The walleye fishing on Eagle Lake can be very good, especially if you spend some time learning this lake. This lake is huge and it has lots of offshore structure, tons of islands, points and bays. The wind can be a serious factor for locating the larger schools of walleye. Experienced anglers will occasionally report huge days with 30 to 50 walleye per boat, however, those awesome days can be tough to come by if you don’t know the better spots to fish. If you are new to the lake, you may want to consider hiring a guide to help shorten the learning curve here.
Catch Big Walleye
Eagle Lake has good numbers of big walleye available. The anglers that know it well will swear by this lake for big walleye. For new anglers to the lake, they may have a harder time finding good numbers of big walleye, but once you learn the patterns here, big fish can be expected. Walleye up to 30 inches and bigger are possible on Eagle Lake.
Catch Lots of Walleye
There are better drive to lakes just north of Eagle Lake for numbers, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still catch good numbers of walleye here. If you have a boat that can cover a lot of water, you have a much better chance because you can run and hit a dozen spots or more until you find the better schools of walleye. Wind plays a huge factor here as well. If you aren’t catching walleye, keep moving until you do.
Fish the Bays
Some of the bays will fish more like small lakes while others will fish more like a typical bay. The smaller bays usually have a lot of vegetation in them and shallower water which means you are going to find a lot of pike in them. You can target walleye on the weed edges, but you’re going to want to find the deeper weed edge for more success. In the spring and early summer, you will have better success targeting walleye in the smaller bays. In the summer and fall, the offshore pattern is usually much better.
Fish the Islands
There are so many islands on Eagle Lake. Many of these islands will have some very shallow water near them. These spots usually are productive earlier in the year. In summer and fall, fish the islands with deeper water close by. Plan on fishing a lot of rocks and be careful since some of these spots will have some shallow rocks a decent distance from the islands.
Fish the Points
You can find rocky points all day long here and never run out of spots to fish. Some of these points run way out into the lake, so be careful around some of these shallow, rocky spots. Get a good map and find the deeper points for better success, especially in the summer and fall. Wind blowing into the point usually is much more productive as well.
Fish Reefs
There are a lot of reefs on Eagle Lake and many of the better anglers will fish the reefs from summer through fall with a lot of success. Plan on finding larger schools of fish and better quality fish around these reefs once the summer patterns set in.
Fish the Rocks
Eagle Lake is loaded with rocks, so plan on fishing plenty of rocks while here. You’re going to go through a lot of jigs if you’re fishing where the walleye are so make sure you have plenty with you before leaving the house. Anglers target rocky points, islands and offshore structure on Eagle Lake.
Fish the Wind Blown Structure
The wind helps position walleye big time here since this lake is so large and open. Fish the wind blown points, islands and offshore structure and you’ll have more success.
Best Baits for Walleye
Walleye eat a variety of different baits, however, when push comes to shove, it is much easier to catch them with live baits. Minnows, nightcrawlers and leeches are definitely the best live baits for walleye.
While most anglers will just use live baits, many anglers will also target walleye with lures as well. Crankbaits and soft plastics are the best lures for walleye, however, you can catch walleye with a variety of different lures.
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Best Rigs for Walleye
When targeting walleye, there are many different rigs that you can use to catch them. While most anglers will keep it super simple and just use a simple jighead, many anglers will use a variety of rigs such as spinner rigs, 3 way rigs, bottom bouncers, drop shot rigs and many others.
To learn more, take a look at our best rigs for walleye page.
Best Techniques for Walleye
Jigging is by far the most popular technique for walleye fishing, however, you can catch them a variety of different ways. Casting, trolling and drifting are some of the other awesome techniques that anglers use.
To learn more, take a look at our best techniques for walleye page.
Learn More About Walleye
Our walleye fishing section has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our walleye fishing website to learn more.
