Saturday, May 23 was the opening day at Eagle Lake this season.  We launched at the Spalding Launch Ramp at 5AM.  The water was a cool 53 degrees.  The lake has been closed since 12/31/19 so where do you go?  Everyone had to guess. We headed to the Youth Camp shoreline.  Once there, we dropped in grubs and flies, trolling them on downriggers set at 4-7 feet deep.  We trolled in water from 8-20 feet deep targeting trout feeding near the surface. The action was not hot but it was good.  We had a fish on or a bite about every 20 minutes.  We landed 8 fish releasing all but two.  We had a few quick strikes and a few quick "on and offs" We also lost a beautiful fish that was all of 4 pounds at the boat.  The two fish we kept weighted in at 3lbs,14oz and 3lbs even.  

The water clarity is not good at present. I could not see my downrigger ball beyond three feet deep. However, anglers trolling in water 40-50 feet deep reported catching fish on downrigghers set at 15 feet, indicating that the water clarity may only be bad shallower in the water column.

Tim Noxon

Fishtraveler Guide Service

Eagle Lake, Ca

916-201-4648

tnoxon@gmail.com

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