Guy Ives (The TackleShop in Yreka) and I fished Eagle Lake Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and despite every type of weather Mother Nature could throw at us we kicked butt! Wind, rain, snow, and ice, you name we fished in it and landed 33 of 45 Eagle Lake Trout. These fish were awesome. Every Trout was at least 2 pounds and 19-inches. The biggest was in the 5 to 6 pound range. Guy almost landed the hog of the trip, we estimated that fish be in the 8-pound class, and it was just ten feet from being landed, before it spit the hook. The majority of the Trout were landed by trolling the Seps kick dodger with a worm trailer. We trolled crawdad plug, and flies and caught fish as well but the good old worm and dodger worked best. Eagle Lake closes at the end of the month, so there is some time left to get up there and fish.

Photos #1, #2, #3, #4, #5

If you choose to take your boat up there make sure it is in top shape, the weather will test your gear and you. I recommend the following:

1. Four wheel drive- we used it everyday to get the boat in and out of  the water

2. Chains- would have been handy to have, the ramp gets icy

3. Propane heaters- we had them going the whole time on the water it made the boat enclosure nice and toasty

4. Safety equipment- Life vests, GPS, cell phones, fire extinguishers, medical kit, spare motor parts and tools

5. Warm clothes- plenty of layers, fleece and raingear is a must as well as good gloves

6. Food and water- it is important to eat and drink in cold weather your body uses up a lot of energy trying to stay warm

*You can never stress enough how important it is to be prepared when heading out on the water, now matter what the weather is like. Let me  just say that Guy and I had a great time, but you have to stay on your toes out there. Here is a sample of what we had to deal with over three days.

Fog- we needed GPS to find our way around the lake

High winds- I have a 21ft boat Willie Raptor Jet Boat with a 200hp jet, 9.9 kicker motor and a full enclosure, the wind came up fast on Tuesday, creating 3 to 6 foot swells, it got dangerous out there in less than 20 minutes, that was not much fun, we found a bay to fish in where the wind was not as bad.

Cold rain snow and Ice- We broke thru ice right at the dock just to get out on the water, if it was much thicker we would have not been able to fish. The ramp got so icy that pulling the boat out was difficult. We spun all four tires all the way up the ramp.