Minnesota · St. Louis County

Eagles Nest #2 Lake Fishing guide

Eagles Nest #2 Lake covers 388 acres in St. Louis County, Minnesota, reaching 39 ft at its deepest point. Average water clarity runs about 13.3 ft. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 7 times, most recently in 2025, with walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and northern pike in the nets.

Open the live map → Survey data

Depth to 39 ft · top 5 summer marks

Surface388 ac

Max depth39 ft

Clarity13.3 ft

Littoral59%

Surveyed2025

How to fish Eagles Nest #2 Lake through the year

Walleye

Spring: Walleye are shallow, on and just off the spawning flats and the first green weeds. At 13.3 ft of clarity, fish them deeper and lighter than usual.
Early summer: Walleye are setting up on the outside weed edge, points and shallow structure.
Summer: Walleye are working the weed edge, points and any wind-blown structure.
Fall: Walleye are packing onto the sharpest breaks and points as the water cools, in big schools with short windows.

Smallmouth bass

Spring: Smallmouth are on shallow rock, gravel and sand where they spawn. At 13.3 ft of clarity, fish them deeper and lighter than usual.
Early summer: Smallmouth are post-spawn on rock points, gravel bars and the adjacent breaks.
Summer: Smallmouth are on rock humps, points and hard-bottom breaks.
Fall: Smallmouth are bunched tight on deep rock, so find one and you have found the school.

Season patterns for each species. Open the live map for today's wind, light and water temp.

Size history

Biggest fish by survey year

Survey year	Walleye	Smallmouth bass	Largemouth bass
2025	22"	19"	14"
2020	25"	19"	16"
2015	28"	18"	19"
2010	25"	17"	5"
2005	24"	16"	17"
2000	25"	15"	16"
1995	26"	14"	17"

Longest fish measured by DNR survey crews in each year's nets. Survey gear samples the population, so the lake usually holds larger fish than any survey measured.

Suggested tackle

What to bring

Top presentations for this lake's structure and clarity:

Walleye · Live bait

Live-Bait (Lindy) Rig + Leech/Crawler

jumbo leech or half a nightcrawler

8–35 ftslow

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Walleye · Trolling

Leadcore Line + Crankbaits

4–5" mid-diving crankbait behind a long leadcore run

15–45 fttrolling

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Smallmouth bass · Soft plastics

Drop Shot (Finesse Plastic)

4" finesse worm or 3" minnow-profile plastic

8–40 ftdead slowweedless

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Smallmouth bass · Jigs & bladed

Tail Spinner

Compact lead body with a free-spinning blade on the tail

10–35 ftmoderate

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Largemouth bass · Soft plastics

Texas-Rigged Worm

7" ribbon-tail or straight-tail plastic worm

1–25 ftdead slow

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Largemouth bass · Soft plastics

Free Rig

Creature bait or magnum finesse worm

8–30 ftdead slowweedless

Shop creature baits →

Full setups, including hooks, weights and line, are on the live map. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

DNR stocking records

Stocking history

Year	Species	Stocked
2025	Walleye	9,389 fingerlings
2023	Walleye	13,740 fingerlings
2021	Walleye	14,644 fingerlings
2019	Walleye	14,656 fingerlings
2017	Walleye	11,908 fingerlings

MN DNR · in their words

From the 2025 survey

Eagles Nest 2 (69-0285-02) is a 388 acre lake located seven miles east of Tower. It is accessed by a concrete ramp with ample parking for a few trailers and has a water access channel that connects with Eagles Nest 1. The lake has a maximum depth of 40 feet and generally clear water. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are mostly rubble, gravel, and sand with some muck in the bays. Aquatic vegetation is sparse due to a rusty crayfish infestation.

On July 28, 2025 the lake was thermally stratified with a surface temperature of 76 degrees F and a bottom temperature of 51degrees F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish from the surface to around 30 feet of water.

Read the full DNR narrative

Eagles Nest 2 is currently being stocked with fingerling walleye every other year. Since there is no public access ramp on Eagles Nest 1, the quota of fingerlings is added to the quota for Eagles Nest 2 and all fish are stocked at the Eagles Nest 2 access under the assumption that the fingerlings swim freely between the lakes.

As in the past, Eagles Nest 2 was sampled concurrently with Eagles Nest 1. A total of nine gill nets, four small mesh gill nets, and twelve trap nets were set between the two lakes.

