough Pt. Generally it takes 3 to 5 days of 70F surface temp before the masses of trout school up in their summer haunts. So, watch the water temperatures because this is not a typical year or at least it hasn’t been so. But, the water temps determine what the trout do and where they go….. until fall when things revert backwards but the temps remain the same.
 
EAGLE LAKE STANDARD LURES, TROLLING FLIES AND GRUBS: The typical terminal tackle that has historically been successful in catching Eagle Lake trout opening week and through the season.  Generally tui-chub imitations (no live minnows can be used on this lake for bait) work great after the summer hatch but in spring, we have red-sided shiners and Tahoe suckers. So quite often it is only a matter of making sure that there is a little watermelon or cranberry color on a lure, fly or in glitter of an olive grub. Florescent orange is probably one of the best colors all around for lures on Eagle Lake. That’s because some of their natural feed (scuds & juvenile shrimp) turn orange when the water temperatures are below 60F degrees. Above 60’s, they are various shades of olive and seasonally have a golden hue.  
 
TROLLING FLIES/GRUBS come in various colors and some are just good color combinations while others actually mimic the natural feed in the lake itself and when the water is flat calm, one will work better than another and can change depending on the location of the lake you are fishing. If I only had two choices of what color of trolling fly I could drag it would be cinnamon (often cinnamon and burnt orange are called pumpkinseed)  and florescent orange. For opener I would have a Red-side on standby for a splash of red.  Arctic Fox trolling flies come with an action disc that you can use to add a seductive wiggle to the fly. The discs are held in place by using pre-tied bobber knots. Be sure you apply the disc in the correct direction. I often run the transparent disc right at the fly and catch plenty of fish on them.  Brown, orange and watermelon are pretty good colors to start with on this lake for grubs or trolling flies. 
 
HARDWARE: Sure Catch lures have been some of the top producers on this lake for many years now. The Large Red Dog double jointed lure has become one of the hottest lures on this lake. It is florescent orange. Florescent orange and combinations with pearl paint in other small spoons and lures are still holding their own such as a good old #2 needle fish, little Cleo’s, phoebe’s etc.  Opening weekend can be sunny and summer like one day and stormy and snowing the next. This causes light changes as well as changes in the water. Often requiring the use of something with a little more color such as a “perch” with yellow, chartreuse, flo orange & a little black. Many other small spoons such as but not limited to little Cleo’s, Rainbow Runners and Dick Nite’s have worked too. 
 
Rapala’s have been a great lure, but mostly it is one to use a little later in the season when the first of the tui chub minnows hit the food court but we still see schools of minnows in the south basin  (predominately on the east side over the west side of the south basin) so it could be a good back up if action slows down late in the morning but use florescent orange or a combination of colors like a perch. The trout are still chasing the small schools of minnows, but not like they do in late summer or fall/winter. 
 
Another great lure early in the season has been a red-dot frog needle fish. Not only do we have small frogs up here we have a large but often overlooked western toad population and yes, they have reddish glands and yellow spots. They inhabit grassy areas around the shoreline. At this time, this year’s young toads are about 1 inch long so you might drop down a size if one isn’t working. My alternate to the needlefish would be a medium Sure Catch “Gator” which has a nice bright red for the dots.
 
A Mack’s Kokanee Killer (wedding ring) has been a dependable back up for me the last few years. As lures come and go on Eagle Lake this lure, this lure has held on thru history. My personal favorites are combination of green and flo orange stack beads with the wedding ring and the metal blade spinner…spinner can be orange, brass or silver it doesn’t really seem to matter too awfully much. I don’t care for the foil Mylar propeller blades that some have now. If you can’t find the combo stack beads, buy a green and an orange and swap beads. It’s real easy as they come on a pre-tied open ended leader. Glow hooks seem to work just as well as bare hooks. PS) after catching a few fish, be sure to check the leader above the hook for abrasions from the teeth of the fish. But, for me, that goes with about every method of fishing!!
 
TROLLING BAIT: Trolling nightcrawlers has long been a favorite method of catching our trout. These imitate the naturally occurring leeches of which there are several species in this lake. The most common is a predatory leech which changes color seasonably. Generally, cinnamon color works well in the summer, shades of brown can work better in spring before the water heats up. I have over ½ dozen different shades of browns before I reach a burnt orange or cinnamon color. Then I also tie up several shades of cinnamon for summer. In fall to winter, back to the browns again and nearly to a purple…but while bright purple has worked for others, it has not been as productive for me as browns and blacks in December. Regardless, the live crawlers work best, plenty of artificial leeches are quite capable of fooling our trout. Uncle Larry’s Lure used with a nightcrawler has become a very effective combination. At Eagle Lake however, we size down the hook to prevent line twist which occurs when trolling a little too fast…and sometimes, 50-100 rpms faster can make a big difference in getting a strike. Black perch and perch colors (perch being yellow, chartreuse with a little flo orange and black) have worked best.   Dodgers have also worked when used with a nightcrawler (1/2 of a nightcrawler works best) or a grub. Matching grubs and dodgers has taken more fish than mixing and matching.
 
