Northeast

Mississippi River Pools 9 to 15: Ice conditions on Pools 9-11 are solid with 24 inches of ice on most backwaters. Ice fishing has been slower over the past week. On Pool 10 Bussey Lake reports slow fishing except right before dark with a few crappies being caught. The spillway above Harper's Ferry has had slow to good fishing with a few crappies being caught there also. Due to the ice cover there has been no open water fishing for walleye at lock and dam 10 in Guttenberg.

Sweet Marsh, aka Marten's Lake (Bremer): Crappies are biting jigs tipped with a wax worm or minnow.

Fish have been caught in George Wyth Lake, Big Woods Lake, South Prairie Lake, Meyer Lake and Casey Lake, all in Black Hawk County.

Brinker Lake (Black Hawk): Fishing has been good for crappie, bluegill and channel catfish with the most action in the early morning and before sundown. Channel catfish have been caught suspended so try jigging well off of the bottom.

Avenue of the Saints Lake (Bremer): Fishing is good for crappies and bluegills. The fish are abundant, but are on the small side.

Lake Delhi (Delaware): Bluegills and crappies are good. Delhi has a consistent bite when other lakes are slow.

Lake Meyer (Winneshiek): Fishing has slowed but anglers are still having success. Fish are still suspended around brush piles. Try using a red jig with a white tail. The best time to fish continues to be early morning and late afternoon.

Hendricks Lake (Howard): Fishing has slowed quite a bit. The best fishing is early morning or late evening.

Volga Lake (Fayette): Fishing has been slow.

Trout streams are open, accessible and fishable.

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

 

Northwest

Walleye season on West Okoboji, East Okoboji and Spirit lakes in Dickinson County closed Feb. 15. It will re-open on May 2.

Spirit Lake (Dickinson): Bluegills are fair on the Grade, Trickles Slough and Anglers Bay. Anglers are catching a few crappies in Trickles Slough

West Okoboji Lake (Dickinson): Bluegill fishing is fair off Pocahontas Point, Millers Bay and the North Bay using wax worms. A few yellow perch are being caught in Emerson Bay.

Crawford Creek (Ida): Bluegill and crappie fishing is fair. Early morning and late afternoon and evening are best.

Storm Lake (Buena Vista): Fishing is fair for walleyes on live minnows under a bobber.

Brushy Creek (Webster): Crappies have been caught 2 to 3 feet off the bottom using a wax worm or a minnow. The best fishing is early in the morning or during the evening hours. Bluegills are biting on a wax worm on a small tear drop. Some sorting is required.

Clear Lake (Cerro Gordo): Walleye fishing has been fair. Walleye are hitting the best at the sunrise and sunset periods using minnows on jigging spoons. Fishing in the central portion of the lake between the Island and Dodge's Point and over to the north shore is producing the best. Some anglers are catching walleye in the mud flats, away from the crowds. Remember Clear Lake has a 14-inch minimum length on walleye with only one of the fish over 22 inches with a daily limit of three. Yellow bass fishing has been fair using jigging spoons tipped with a minnow head around the Island. The best time for yellows has been the hour of sunrise, but fish are being caught in the sunset period as well. Anglers are catching an occasional white bass, catfish, crappie and yellow perch.

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

 

Southwest

Big Creek (Polk): Fishing has slowed but crappies are still being caught fishing small jigs tipped with a minnow or wax worm in 30 feet of water the best bites are from dusk on. Bluegills up to 9 inches are being caught fishing over the cedar tree piles or other structure on small jigs tipped with a wax worm. A few walleyes are being caught fishing with minnows.

Hickory Grove (Story): Fishing has been slow; a few bluegills are being caught fishing near structure using small jigs tipped with a wax worm.

Don Williams (Story): Fishing has been slow. Bluegills are being caught fishing near structure during the day using small jigs tipped with a wax worm. Crappies are being caught around dusk.

Ahquabi (Warren): Bluegills up to 10 inches and a few redears are being caught fish structure during the day.

Rock Creek (Jasper): Crappies are being caught fishing structure at dusk. Bluegills are being caught during the day using small jigs tipped with a wax worm.

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

Fogle Lake (Ringgold): Ice conditions are good. A few bluegills are being caught in deeper water near structure with wax worms and minnows. Some crappies can be caught but are usually suspended at various depths.

Lake of Three Fires (Taylor): Ice conditions are good. Lots of nice bluegills are being caught with wax over the tree pile 100 yards north of the center of the dam. Crappies can be caught using minnows suspended at various depths near the tree piles or along the old creek channel.

