Clear skies this morning but a change is being predicted for the next couple of days. We have a 10 to 30 percent chance of seeing some rain showers. Tuesday appears to have a better chance of getting some "heavy rain" but we will just have to wait and see what we get. The barometer is still below 30 and we are starting to see a few clouds in the sky. We certainly need the rain but we don't need any lightening. Winds are expected to pick up when the stormy weather arrives. Our chances for precipitation runs through Wednesday but Tuesday has the best chance. As we know, anything can happen up here and the lake helps make it's own weather. Remember, if we have rain in the evening we typically see fog the next morning as the sun rises.

The wind has been coming up fairly early the last few days but today it waited until about 10 AM which is pretty normal. We did have the wind blow through the night last week and that kept the lake pretty choppy in the morning. Small boats take caution if traveling from Spalding to the south end of the lake.

A boat ran up on the rocks at Pelican Point Saturday morning and fortunately there were no serious injuries. It can happen to anyone but the best investment one can make for fishing this lake is a GPS unit. All persons should mark a "safe" way point for Pelican Point as well as the Youth Camp, Miners Point and Shrimp Island. Just marking your fishing hole in the south basin will not help you to get around the point. However, some folks have been leaving Spalding at 3:30 in the morning which is too early for legal fishing. Some times these folks get what they deserve by trying to race out early to be the first one in the hole. Don't be stupid. This lake will take advantage of stupidity in a heartbeat.

Water Temperature

South basin: According to my depth finder the surface temps are 68.1 to 70.4 degrees F in the afternoon. pH 9.35

North basin: 67.8 to 71 F pH 9.43

Middle basin: 66.1 to 71 F. pH of 9.47. The new criteria set by CDFG for posting the "voluntary catch and keep recommendation" is a uniform pH of 9.4 as this lake rarely goes below 9.2. The Department of Fish and Game is recommending to all anglers that they practice "catch & keep" until further notice. The pH in the north and middle basins has already reached the 9.4 limit and the south basin is skirting the edge at 9.3.

Lake Conditions

Algae Locations: The wind has kept the lake pretty clean this week. We still see some particulate matter in the water column that is pretty scattered so it's still a good idea to check your lines periodically. 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 and generally holds most all the trout in the heat of the summer) and we will concentrate on that basin as that is where most all the good quality fish are now.

There were a lot of weeds on the surface out in the middle of the south basin between Eagles Nest and Shrimp Island today that were pretty thick in places so it's a good idea to check your lines periodically if trolling.

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

Water temperatures have stabilized but, get those lines down. The rising fish aren't interested in your worms. They are coming pretty much straight up, taking a few bites and descending very quickly. However, we have been bit trolling a brown leech on toplines occasionally.

The fishing has been great the last couple of days. Bait fishermen along the east side of the south basin were catching nice limits but a few smaller fish have been caught as well as many 2 ?? to 3 ?? pound fish. From the Springs to Eagles Nest has been producing limits for trollers and bait fishermen a like. 50 to 65 feet of water 30 feet deep has been the ticket. More fish are congregating off Black Mountain and the south end of Miners Bay (north of Eagles Nest) A lot of fish were rising to the hatch this morning but most all the catching is taking place around 30 feet. There are minnows schooling up now and the trout really started eating them this week along with shrimp larva (applesauce eyeballs describes what it looks like). The Springs to Eagles Nest has been fishing very good but the bite has been a bit sporadic this week but has lasted 8:30 AM another bite has been coming on in the early afternoon but the pond has been pretty rough to be on. Some tui chubs are also being caught, see below for tips on recognizing the difference on your depth finder.

Between Wildcat Point and Shrimp Island (Lake of the Woods): the rocky ledges on the west side provided some action for trollers using nightcrawlers, flies and lures as well as the bait fishermen. Fish are hanging out in 15 to 35 feet of water early but many folks are finding them out in 45 to 65 feet of water 24 to 35 feet deep, especially after sunrise. More fish are starting to show up in higher numbers but they still appear pretty scattered on the west side of the south basin compared to the east side. Quite often we find a lot of fish out in the middle of the lake this time of year and many of the fish DO move from one side of the lake to the other occasionally.

Youth Camp to the Biology Station as well as the south side of Pelican Point was pretty slow today. Miners Point was clean today and I did see a few fish rising on the ledge but most were in water deeper than 30 feet on the south side of the ledge. 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. And, they do have to swim over the top of the ledge to get from one side to the other. I can usually entice a strike on a top-line with a brown leech pattern trolling fly.

I'm starting to see some fish on the north side of Miners Point as of today. With water temperatures still below average for this time of year, we might see some movement back towards Pelican Point in the next few weeks if cooler water temperatures hold. I am seeing water temperatures slightly cooler this year as opposed to past years. Last year's high water temperature reached 77 degrees and I have seen it come up to 80 (on a very hot dry year) and up to 83 in the north basin in the past. So if the temps stay in the low 70's we could see fish moving back into shallower water by the middle of August. But, if the water temperatures rise too much above the low 70's it won't happen until September or October.

