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Eagle Lake Muskie | Fish'n Canada
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May 13, 2025
Eagle Lake in Northwest Ontario is deemed as one of the best fishing lakes in all of the province... with Muskie included. Pete Bowman teams up with his buddy Captain Mike Richardson (considered a Muskie expert) and they hit the Eagle from all angles for more than just Muskie. ► Subscribe http://bit.ly/youtube-fishncanada 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/fishncanada... ► 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, Peter Bowman, and the pair continue to travel across Canada educating anglers using the experience they’ve gained over the years
View Video Transcript
0:00
Music
0:05
Just make sure you have the volume turned down when a big one comes by because I'm live with a musky eardrum
0:10
Oh, here she is! She's a monster! She's a begging! Get him, Mikey
0:16
Come on, baby. Come on, big buster. Oh, oh, got her! Got her
0:22
Having fished them for over 50 years, Captain Mike still lives for the thrill of the musky chase. Woo-hoo
0:28
My heart's pumping, buddy. That's good. My heart's pumping. That's good. The Fish in Canada show brought to you in part five
0:39
Ram trucks built to serve. Princecraft boats dominate the waters. Garmin Panoptix all-seeing sonar
0:51
Mercury outboards go boldly. And Outdoor Canada, Canada's only national fishing and hunting magazine
0:59
We're in for some good fishing in Canada. On today's Fishing Canada episode, I have the opportunity to return to one of Ontario's most iconic musky waters, Eagle Lake, in the northwest portion of the province
1:16
This time, I'll be stationed on the northeast end at Coal Grove's Eagle Lake Lodge
1:21
Eagle Lake Lodge is family-owned since 1981. All the cabins are housekeeping cabins
1:26
You bring your own meals. The cabins have all the linens, the towels, the blankets
1:31
We have rental boats. You can bring your own boat. We've got the bait, the gas, everything else like that
1:36
All you need to bring is you and your fishing gear. It also helps if you can arrange to have your own secret weapon
1:42
Mine comes in the form of one of the most unique characters I've ever met, Captain Mike Richardson
1:47
So where am I getting right at? You can either drive the stocker or profile it
1:52
It's up to you. Doesn't matter to me. I'm just along for the ride
1:56
This funny-talking West Virginian is truly one-of-a-kind. Just along for the ride
2:03
Here on Eagle Lake, we have walleye, northern pike, smallmouth, perch, lake trout, whitefish, and the most famous, probably the muskie
2:11
And it just so happens that muskies are the captain's specialty. Just make sure you have the volume turned down when a big one comes by, because I'm allowed to bust your eardrums
2:21
That's okay, buddy. Captain Mike is the definitive musky fanatic. Even as an American, he considers the province of Ontario the musky big league
2:30
What in the world? That's why he makes the long voyage several times a year, sometimes staying up to 12 weeks
2:37
It turned into a love that was just calling me so hard that I couldn't work
2:44
I had to come and go fishing all the time, and that was 30 years ago
2:51
It's been nearly 10 years since that previous Fish in Canada appearance, and Captain Mike's musky fever hasn't subsided
2:58
Come on, big bussa. You're not going to keep that up all day. You'd be surprised for an old man how much I can
3:05
Because I know what is in here. There's some whoppers, Pete. I mean, there's whoppers through here
3:14
I've got them up to 52 inches, and I know there's fish in this lake that would just eat mine on its way by
3:20
Well, the best reason to come to Eagle Lake and stay on the northeast end is we've got every species within five miles of the camp
3:28
You don't have to go anywhere. You can catch them all in the same day if you really want to
3:32
We've got world-famous muskie fishing right at the end of our dock. All the fishing's right here. I mean, you know, you don't have to burn a lot of gas or anything like that
3:43
Our first stop here is what, five minutes? Not even five minutes. No, not even five minutes. And we went past three places that I normally, you know, I'd have just idled over, dropped the trolling motor, and away we go
3:57
Because there's a weed bed that runs right in front of the lodge there. It's about a half a mile long
4:02
It's fantastic. The last time here, it was really tough fishing, but you still had a ton of followers
4:08
We still had fish all over the place. You just knew the numbers are here, right? Nose is right on it
4:13
Nose is right on it. Mmm, he got his nose on that thing
4:17
I've seen as high as 30-plus fish a day here. Oh, my God. Both sides
4:21
