Northeast

Mississippi River Pools 9 to 15: The water temperature at Guttenberg is in the middle 40s. Water levels on the Mississippi River are high, but beginning to fall. River stages on Monday were 11.17 feet in Guttenberg, 14.6 feet in Dubuque and Bellevue is at 13.25 feet, and expecting to fall steadily over the next week.

The power plant by Lansing in Pool 9 has been a popular spot over the past week for anglers with a mixed bag of fish being caught, including largemouth bass and channel catfish. Anglers are also catching bluegills floating a worm under a bobber near this location.

Steadily falling water levels over the past week has slowed fishing, but many anglers are catching a few sauger and yellow perch at the DNR boat ramp in Guttenberg (Pool 11).

Walleye and sauger fishing has slowed as many of them have spawned recently, but a few nice catches of remnant sauger are being picked up in the tailwaters of Lock and Dams 9 through 13. Use three-way rigs or jigs tipped with either a twister tail or a minnow in the slack water areas near the dams for the best results. A few walleyes are also being picked up at other scattered locations.

Cedar River (Bremer and Black Hawk): Water levels are returning to more normal levels and fishing pressure is picking up. With the warmer weather expected this week, look for walleye to start biting below the dams using small jig and twister tail combinations tipped with a minnow. Fishing has been excellent for channel catfish.

Cedar River (Mitchell and Floyd): Fishing for channel catfish is good on dead chubs. Fish the deeper pools with a jig and minnow for smallmouth bass and walleye. Walleye fishing is excellent using jig and minnows near Charles City.

Maquoketa River (Delaware): Crappie fishing is improving using small minnows and jigs. Bluegill fishing is picking up using a piece of night crawler or garden worm. Channel catfish are also hitting on worms.

Shell Rock River (Butler and Bremer): Water levels remain high and fishing is slow.

Turkey River (Clayton): Smallmouth bass are hitting white jigs tipped with a purple twister tail and crankbaits. Walleyes are starting to bite on jigs tipped with a minnow. Sucker fishing is excellent near Elgin.

Upper Iowa River (Winneshiek and Allamakee): Sucker fishing is hot using night crawlers. Walleye and smallmouth bass fishing is good using jigs tipped with a minnow. Fish the deeper holes with rocky or sandy bottoms.

Wapsipinicon River (Buchanan): Water levels are still up and channel catfish are biting on night crawlers and dead minnows. Walleye fishing is good below dams and current break areas using jigs and twister tails tipped with a minnow.

Yellow River (Allamakee): Trout fishing is excellent. Due to limited public access, float the Yellow River by putting a canoe in at Volney and floating to the Sixteen Bridge, Ioan Bridge or the Hwy. 76 access.

Black Hawk County Lakes: Bluegill and crappie fishing is quickly improving. Use a piece of night crawler or small minnow for best results and vary the depth of the bait until you find actively feeding fish.

Lake Delhi (Delaware): Channel catfish are good to excellent using dead minnows fished on the bottom. Bluegills are hitting on a piece of worm suspended under a bobber. Crappies are hitting on small minnows.

Lake Hendricks (Howard): Fishing pressure has been low.

Lake Meyer (Winneshiek): The lake is starting to turn over and fishing is slow.

Volga Lake (Fayette): Small bluegills are being caught on the lake. Fishing has been slow, but should pick up with warmer temperatures.

Trout fishing is excellent. Water conditions are good and fish are active. Caddis and Mayflies are hatching. Most trout stream stocking are announced and the dates of proposed stockings can be found on the Iowa DNR website at www.iowadnr.gov or by calling the trout stocking hotline at 563-927-5736.

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

 

Northwest

Dickinson County Chain Lakes: Water temperatures are finally starting to rebound and stabilize. Panfish are biting in the lagoons and shallow water areas on sunny days. Walleye fishing is fair in the lower chain of lakes. Most fish are being picked up in the evenings near the bridges. Smallmouth Bass fishing on the main lakes has not really taken off yet, but folks have been trying - warmer weather should help things along.

East Okoboji Lake (Dickinson): Yellow perch have been biting on the north end of the lake and at the trestle between East and West. The bite is sporadic, but some nice fish have been taken.

Silver Lake (Dickinson): Walleye fishing has been intermittent, but very good. Evening fishing has been best.

West Fork of the Des Moines River: River water level is coming down and should provide some fishing opportunities.

Clear Lake (Cerro Gordo): Walleye fishing is good. Wading or boat fishing Dodge's Point, the Island and the east shoreline areas are the best bet for walleye. Use a slow presentation with a jig and minnow in the late afternoon through sunset, for the best results. Yellow bass fishing is good using small jigs and twisters in the west end of the lake.

