Fish Traveler Guide Service, Eagle Lake Fishing Report for Sunday, July 22, 2012

Fish Traveler Guide Service Fishing Report for Eagle Lake, CA Post Date: Sunday, July 22, 2012 Howdy Folks, Well I didn’t write a report last week. In a way it is a good thing I didn’t because I would have said something I would have had to retract in this week’s report. Explanation: I would have reported that the “fish have finally moved to deeper water for the summer months.” The weather warmed up significantly the week of July 8. Both the day and night time temperatures were above normal. The surface water temperature warmed up to almost 70 degrees and the fish finally moved out of the “shallows”. We had been catching fish bobber fishing in 10 feet of water with night crawlers set at 6-7 feet deep on the west side of the lake. By Saturday, July 14, the fish had moved to deeper water on the east side of the lake. We followed them. Still bobber fishing, we began anchoring up in 55 feet of water and running our crawlers at 30 feet deep. The bite was fast and furious with most boats limiting within and hour of anchoring up. Then the weather cooled again. The deep bobber bite quit and we moved our boats and bobbers back to the west side; back into 10 feet of water with our crawlers set at 6-7 feet deep. Trolling: Very slow. I have switched over to bobber fishing until the trolling bite gets back in gear. The Tui Chub minnow hatch should improve the trolling bite. Normally this happens around the end of July. Fly Fishing: Very few anglers fly fishing. Still some fish being caught on flies nymphing in 10-11 feet of water. Average this last week was 3 hook ups per rod per outing. Bobber Fishing: Your best bet to catch fish right now is with crawlers under a bobber. As mentioned above, we have moved back to the west side of the lake. The surface temperature has dropped from almost 70 down to 67 degrees. Anchor up off points from Pelican Pt south to Wildcat Pt in 10 feet of water. We could be “shifting” back to the east side of the lake any day. Once the water warms up a couple of degrees, the fish will move again. On the east side, anchor up in 50-60 feet of water and set your crawlers at 30 feet deep. Best areas on the east side are from Miners Bay south to Eagle’s Nest. THE NUMBER ONE THING THAT WILL PREVENT YOU FROM CATCHING FISH WHILE BOBBER FISHING, IS NOT BEING ANCHORED UP, BAITED UP, AND CASTING YOUR LINES INTO THE WATER AS SOON AS IT IS LEGAL. (ONE HOUR BEFORE SUNRISE) This means you will be “running” your boat in the dark. If you are not familiar with Eagle Lake, hire a guide. Launching: We are still launching without a problem at the Spalding Launch Ramp. The lake level is receding but the channel from the launch ramp out to the main body of the lake is navigable. The Spalding Community Service District has marked a “channel” for leaving and returning to the docks. The lowest reading I am seeing on my depth finder while leaving and returning to the Spalding Boat Launch is 1.3 feet. There is a good launch ramp at the south end of the lake at Gallatin Marina that should be usable all season. Drive time from Spalding to this ramp is around 25 minutes. Good Luck. And, do not hesitate to contact me if you need help with anything here at Eagle Lake. Tim Noxon Fish Traveler Guide Service 530-825-3524 residence 916-201-4648 cell tnoxon@gmail.com www.fishtraveler.com