Planning Your Trip: A Year on Eagle Lake
Naturally reproducing fish populations, like those in Eagle Lake, go through annual physical and behavioral changes as well as migrations between the spawning grounds and their preferred living habitats. As a result, the fishing opportunities change during the year, along with the water temperature, weed growth, day length, and the weather. All the seasons have great attractions, but the fishing and the experience can be quite different. To help you plan your trip, here is a brief description of what to expect throughout the year.
Spring
As spring approaches, the fish move to shallower depths to find warming water and prepare for spawning. Northern pike spawn as soon as the ice breaks up, followed by walleyes when the water temperatures reach the mid-40s, muskies in the low 50s, and finally smallmouth bass when the water reaches the high 50s. Even the lake trout, which spawn in the fall, are in shallow water, seeking prey and enjoying the sun.
The fishing season for all species, except muskies, opens on the third Saturday in May, and with all the fish in the shallows, you will never have a better shot at trophy pike, lake trout, and smallmouth bass. Walleyes can be caught in fantastic numbers in the spring, though you may have to search a bit for the trophy fish who tend to leave the spawning grounds promptly after mating. That’s where an expert guide can be invaluable. Expect cool nights in the 40s and daytime highs in the low 70s, but be ready for anything: It’s Canada in the springtime! Check out our Opening Week Special. It’s the time of year when you will be grateful for our warm cabins and hearty food after a bracing day on the lake.
Summer
The warming water of summer allows fish to disperse to find their preferred temperatures and food sources. Northern pike and lake trout head for the depths, often staying in 50-degree water below the thermocline. Fortunately, Andy Myers Lodge is near the two deep, clear basins where the trout and pike congregate, and our guides can show you how to catch them. For a real adventure, make the trek up a winding stream to Clearwater Lake, which is paradise for trout. Smallmouth bass prefer complex structures with rocks, logs, and weedlines near shady shores and drop-offs. Walleyes migrate deeper in the lake to humps and other structures where baitfish congregate, so staying over a school demands careful boat control, but the reward can easily be hundred-fish days. The eagerly anticipated muskie season opener is the third Saturday in June. These apex fish are scattering from the shallow bays where they spawned to all the diverse habitats muskies use. To replenish themselves after the winter and the spawn, they are feeding heavily. We offer a special Muskie Opener Week to celebrate the season.
Summer is the time for long days on the lake, with extensive dawn and evening hours to seek a trophy musky, walleye, or bass. All the different habitats are holding fish, from the shallow, weedy bays to the rocky bars and mid-lake humps. As a special treat, when the weeds thicken in July, you can begin to enjoy the thrills of topwater fishing. Nothing beats the sight of a muskie hitting a surface lure, unless it is the experience of hooking one at boatside. Our guides can teach you about a special evening surface bite for trophy walleyes. The days should be pleasant, with the possibility of dramatic storms and the glorious sunsets that make Ontario’s Sunset Country famous. When it gets hot, you will love our climate controlled cabins for a good night’s sleep.
Fall
The shorter days and cooling water of fall trigger the fish to feed heavily in anticipation of the coming winter. Lake trout emerge from deep water to haunt the edges of rocky reefs where they can feed and spawn. If the water cools enough before the lake trout season closes on September 30, it can be some of the best trout fishing of the year. Smallmouth bass follow baitfish to humps in the lake and can be caught in unbelievable numbers and trophy sizes. Pike and muskies are feeding heavily to build egg mass and prepare for winter. In the fall, your guide will tend a live bait for you as you cast, and many of the largest fish of the year come to the net from that combination. Our Fall Trophy Muskie Hunt is justifiably famous as your best chance for the fish of a lifetime.
The weather is serious in the late fall and all trips are guided. Being in a fast boat in a blizzard is not for the fainthearted. Check with us to make sure your gear is up to the challenge. When it really gets cold, the guides troll for muskies and giant pike as the anglers guide the baits over rocks and obstacles to keep them at the perfect depth. That way, the rod is in their hands when a monster strikes. Most experts think that the next world record muskie will come from trolling or live bait fishing. After a cold day on the lake, you will luxuriate in our cozy, fully winterized cabins, and sprawl on soft couches in front of the fireplace in the lodge.
Winter
The cold of late December opens opportunities to reach countless remote wilderness lakes on ATVs or snowmobiles. For winter enthusiasts, it is a time of solitude and a chance to see exotic wildlife like moose, lynx, martins, and wolves. As long as the ice lasts, or until the general walleye season closes on April 30, you can catch lake trout (the seasons opens January 1st), splake, walleyes, pike, perch, bass, whitefish, burbot, crappies, and other species. Our guides will lead you to the fish, drill the holes, and fillet your catch.
The new winterized cabins and four-season lodge at Andy Myers Lodge have opened the possibility of exploring the wilds of Canada in the winter. If you love ice fishing, this is the next frontier. Come experience the late ice fishing season during our special week with TV host John Gillespie.
