Sections of the Lake

[The Outlaw TJ]

First off, let me start out by saying that the recent posts have been very informative so please keep them coming.

My crew and I have been coming to Eagle Lake for 5 years and we have always stayed at another resort. Yes, yes, the boos and hisses are well deserved. The main reason for staying at another location is our knowledge of the middle and southern sections of the lake....especially the Stanton Bay/Island and Osborne Bay locations. I couldn't possibly imagine not fishing those areas of the lake during our annual trip. Herbie, does anyone at your camp travel to those areas during their stay?

My real question here is, if you take the lake and divide it into thirds, what advantages does AML's Northwest section of the lake have over the middle and southeast sections of the lake?

After studying these posts, I have come to the realization that what my annual trip is missing is the sharing of information. Guides where we stay aren't the greatest at sharing their locations and methods which drives me nuts. They claim that the only advantage for fishing the upper third section of the lake is lake trout. OK, I'm not an idiot and I see all the monster musky/pike that are caught by AML patrons. We have always found fish and considered our trips successful however, I know that staying at AML would be more informative in terms of hearing the productive methods and locations of fish caught/seen. However, does it outweigh the benefit of our knowledge of the other two sections of the lake?

We intended to stop by AML last year to check out the camp one evening during inclement weather. However, last year, the weather was favorable and based on our success after dinner, we couldn't risk not fishing. We intend again this year to stop by AML and hope to meet Herbie and check out the camp. Hope to read a few opinions, especially DanR and Alex.....

TJ

[Steve Herbeck]

Outlaw,
Thanks Much For Chiming In.
Eagle Is A Remarkable Lake Which Acts Actually Like At Least 5-6 Diff Lakes And Each Section Is Diff In Makeup And At Times Actually The Diff Basins/sections Seem To Be Acting Independantly Of Each Other Giving The Angler Great Diversity And Options.
If Someone Says One Section Of The Lake Is The Best Section That Tells Me They Actually Know Very Little About The Lake.it's Probably More Salesmanship Than Fishing Knowledge.
Each Section Has It's Peaks And Following Them Is The Key To Utilizing The Lake To It's Full Potential.
We Fish From The End Of The Western Arm Down To About Stanton And Boulder Depending Upon The Weather On A Given Day,water Temps,time Of The Year,wind Directions And Intensity,and Keying On What Section Appears To Be Hot At Any Given Time.
But If You Dividing The Lake Into 3rds Which In My Opinion Is Not Enough But For Comparison And In Answer To Your Question We Would Be Fishing The Northern And Middle Sections. For The Reasons I Stated Above I Hate To Make Comparisons Because Those Areas Are Accessable To Us When Ever We Feel It Is The Best Time To Be There. Comparing Distance It Is Actually Closer Or Similar Distance For Us To Run To The Central Section Than For You To Run To Osbourne/nivens From The Central Section That Being Said I Can't Tell You How Many Times I Have Run All The Way Down Seen A Bunch Of Fish Maybe Caught Maybe Not And Then Within Site Of Camp Boat A Fish 50"+ On The Way In.the Largest I Have Boated On Eagle And 2 Of The Biggests Others I Have Ever Had The Fortune To Realize Exist Have Been In The Northern Section But We Have Boated Alot Of 50's In The Central Section And When It's Time To Be There We Will Be.
I/we Love And Fish Them All.
One Thing Is For Sure Without A Doubt The Northern,western,and Back Channel Sections Are Much More Wind Freindly And As I'm Sure You Know How The Big The Middle Section Can Blow.
That Can Be A Major Deal When It Comes To Not Only Comfort Traveling,safty,but Especially Boat Control Especially For Walleyes Mid Summer Through Early Fall When They Are Mainly On Main Basin Reefs And Muskies Late Summer/fall.
As You Are Told The Western Arm Also Has Big Lakers. The Spots Are Tend To Be Closer For Evening Or Only A Bit Of Time Milk Runs Also The Fish Especially Wallleyes Do Not Tend To Migrate Near As Far/much Seasonally.
When It Comes To Muskies 2 Of Our Very Largests Fish Boated Have Come From The Western Arm And 2 From Near Stanton And 2 In Between So........
When It Comes To Walleyes I Would Say At Least Mid July Through End Of Aug The Middle Section Tends To Have Numbers Wheres The Avg Size Or The % Potential For 28-30"+ Fish Tends To Higher North But Both Sections Have Plenty Of Eaters And Trophys.
I Could Go On And On And Others Can Argue But That Is The Jist Of It.
As I Said It Is A Remarkable Lake And It Would Be Pleasure To Have You In Camp.
Give Me A Call When You're Up And Maybe Stop Over For Beer And A Fish Fry.
Steve Herbeck

[DanR]

Outlaw,

I am biased. :D

THE BIGGEST difference from anywhere else I've stayed in Canada...AML has info sharing. And it's huge. I've run into this when I am not at AML (BTW, those days are coming to an end in 2010 as I've finally convinced my friends to come to Eagle next year). There's either nobody else targeting muskies seriously, and/or no sharing of info. So, you're on your own. AML is totally different.

