Eagles Nest #1

Eagles Nest 1 (69-0285-01) is a 324-acre lake located 8 miles east of Tower. It is accessed by a water access channel that connects with Eagles Nest 2, which has a concrete ramp and ample parking for a few trailers. The lake has a maximum depth of 76 feet and generally clear water. Compared to other lakes in the area, Eagles Nest 1 is relatively developed with year-round and seasonal homes. 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 75 degrees F and a bottom temperature of 41 degrees F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish from the surface to around 50 feet of water. Eagles Nest 1 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 the 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 1 was sampled concurrently the Eagles Nest 2. A total of nine gill nets, four small mesh gill nets, and twelve trap nets were set between the two lakes. Twenty-two walleye were sampled in gill nets for a catch rate of 4.4 fish/net, which was just below average when compared to other similar lakes in the area, but on par with past up-and-down survey catch rates we've observed on Eagles Nest 1. Sizes were quite good with fish up to 22 inches sampled and an overall size average of 17 inches and nearly 2 pounds. Growth is also quite good due to sometimes ample smelt and rusty crayfish populations. The walleyes in this survey were already 14.6 inches on average as 4-year-old fish. Overall, ages ranged from 2 to 9 years with good representation from the 2019 year-class. Stocking appears to be carrying the walleye fishery with over 90% of the fish sampled having come from a stocked year class. Spring night electrofishing was used for the third time on Eagles Nest 1 for smallmouth and largemouth bass sampling. On the night of May 27th, three electrofishing stations were sampled and the crew caught twenty bass, which was similar to past electrofishing efforts on the lake. Although largemouth are prevalent in the lake as witnessed by angling success, only three largemouth bass were captured during the electrofishing survey. All three fish were between 13 and 15 inches. Electrofishing for smallmouth was a bit more successful with 17 fish captured. Sizes were good with fish over 19 inches sampled and an overall average length of around 11 inches. Seventeen additional smallmouth were sampled in gill nets which was a very high catch rate when compared to other smallmouth lakes. Fish up to 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 39 inches. Since the lake became infested with rusty crayfish, the aquatic vegetation declined 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 15.8 fish/net was still better than other similar lakes, however it was quite a bit lower when compared to surveys prior to the end of the 2000's. Sizes however have remained relatively unchanged with fish over 8 inches sampled in this survey, and an overall average length of just over 5 inches. Ages ranged from 3 to 7 years old with most fish age-5 and under. 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 second time in the last three surveys although they can still be observed in the water column when using electronics.

Eagles Nest 1 is a 324 acre lake located eight miles east of Tower. It is accessed by a water access channel that connects with Eagles Nest 2. The lake has a maximum depth of 76 feet and at the time of this survey light green colored water due to a slight algae bloom. On August 3, 2020 the lake was thermally stratified with a surface temperature of 73 F and a bottom temperature of 42 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish to a depth of 44 feet where the temperature was 45 degrees. Compared to other lakes in the area, Eagles Nest 1 is relatively developed with year round and seasonal homes. 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. The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 22.2 fish/net which was just below the average compared to past surveys on the lake. Yield was 34.6 lbs/net which was right around the historic average. Fish species sampled were walleye, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, white sucker, rock bass, northern pike, bluegill, and pumpkinseed. Trap nets caught fish at an overall rate of 21.3 fish/net which was the lowest catch rate since 1980. Yield was 5.0 lbs/net which was below the lakes historic average. Black crappie was the only additional species sampled in trap nets that weren't also caught in gill nets. Small mesh gill nets sampled rainbow smelt and yellow perch. Seventy walleye were sampled in gill nets for a catch rate of 14.0 fish/net, which was very good compared to other similar lakes and the second highest catch rate on record for Eagles Nest 1. This catch rate also ranked 14th out of 198 surveys of walleye population in the Tower area. Walleye lengths ranged from 7 to 22.5 inches with an average of nearly 16 inches. The average weight was 1.6 pounds which was better than average compared to other similar lakes. Walleye growth was excellent with the average walleye growing just over 16 inches at four years old. Ages ranged from 1 to 18 years with a very good looking 2017 year class. Eagles Nest 1 is currently being stocked with walleye fingerlings every other year. When stocked years were compared against non-stocked years, 71 percent of the catch came from a year when fingerling stocking occurred, however the proportion of stocked versus wild fish within these years is unknown. On the night of June 11th, spring electrofishing occurred to assess the largemouth and smallmouth bass populations. Sixteen smallmouth were captured in the 1.0 hour of fishing for a catch rate of 16.0 fish/hour. This was right at the Tower area average compared to other smallmouth lakes. Lengths ranged from 7 to over 18 with an average of nearly 15 inches. Thirteen additional smallmouth were sampled in gill nets and four more were caught in trap nets. Those sizes ranged from 7 to 19 inches. The smallmouth population's growth rate was good. The average fish was just over 10 inches at four years old, compared to the Tower smallmouth average of 9 inches. Ages ranged from 2 to 17 years old. Six largemouth bass were also captured in electrofishing for a catch rate of 6.0 fish/hour. This was below average compared to other largemouth lakes in the area. Lengths ranged from 14 to over 18 inches. The northern pike gillnet catch rate was 1.0 fish/net which was below the historic average for the lake and slightly lower than normal compared to other similar lakes. Lengths ranged from 20 to just over 38 inches with an average of 27 inches. Both the average and maximum lengths were quite good compared to previous surveys on Eagles Nest 1, with a 38 inch pike being the largest ever surveyed on the lake. The bluegill trapnet catch was 12.2 fish/net which was above average compared to other similar lakes but well below average compared to past surveys on Eagles Nest 1. Sizes were somewhat small with lengths ranging from 4 to 7 inches with an average of 5 inches. Ages ranged from 2 to 7 years old with strong representation from the 2016 and 2018 year classes. Even though sizes were relatively small, growth rates were quite good compared to other area bluegill lakes. Rainbow smelt are a non-native invasive fish that were first caught in DNR nets in 1980. In the 2020 survey, 138 smelt were caught for a catch rate of 69.0 fish/small mesh gill net. Previous surveys of smelt catches were highly variable. Sizes have remained relatively constant through time with a 2020 average length of just over 5 inches. The presence of smelt is likely a contributing factor to fast walleye growth in the lake. However, their presence makes it difficult for walleye to produce wild year classes. Smelt are thought to prey on the walleye eggs and compete with very young walleye for food resources. Rusty crayfish have been in Eagles Nest 1 since at least 1987. Catch rates appear to have declined from an average of 101.8 crayfish/net from 1990 to 2010 to a catch rate of 13.2 in 2015 and 27.2 in 2020.