Forty-two walleye were sampled in gill nets for a catch rate of 10.5 fish/net, which was very good compared to other similar lakes in the area and better than average for Eagles Nest 2. Sizes were good with fish up to nearly 23 inches sampled and an overall average length just shy of 15 inches. Growth is decent due to sometimes ample smelt and rusty crayfish populations. The walleyes in this survey were nearly 15 inches on average as 4-year old fish. Overall, ages ranged from 1 to 12 years with good representation from the 2021 and 2023 year-classes. Stocking appears to be carrying the walleye fishery with over 85% of the fish sampled having come from a stocked year-class.

Spring night electrofishing was used for the third time on Eagles Nest 2 for smallmouth and largemouth bass sampling. On the night of May 27th, three electrofishing stations were sampled and the crew crew caught thirty-one total bass, which was similar to past electrofishing efforts on the lake.

Although largemouth are prevalent in the lake as witnessed by angling success, only two largemouth bass were captured during the electrofishing survey. Electrofishing for smallmouth was a bit more successful with 29 fish captured. Sizes were good with fish over 19 inches sampled and an overall average length of nearly 15 inches. Sixteen additional smallmouth were sampled in gill nets which was a very high catch rate when compared to other smallmouth lakes. Fish over 19 inches were sampled in this gear type as well. Growth was also exceptional with 4-year old fish averaging nearly 12 inches.

The northern pike population in Eagles Nest 1 remains fairly stable at relatively low numbers compared to other lakes in the area. Some fish attain decent sizes, with the largest fish from this survey measuring nearly 30 inches.

Since the lake became infested with rusty crayfish, the aquatic vegetation decline from being abundant in many of the bays to being sparse across the lake. This has caused an overall loss of high-quality habitat for bluegill which has coincided with their catch rates dropping over time. The trapnet catch in 2025 of 1.3 fish/net was the lowest on record for the lake. Sizes however have remained relatively unchanged with fish over 8 inches sampled in this survey, and an overall average length of just over 7 inches.

Rainbow smelt are a non-native invasive fish that were first caught in DNR nets in 1980. Every assessment, starting in 1980, included small mesh gill nets. The 2025 survey caught no rainbow smelt for the third time in the last six surveys although they can still be observed in the water column when using electronics.

Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.

Recent reports

Eagles Nest #2 Lake fishing reports

Recent reports on Eagles Nest #2 Lake from guides, tournaments and regular anglers. Anything posted in the last two weeks also bumps the matching spots on the live map, so you'll see a "matches a recent report" tag on them.

Open the live map → Fished it lately? Write a report

St. Louis County reports

Public water access

Getting on the water

Eagle Nest Lake (2) (trailer launch)

DNR bathymetry

Eagles Nest #2 Lake depth map

Eagles Nest #2 Lake depth contour map, St. Louis County, Minnesota — Depth contours to 39 ft from Minnesota DNR bathymetry, free to save or print. The live map adds ranked spots and conditions on the same contours.

Within 30 miles

Nearby lakes

Skeleton Lake · 63 ac · 1.1 mi
Eagles Nest #1 Lake · 324 ac · 1.3 mi
Eagles Nest #3 Lake · 1,028 ac · 1.3 mi
Six Mile Lake · 109 ac · 1.4 mi
Pickerel Lake · 40 ac · 2.1 mi
Cub Lake · 8 ac · 2.3 mi
Bear Head Lake · 662 ac · 2.8 mi
Norberg Lake · 7 ac · 2.9 mi

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

How deep is Eagles Nest #2 Lake?

Eagles Nest #2 Lake reaches 39 ft at its deepest point; about 59% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).

How big is Eagles Nest #2 Lake?

Eagles Nest #2 Lake covers 388 acres with about 7.9 miles of shoreline.

How clear is the water in Eagles Nest #2 Lake?

DNR Secchi readings on Eagles Nest #2 Lake average 13.3 ft of visibility, clear water for a Minnesota lake.

What fish are in Eagles Nest #2 Lake?

Minnesota DNR surveys (most recently 2025) record walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, rock bass.

Is Eagles Nest #2 Lake stocked?

Yes. The DNR stocked walleye in 2025; the stocking table on this page lists every year back to 2017.

Does Eagles Nest #2 Lake have a public access?

Yes. Eagles Nest #2 Lake has one public access site: Eagle Nest Lake (2) (trailer launch).

How big do walleye get in Eagles Nest #2 Lake?

The biggest walleye measured in recent DNR surveys taped 22"; the size-history table on this page tracks the biggest fish in each survey back to 1995.

When was Eagles Nest #2 Lake last surveyed?

The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Eagles Nest #2 Lake in 2025, the most recent of 7 surveys on record.

Page updated September 22, 2026.

The live map adds today's conditions and ranked spots for Eagles Nest #2 Lake, plus a trip plan you can share:

Open Eagles Nest #2 Lake on the live map → Fished it lately? Write a report