Herbie invited you to the Weds night fish fry. I would take him up on that. I don't care if the fish are jumping in the boat that night. It's the single most best "investment" of time you'll make to get you on the path towards more and bigger muskies. You'll see very quickly. If it's big fish you're after and learning the lake, there is no better place. And Theresa is one helluva cook!!!

Feel free to drop me a line via PM if you want to know anything about AML from someone who swears by it (and Eagle Lake).

-Dan

[Steve S WI]

Hey Outlaw

Adding to what Herbie said about big fish along the way. Heading twords Stanton in a big wind blow can be a task. With that said personally it seems like you can develop a "milk run" easier and no doubt faster twords his camp. With that big water the spots just seem farther apart. No doubt you could probably fish every point, rock fall, weed edge and the distance between spots would be shorter but you would never make it East and back if doing that. Herbie has been saying this to us for years and he is right. More spots equals more casts and simply more of a chance!!

Like Dan R said the Wed night fish fry is awsome. It is just a bunch of pure musky nuts BS ing but not with the bull. On a funny note last year we were all sitting around talking about our stories of getting hooks in our bodies. It reminded me of the movie Jaws where we were actually pulling up our pants legs discussing the horror stories of gettin hooked! You cant beat that I tell you!

[DanR]

Adding to what Herbie said about big fish along the way. Heading twords Stanton in a big wind blow can be a task. With that said personally it seems like you can develop a "milk run" easier and no doubt faster twords his camp. With that big water the spots just seem farther apart. No doubt you could probably fish every point, rock fall, weed edge and the distance between spots would be shorter but you would never make it East and back if doing that. Herbie has been saying this to us for years and he is right. More spots equals more casts and simply more of a chance!!
That is no BS. In fact, one time I was up there. Some new guests were there, looked also somewhat new to Musky Fishing. They were a bit nervous when they saw Eagle's size. Herbie took them down by the dock and pointed to Strawberry Island. He told them, worse comes to worse, "Just keep going around Strawberry all day." In fact, I think they did boat a fish or two that day. By mid week, they were comfortable in the entire Vermilion Bay area.

Herbie has said/joked during the Saturday night seminar that you really don't "need" to drive all around the lake. I am living proof too!!! Last year my 49 (+ a hair) and 54 came within 4-5 minutes of camp. AMAZING. And the biggest fish I have yet to see on the lake was also in Vermilion Bay back in 2002.

AML is amazing because they can "scale" their advice and help to whatever experience a fisherman has. If you're new...do circles around strawberry (he'll mark the map for the spots on the spot). If you are veteran, they'll point you to specific areas were they've seen fish lately, etc. This is what sets AML apart from everywhere else. Believe me, I've been to other lakes where the owner says, "Fish the rocks." The whole friggin lake is rocks!!!


Like Dan R said the Wed night fish fry is awsome. It is just a bunch of pure musky nuts BS ing but not with the bull. On a funny note last year we were all sitting around talking about our stories of getting hooks in our bodies. It reminded me of the movie Jaws where we were actually pulling up our pants legs discussing the horror stories of gettin hooked! You cant beat that I tell you!
Good thing I wasn't there. I got a Spanky Bait in the head last year that opened a ~1" gash. I cannot complain though as it was a total accident. Sh!t happens, and I was due for an injury anyway. LOL. Hopefully I have paid my debt to the musky gods, and will go injury free for a while now. Call me superstitious, but I believe you must pay your dues and go through some "trouble" to "earn" big fish. It all evens out and is worth it. Heck Steve S, you got the Depth Raider in your leg DURING the fight with your 55.5". LOL

[Steve1248]

We will be fishing Eagle Lake from July 11th to the 18th and staying on the west side of the lake (just off of Outlet Bay). We will have access to Stanton Island and possibly Osborne Bay, would you recommend we fish these areas? Also any other areas you would recommend would be appreciated. We primarily target walleye, pike and bass.

Thanks

[Steve Herbeck]

actually you are on the east side.
depending on how the season progresses weather wise there should be walleyes in froghead,boulder and stanton bays if it's running late and cold,lone pine ,walleye rocks,deadmans and the various and numerous uncharted reefs if it's running early temp wise,or if typical a mix of shallow (15-24' ) reefs and shallow weed fish.
pike will be both places yu'll catch them fishing for walleyes and casting cabbage both.
look for rock rubble and fist sized boulder points and island shorelines,as well as reed rock mix areas for bass.