Northeast

Mississippi River Pools 9 to 15: Water level in the tailwater at Lansing is 7.89 feet and steady. Guttenberg on Tuesday morning was at 4.09 feet and stable. Bellevue was 5.05 feet and falling. With recent cooler air temperatures, water temperatures dropped below 80 degrees last week, but look for temps to increase as the week goes on. As the Mississippi River conditions continue to change with low water levels, concentrate fishing efforts near the main channel or areas with some current.

Some very nice walleyes are being caught in Pools 9 to 11 for anglers trolling the sloughs with leeches and willow cats. Better walleye fishing can be found in Minnesota Slough (Pool 9) and Wyalusing Slough (Pool 10). Walleye fishing in Pools 12 to 15 is fair using night crawlers. Bluegill fishing has been good in Pools 9 to 11. Concentrate around snags in the backwater sloughs that have some current. Fishing along the rocks bordering the main channel and along the wing dams has also been productive for bluegills. Float a piece of night crawler under a bobber or on the bottom. There are reports of crappies being caught in Pools 9 to 15. Fish for crappies in the backwater sloughs where current flows along some woody structure and cast a small jig tipped with a minnow in 9 to 12 feet of water or try a plain jig under a slip bobber. Deeper backwater lakes can also produce some excellent crappie fishing. Fishing for freshwater drum (sheephead) has been good to excellent in Pools 9 to 15. Use a night crawler and fish for freshwater drum of the bottom in front of wing dams and or sand flats off the main channel. The tailwater areas below the locks and dams have also been producing excellent sheephead fishing, and some are being caught in the side sloughs. When fishing the tailwater areas for drum, use a jig and minnow or blade bait off the bottom and move until you find fish.

Channel catfishing has been good to excellent in Pools 9 to 15. Anglers are using stink baits fished on the bottom along the deeper snags in the main channel border and along the wing dams. A few are also being caught on chicken liver. When fishing for catfish, be ready to move if you don't have a bite within the first 15 minutes-although, that is good advice for all types of fish. With the warmer water temperature, large concentrations of northern pike can be found around coldwater streams and springs that flow into the river in Pools 9 to 11. Try casting a white spinner bait or white twister tail around the mouths of these cooler water areas to catch pike or troll crankbaits along the side sloughs. Yellow perch in the 12 to 13-inch range are being caught in De Soto Bay (Pool 9).

Bass fishing on the Mississippi can be good, but concentrate around the main channel or areas with current in Pools 9 to 11. Spinner baits and crankbaits have been effective on wing dams for bass. Look at the mouths of sloughs or at the ends of islands for sand points. Often, minnows will stack up on these areas and so will the bass. Cast spinner baits, crankbaits or poppers over the top of the sand point. Flipping soft plastics into woody structure has also been producing some fish. Fishing for largemouth bass in Pools 12 to 15 has been fair to good using top-water lures, spinner baits and crankbaits fished around rocky shorelines in out of current areas or the main channel border in areas with less current. Bass are also being taken in vegetated areas in the backwaters using top-water lures and spinner baits. A few smallmouth bass are also being taken off the wing dams and along rocky shorelines in Pools 12 to 15.

Fair to good white bass fishing is being reported in Pools 12-15. Fish the tailwater areas below the dams or rocky areas such as wing dams and rip rapped shorelines using small spinner baits or jigs thrown into the current. White bass can often be found chasing shad to the surface. Cast a twister tail, rattle trap or small spinner bait (any imitation minnow lure) into the popping shad.

Cedar River (Black Hawk): A few channel catfish are being caught on chicken liver, leeches and prepared baits (stink baits) drifted over the riffle areas.

Maquoketa River (Delaware and Jones): Fishing for channel catfish is good using chicken liver and stink bait around snags. Walleye fishing is fair on jigs tipped with a night crawler. Smallmouth bass fishing is fair in the catch-and-release area below the Lake Delhi Dam.

Turkey and Volga rivers (Fayette and Clayton): Water clarity is improving and smallmouth bass are starting to hit crankbaits and dark-colored jigs.

Wapsipinicon River (Buchanan): Channel catfish are biting on chicken liver and stink baits. Anglers are catching a few walleye on jig and night crawler combinations.

Upper Iowa River: The Upper Iowa River is still muddy from previous heavy rains.

Lake Delhi (Delaware): Bluegill fishing is good using worms around the docks. An occasional crappie is also being caught.