Ooh, ooh, ooh. Ooh, I couldn't hit a rock. For guys like Captain Mike, there's an adrenaline rush from even seeing one of these elusive fish
4:30
And with Eagle Lake's population, it wasn't long before we started counting our sightings
4:35
Oh, there's another one right there. She was again. Don't get me going like that
4:41
There she is, boy. Oh, God, she'd come up from nowhere. That's a big fish right there
4:48
That was 50 inches. She's a big one. Seeing these beasts might be half the fun
4:55
but triggering a bite can be more than half the battle. I mean, this lake is known for followers, right
5:01
Uh-huh. Yeah, it's a big-time follow lake. Hey, they're well-educated. Yep. And they've seen a lot of stuff
5:10
Yeah, they got to get conditioned, right? they had it just has to happen I mean everybody every boat you see here has got a big chunk of blades and tinsel and hair hanging off We getting educated Yeah for sure Keep it coming
5:26
Oh, she wants it. She got it. Yeah, yeah. In the bag
5:33
Nice. I think I'm going to catch one here for you. I hope so
5:38
Just a little guy to start us out. 38 to 40 inch, okay? Just to start us
5:43
Yeah, get her down. Get her deep, mate. She's coming. There she is. She's on it. Keep it coming
5:47
Keep it coming. Oh, she wants it. She got it. Yeah, she got it
5:57
I get the net here. She's hooked good though. Yeah. She struck on it good, didn't it
6:03
Yeah. 35 inches. 40 inches. Yeah, something like that. Not 40, I don't think
6:07
Hooked good though. Okay. I got to turn her, Mikey. Okay. Let's see what we can do her
6:18
Oh, there she goes. Good job, brother. She's in the bag. In the bag, nice
6:25
That was a fun fish. That was awesome. Let's see, now the hook's still in her. I was going to say, she's already thrown the hook
6:32
Thrown the hook. I love his lingo. Thrown the hook. Throw that hook out, boy
6:39
That's a fun fish. That was fun. What's the fun part about it? you get to watch them eat it
6:43
Yeah. I mean, she chased it, and then she nose bumped it
6:48
and you turned that, and she said, I got to have it. She got it
6:51
Yeah, yeah. I was going to say something at first. I saw the follow. Wasn't 100% sure
6:56
I'm not going to look like an idiot. I hear all these musky guys. As soon as you said, and I said, yeah, that's one coming
7:01
because I was watching it. Oh, yeah. Would you want to pull her out
7:06
Yeah, I'll grab her, Mike. Nice fish. That's a gorgeous little fish. She is
7:10
She's really pretty. Good looking fish. Yeah, she's probably 30. 38? 38, that's what I was going to say, probably 38
7:18
And look here. Notice something. Look at the red fins and how it's fenned up clear on the back
7:27
These fish, here it is the first of August. Right. And these fish look and are acting like they haven't finished spawning too awful long ago
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So Mike's had a series of follows. They're all showing up and there's not been one fish
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showing up on any of my baits. And one followed and smashed her
7:50
That's good. Mike Richardson, one down buddy. We got our muskie. One down, Mr. Bowman, one down
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Now let's get a 50 now. Hey, yeah. It's just a matter of time
8:02
You just gotta put so much time in on these fish. Muskie guys are the most hardcore freshwater fishermen that there is
8:08
There's no doubt about it. Well, this guy right here comes up from West Virginia. How long a drive
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1,250 miles. 1,250 miles. And he comes up here for one thing only
8:18
There's bass here, there's walleye here, but these guys come from muskie. That's it
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It's a muskie fisherman's playground. Yeah. One thing you'll notice with muskie experts is that they live to fish the prime times
8:30
The major, the minor, the moonrise, the moonset, mornings, evenings, etc., etc
8:36
Captain Mike is no different. On this trip, he opted out of fishing the midday periods
8:41
He says, there's nothing doing. I trusted Mike's word as to the unproductive midday period for musky
8:47
and so we gave the musky lures and our arms a break. However, I'm not one to sit at the lodge during the daylight hours
8:54
especially when there are smallmouth nearby. Time to shift gears for a couple hours
8:59
I'll take Mikey back up later to carry on musky hunting, but in the meantime, I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity
9:05
to set my sights on some Eagle Lake smallies. Oh! Check this baby out. Oh, my God
9:25
With Captain Mike enjoying a midday break at the lodge, I've hit the water on a solo mission, looking for a big Eagle Lake smallmouth
9:33
Fish. No idea what it is. Nice smallie. Nice smallie. Ooh. It's a good-looking fish, actually