Rice Lake (Winnebago/Worth): Bullhead fishing is good using night crawlers.

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

 

Southwest

Icaria (Adams): Anglers are catching limits of 1.5 to 5-pound size catfish on cut bait at east end of the lake. Walleyes are being caught on jigs on the south side from marina to dam. Lake has less than 5 inches to go to be full.

Little River (Decatur): Anglers reported picking up walleyes off points.

Wilson (Taylor): Crappie fishing has started using small jigs.

Windmill (Taylor): Anglers are catching crappies using small jigs.

Green Valley (Union): Fishing is good for channel catfish using night crawlers, stink bait or liver off the silt dikes in shallow ends.

Three Mile (Union): Fishing is good for channel catfish using shrimp in the north end. Walleyes have slowed but may be found around dam in deeper water. Several muskies have been picked up around dam or north end.

Twelve Mile (Union): Walleyes up to 17 inches are being caught, but most are the 12 inch size. Anglers are picking up largemouth bass up to 17 inches. The main boat ramp is useable.

Contact: Gary Sobotka (641) 464-3108 for information on the above area lakes.

Banner Lakes @ Summerset Park (Warren): Trout were stocked several weeks ago and should still be willing to bite.

Big Creek (Polk): Some walleyes are being caught. Crappies are slowly being picked up in the shallows and bays.

Below Saylorville Dam (Polk): Anglers are picking up scattered walleyes on white jigs tipped with minnows at Cottonwood Park. In the spillway, an occasional northern is getting caught. The lake is back to normal pool, but river below dam is high.

Des Moines River (Polk): When the water temperature warms up, try fishing the below the low-head dams and riffles for walleyes. Gravel bars can also produce this time of year.

Hickory Grove (Story): Largemouth bass, bluegill and crappies are starting to bite.

Ada Haden (Story): Crappies are starting up again and anglers are picking up a few.

Contact: Ben Dodd (515) 432-2823, Ext.108, for information on the above area lakes.

Manawa (Pottawattamie): Fishing for crappies is good in the canals using minnows under bobber or small jigs. A few wipers are also being caught.

DeSoto Bend (Harrison): The lake is open to fishing. Anglers can expect to catch crappies on small minnows fished under a bobber.

Orient (Adair): Fishing is good for channel catfish with average size 20 inches.

Anglers continue to catch a few trout in both Big Lake Park and Sauganash Pond (Western Historic Trails).

Farm Ponds are beginning to warm and anglers should start catching fish in area ponds. Be sure to ask permission from the landowner first, however.

Contact: Bryan Hayes (712) 769-2587 for information on the above area lakes.

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

 

Southeast

Mississippi River Pools 16 to 18: Water temperature at Muscatine is 47 degrees. The water level in all pools is falling slowly. Pools 16, 17 and 18 are just under flood stage but there are parts of 19 still above flood stage from Burlington to Ft. Madison.

Fishing has been slow because of the low temperature and high water. With these factors now improving, fishing should get better as the week progresses. Catfish have been biting on flooded grassy areas and off the mouth of tributary streams. Shad entrails are the preferred bait. White bass have been biting along the wall in Davenport and below the steel dam in the Rock River on twister tails and other jigs. A few walleye are being caught below the arsenal dam.

Lake Odessa (Louisa): Anglers were catching lots of nice catfish before it got cold last week. Look for the catfish to be biting again as it warms up. Shad and shad guts are the preferred baits.

Lake Darling (Washington): Anglers are picking up a few catfish along the rocky shorelines. Look for bass to be working the shallow bays on warm sunny afternoons this week.

Lake Rathbun (Appanoose): Crappies have been hitting small jigs tipped with minnows fished around underwater habitat in 10 to 15 feet of water. Channel catfish have been biting on cut bait and shad sides along the windblown shorelines.

Lake Wapello (Davis): Largemouth bass have been hitting on a variety of artificial lures. The most productive areas have been around the partially submerged habitat and around the pallet structures. Channel catfish can be caught using cut bait.

Lake Sugema (Van Buren): Walleyes have been hitting on crankbaits and twister tail/jig combos around the rocky shorelines along the dam and other rip-rapped areas of shoreline. Bluegills and crappies are out in 10 to 12 feet of water and are being caught with small jigs tipped with minnows or wax worms.

Lake Keomah (Mahaska): Largemouth bass have been hitting on a variety of artificial presentations. Spinner-baits and crankbaits worked along the shorelines can be productive. Bluegills and crappies remain in deep water around submerged habitat.

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