Trolling

Some trollers are doing better than others but limits are still being caught. Most of the success this week has been in 37 to 65 feet of water 23 to 32 feet deep on the east side, 21 to 35 on the west side. For leadcore users: We are dragging 4 to 5 colors of 18 lb, (closer to 6 colors for 12 and 15 pound lead) in the water at 1.2 to 1.8 mph. We are also running at least one top-line with a minnow pattern fly that has been good for at least one fish each morning.

I did hear complaints from some trollers catching tui-chub. Let me tell you a little something about the tui-chub that most folks don't know.

1) They appear as fish "stacked up" on your depth finder, not a bait ball but all stacked up. The school moves as a unit, not individually, that's why they appear stacked up.

2) they can live in lower oxygen levels and are often found at 40-45 ft deep when the trout are at 30 to 35.

3) Trollers don't usually catch them because they generally don't "chase" fast moving objects, however if you are trolling too slow you can catch the heck out of them. The key is to bump up your trolling speed by 50 to 75 RPM's and avoid catching them. That's all it takes and stay in the zone of the trout. The more chubs your are catching the less time you are fishing for trout. Please release these special fish safely, they are of great importance to the ecology of the lake.

Hot Lures, Flies and Grubs

Lures: Large "Red Dog" Double Jointed Sure Catch lure is doing well and medium "Goldie locks" (florescent orange and brass) has been working well too. I also like the German Brown Medium Sure Catch this time of year. 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. Florescent orange with nickel or brass back were productive in size 2. Rainbow Runners have also been known to work well up here. The tiger and perch pattern size 3 has cooled off whereas the orange colors are now being a little more productive. Often, what is hot in one area is not in another. The red dot frog and crocodile patterns in size 2 and 3 have also been productive lures. We have a lot of baby western toads in all the grassy areas of the shoreline right now and don't think the trout have never seen one swimming in the water.

Trolling nightcrawlers is also a favorite and was indeed a very affective method for many anglers. Use of flashers can be more productive in late summer and fall. (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.)

The trout have been pounding the minnows on the east side of the south basin but we also had a shrimp spawn (might not be the right terminology) and the fish just love breathing in food rather than working for it. The shrimp at this very young stage is a favorite for the trout and they can get hard to catch when feeding on this particular food source. When you cut into the stomach of the fish it resembles applesauce with small black flecks in it...we call it applesauce with eyeballs for fun. For those of us that use leadcores instead of downrigger's it's like "trolling through Jello" when your lines drag through it. If you increase your sensitivity on your depth finder you can usually see it as a density on your scope. If you are looking in the water it appears as a whitish cloud in the water.

Grubs: The grub trollers are working hard but the brown has bought a few strikes. Brown, orange, watermelon and root-beer have caught a few fish this week. Some folks prefer to run wiggle or action discs several inches ahead of the grub.

Trolling Flies: The plain Jane brown and florescent orange are catching at about a 50/50 rate...until late morning when the passive brown buys all the strikes. My best advise for trolling flies is to keep your rod in your hand and set the hook at the slightest difference in your line. If your line feels like you are dragging over a gravel bar...tick, tick, tick...and you know it's not the bottom....set your hook. I am also running a tui chub pattern on a top line this week and it has gotten attention when the fish are rising.

Bait Fishing

We are running 50/50 free lines and bobbers at 27 to 35 feet deep. In general, our free lines are sinking down to the level of the fish before they have been taken, but every day is a little different. The ledges on the west side of the south basin between Wildcat and Shrimp Island have produced some nice limits for those putting their time in and the trout have been pretty reliable at the deep ledge as long as you get your bait down the the right depth. But, the east side of the south basin has been producing more fish. The tui chub minnows (and speckled dace) are schooling up in the deep water and the trout are right behind them.

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

Shore Fishing

As water temperatures continue to remain in the low 70's, expect the fish to be farther away from shore. There are a few places between the biology station and the Youth Camp where 30 feet of water is reachable by casting from shore, but the shore fishing will be iffy until early fall now. But, if the water temperatures stay cooler than normal, we could see it pick up by the middle or late August.

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 from shore for the average fisherman.

The Circus Grounds slowed down.

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

Fly Fishing

Osprey Management Area is closed to human access from land until September 15, 2007.

A few trout are rising to the caddis hatch. Sometimes the use of indicators is needed to see the slurp and these fish do get line shy when the water is flat. Most all the fish are holding in water too deep to access wading from shore but fly fishermen in boats have been able to entice a few strikes on the hatch. But, once the hatch is over the fish are hanging out at 24 to 35 feet deep.

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. However, the orange is extremely effective when the water temperature drops below 48 degrees F.

It is advisable to have a float tube or boat so you can reach those trout when they move out...and they are moving out now. Have a sink tip available.