Fishing in
Eagle River

The opener is behind us and the lakes are settling into their quiet rhythms. Traffic at the landings has eased and there’s plenty of room to breathe on the water. It’s a good week to get out, and hopefully the weather will begin to cooperate. We’ve got only a couple more weeks left until summer season gets serious!

Walleye are done with the spawn and are starting to move toward emerging weed edges to feed. Action for them has been decent, but not great. The shallows are still worth fishing, particularly rocky and gravelly structure in 4 to 10 feet, and the evening low-light bite remains reliable. Jigs with fatheads or Lindy rigs with crawlers, fished slow and near the bottom will do. As the week goes on, start looking for the first green weeds you can find.

Panfish are doing their thing. Perch are along weed edges and shallower mud flats, crappies are showing up in the protected bays, and bluegill are tucked into the warmer back-bays and weed pockets. A small jig under a slip bobber with a waxie or piece of crawler covers most situations. Water temperature still matters more than anything else right now, so take the time to find the warmest bay available before you commit to a spot.

Northern are feeding well in the greenest weeds you can find. Largemouth are up shallow with the panfish and are worth a look if you want a change.

Musky season is open, of course, but we’re hoping they’ll be left alone or treated with great care during this time of the season. The health of the fishery is up to us now. Let them spawn.

The week starts cool and a bit unsettled, but it looks to be getting warmer over the next weekend. Once that happens and holds, we will really start to see some action.

Good luck and good fishin’!