Here's what George Langley of the Eagle River Fishing Guide Association, is reporting about fishing in the Eagle River area:

FISHING WITH THE GUIDES

4-21-08

by George Langley

Well, this is more like it! After the extremely unpleasant weather of a week ago, this warmer and even at time sunny weather is great. Even if you're just out doing yard work, it's nice to get outside. Barring another real cold front, we're OK for the ice being off the Chain and many other lakes by the opener. As of this writing, it was turning much grayer on many of the small lakes already. Shorelines are getting tough to get on the ice from, as in many places it has receded 10 to 30' from the shore. We've had reports of ice from 25" thick (seems like a lot at this point) to 12" or so. If it honeycombs,, it can go very fast. We'd like especially one thing at this point - NO MORE SNOW! That rain we has last Friday was great in that it cleaned things up a little and knocked down some snow banks in the shade. The sun did the rest, and while we're not completely snowless, it's 90% gone in many areas now.

This turns our thoughts to early water perch fishing. The perch and northerns are the first fish to get to the shorelines and spawn. The perch will hit right away after the ice goes out, and if you need to check out your equipment this is a great way to get a pleasant spring afternoon on the water. Look for the warmest (usually north) shores with some cover like brush piles or stumps. This dark wood is quite attractive for these fish and they'll hold there daily. On sunny days, the darker wood gets even warmer because of the sun and the fish will hold inches from this wood.

For bait, worms, waxies or minnows will work. It is our contention that fathead minnows will quite often get bigger fish. Very light tackle, with slip bobbers and 4# line work best. Don't be afraid to fish very shallow - sometimes right up to 2' of water or so.

After that - only a week and a half now to walleye season. Usually when the ice goes out a little late, the opener produces very good walleye fishing. We'll see, of course, but things look good at this point.

Looking forward to a great spring.  Finally.

Good luck and good fishn'

For more information about fishing the Eagle River area call us or visit our website.:

*George Langley, Eagle River Fishing Guide Association, 715-479-8804.
*Yukon Jack Outfitters,

1857 Scattering Rice Lake Rd.,

Eagle River, WI  54521,

715-479-3219; website: www.yukonjackegv.com

We can honestly say that there is no place on earth with as much variety of fishing opportunities in freshwater fishing. With literally hundreds of lakes of all sizes, and miles and miles of trout streams, plus the fishing in the Wisconsin River, you could fish every day of the open water season and never hit the same water twice. We have great fishing for trout, musky walleye, smallmouth & largemouth bass, northerns and all types of panfish. You can catch most of these species within the city limits of Eagle River.

Musky fishing is spectacular, with people travelling from all over the world to fish these great gamefish. The action starts on the Memorial Day weekend - and there is good fishing for them right from the start. Our variety of musky waters run from the Wisconsin and Eagle Rivers to lakes running from 50 to 4,000 acres. We also have a great variety of dark and clear water lakes for all weather conditions.When you are thinking musky you may want to fish them in the summer while on a family vacation. At this time of the year surface baits provide heart-stopping action - and you can fish early and late in the day while still boating or otherwise enjoying life with the family. One great thing to remember about musky is that they hit at any time - not just at a particular time of day, Fall musky fishing is the best of the trophy time, with numerous huge musky caught (and usually released) every year. This is the time that our many excellent area guides are very busy with musky clients.

Walleye fishing is also good, especially in the spring and fall. Our game fish season startson the first weekend in May and the walleye are active from the start. Most opening weekends find some of the best fishing of the year, with the fish still in the shallows from spawning. May is a great time to fish walleye with light tackle along the shorelines. June finds the fish moving deeper, with good action experienced in deeper weeds and on mid-lake structure.
As the summer vacation period happens our guides will still find these great tasting fish daily, and many a vacation has been enhanced with an evening meal of fresh-caught walleye. They are located deeper in the summer, usually around mid-lake bars and reefs.
Fall walleye fishing is great, with days of 10 - 30 walleye not uncommon. This is the time of the year for fishing with jigs and larger minnows for big fish. You can also experience fine artificial bait luck at this time of year with crankbaits.

Northern pike abound in this area also, with a variety of lakes for these fish. We do have some trophy water for these fish, although most of our lakes contain mid-sized fish in good numbers. This is a great gamefish to introduce to you children to fishing for while on vacation, because of their aggressive nature and abundance.

This area has not been previously known as a hotbed for largemouth bass, but is is a real "sleeper" area for these fish. You will experience a huge variety of conditions and types of fishing for them, from 20 acre ponds to 2,000 acre lakes. More and more our guides have learned to take clients to out-of-the-way small bog lakes for these fish. Fish to 6 pounds are not uncommon, but most fish run in the 2-3 pound range.

Smallmouth bass are a different store - we have some of the best smallmouth fishing in the world right here. Catches of 50 fish a day are not uncommon, and many trophies are takes yearly. The smallies hit right from opening day on - and it again is a wonderful way to introduce your friend or children to gamefish fishing with a certainty of success. Another way of enjoying fishing for smallmouth is to flyfish for them. This is becoming a much more popular sport yearly. Many area guides have become adepot at this type of fishing.

Out trout fishing is also varied, with both streams and lakes available. The experience of wilderness fishing for trout along our hundreds of miles of streams is a great way to spend a summer day or evening. Most area streams are small, but loaded with fish. A number of our rivers or streams can be canoed.There is a good number of lakes and ponds for trout fishing also, and these fish are noted for hitting all season long.

One of the great benefits of coming to this area is the variety - there is ALWAYS some type of fish active and hitting. Bring a variety of rods, or just hire one of the many local guides and they will provide equipment for you.

Good luck and good fishing!