Lake Meyer (Winneshiek): Bluegill fishing is fair on a piece of night crawler fished under a bobber next to structure. A few largemouth bass are hitting crankbaits and jigs.

Lake Hendricks (Howard): Bluegill fishing is fair to good on a piece of night crawler fished under a bobber next to the weed edges. Largemouth bass are hitting top-water lures and crankbaits fished along the weed lines in the early morning and late evening hours. A few crappies are also being caught.

Mitchell Lake (Black Hawk): Short bass are being caught on crankbaits and plastic worms. Anglers are reminded there is a 15-inch minimum length limit on bass in Mitchell Lake.

Volga Lake (Fayette): Channel catfish are hitting worms and chicken liver fished off the bottom. Bluegills are fair on worms.

Trout Streams: During August, both Grannis and Glovers are stocked with catchable-size trout twice per week with one stocking announced and one weekly stocking unannounced. Both Grannis and Glovers are great places to bring the family. Glovers Creek is in Echo Valley Park, near West Union. As you are entering Echo Valley Park, take the road to the left and follow it to the bottom of the hill. (Note: if you go to the right it will take you to Otter Creek and camping sites). You can fish upstream or downstream from the parking area on Glovers. The area upstream from the parking lot is newly acquired public land. In addition to trout fishing, there are numerous things to discover at Echo Valley including the narrow backbone ridge, which separates the two streams, the Jensen hiking trail, and camping.

Grannis Creek sits west of Wadena. The area to fish includes two separate public areas connected by a large tract of privately owned land that is open to public fishing. Public fishing is also allowed above the upper public area where it is posted for public use. Some streambank stabilization work has been conducted on the upper public area. Stream habitat work on the private land has resulted in excellent areas to fish throughout the entire stretch. The private land is most easily accessible from the lower public area. Please respect both the public and private land by not leaving your trash behind.

Northwest

Spirit Lake (Dickinson): Walleye fishing is slow. Anglers are catching a few fish drifting the weed line with live bait. Yellow perch fishing is still spotty with the most activity occurring on the south end of the lake.

West Okoboji Lake (Dickinson): Bluegills are being caught from the weed lines in 20 to 25 feet of water using jigs tipped with small leeches or worms.

Willow Creek (O'Brien): Anglers are catching bass using top-water lures over the weeds.

Ocheyedan Pits (O'Brien): Anglers are picking up a few bluegills around the docks fishing a small piece of worm under a bobber.

Big Sioux River (Lyon): Channel catfish fishing has been good below the Klondike Dam.

West Fork of the Des Moines River (Emmet): Anglers are catching channel catfish using shrimp

Black Hawk Lake (Sac): Channel catfish fishing is good using stink bait. Fishing is good for 7 to 8-inch bullheads using night crawlers. A few walleyes are being caught, but fishing is spotty.

North Twin Lake (Calhoun): Fishing is good for big bluegills.

Yellow Smoke Lake (Crawford): Fishing is good for 8 to 10-inch bluegills.

Arrowhead Lake (Sac): Bluegill fishing is good drifting a small leadhead or teardrop tipped with a piece of night crawler in the evening.

Brushy Creek (Webster): A few nice bluegills have been caught in 8 to 12 feet of water. Some nice catfish have been caught along the shoreline. Maybe with a little cooler nighttime temperature and a 1-inch rainfall the fishing will pick up.

Clear Lake (Cerro Gordo): Channel catfish are hitting on night crawlers, minnows and chicken liver. Fish Farmer's Beach and the Ventura fishing jetty for the best catfish action.

Beeds Lake (Franklin): Crappies are being caught trolling or drifting small jigs and minnows. Most fish are in the 7 to 10-inch range.

Crystal Lake (Hancock): Channel catfish are hitting on stink bait and chicken liver. Fishing in the evening to early morning hours produces the best action.

For more information on fishing in northwest Iowa, call the regional office in Spirit Lake at 712-336-1840.

 

Southwest

Green Valley (Union): Some bluegills can be caught on night crawlers or wax worms in 6 to 8 feet of water around cover. Channel catfish are biting on liver or night crawlers.

Three Mile (Union): Channel catfish can be caught on liver and night crawlers in the bays on the outside of the weed line. Bluegill fishing is fair using night crawlers on the outside of the weed line or around the flooded trees. Some crappies are being caught from the flooded treed on about 6 to 10 feet of water.