Icaria (Adams): Ice conditions are good. A few nice bluegills and crappies are being caught with wax worms and minnows. Some walleye activity has centered on the old road bed that crosses the main arm.

Three Mile Lake (Union): Ice conditions are good. Good numbers of bluegills are being caught next to deep structure on wax worms. Crappies seem to be harder to find, but a few crappies are also being caught next to deep structure or from the old road bed edges. Some perch have been caught near the pump house point.

Twelve Mile Lake (Union): Ice conditions are good. Nice bluegills are being caught with wax worms on 15 to 18 foot flats or from the sides of the old road beds. Some real nice crappies have been caught suspended over the old road beds on minnows. Some walleye have been picked up on the old road beds.

Badger Creek (Madison): Some nice bluegills have been caught on wax worms during mid day.

Walnut Creek Marsh (Ringgold): Some real nice bluegills and crappies can be caught from water depths that are usually less than 4 feet. The fish are extremely shallow.

Farm ponds have had variable reports.

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

Ice conditions have been reported as good with area lakes having 12 to 15 inches.

Greenfield Lake (Adair): Bluegill and crappie have been fair. Try small jigs tipped with wax worms or minnows around structure in 16 to 20 feet of water.

Anita (Cass): Bluegills have been fair with 7 to 8-inch fish being reported.

Manawa (Pottawattamie): Fishing is good with 9 to 12-inch crappies being caught on jigs and minnows.

Anderson Area/North Pond (Montgomery): Bluegills are good with reports of 8-inch fish being caught on teardrops tipped with a wax worm. Crappies have been fair on using minnows.

Southwest Iowa Farm Ponds: The best fishing reports have been from privately owned small ponds for bluegill and in the larger ponds, crappie, using teardrops tipped with wax worm. Ice thickness is 15 inches.

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

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

 

Southeast

Mississippi River Pools 16 to 20: Tailwater stage in Pool 16 has fallen close to one-foot over the weekend to 5.67 feet. As of this past weekend the Marquette St. boat ramp was still accessible. There are reports of anglers catching limits of walleyes and saugers below Lock and Dam 15, using jig/minnow combinations and night crawlers. Some crappies and bluegills are being caught through the ice at Credit Island. With the recent warm weather and predicted rain this week use caution when venturing out on the ice.

In Pool 17, tailwater stage is at 4.88 feet and is forecasted to slowly fall over the week. Some walleyes and saugers are being caught in the tailwaters below the Lock and Dam 16 using jig and minnow combinations and night crawlers. As of this past weekend, there was one lane open to the city ramp at Muscatine and boats were accessing the river.

Tailwater stage in Pool 18 is 7.22 feet. There were reports of anglers catching walleyes and saugers below Lock and Dam 17 over the weekend. There may be limited access at the Toolesboro landing due to ice chunks.

In Pool 19, tailwater stage is 4.20 feet and is forecasted to fall slowly over the next week. Walleyes and saugers are being caught below Lock and Dam 18 on jig and minnow combinations. In Pool 20, tailwater stage is 4.6 feet but water levels fluctuate due to dam releases. No fishing report.

Lake Darling (Washington): There is about 12 inches of ice, some of which formed from the rain and snow mix from last week. There are a few anglers working the middle of the lake over the culvert piles and cedar trees, mostly catching crappies suspended a couple feet off the bottom.

Lake Belva Deer (Keokuk): Fishing has slowed with not much angler activity. Part of the reason for the lack of activity is when they drill through the ice, water rushes through leaving them sitting in a pile of slush.

Lake Geode (Henry): This has been a rare year where there has been more than a couple weeks of ice fishing on Geode. Anglers are working the area straight out from the concession stand and the bay straight north of the main boat ramp. They seem to be doing fairly well on bluegills and redears.

Lake Rathbun (Appanoose): Crappie fishing has picked up a little with anglers having some success in Buck Creek and Honey Creek. Most crappies being caught are around some type of underwater structure and are hitting on jigs tipped with a wax worm or a minnow.

Lake Sugema (Van Buren): Crappies and bluegills have been hitting on jigs tipped with wax worms. Try a variety of depths. There is some open water in the main lake area so use caution.

Lake Wapello (Davis): Bluegills have been biting on small jigs tipped with a wax worm or a minnow. Fish the underwater structure for the best success.

Lake Keomah (Mahaska): Bluegills have been hitting on small jigs tipped with a wax worm. Try a variety of depths and look for areas with some underwater habitat.

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