Eagles Nest Lake One (EN1) is located approximately 9 miles NE of Tower. This clear water lake is highly developed by area standards with homes and cabins frequently appearing near the shorelines. There is a public access with a concrete planked boat ramp located on Eagles Nest Lake Two off CR 599. A navigable channel connects the two lakes and boaters should be cautious on both lakes since rock piles are common, most of which are unmarked. In terms of total numbers of fish per net, the 2015 catch on EN1 was the lowest on record for both gill nets and trap nets. Smallmouth bass and rock bass were however sampled in above average numbers. Bluegill made up 77 percent of the trap net catch and relatively low numbers of black crappie were also observed. Walleye numbers and average size were the lowest since fingerling stocking began in 1991. No smelt were sampled which is the first time since smelt netting began in 1980 that this has occurred. Rusty crayfish abundance appeared to decline in 2015. Both rusty crayfish and smelt are non-native species that were likely unintentionally introduced as bait. Smallmouth bass in 2015 were sampled by electrofishing, gill nets and trap nets. Smallmouth numbers in the gill nets were higher than the historic average of 3.6/gill net and higher than in other similar area lakes. The average smallmouth sampled from the gill nets was a respectable 15.8 inches or about 8 years old and the largest smallmouth was 20 inches long. Smallmouth made up 75% of the electrofishing catch and the remainder were largemouth. The average smallmouth sampled by electrofishing was 13 inches long with the largest almost 19 inches long. The average largemouth was also 13 inches long up to a maximum size of 18 inches. Walleye numbers in 2015 were below the historic average of 6.3/gill net and below average compared to other similar area lakes. The average walleye sampled was 15.9 inches long (4 years old) which is smaller than the historic average of 18 inches long. The largest walleye was 22.1 inches long. Seventy-four percent of the walleye aged were from stocked year classes. Bluegill numbers in 2015 were well below the historic average of 69.6/trap net but above average 7.9/trap net compared to other similar area lakes. The average bluegill sampled was 4.9 inches long which is smaller than the historic average length of 5.5 inches. Few bluegill from the trap nets were more than 8 inches long. Rusty crayfish have removed much aquatic vegetation and this may be negatively effecting bluegill since this vegetation provides a preferred habitat. Black crappie numbers in 2015 were low but typically these fish do not get sampled very well with trap nets and gill nets. The few crapppie sampled were of good size.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Black Crappie, and Rock Bass in Eagles Nest #1. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Eagles Nest #1. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Eagles Nest #1 has a maximum depth of 76 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Eagles Nest #1 is from 2025.

No invasive species are on record for Eagles Nest #1 in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.