Largemouth Bass - Good: Lots of bass are being caught by anglers using tip ups and minnows. Try fishing in 20-30 feet of water off most points. Call the Manchester Hatchery at 563-927-3276 for more information. Flood stage is 15 feet at Lock and Dam 15. Red Haw Lake Black Crappie - Fair: Crappie bite has improved in backwater dredge cuts. Muskellunge – Fair: Troll stick baits or cast rubber baits in rock banks, points, and reefs. Find an eddy or deeper pool. Mississippi River Pool 12 For more information on Central Iowa lakes and rivers, call Ben Dodd at 641-891-3795 or Andy Otting at 515-204-5885. 'width', '200',
Most lakes in the district had skim ice last week; fishing activity has been limited. Use caution and avoid the creek area. Contact Information by County, How to read our weekly Iowa fishing report. Mississippi River Pool 11 Ice depths vary on area rivers especially areas with current. Small perch have been caught from the north grade fishing pier within the open water. For the most part, ice conditions are ok but take care on areas that have current flow. Try small in-line spinners or jigs and twister tails for rainbow trout. Hawthorn Lake Walleye – Fair. Bluegill - Fair: Ice anglers are catching bluegill in shallow backwaters using jigs tipped with mousies. Lake has 8-10 inches of ice and about 6 inches of snow. Anglers are moving from log pile to log pile with 2 or 3 fish being taken from each. Interior rivers are in excellent condition and are providing excellent angling opportunities. All walleyes less than 15 inches long and between 20-27 inches long must be released immediately. The water level is 6.2 feet at the Bellevue Lock and Dam and is holding steady. Ice thickness varies. Bluegill - Good: Ice anglers are catching bluegill in shallow backwaters using jigs tipped with mousies. Anglers should use caution on snow covered ice in areas that may have current as conditions can vary. Streams are very clear with about 4 to 6 inches of snow in places. 'height', '100',
Bring lures from home instead of buying bait to minimize your interaction with other people. Any sized motor may be used at a maximum of 5 mph. Only a few reports of walleye being caught. All area hoists and docks have been pulled from the lakes to prepare for ice-up. Try vertical jigging with minnows or trolling three-way rigs with minnows. 'allowFullScreen', 'false',
Sauger – Fair: Some anglers have been out trying to catch saugers below the dam. Alternate names for this stream include Wabespinicon River, Wapsiepinnecon River and Wapsie River. Water temperature is in the upper 30’s. Lake Mills Wrestling Coach, Brandenburg, Reaches 400 Wins, Buffalo Center to Hold It’s Tour of Lights on Sunday, AC_FL_RunContent(
Ice thickness on most area lakes has set up well but with the milder winter use extreme caution. Largemouth Bass – Slow: Try soft plastics around the cedar tree piles. Ice is not thick enough for fishing. Bluegill – Good: Schools are starting to move move out to deeper water around structure. Expect good bluegill fishing; you will need to sort for larger crappies. Main channel water temperature is 37 degrees. Wapsipinicon River (Troy Mills to Oxford Junction) Ice thickness is 4 to 5 inches on the Pinicon Ridge backwaters. Mississippi River Pool 14 Ice thickness is 6-8 inches. The DNR recommends the Wapsipinicon River for “super” smallmouth bass fishing in the southern half of Buchanan County and for northern pike fishing in … The area bite has been slow lately.
Walleye – Fair: Some anglers have been out trying to catch walleyes below the dam. Largemouth Bass - Fair: Some reports of largemouth biting on tip-ups baited with minnows in backwaters. Bluegill - Fair: Lots of small bluegills reported but fishing in general has been fair with most anglers using wax worms and tungsten jigs. Wapsipinicon River (Tripoli to Troy Mills) Reports have been good to excellent for walleye and northern pike on the Wapsipinicon River, concentrate on the deeper overwintering holes. Black Crappie - Fair: Try fishing a dead stick with a minnow on one rod and jigging an ice jig tipped with a waxworm or spike. 'name', 'CBSRemotePlayer_Medium',
You need a valid fishing license and pay the trout fee to fish for or possess trout. Ice is thinner in the inlet bridge bay. Black Crappie - Fair: Wax worms and small live minnows have worked well. Brown Trout - Good: Use tackle imitating forage fish and fish the edge of a weed bed or large rock. Ice thickness is around eight inches over most of lake. 2A at Clear Lake top of the hour starting at 1,