Northeast

Ice fishing is not recommended in northeast Iowa.

For information on fishing in northeast Iowa, call the regional office in Manchester at 563-927-3276.

 

Northwest

Spirit Lake (Dickinson): Anglers are catching walleyes off Buffalo Run and off Mini-wakan. Fish are being caught mainly on jigging minnow style baits. A few perch are being caught off Buffalo Run and Cottonwood Point in 20 feet of water. Bluegill fishing is fair off the North Grade, with a lot of sorting required.

West Okoboji Lake (Dickinson): Bluegills are being caught using wax worms in Emerson Bay and off Pocahontas Point, generally in 8 to 10 feet of water. A few perch are being caught between Eagle Point and Pocahontas Point. Some northern pike are being taken on tip ups in Emerson Bay.

Storm Lake (Buena Vista): Walleye fishing is fair between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. using jigging spoons tipped with minnow heads or live minnows. Lots of sorting is required to get fish over the 15-inch minimum length limit.

Clear Lake (Cerro Gordo): Ice conditions are variable and anglers should use caution! Areas of the lake have newly formed ice with the recent cold snap. These areas have thin ice covered by snow. Drill test holes to insure you are on adequate ice. Yellow bass are hitting the best north and east of the Island in 14-17 feet of water. Small jigging spoons and minnows are working the best. The hour before sunset provides the most consistent action. Walleye fishing is slow. Mostly sub-legal sized fish are being caught.

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

 

Southwest

Most lakes in southwest Iowa have no ice. Lakes in the region that do have ice should be considered unsafe. Little fishing activity has been reported.

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

 

Southeast

Ice fishing is not recommended or even possible in some cases. Some of the smaller county ponds have refrozen with about one and a half inches of ice.

Iowa and Cedar rivers: A few anglers are fishing for walleyes below the dams and in deeper pools with some success.

Mississippi River Pools 16 to 19: The Mississippi River and the backwaters in Pools 16 to 19 remain unsafe for ice fishing. Ice chunks are beginning to appear on the Mississippi with the recent cold weather. At the gauging station on Pool 16 (Lock and Dam 16-Muscatine) the water temperature is 33 degrees and the river pool stage is 11.42 feet and is expected to remain stable over the next several days. Fishing continues to be fair for walleye and sauger in the tail waters of Lock and Dam 16 to 19. Anglers still report the best success at tail water 16 (Muscatine) and tail water 17 (New Boston). Most anglers are using jigs with twister tails or hair jigs tipped with a minnow. With the colder water temperatures anglers should slow their presentation of baits and when using jigs use as small of jig as possible but still be able to feel the bottom of the river.

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