Up next in 10
Eagle Lake Muskie Marathon: Hard Work Pays Off | Fish'n Canada
70 views
Apr 15, 2025
On this episode Pete Bowman heads north to Ontario’s Eagle Lake to do battle with the legendary Muskellunge. What he didn’t plan on was a complete Muskie shutdown. Can he make the 20 hour drive worthwhile or will he get his butt whooped? Don't forget to leave a COMMENT and give us a LIKE if you enjoyed what you saw. SUBSCRIBE for new videos and episodes released weekly! CONNECT WITH US WEBSITE: http://fishncanada.com FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/FishnCanada/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/fishncanadaofficial/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/angeloviolafnc/ One of Canada's longest-running fishing shows, Fish'n Canada travels from coast to coast in search of trophy fishing opportunities. First started by brothers Angelo and Reno Viola in 1986, The Fish’n Canada Show has been on the air for over 30 years. Today, Angelo is joined by lifelong fishing buddy, Pete Bowman, and the pair continue to travel across Canada educating anglers using the experience they’ve gained over the years #Fishing
View Video Transcript
0:01
[Music]
0:10
drive to like you don't think too many
0:13
guys not dance just nipping out there
0:18
you're still there for their old my real
0:21
pumped out by prod are you kidding me
0:26
ransom rest yes
0:29
no great honest I thought I suck I suck
0:32
I suck I suck I suck I made four
0:36
thousand two hundred eighty Jim casts
0:38
and I haven't caught on bus key yet the
0:43
fish in Canada show brought to you in
0:45
part by sailed the Canadian outdoors
0:49
superstore Coleman the Outdoor company
0:54
Cooper Tires
0:55
life the road trip come on let's go and
0:58
rinse gospel dominate the water
1:03
[Music]
1:05
today's show is about a socks Mouse
1:08
kanonji the muskellunge the largest
1:10
member of the pike family and its
1:11
ability to capture the imagination of so
1:14
many committed fishermen Oh baby back
1:16
this is one of the most physically
1:18
demanding activities of recreational
1:20
anglers can get into it can be described
1:22
in two words muskie mystique have the
1:25
facts revealed standing clearly there's
1:27
something about the muskie here that
1:28
makes its fishermen behave like Knights
1:30
on a quest for the Holy Grail and for
1:32
generations it has been said that the
1:34
Grail swims here in Eagle Lake here are
1:38
some factors that add to the aura of
1:39
this fish firstly they're huge the
1:42
number one apex freshwater predator in
1:45
North America secondly there's not a lot
1:48
of them and they're elusive relative to
1:50
our other native species thirdly they
1:52
tantalize with their fussy eating
1:54
following a lure right to the boat while
1:56
they decide whether to eat or not
1:58
and finally and I mentioned they're huge
2:01
so that's what this episode is about
2:03
fishing
2:04
or should I say searching for Musk
2:08
when you look at Eagle egg on a map the
2:11
landscape practically screams musky
2:13
gouges out of the earth by retreating
2:15
glaciers 10,000 years ago its 658
2:18
kilometers of rugged shoreline shows
2:20
hundreds of Bay's points inlets and
2:23
channels providing countless
2:24
opportunities to baguette Robie no
2:26
matter which way the wind blows it's a
2:29
relatively large lake of over 255 square
2:32
kilometers and contains 490 Islands with
2:35
their own little bays and points
2:37
potential is everywhere the reality can
2:40
be something else
2:43
Eagle Lake is located in northwestern
2:45
Ontario and what's known as the
2:46
unorganized kannur district it covers
2:49
35% of Ontario's landmass but holds only
2:51
point zero five percent of its
2:53
population that's one person for every
2:55
five square kilometers if you want to
2:59
fish solo for a while this is the place
3:01
to go drive to Lake View don't see too
3:03
many guys on idea the only people here
3:06
on any kind of regular basis are the
3:08
people who work the lodges curious
3:10
anglers and their friends and a handful
3:12
of hardcore muskie fishermen the one
3:14
thing everyone can't agree on is that
3:16
it's beautiful wilderness
3:17
I must see whether you fish or not I
3:21
decided before the trip that I was not
3:23
going to troll for these Muskies I want
3:25
to catch them the hard way by casting
3:27
but I'm not going to be stupid about it
3:29
either Eagle Lake is a big body of water
3:32
and if I want to get on them quick I'm
3:34
going to need an expert on all things
3:36
muskie this expertise is coming from Ron
3:39
booth the head guide and previous owner
3:41
of Eagle Lake Island Lodge our beautiful
3:43
home for the next three days is 41 years
3:46
of knowledge will essentially shrink the
3:48
size of this formidable looking Lake
3:49
into much smaller fishing zones by
