The northern pike fishing is very good on Eagle Lake. Whether you are looking for numbers or trophy-sized fish, Eagle Lake has you covered. This lake has plenty of offshore structure, deep water and lots of bays with vegetation, so anglers have lots of options for targeting pike here.
Catch Lots of Pike
With all of the weedy bays on this lake, you can easily run and gun and target pike all day in the weeds. Anglers that target pike here around the weeds can expect 20 to 30 fish days being the norm. These areas will hold lots of smaller pike though with some bigger pike mixed in.
Catch Big Pike
Pike in the 36 to 40 inch range are common on this lake if you know how to target them. Pike over 40 inches are caught throughout the year as well, so don’t be surprised if you run into a fish in the 40 inch range.
Fish the Bays
There are a lot of bays with vegetation on Eagle Lake, so you can very easily go from bay to bay and target pike all day long. In many of the bays, you will find plenty of vegetation and shallower water. The shallow water vegetation will usually hold smaller pike from spring through fall and some better quality pike in the spring and fall. The deeper weed edges is where you want to be to consistently catch some of the bigger pike that are hanging around in the bays.
Fish the Islands
You have a lot of islands on Eagle Lake. Some of them will be super rocky while others may have some rocks and vegetation mixed in. The islands that have some vegetation will usually hold more northern pike, however, pike will often be found around the drop-offs of the rocky islands as they look to find a tasty walleye or smallmouth bass to eat. The wind-blown islands are usually more productive for these structure-oriented fish.
Fish the Points
Eagle Lake has a ton of points to fish. If you choose to fish this pattern, you will find a lot of rocky points. If you find some vegetation, that will usually help hold more pike as well. Fish the points that have some deeper water nearby and you’ll have a better chance to find quality pike.
Fish Reefs
Eagle Lake has a lot of structure in it and many anglers will fish the reefs for walleye or muskie. Northern pike are found around these reefs as well, especially during the summer months.
Fish the Rocks
Eagle Lake has rocks everywhere, so plan on fishing some rocks while targeting pike here. Most anglers target pike around the weedy bays, but the rocks can hold a lot of pike here. Wind blown rocky points and islands can be very productive, especially in the spring and fall. The deeper rocky islands are better in the summer and late fall.
Fish the Wind Blown Structure
You can very easily just fish the wind blown structure as a pike pattern and have a lot of success. You may have to put in some time to find the more productive areas, but once you find some areas that have a lot of bait fish, you will usually find the pike close by as well.
Best Baits for Northern Pike
Northern pike are known for eating just about everything they can get the mouths on and there is definitely some truth to that. For the most part, if it swims, pike may eat it. There are some baits that definitely will catch more pike than others though. Spinners, crankbaits, spoons, swimbaits and soft plastics are some of the best lures for targeting pike. Live baits such as minnows and perch are great baits too.
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Best Rigs for Northern Pike
There are many different rigs you can use for northern pike, however, since pike are so aggressive, you really don’t need to use as many of them as you would if you were trying to get good at largemouth bass fishing. For most situations, you can keep it real simple with a jighead and a minnow or soft plastic bait. To learn about some of the rigs that you can use, take a look at our best rigs for northern pike page.
Best Techniques for Northern Pike
Anglers catch pike with many different techniques. Casting, trolling and drifting are most popular ways to target pike, but there are some other methods that also work well too.
To learn more, take a look at our best techniques for northern pike page.
Learn More About Northern Pike
Our northern pike fishing section has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our northern pike fishing website to learn more.