9:46
This is the beauty, I think. He wrapped it good against those logs and stuff
9:50
Good-looking fish. Bring him around to the side. Nice smallmouth. This is a beautiful fish
10:00
What a mutant. It's a fatty. I'm going to have to net this fish
10:05
Look at the size of this thing. Check this baby out. Oh, my God
10:10
He pummeled that thing. I felt the tap like a... They smacked that thing so hard
10:16
You know it's a fish. The bait's gone. It's a little cremitation, but I'll show you this guy in a second
10:23
Look at that. What a gorgeous smallmouth bass. That's over four pounds, that fish, for sure
10:30
Like it's chunky, like a real chunky fish. Tyler the guy at the lodge was telling me there lots of these out here like this So that is just gorgeous Look at that big beast Perfect My first Smollie of this year on Eagle Lake and my biggest Smollie ever on Eagle Lake
10:49
See you, buddy. Oh, nice. What a great fishery. This could be an awesome trip right here
11:06
Oh. No idea. No idea. Oh, it's a little wee small
11:15
He railed that thing so hard. He's a decent one, actually. Did that fish ever come onto that bait hard
11:25
I mean, hardcore. That was awesome. Like that bait was not getting away
11:31
I didn't even feel it. I could hear the splash, see the splash, and he slack-lined me
11:36
It's actually a good one. I thought it was a small one. I'll net him
11:41
I don't want to bust off or anything like that. Yeah, that's how a fish can fool you right there
11:45
And you're in a predator zone here, pike and muskie and everything else
11:51
Your thoughts are, okay, is it a smallie? Is it a pike
11:55
Is it a muskie? What is it? I mean, it's a smallie
12:01
It's a pretty good one, I got to say. Oh, yeah, he's a beaut
12:06
He's a beaut. so when you're running a bait like that I'm running like a beaver style bait weightless
12:14
it's almost like as soon as you start reeling in and it comes to the surface and it rips along the top
12:20
it's almost like a top water bait for that fish I'll tell you what, they grow some nice smallmouth on Eagle Lake
12:26
look at how solid that fish is that's over 3 that's definitely over a 3 pound fish
12:33
big chunky tails on them and a fat belly Beautiful, it's making my trip man
12:39
Right now I'll tell you what, this is such a bonus fish. You got pike, walleye, muskie, and smallies
12:47
They just smash it, they just commit to it. And that's why people love smallies
12:52
they're such a cool fish, very aggressive. Oh, got her. Got her
12:58
What'd I get? Oh, here she is, she's a monster. Woo hoo
13:06
To get to today's whirlwind musky adventure, I drove north on Highway 400 to Highway 69
13:14
I then headed northwest on Highway 17. I stayed on 17 at the Highway 11-17 split and carried on northwest
13:21
I turned south onto Highway 594 and finally turned right on Coal Groves Road
13:26
which brought me directly to Coal Groves Eagle Lake Lodge. This family-owned lodge is situated smack dab in front of some of Eagle Lake's absolute best musky
13:34
smallmouth, and walleye hot spots. Some boats from the West Arm travel over 30 minutes
13:39
to get to this part of the lake. Colgrove's Eagle Lake Lodge caters to everyone
13:43
from young families to hardcore, determined musky addicts. Now that the captain's all rested up
13:52
or maybe he's a little tuned up after a few cold Canuck beverages, not too sure what he was up to
13:57
we're back on the water and looking for that fish of 10,000 casts, the legendary musky
14:02
There's one. Oh, gee. Big girl. Get it, get it. She turned way off me
14:06
I seen the bull. Was that her bull right there? Yes, my friend, it was a big one
14:11
It was a nice fish. Was she that good? My heart's pumping, buddy. That's good, that's good
14:16
My heart's pumping. That's good. Yeah, I really want to see Pete catch it, but I'll take that one
14:22
Me and my old raggedy 20-year-old fishing hat. I love that hat
14:26
That's classic, man. Never get rid of that one, buddy. You know, Pete, I was wearing this hat
14:31
If you go back and check your old archive videos when you and I first fished together
14:36
Yeah, I had this old hat on right then and there I didn't believe that
14:41
I didn't believe that Oh got her
14:51
Got her? What did I get? What did I get? I got it
14:56
What is it? It came off What was it? Oh, here she is
15:03
She's a monster. Watch your language, Mikey. Yeah, I forgot about to make my language
15:08
Sorry. There it is. That's the cast, boys. Oh, me. What the hell
15:17
Got her. Got her? Oh, me. Oh, I'm sorry. Just pay real close attention at this time of day
15:30
for the follow, right? For the follow, because you'll miss it a lot of times
15:36
Oh, yeah. And, you know, that's what happens a lot, that you'll get into a mode
15:40