3:51
telling me where to go and what to look
3:53
for
3:54
from there I'll use my Germann units and
3:56
find likely spots and saturate the area
3:57
with a variety of baits and
3:59
presentations
4:00
there's a 54 inch limit here on these
4:02
fish and unnecessary rule in my opinion
4:05
because the Knights of Eagle Lake would
4:06
never keep or kill such a beast Oh
4:11
the term figure-eight is synonymous in
4:14
the musky world essentially it's a
4:16
continuation of a caste once there's no
4:18
more line to reel in muskellunge are
4:20
notorious for following a lure to the
4:22
boat and often times a figure 8 will
4:24
catch them each and every cast should
4:28
have at least a portion of a figure 8
4:29
before pulling the bait from the water
4:31
even if you don't see a fish just in
4:33
case a muskie is following in the depths
4:35
just at a site huh the soul Thunder
4:40
table has promised good fishing this
4:41
week but remember the muskie being a
4:43
combination of dominant predator crosses
4:45
the fussiest eater means they don't
4:47
always read the soul under tables very
4:49
well a Muskies diet mostly consists of
4:57
fish but it can also include frogs
4:59
ducklings snakes mice make baby muskrats
5:03
and beavers as well as small birds the
5:06
mouth is large with many long shark-like
5:08
teeth follow follow
5:12
alright Muskies will attempt to take
5:14
therefore a head first and sometimes in
5:16
a single gulp they will take prey items
5:18
up to 30% of their total length early in
5:21
the season they tend to prefer a smaller
5:22
bait due to a slow metabolism it's a
5:25
good way to start their day I think is
5:26
talking on well a large beta preferred
5:27
in the fall as preparation for winter ok
5:32
come up and just smack that up and that
5:35
was it small maybe a little musky adult
5:40
muskellunge are apex predators residing
5:42
at the top of the food chain only humans
5:44
pose a threat to an adult musky
5:46
although juveniles are often eaten by
5:48
other musti's northern pike bass and
5:50
birds of prey that's a small muskie just
5:54
nipping out there is still there for
5:56
their good at it they will take since
6:01
just the way fishing is oh by the end of
6:06
the first day I'm frustrated working my
6:08
mind through the musky mystique this is
6:11
the fish of 10,000 casts throwing huge
6:13
muskie baits with heavy line and heavier
6:15
rods and no hits all day beat me up
6:18
physically and emotionally
6:21
[Music]
6:33
this is a killer on the wrist today
6:45
we're going to talk about what muskie
6:46
fishermen call figure aiding Muskies are
6:49
known to follow baits right up to the
6:51
boat the figure eight is the final
6:53
enticement before you lift the lure and
6:55
recast typically you look for following
6:58
Muskies during the retrieve but you may
7:00
not always see them so do this every
7:03
time options a sudden change of
7:05
direction will entice a strike here's a
7:08
technique the retrieve has brought the
7:10
lure to within a rods length of the boat
7:12
and while you still have about 18 inches
7:14
of line in the water start making a
7:17
complete figure eight
7:18
keeping the lure at a steady speed or
7:20
maybe a little faster the longer the rod
7:23
the more effective this technique is the
7:26
most important tip no jaw-dropping
7:29
there's a very strong tendency to freak
7:32
out when you see that monster following
7:34
your lure and usually while you're
7:36
gawking the lure stops moving the fish
7:38
loses interest and bye-bye
7:41
trophy of a lifetime do a figure eight
7:43
every casts and you'll be happily
7:45
rewarded talk to the pros at sail for
7:48
more tips on muskie fishing
7:52
[Music]
8:05
along beg girls show us one at least I'm
8:09
here on Eagle Lake Ontario home for all
8:11
three different color patterns of the
8:13
musca lines clear spotted and barred I
8:15
think I've had follows from all three
8:17
doing their best to make my time here a
8:19
real challenge there's so much pain
8:21
there oh my real popped off my rod are
8:24
you kidding me
8:25
the Canadian record muskie caught by Ken
8:27
McDonald Brian wait an astounding 65
8:29
pounds it was 58 inches long and had a
8:32
girth of thirty and a half inches he was
8:34
caught in October 16 1988 in Georgian
8:37
Bay that fish was weird that was clearly
8:40
not willing to give up I'm going to take
8:42
a break from the muskie and head over
8:43
Waller
8:44
I'll give my arms as well as my mind a
8:46
bit of a rest remember I have a few days
8:48
of his physical abuse and I don't have
8:50
an here to help cover the water I
8:52
thought you know what they got smaller
8:53
here and they got walleye here
8:55
easy girl good a little boy that's
8:59
perfect little break fish because I've
9:02
been casting and casting and casting
9:05
like crazy for muskie in my arms or just
