Another beautiful day today. We are expecting the high ambient temperatures to remain in the mid to high 80's but temps are expected to start dropping into the low 70's on Sunday.

Winds are predicted for Friday afternoon with gusts to 20 mph. Saturday winds are expected to be out of the west that could gust to 26 mph. The good news is that the mornings are predicted to be calm.

We are seeing some clouds form in the afternoon and if all the conditions are right they can produce a storm. No storms are predicted at this time but the lake can help make its own weather.

Water Temperature

Temps will be going up. Official CDFG water temperature of the South basin: 61.34 degrees F to 35 feet. Drops to 57 F between 35 and 40 ft. PH 9.28 and below. Clarity of the south basin was 24 feet today. North basin: 61.5 F to 10 ft pH 9.4 Middle basin: 61.16 F. The weekly water quality tests are now beginning. The new criteria set by CDFG for posting the "voluntary catch and keep recommendation" is a uniform pH of 9.4 and 60 degrees F.

Lake Conditions?ĮI have been out of town the last couple of days but will be on the lake Friday.

Algae Locations: The south side of Pelican Point was cleaner today but Miners Point and the ledges were pretty dirty. There was some clean water there but just about the time you got your lines out you would find a drift of algae. Today there was more algae throughout the water column rather than just on the surface as it has been. The wind has been shifting between north and south as well as east and west and has some of it spread out. The west side of the south basin from Shrimp Island north to Pelican Point was fairly clean for trollers. There is still plenty of good water to fish but the clean locations can change quickly. We are expecting mostly sunny days for the next 10 days so expect the water temperature to start going up a bit.

We have some years that are worse than others for the algae bloom. But on a bad year it can wreak havoc until it is over. We try to keep up with it's location (the south basin is usually the worst by far) but on a lake with 100 miles of shoreline and three basins we can't be everywhere.

Buoys are on the lake. But, this being a natural lake not all the hazards are marked. The west side of the south basin all the way to and around Pelican Point is notorious for rock piles several hundred feet from shore. Miners Point and the Youth Camp as well as the channel between Buck Point and Little Troxel Point will also hazardous areas. We will lose between 2 and 3 feet of water by fall (and maybe a little more depending on the type of summer we have) so expect the water level to drop below 5100 this season. Be careful this year.

Fishing Locations and Depths

The bite has improved a little. Timing is important for fishing the 8 to 10 ft deep ledges but there are plenty of fish on the west side of the south basin. 15 to 32 feet of water and 8 to 12 feet deep have caught some nice fish to 4 pounds the last couple of days.

Fish in the shallows are beginning to move around and many are seeking cooler water temperatures already. But we still have a few fish remaining in the shallows...but a couple of hot days will change everything. Usually the fish that move out of the shallows stage at the Youth Camp and Biology Station (and Pelican Point) for a few weeks before heading down south to the deep summer haunts.

Between Pelican Pt and the Youth Camp had quite a few fish feeding on the bottom. They were pretty hard to catch today for the average fisherman.

Most the action from the Youth Camp to the Biology Station was several hundred feet out from shore one day, and close in on the next. But, there appears to be quite a few fish there but they can move ?? mile (or more) on you in one day. As more algae starts showing up, the fish will also look for cleaner water. We are still catching fish 5 to 10 feet deep, due in part to slightly lower water temperatures the last few days.

Miners Point provided good fishing (while the trout were rising after caddis) but was pretty dirty today. I only caught 4 out of 6 today there but it got a little too dirty to troll. The fish only took me on a dark brown leech trolling fly. I released 2 around 2 pounds and two bigger fish at 3 pounds. There is algae in all directions from this area so the wind could play havoc and move it around. A lot of boats do move the fish from one side of these ledges to the other quite often. Sometimes you have to chase the fish daily.

Shrimp Island and the rocky ledges on the west side provided some action for trollers using nightcrawlers as well as some bait fishermen. We did see some fish off Slough Point in 18 to 30 feet of water today. Many of the fish we are catching have sore lower jaws from flipping rocks and eating snails, shrimp and leeches. When they do that, you have to get your line right in front of them.

