Any fish you catch that you don’t wish to keep and eat, please return quickly to the water and with great care.

Bald Eagle Lake has a healthy population of fish, including sunfish, pike, bass, perch and walleye. Fishermen enjoy successful fishing all year long.

BELPOA has also planted in the lake jumbo perch, walleye, and shell crackers to give fisherman more variety.

Keep the Bass Virus out of Our Lake

A virus, which could be fatal to largemouth bass, has recently been confirmed in seven lakes in south-central Michigan. Hillsdale, Branch and St Joseph counties, along with north central Indiana, is the area where these lakes are located. This relatively new virus, first discovered in South Carolina in 1995, also appears to infect smallmouth bass, bluegills and crappies, all members of the sunfish family. The disease appears to be fatal only in the largemouth bass. The virus affects only fish, not people. Infected fish are considered safe to eat. The virus is viable in water for several hours, so anything that would move water or fish from one body of water to another has the potential for spreading it. The state recommends that anglers take the following steps to prevent the spread of the virus:

• When fishing more than one body of water, clean boats, trailers and other equipment between fishing trips to prevent transporting the virus from one body of water to another.
• Do not move fish or fish parts from one body of water to another, and do not release live bait into any body of water.
• Handle bass as gently as possible if you intend to release them.
• Report dead or dying fish to state wildlife agencies. One positive note, in the lakes where these mortalities have occurred, the bass populations tend to recover very well in a couple of years. The DNR will be monitoring selected lakes this summer, possibly including lakes in Oakland County.
• Any fish you catch that you don’t wish to keep and eat, please return quickly to the water and with great care.