9:08
about falling off so walleye are hanging
9:13
tight to cover and even they are slow to
9:15
bite I'm getting a little nervous
9:16
because I'm thinking what am I doing
9:18
wrong here thankfully I wasn't alone
9:21
rod spoke to some fisherman from a few
9:23
other lodges and nobody was catching any
9:25
muskie they were all pretty much at a
9:27
loss trying to figure out what's going
9:29
on and my time here is fading rapidly
9:34
did you know that Northern Ontario is at
9:37
the top of the bucket list for muskie
9:39
fishermen everywhere it was good reason
9:41
the pure clear cold waters of Northern
9:44
Ontario are home to some of the biggest
9:46
muskie lunge in the world
9:48
these lakes and rivers are not only good
9:50
for muskie but they're also home to
9:52
dozens of other species that thrive in
9:54
these waters and that means these apex
9:56
predators eat very well and grow very
9:59
big to make things even more exciting
10:02
there are three different morphological
10:04
types of muskie clear spotted and barred
10:08
and then there's the mysterious muskie
10:11
Pike Hybrid the tiger muskie they can
10:13
all be found in the beautiful lakes and
10:15
rivers of this amazing wilderness that
10:17
is Northern Ontario just another reason
10:20
to go fish in Ontario today it's my last
10:27
evening here so I slid into an isolated
10:29
Bay and pipes started hitting butts like
10:31
this could be a good omen in that if one
10:34
member of the E Sox family is active you
10:37
ever maybe they're bigger cousins would
10:39
be to come up one more dance problem is
10:46
it's getting dark if I had another full
10:48
day to fish this hunger strike might be
10:50
ending but I'm out of here tomorrow this
10:53
sucks
10:55
I thought I suck I suck I suck I suck I
11:00
suck I made four thousand two hundred
11:04
and eighty seven casts and I haven't
11:06
caught on Bosque yet
11:15
[Music]
11:23
okay we move on you know when it comes
11:31
to fishing for muskie especially with
11:33
o'clock water lures most anglers think
11:36
of three speeds fast faster and faster
11:39
still that's a mistake when you're
11:42
throwing top waters for Muskies you
11:44
don't want erratic fast retrieves you
11:47
want your bait actually you go arrow
11:49
straight you want to make it easier for
11:51
the fish to be able to lock onto that
11:53
bait and then track it down remember
11:55
you're fishing for fifty fifty to maybe
11:58
fifty four inch fish with huge girth
12:01
that's a lot of muscle to try and move
12:03
erratically and make the movement and
12:05
catch up to your surface bait
12:07
you want baits that come straight arrow
12:09
straight through the water and you're
12:11
making it easy for that fish to come
12:13
right up and suck it in so forget the
12:15
erratic retrieves when you're throwing
12:17
water's arrow straight and slow is
12:20
the way to go come on mama
12:25
what's it going to take a trigger you
12:32
and then recovery late cast after cast
12:36
after cast after cast again and again
12:40
what's a guy got to do to hook up with
12:42
one of these beasts of the north this is
12:45
my final full day in the water I can't
12:48
believe I've gone so long on the fabled
12:50
Eagle Lake without a muskie hookup
12:52
I've had some follows but no takers
12:56
muskie fishing isn't always as tough as
12:58
this adventure take last year's trip on
13:00
the French River with Anne's for
13:02
instance we each landed a 50-plus enter
13:04
and they both came in the first
13:05
half-hour of two consecutive morning's I
13:07
know for a fact that the same can happen
13:10
here on Eagle it's all about timing and
13:12
mine was unfortunately bad oh what a
13:20
snap
13:22
we're not big again what is there still
13:24
I do have one more sliver of opportunity
13:27
get up at first light bomb over to a
13:30
nearby rock point this for maybe an hour
13:32
and then trailer the boat and move on to
13:34
the next shoot
13:35
yeah like one hour can make up for the
13:38
past three days
13:39
[Music]
13:47
today's hot spot is a used point just
13:49
around the corner from Eagle Lake Island
13:51
Lodge the weight point on your screen
13:52
will get you there this is a classic
13:55
muskie spot with a feeding plat adjacent
13:56
to deep water casting is effective here
13:59
because you can cover the flat and D
14:01
ferries in a relatively short timeframe
14:03
double bucktail spinners as well as
14:05
surface bait and big muskie cranks all
14:07
work here by using a fluorocarbon leader
14:10
to get fussier fish to bite for more hot
14:12
spots like this one check out fishing
14:14
canada calm
14:15
[Music]
14:24
this morning is perfect calm and warm
14:27
using a big inline spinner with two
14:30
massive size 10 blades whopping in the
14:32
water I have my do or die moment I've
14:38
