2003
October 30- Wow! I thought I got a late start fishing Eagle Lake last year, this year it's even worse. Here it is the end of October, and today I finally got a chance to go. Oh well, hopefully I'll get some time now and then to get out there. Fished today by myself at government point. Had the whole place to myself, only saw a couple of boats go by, nobody else fishing from shore. Got there about 5:45. There was a north breeze blowing, making a pretty good chop, but the fish weren't cooperating. I don't know if it was because of the north wind or what, but they just didn't hit what I was throwing. I did manage to get a couple of bites on my usual jig, but missed hooking both of them. Saw a couple of fish surface, so I know they were there. Once the sun got up, the breeze stopped, causing the dreaded doldrums. I tried back in the bay too, got one of my bites there... pulled it under good, I just missed getting the hook set. Really nice this morning, albeit cold, ice forming in my guides. First skunk of the year.
November 6- Partly cloudy, but the sun was out most of the time, once it came up. Some breeze from the S-SE, enough for a decent chop, but not the way I like it. I got to government point at 6:00. I was the only person there. Had my first bite right away, and the first fish in less than an hour. They were in close to shore, feeding heavily on minnows. Saw some really nice ones, but didn't catch any of those, Caught 3 fish, had another on that jumped and threw the hook, and had several other bites. Fishing today wasn't the best, but it has been much worse, so I'm not complaining. I caught all of my fish on my usual jig under a bobber about 2 feet. I also threw a little floating rapala, tried dead sticking it and slow retrieve, but they didn't seem interested in it, had too many real ones to choose from I guess. My first fish was about a pound, then next one about 2 lbs, and the last about 2½ to 3. Released all of them.
November 14- Overcast, breezy from the SW, but not too cool. Actually it was quite comfortable and the wind wasn't very strong, keeping the wind chill managable. Went by myself to government point. Got there at 5:55, way too early to fish. Once I could see, I didn't get any bites right away, but soon that changed. I had 6 fish landed before 7:30. Caught all of my fish today on my usual jig... had to re-tie several times to avoid breaking any off. Caught several fairly small fish, a couple of them I didn't even net, and one I just lifted up out of the water... not what you usually do with Eagle Lakers. The biggest fish caught probably was between 3 and 4 lbs, most likely closer to 3. Didn't get any real big ones, but had great action most of the time. There was never a very long stretch where I wasn't getting bit. Missed quite a few bites, had one on that came loose, but ended up at 11:30 with 18 fish landed. Today was one of the days you hope for, but don't get all that often.
Average fish for today.
November 15- Overcast, snow and rain showers, but really light where we were. Breezy from W, increasing in the afternoon. I met Gene and Monty out at government point about 6:15. Fishing today was slower than yesterday, but we still caught fish. Gene had the midas touch today, and was hooking up better than I was. Monty got skunked, but tried real hard. Both Gene and I missed lots of bites, and today there were longer periods without any action than there were yesterday. Dark color jigs with a fairly short tail seemed to work the best, about 2 feet under a bobber. I did something unusual for me and stayed all day, fishing till about 3:30. We caught some fairly small fish, just as yesterday, but got a few pretty good ones too, however nothing real big. I weighed 2 of them, and they both weighed 2 lbs 10 oz. Totals for today, Gene- 13, Me- 8. Here's a picture of Gene with the end result... going to the smoker.
November 16- Some overcast in the morning, but sun came popping through every now and then. Increasing clouds in the late morning, and some light rain. Breeze from the west, not too strong, but enough for a pretty good chop. Met Gene and Monty out at government point, 2 other people already there, and Dan White showed up before too long. Got quite a few really light bites, they would pull it down only for a second, and it would pop back up before I could react. Finally managed to hook one small one, but that was the only one. Had to work hard for the bites today, and even though the conditions seemed right, they just weren't biting like they were. Gene had some bites too, but didn't hook any of them. Monty got skunked again, trooper that he was. Stopped fishing about 10:00.