Fogle Lake (Ringgold): Some crappies are being caught around the flooded trees in 5 to 9 feet of water. Some channel catfish can be caught using night crawlers along shore.

Little River (Decatur): A few crappies are being caught from the flooded trees. Some channel catfish can be caught using liver.

Icaria (Adams): Channel catfish are being caught using liver or dip baits.

Viking (Montgomery): Crappie fishing is slow; fish in 6 to 8 feet of water using a small jig or minnow and bobber around structure. Largemouth bass fishing is fair using plastic baits with a slow retrieve. Channel catfish are being caught using liver and stink bait in early morning and late evening.

Anita (Cass): Channel catfish fishing is good. The lake is 3 feet low and boat ramps are not useable yet.

Cold Springs (Cass): Channel catfish fishing is slow but a few are being caught using liver in the evenings. Crappie fishing has slowed. Try fishing around sunken trees. Bluegills are being caught with small jigs around structure.

Manawa (Pottawattamie): Channel catfish is fair using stink bait and liver on Boy Scout Island and the west shore. Walleyes have slowed but a few are being caught along west shore in evening drifting night crawlers. Warm water temperatures have slowed fishing.

Orient (Adair): Fishing is slow for 7 to 8-inch crappies drifting jigs and minnows. Channel catfish are being caught using liver early in morning and late afternoon. Bluegills are slow but are still being caught drifting night crawlers.

Mormon Trail (Adair): Channel catfishing is good using liver or minnows in the evening. A few bluegills are being caught drifting jigs tipped with worms. Largemouth bass are being caught around structure.

Greenfield (Adair): Bluegill fishing is fair drifting a jig tipped with night crawler. Largemouth bass fishing is fair using spinner baits. Catfish is fair using liver.

Littlefield (Audubon): Bluegill fishing is slow. Try drifting a night crawler in 4 to 5 feet of water. Crappie fishing has slowed but some are still being caught using minnows and bobbers. Most crappies are 10 inches in length. Channel catfishing is fair using prepared dip bait and liver close to shore in rocks.

Prairie Rose (Shelby): Crappies and bluegill are slow, but can still be caught along rocky shorelines. Channel catfish are being caught in evening using dead minnows or liver. Largemouth bass fishing is fair using crankbaits and plastic worms.

DeSoto Bend (Harrison): Walleye fishing is slow, but walleyes are being caught jigging minnows around brush piles and trolling crankbaits in evening in 6 to 8 feet of water. Channel catfish are being caught using liver in evening.

Willow (Harrison): Bluegills are being caught using worms. Channel catfish are good being caught in the evening using liver.

Don Williams (Boone): Channel catfish fishing has been good using chicken liver and night crawlers. Bluegill fishing has been good to excellent on worms and a few nice crappies have been reported.

Hickory Grove (Story): Channel catfish fishing has good using chicken liver, with the best fishing in the early morning or evening. Bluegill fishing is slow with worms. Largemouth bass fishing has been fair to good during the early morning in deeper water.

Rock Creek (Jasper): Channel catfish fishing has been fair worms and/or chicken liver. Largemouth bass have been biting on top-water lures.

Big Creek (Polk): Bluegill fishing has been good with worms. Channel catfish fishing has been good, particularly at night, with some nice-sized fish in the lake.

Easter Lake (Polk): Channel catfish fishing has been fair using worms and/or chicken liver. Crappie fishing has been slow with jigs. Bluegill fishing has been slow using worms and bobbers. Largemouth bass fishing has been fair using plastic worms and top water lures.

Saylorville Lake (Polk): White bass fishing has been fair to good in various areas. Some walleye have been caught. Channel catfish fishing has been good, with the best areas north of the mile-long bridge.

Below Saylorville Dam (Polk): White bass fishing has been good using jigs and/or minnows and smaller walleye, 12 to 16 inches, are reported throughout the river. Channel catfish fishing has been good in slower water.

Lake Red Rock (Marion): Channel catfish fishing has been slow using traditional baits, with the better areas in the upper portions of the reservoir. Crappie fishing has been slow, although some nice sized fish are being taken with jigs/minnows. White bass fishing has been slow, although should pick up with the warmer weather.

Below Lake Red Rock (Marion): Anglers report white bass fishing has been good using jigs and jigs and minnows in the tailwater area. Channel catfish fishing has been good with some nice fish being caught.

Roberts Creek (Marion): Channel catfish fishing has been fair near the outlet using traditional baits.