Trolling

Some trollers are doing better than others. We are trolling 5 to 10 feet deep with our toplines (130 ft behind the boat) and leadcore's (running one color in the water with 50 feet of leader) There are quite a few fish all around the channel between Pelican Point and the Youth Camp and the south side of Pelican Point. (it was cleaner today than it has been the last couple of days) The plain Jane brown trolling fly has been providing me with all the action.

A couple people did well in the middle of the south basin between the marina and Wildcat Point some fish were near the top and some at 21 to 24 feet deep in 40 to 65 feet of water. But, the fish are pretty scattered in the deep water. I would run both brown and orange in the deeper water.

Hot Lures, Flies and Grubs

Lures: Large "Red Dog" Sure Catch lure is doing well and medium "Goldie locks" (florescent orange and brass) has been working well too. But good old Needlefish were in the top 3 producers. No doubt that florescent orange is a hot color on this lake and various lures of that color often work. Since using the sure catch lures, I am now partial to using them but Needlefish have also been extremely affective on this lake for decades. This week the nickel bikini (3) and rainbow have been working. Florescent orange with brass back were productive in size 2. The tiger and perch pattern size 3 was very effective as well as the red dot frog and crocodile patterns in size 2 and 3. We have a lot of baby western toads in all the grassy areas of the shoreline right now.

Trolling nightcrawlers is also a favorite and was indeed a very affective method for many anglers. Use of flashers is more productive in late summer and fall than this time of year but there were folks out there catching fish using flashers today. (Flasher tip for Eagle Lake: shorten leaders up to 14 to 15 inches from the flashers. These fish often come from behind so quickly that they can miss your bait and hit your flashers. If you are getting lots of strikes without hooking up, your leader is too long.)

Grubs: The grub trollers are working hard but the brown has bought a few strikes. and root-beer color. Some folks prefer to run wiggle or action discs several inches ahead of the grub.

Trolling Flies: The plain Jane dark brown leech is still buying all the strikes. We are still only getting a couple half hearted strikes on orange. Olive and gold wooly buggers got more attention around the tules but brown is always the ticket in the rock piles. I will continue to run at least one florescent orange fly because these fish will suddenly change flavors and I will be there when it happens. If I only had one rod to run, brown would be the color I would run on it at this time.

Bait Fishing

The bait fishing picked up a little for the average fisherman today. Expect the nice weather and and dark nights for the next several days to improve the catch rate.

It is illegal to use minnows as bait on this lake. Nightcrawlers are the most effective bait used. The use of commercial attractants has been working well the last few years. Krill and Garlic Trout Gravy have been the most effective.

Shore Fishing

In my experience the last week or so, the fish have been coming in closer to shore later in the morning. It is a brief stay but I have seen them, especially during the caddis hatch. The shore fishing at the Youth Camp has been touch and go; one day the fish are close enough to cast to and the next day they are just out of reach.

The longest cast off the jetty at the Eagle Lake Marina will only put you in 12 to 14 feet of water. It has been fairly slow just about everywhere for the average fisherman.

The Circus Grounds produced a few trout but not a lot.

Rocky Point: Not a heck of a lot going on from shore.

Fly Fishing

Osprey Management Area is closed to human access from land until September 15, 2007. But the ledges have been providing good fly fishing early in the morning and the early evening hours.

Caddis hatch began at 6:00 this morning. Trout were rising to the hatch today but more so towards the end of the hatch. Sometimes the use of indicators is needed to see the slurp. Fish are moving in and out of the shallow rocky ledges.. but I have found them there later in the morning rather than early. (Early being 4:32 AM, later being 6 AM to 8 AM)

Pelican Point still has fish, it's just a matter of timing to catch them on the shallow ledges. I didn't see but a couple fish in the tules at the north end of the lake, and I didn't see nearly as many in the middle of the basin today.

I did see a few fish in the tules off the airstrip but the didn't appear to be in large numbers.

My favorite flies are basic. #10 and #12 wooly buggers. For this time of year I prefer brown along Pelican Point and the west side of the south basin. I like olive, gold, orange or black in the tules.

It is advisable to have a float tube or boat so you can reach those trout when they move out. Have a sink tip available too.?Į