Using flashers with any lure, grub, fly or bait works best in late summer/early fall when the tui chub minnows hit the food court AND later in fall when the lake cools off and the microscopic algae’s die off leaving a lot of color to the water until it settles out. The best success comes from shortening up your leader to no longer than 14 inches. Our fish can come up behind the flashers so fast that they can miss your bait altogether and strike your flasher if you generally run 3 or 4 feet behind em.
 
Attractants work. Garlic has long been a favorite but other “trout” scents work too. Generally, tui-chub flavors work better in fall when the seasons minnows hit the food court (minnows cannot be used for bait in Eagle Lake, including the ones than naturally occur). Over the years manufacturing changes and improvements in the attractants has allowed for a greater variety of selection and the trout responded favorably. Garlic flavors have probably out fished some of the other flavors on the market, but shrimp, krill and crawdad have been coming on and holding their own. Pro-cure has a great selection and a proven product. The old garlic gravy that eventually ended up selling under the Eagle Claw brand is no longer available.  
 
BAIT FISHING FROM BOATS: For those fishing in the northern basins or close to the shallow ledges, we shouldn’t have to go more than 4 to 6 ft deep in 8 to 10 ft of water at OdarkThirty. But, for those fishing the south basin it isn’t unheard of to drop lines down to 25 to 30 ft deep in 45 to 55 ft of water and end up catching a nice fish or two when being in the right place when a pod of trout swim under the boat. I always like to run a free line over a set depth bobber early in the season. Letting it drift down the water column for 10 minutes or so, then slowly reeling it back in and giving it another toss. (stop reeling at the slightest tick on the line and open the bail back up until the fish is peeling line out hell bent for leather….then stop it and set the hook.   Sometimes there are more fish on one side of the lake than the other … then they switch locations for a change in the view and food sources. There have been a lot of pods of trout on the west side, but the east side of Eagles Nest and The Springs have some nice attributes that hold some resident trout all year round. Historically, the east side has held a few pods of trout that “cruise the boulevard” from point to point and seems that the better catching has been in the late morning or afternoon when the fish go down to get out of the sun (flat water especially). Anyway, just a thought to keep in the back of your mind if you end up having a tough day. Having multiple options will help you succeed. 
 
FLY FISHING; BY BOAT, FLOAT TUBE/KAYAK OR WADING: See accesses below. Personally, I am launching my float tube opening day. I don’t have to launch my boat adding one more vehicle to the opening weekend menagerie. We will still have fish foraging the shoreline in the south basin no matter what. Leeching and scudding has been a long time method of fly fishing Eagle Lake, but we have some serious hatches in which I have been working for a few years now. I go small….all the way down to size 20 to 22 hooks. This requires you to use a 2 pound  tippet but I have had a ball using olive (my fav) or dark brown zebra midges, caddis emergers (black/blue sedge), mayfly spinner as well as some other dry flies and emergers. Let’s just say that what I found by accident I now incorporate. At this point in time, I haven’t found another float tuber running two fly rods at the same time with another one strapped in the case for a quick change. But, when my leech and scuds or shrimp lines are no longer working, I end up knocking the snot out of ‘em with the little stuff for a couple hours. First tip on using the 2 pound tippet is don’t set the hook and don’t stop or try to slow down the run and don’t horse them in. They eventually turn around and charge. Pheasant tail nymphs, copper Johns, beetles, boatman’s and snails also have produced good action.
 
Indicators are quite popular. I don’t use them often, however I do use them, different ones for different applications. In the wind I like “thingamabobber” style (old single eye). The newer ones I don’t bother with the plastic plug and haven’t had any problems with the old style. I poke a little hole in the top of it and fill it with water. The water gives it enough weight to cast in the wind and control the retrieve…and the indicator still remains on the surface. For calm flat water I might use a Styrofoam one. But, I don’t care for any that I have to thread on my line…easy on, easy off. Seconds count on the hatches.
 