Lake Ahquabi (Warren): Channel catfish fishing has been good using chicken liver, night crawlers and stink baits. Largemouth bass fishing has been slow using plastic worms and spinner lures. Bluegill fishing has been slow with most fish taken on worms and waxworks.

Hooper Lake (Warren): Channel catfish fishing has been fair using chicken liver and stink baits. Largemouth bass fishing has been slow using plastic worms and spinner lures. Bluegill fishing has been slow using worms and bobbers around structure.

For more information on fishing in southwest Iowa, call the regional office in Lewis at 712-769-2587.

 

Southeast

Mississippi River Pools 16 to 19: Fishing on the Mississippi River Pools16 to 19 continues to be fair. At the gauging station on Pool 16 (near Muscatine) the water temperature is 84 degrees and the river pool stage is 11.44 feet and is expected to drop gradually over the next several days. In Pools 16 to 19, anglers continue to catch channel catfish around drift piles and in the tailwaters. Catfishing has also been good near the mouth of tributary streams and rivers, including the Rock River, Iowa River, and Des Moines River. Channel catfish have been biting on a variety of baits with worms and stink baits working best. Flathead fishing continues to be fair. Try using live baits such as larger chubs and suckers. Flatheads are typically found around drift piles, rocks, and deeper holes and are most active in the early morning and evening or at night. Bluegill fishing continues to be fair in all accessible backwaters, below the spillways on the dams, and in some side channel areas. Bluegills are being caught on redworms, worms, wax worms, and small jigs and bobber rigs. Anglers also reported catching an occasional walleye and crappie during the cool front last week.

Lake Odessa (Louisa): The inlet structure remains open providing fresh water to the lake. Water temps are in the upper 80s. Look for catfish around the inlet and on the riverside of the outlet.

Lake Darling (Washington): Catfishing is good in the evenings and early mornings on chicken liver.

Lake Geode (Henry): Water temperature is around 83 degrees. The thermocline bottoms out at 17 feet. Look for the fish to be suspended between 14 and 17 feet as they try to stay out of the heat.

Lake Belva Deer (Keokuk): Bluegills are suspended in 10 to 12 feet of water. Ice fishing jigs and wax worms are catching them. Catfishing has been good to excellent on chicken liver. Water temperature is in the low 80s. The thermocline bottoms out at 13 feet. Look for the bluegills suspended at 11 to 13 feet.

Lake Rathbun (Appanoose): Walleye fishing has slowed. Slowly trolling crankbaits over underwater islands and the creek channel has been producing a few fish. Channel catfish have been biting on liver and stink bait.

Lake Hawthorn (Mahaska): Channel catfish have been hitting on liver and stink bait. Crappies have been hitting small jigs fished in deepwater areas. Some sorting is required for quality sized fish.

Lake Sugema (Van Buren): Largemouth bass have been hitting on a variety of artificial lures. Channel catfish have been biting on stink bait and liver. Crappies have been hitting on small jigs fished in deepwater areas of the lake.

Lake Wapello (Davis): Bluegills have been hitting small jigs tipped with a night crawler drifted along the outer edge of the weed line. Channel catfish have been biting on liver and stink bait.

Diamond Lake (Poweshiek): Channel catfish fishing has been good during the warm summer days. Try chicken liver or night crawlers for best results. Bluegills and crappies can also be caught off the deepwater structure using small jigs and wax worms.

Hannen Lake (Benton): Once again, catfish are biting on night crawlers and liver. Bluegills are being taken from deeper water on small worms.

Lake Macbride (Johnson): Bluegills remain in the shallows and are willing to bite on small jigs or worms. Channel catfish are also being taken in slightly deeper, rocky areas on liver or sunfish.

Rodgers Lake (Benton): Try liver, night crawlers or stink bait to take advantage of the channel catfish bite.

Pleasant Creek (Linn): Anglers trolling crankbaits over deeper water, rocky areas are catching walleyes. Largemouth bass are also being caught on a variety of artificial lures, and on chubs.

Skunk River (Keokuk and Washington): The water level is still dropping, and is back to near normal summer level and boating will become difficult. Catfishing has been fair to good.

Iowa River (Louisa): Water levels are slowly dropping but if you know the river you can still get around. Catfishing has been fair to good on stink bait and cut bait. Early mornings are the best times.

For more information on fishing in southeast Iowa, call the regional office in Brighton at 319-694-2430.