just about run out of time if this point
14:42
can't produce right here right now
14:44
I'm going home empty-handed three areas
14:51
there is snows right on it it was no
14:59
nothing
15:01
come on that boskie's nose was right
15:07
there on that radon that read any one
15:10
day
15:11
[Music]
15:50
come on Big Boy
15:52
hopefully you're not you're not bad you
15:55
know what do you much
15:56
I'll take him right now here he comes
15:58
jump that's offensive it's all about
16:02
right there
16:03
that is all he's nice
16:10
I will say look at that he gettin
16:13
spotted my scheme do not loose my drag
16:15
because he's not done yet
16:16
he caught around look at this he's got
16:18
around him it was a fish now it was I
16:23
think he's under the trolling motor is
16:25
there the truth that's the thing about
16:28
it must be right there folks
16:29
what's wrapping around we're gonna
16:31
wrapped around a little boy there he
16:34
goes come on unwrap the guy there he
16:37
goes see the way to wrap like that
16:52
I got it under that front fan there okay
16:59
it still was okay I'm gonna put him in
17:04
the net yet this guy met it up so I can
17:06
take care of them now little business
17:08
yaks wrapped around his nose we can't
17:10
really fight totally properly but here
17:15
we go how this is this is the deal here
17:18
with one person it's going to be
17:19
difficult for me to net a big fish but
17:21
you know what I'm going to try it an
17:23
attempt that I've done it before
17:24
my day
17:25
[Music]
17:28
like that
17:33
[Applause]
17:33
[Laughter]
17:35
this is when they go berserk and bizarre
17:38
you know what an eagle lake this is not
17:41
considered a big muskie but I'll tell
17:43
you what in the amount of time that I've
17:45
been putting on this water this is the
17:47
most satisfying muskie I think I've ever
17:48
caught in my life cause I swear to God
17:50
when they say it's the fish at ten
17:52
thousand casts I don't know how many
17:54
cast I put in when you're putting these
17:56
big deep baits by the way with that
17:58
fifth inning hearing perfectly Safety's
17:59
internet now it's like a big light well
18:01
fun see but he'll still be able to
18:05
breathe but I've cast so many times in
18:07
this fish that it's just such a
18:10
satisfying beast I woke up early last
18:13
night I have forgot to get my muskie
18:16
here and I got to get an eagle lake
18:17
muskie I can't believe I put this much
18:19
time in and not got a fish and I come to
18:21
this point and it's great beside the law
18:23
I decide the log okay
18:31
heavier than I thought you've been much
18:35
me boy how does that verde go like be
18:47
straight there folks that took a long
18:49
time to catch that fish he's not a giant
18:53
but I'll tell you what he's a healthy
18:55
one
18:55
that's a beauty something happened over
18:59
the last few days to shut these fish
19:01
down and I'm still scratching my head
19:02
about it but there you have it in a
19:05
nutshell folks the musky Mesquite
19:07
they're on they're off they follow but
19:10
don't strike enter the ultimate trophy
19:13
when an angler has a monster fish follow
19:16
their lure right up to the boat it's a
19:17
light change from that moment on anglers
19:20
swear an oath to search for fine catch
19:23
if they can release for sure and protect
19:26
this holy grail of a yeah there
19:30
you go
19:30
oh I can't believe it
19:35
this is the is the hardest I've ever
19:39
worked for any fish in my life thank you
19:42
Eagle Lake I'll definitely be back to
19:51
get into bass whirlwind muskie adventure
19:52
I drove north on highway 402 highway 69
19:55
I then hit a Northwest on highway 17 I
19:58
stayed on 17 at the highway 11 17 split
20:01
and carried on Northwest I finally
20:03
through south on 594 d.school River
20:05
where I met the crew from Eagle Lake
20:07
Island Lodge and then took a short boat
20:09
ride to the right facility
20:11
[Music]
20:13
[Applause]
20:17
[Music]
20:19
today's kolp escape or knowledge not
20:22
knowing about big double bladed spinners
20:24
and crankbaits for monkeys it's knowing
20:25
that that is the fish of ten thousand
20:27
cast you have to keep this in mind that
20:29
you aren't them to get bit every cast
20:31
and this take the fish
20:32
if the fishings hot you might catch two
20:34
fish in a full day if it's not hot you
20:36
might have to go two or three days by
20:37
knowing that casting casting casting and
20:40
keep going you will eventually catch a
20:42
muskie fishing Canada show brought to
20:47
you in part by Ram truck nothing worked
20:50
harder than a ramp Stern's trusted on
20:53
the water since 1952 mercury and forests
20:57
number one on the water and outdoor
21:00
Canada Canada's only national fishing &
21:03
hunting magazine
21:04
[Music]
21:21
you
21:21
[Music]
#Fishing
#Outdoors