BANK FISHING: There should still be action to be found shore fishing opening weekend. The Youth Camp/Biology Station area has generally been a good place but the access is less than desirable and only 4x4 should actually attempt it. It’s too bad that the roads are not graded and signage very poor so that more people could access the area. One way the “local” Susanville anglers can keep it to themselves. The Jetty has generally been a good place to bank fish from, but it will be interesting to see how the fish react to the new ramp next to it and increased boat traffic in an area that was generally fairly quiet. The Circus Grounds and Christie Day Use (nice point and ledges just left looking down from the parking lot. Wildcat Pt…bit of a drive in over dirt and high clearance is suggested. NOTE: you cannot walk into the Osprey Management Area this time of year. You can, however, boat in and pull up for wading.
 
Eagles Nest can be productive and accesses some pretty good water but generally the fish are very scattered early in the season. Nonetheless, the east side of the lake does hold resident trout and they cruise from point to point along the shoreline, but when they rest, it isn’t unusual to find them holding out in the springs in 45 to 55 ft of water and 30 ft deep.
 
 ><)))(*>  EAGLE LAKE SHORE AND FISHING ACCESSES  <*)(((>< 
 
The jetty and Pikes Point at Eagle Lake Marina. The parking area on Gallatin Road past Camp Ronald McDonald to access the gravel bar south of The Springs. Eagles Nest, The Youth Camp/Biology Station. Between Merrill Camp ground and Christie Day Use Area is the Circus Grounds and between the Day Use and Little Merrill Creek are several rocky points with good structure…all the way to Wildcat Pt are awesome steep ledges. Tubers can easily launch and access some remarkable water if willing to work for it. Wildcat Point is the ONLY access where vehicles can drive closer to the lake. Lake of the Woods (north of Wildcat) is closed to vehicles, but open for walking or horseback after Sept 15.  Further north there are two accesses for Rocky Point which will improve again once fall rolls around. There is one on each side, Bucks Bay and Spalding. There are several accesses in the north basin but generally the area along highway 139 fishes better in times of higher water levels. “Fred’s Road” near Spalding is closed to vehicles but The Strand basically continues but turns to a recently improved graveled road  to the mouth of Pine Creek just west of Spalding’s marina with several turn outs for parking before getting to the end parking area where the Y use to be. All roads along Pine Creek Slough (which is entirely closed to fishing) are closed to vehicular traffic although people have moved rocks to drive quads upstream…LNF is aware of people doing this but they are going to have help getting bigger, heavier rocks dug into the ground to prevent movement this summer.
 
USFS QUAD MAPS OF OPEN ROADS AROUND THE EAGLE LAKE AREA: The links below go to maps saved from Lassen National Forest website.  Any questions you have should be directed to Eagle Lake Ranger Station staff. I am only providing them for quick access for our viewers. More information on road closures in the Forest is available on their website. There are new maps coming out for road closure, multi-vehicle use roads etc. We will replace those for you next season. Until then, you can find them on Lassen National Forest website.
 
 
 
THE FOLLOWING MAPS ARE FROM THE USGS.GOV SITE AND ARE FREE FOR PRINTING.  I SIMPLY PUT THEM IN ONE LOCATION FOR YOU.  THE FOLLOWING TOPO MAPS ARE BETWEEN 4MB AND 8MB SO DIALUP USERS MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY. You do not have to install a codec to view or print the map in Adobe 8 or higher. Click NO on the window that Adobe pops up. The map should load just fine.  I have zoomed up, selected and been able to print a detailed section of these maps. They are a better resource than I thought they would be!
 
 
See Lake Conditions for water temps
See Ramp Conditions for launch ramp info.
See Tips and Tricks  for ideas & set ups dialed in for fishing Eagle Lake. Most methods are covered. We make no claims of knowing everything about Eagle Lake, but we do know a lot about catching Eagle Lake trout in their native waters.
      
ALL EAGLE LAKE, ALL THE TIME
  © Copyright REGISTERED WITH THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 2004-2012 by the author, Valerie Aubrey. The website’s http://www.eaglelakefishing.net/ and http://www.eaglelakefishing.info/, All Maps, Articles and Photographs contained there in are copyright protected and are published exclusively on the Internet by the author and may not be copied, displayed, reproduced or published in any other form without the express written permission of the author who reserves all rights. Viewers may print for personal use. Commercial use of any map or story is strictly prohibited without permission. Any “free Map” from our websites must be a permitted copy for commercial redistribution. Material supplied by others is the copyrighted property of the respective authors. Re-use of any articles, maps and photographs on Eagle Lake Fishing Information and Network without written permission by the author(s) for any purpose is strictly prohibited. We have a tendency to check some publications and newspapers for plagiarism which has become a problem with one in particular. We hope that the letter sent last season from our attorney will prevent future theft as we don’t give more than one warning. 
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2012-05-17

 

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