and you're not seeing fish or feeling fish. Yeah, I know exactly what you're going to say
15:44
And then the next thing you know, bam, you go, whoa, what did I do wrong
15:48
Yeah, you weren't ready for it, right? Just not ready for it, yeah. I agree
15:53
Oh, you got her, Pete. A little up, a little up. Come on, that's all right. Get her up here, Pete. Woo-hoo
15:58
Yeah snot rocket Yeah boy It not rocking Yeah those are the ones that really get you going right there Those are the ones that will put a hook in your hand in a heartbeat
16:10
I know, buddy. Yeah, I shouldn't have said a snot rocket. That's okay. That's funny
16:14
That's what they are. That's funny. You know, you want to bring her to me
16:18
Yeah, I'm just waiting for you to get ready, buddy. You tell me when you're good. I'm good, son
16:22
Hang on. Here you go, buddy. Right there. Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. Another little fish for a little man
16:30
I'm okay with that. That was fun. One turn, buddy, I thought I was gonna have to
16:35
figure eight her, it was even quicker than the other one. Just boom, just nailed it
16:39
Well, you know, it was like what we were talking about with the moon phase and everything right now
16:44
that, you know, they're getting hungry. Exactly. Got her? Oh, I had her
16:52
Look at this wiry fell. I told you that's what we call them snot rockets. Yeah, you know what
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And she hasn't fought at all, right? Oh, no. She's green. Was that my rod we just broke? No
17:03
No, I think that was my fob. Ew! Are you kidding me
17:10
That's a tough little fish. Quit laughing at me, Michael. It's not an eagle-leg giant, but it's a lot of fun
17:17
That's for sure. Okay, Mikey, I'm going to put her down beside you there, buddy
17:21
Yeah, yeah, Mikey. Go to the inside of you. Watch yourself. All right, I'm going to get out of your way
17:25
Good stuff. Nice. Nice fish. It's in good shape. This fish didn't fight hardly at all, so it's got a lot of energy left
17:37
It was what, on three feet of line? Yep. Another boatside hookup for you, Pete
17:42
Yeah, exactly, buddy. Yeah, another boatside. You see right in the evening here, the sun is just about to set
17:48
And weather is coming in. There's supposed to be bad weather tomorrow, so you ready to go
17:52
Here she goes. Awesome. Look at that. You're the man son. You're the man buddy. Yeah
18:01
You're the man. But my wife had saw a Fishing Canada TV show and she thought wow maybe I'll get in touch
18:12
with those guys and see if they'd like to come and go fishing with old Captain Mike
18:16
And lo and behold to my surprise one day I was checking the email and here's an email
18:24
from Pete Bowman Fishing Canada show. I'm like, wow, you know, who are these people contacting me
18:31
wanting to come and go fishing with old Captain Mike? I bet you get to meet people from all walks of life, don't you
18:39
I bet you get to meet some real people and some real characters
18:43
Oh, yeah. I definitely do get to meet all sorts of interesting characters on my travels
18:48
but none quite like old Captain Mike. Excitable and hilarious. There's no better companion for an Eagle Lake musky fishing adventure
18:57
Doesn't matter to me. I'm just along for the ride. Although we didn't catch any giant fish, we did get a couple of musky
19:04
and encountered a few monsters this lake is known for. Oh, here she is. She's a monster
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And that's the reason anglers keep coming back here time and time again
19:23
Today's Garmin Hotspot is along Parkhurst Point on Eagle Lake, Ontario, where I hooked my feisty first muskie of the trip and had another follow almost immediately afterwards
19:37
The waypoint on your screen will get you there. This long main lake point runs from deep water into a weedy bay, a perfect combination for muskie
19:45
Our guy Tyler says there's lots of nice pike here as well. I used a downsized version of a double-ten tinsel because I was looking for biters and not necessarily big fish
19:54
If you really want a giant on eagle, throw the big, nasty double tens like Mike was working
19:59
Finally, always keep your eyes behind as well as on your bait throughout the entire retrieve
20:04
Muskies are masters of deception. For more hot spots like this one, check out FishingCanada.com
20:09
The Fish in Canada show brought to you in part five
20:21
Ram trucks built to serve. Princecraft boats dominate the waters. Garmin Panoptix, all seeing sonar
20:33
Mercury outboards go boldly. And Outdoor Canada, Canada's only national fishing and hunting magazine
20:42
Closed captioning for this episode was brought to you by FishingCanada.com, the gateway to your next fishing adventure
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