November 24- Clear, cold but windy from the west. Had a good chop going all the time we were there, and fish were biting until the sun hit the water. Rene' Sarabia and I went to government point. Got there too early to fish by about ½ hour (Came in over Eagle Lake summit... road perfectly clear). Once we could see our bobbers, the wind made casting very difficult. Had to go to heavier bobbers to get it out far enough. I got quite a few bites that I missed before hooking the first one. It was about 2 lbs. Used my usual jig about 3 feet under a bobber. The fish were out a little farther than usual, probably because of the big wave action. Rocks along shore were all covered with ice from the waves splashing water on them, so it was well below freezing. Rene' hooked a fish, quite by accident, as he was reeling up. He caught it on one of my jigs. He had another on later that came off soon after he started reeling it in. The first one was the only one he landed. I caught 2 more before we left to go try in the bay. That didn't work for us, so we left to come home about 11:00. Not the best day, but certainly not the worst, and pretty good for Rene's first try at that lake.
November 30- Overcast, some breeze from the SW, but not very strong, some rain showers before I got there, but none while I was there. Went to government point, getting there way too early to fish. Once I could see, I worked my usual jig and bobber combo, but to no avail. I tried out at the point for 2 hours, and didn't get a single bite, so I went back and tried the bay for another hour and a half, then called it good. Got totally skunked, not even a bite the whole time I was there. I saw some fish rolling on the surface, but they didn't want my jig. There were other people out there, but I didn't see anyone catch any. Pretty slow for the conditions, which weren't all that bad. Oh well, maybe next time.
December 6- Overcast, rain starting in late morning, getting heavy by noon. Windy from SW. Gene and I went to government point first, and fished there till about 8:00. We both caught fish out there, but it was exposed to the strong wind, and between the big waves crashing in, the big belly in your line, and the slime, we only stayed out there a couple of hours. We tried in the bay after that, and both caught fish there too, but still the wind was a problem. We decided to try at the Circus grounds, but there were too many people, so we went and parked at Christie and fished in the bay. Both of us caught fish there too, and had quite a few missed bites, but the rain drove us out about noon. Before leaving, Gene caught his largest Eagle Laker yet, it weighed 5 lbs... see it
Total fish caught today, Me-3 Gene-6.December 7- Mostly overcast, snow showers, windy from SW, but not as strong as yesterday. Gene and I got out to government point about 6:30, and fished there till about 10:00. No slime today, and the diminished winds made it more bearable. Caught fish on the usual jigs, some in pretty close to shore. I had 3 fish hooked that came off before I could land them, one was really nice and would have been in the 3 lb category. Gene had at least one on that came off too. We tried in the bay after that, and I got 2 more there. All in all, it wasn't a bad day at all. Total fish landed today, Me-7 Gene-3.
December 13- Overcast, drizzle most of the morning, turning to more steady rain by 11:00. Windy from SW. Went by myself to government point. Got there about 20 minutes too early to see my bobber. Nice wave action going, and the wind wasn't too bad until it started getting light, then it increased. I caught the first fish after missing several bites. It was about 3 lbs so I kept it for the smoker. A bunch of guys came out there so it was a little crowded, and the fish weren't biting as well as I would have liked, so I went down into the bay after a couple of hours. I had one on down there but it came off before I could get a good look at it. Went over to Christie after that and fished till about 11:30. I caught 3 more there, and kept the last one to put in the smoker with his buddy. Not a bad day, rain was light, it was fairly warm, and the fish were biting... what more could you ask for? Total landed- 4.
December 20- Overcast, a couple of light rain showers, but not enough to get wet. A little breeze from the SW early, calming to nothing by about 9:00. Got out to government point about 6:45... people all over the place. I wasn't able to get my usual spot, but got bites where I was. I missed the first several bites, then finally hooked one that was a little weird. It had an overly large belly, probably gorging on minnows I guess. I have never seen one like that and would have gotten a picture, but forgot to bring my camera. After about an hour, I moved into the bay, and got 2 more there, and had another on that came off before I got to see it. The water went completely flat about 9:00, so I stayed till 10:00. Total caught today-3. Probably my last day out here for this year... road still plowed from Susanville for some reason.