Iowa Big Bass Fisher

Sean Kinnear, 27, was amazed when he felt a fierce tug on his fishing line and pulled in the 9ft monster. He waged a 15-minute battle to land the beast, which hits the scales at an incredible 233lb 6oz.

It is the third largest catfish ever caught in the world.

Sean said: “As the fish surfaced we were all in shock as it was so big. It was really hard trying to reel it in as it was so heavy and the rod was bending. It came close to breaking me, but I managed to pull it in, although it took four of us to get it on to the shore.”

The big catch came after a 12 hour day of fishing. Sean added: “We had been fishing all day and it was just starting to get dark so I thought I’d have one last try.

“The fish bit very hard and I managed to land it within 15 minutes.”

The mighty fish was loaded on to a sling and weighed before it was returned to the river.

Sean, who has a photo of his big catch on his wall, revealed: “I was totally over the moon and it’s a fishing holiday I’ll never forget.

“I might have to change species now to have more of a challenge and move on to sturgeon which can go up to 1000lb.”

Wells Catfish are the largest freshwater fish in Europe and eat anything they come across, including swans. The largest ever caught weighed 246lb.

Sediment ponds, road culvert risers and extensions, boat ramp designs, watershed work and archaeological surveys are all part of Lake Darling’s continuing restoration activities.

“Weather slowed Lake Darling Restoration activities in 2009,” DNR Fisheries Biologist Chad Dolan said. “Extended dry weather was rare in 2009 and is needed for the lake bottom to harden so that construction within the lake may happen.”

The lake was first drained in November 2008, and subsequently, has refilled and drained numerous times since its initial draw down.

Weather has allowed the completed construction of five ponds and one terrace as well as six road culvert risers and one road culvert extension within park boundaries. In the watershed, final plans have been completed for an erosion control pond involving four landowners.

The purpose of each is to slow the transport of water and trap sediment and nutrients before run-off water reaches the Lake Darling basin Dolan said.

Reduced sediment and nutrient inputs into Lake Darling will result in increased water clarity and decreased algal blooms. The growth and condition of fish such as largemouth bass inhabiting the lake may also improve as they’ll be able to see and capture prey more successfully.

The ponds themselves provide fishing opportunities and are already stocked with bluegills. In spring 2010 the ponds will be stocked with channel catfish and largemouth bass. All of the ponds and riser structures are visible from the park roads and are easily accessible.

Dolan, along with the DNR Fisheries Bureau and Engineering Bureau, has also been working on plans for the construction of a new boat ramp and parking area. The ramp and parking lot will be constructed on the shoreline before the entrance of the existing campground and will replace the current campground boat ramp Dolan said.

Archaeological surveys are being conducted in areas anticipated to be impacted by project construction activities. All archaeological work has been completed with the exception of a single site which has valuable historical significance.

Archaeologists will be exploring this site further to insure they collect as much information as possible regarding past civilizations before restoration work moves forward.  The last phase of archaeological work will be completed in November 2009 and lake restoration construction activities are expected to proceed in 2010.

Old Man Winter owes West Des Moines taxpayers $75,000.

That’s the cost the city will bear to get a close look under the Raccoon River Park’s fishing pier, which was surrounded with an orange, plastic fence all season due to damage left behind by last winter’s brutal temperatures.

High water had closed the pier periodically in past years, then winter delivered more ice than the structure could handle. “The ice actually got underneath and lifted it off the supports,” the parks department’s recreation director, Todd Seaman, said.

Parks director Sally Ortgies closed the pier while the city’s insurance company, the contractor, and the designer debated who would handle the cost for repairs. When the ice melted last spring, high water slowed the inspection process.

Raccoon River Park, 2440 Grand Ave., is considered the “crown jewel” of the city’s parks system. It comprises nearly 632 acres and features Blue Heron Lake, which is managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

United Contractors Inc. of Johnston has been hired to “de-water” an area around the pier so city inspectors can examine the extent of damage to the footings and deck. The city’s insurance provider will pick up half the cost.

No timetable for repairs, if needed, has been set.

Heritage Pond will be stocked with more than 1,500 catchable-size rainbow trout today. Today’s stocking will be the first of three trout releases planned for Heritage Pond, which is located on Dubuque’s north side on Iowa 3/U.S. 52. The pond will be stocked a second time in January and again in April following ice-out as part of the annual family fishing day. Anglers who are interested in fishing for trout need to possess a fishing license and a trout stamp. Anglers younger than 16 do not need a trout stamp as long as they are with a licensed adult and any fish kept are part of the licensed adult five-fish daily limit.

Clear Lake’s long-range fishing forecast showed a marked improvement last week as more than 18,000 9-inch, advanced fall fingerling walleyes were stocked near the reed beds at McIntosh Woods State Park.

Reared at southern Iowa’s Rathbun State Fish Hatchery, the fingerlings began life on natural foods but were then trained to feed on a specially developed dry ration. The protein-rich mixture promotes rapid growth and produces advanced fingerlings that are regarded as “super fish” by anglers who one day hope to put them in the boat and on the table.

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Rainbow trout are making their way back to Council Bluffs. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, in conjunction with Western Historic Trails Center, plans to stock 1,500 trout Friday afternoon..

This fall and winter the center’s Sauganash Pond will be the only area stocked. The park renovation project and the lowering of the water level at West Big Lake in Big Lake Park will prevent any stocking there until next spring.

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A boating safety enforcement project on the Missouri and Big Sioux rivers near Sioux City over the weekend resulted in six arrests including five for boating while intoxicated and one for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

The joint project between the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks conducted the project for several hours Saturday night. Field sobriety tests were conducted on 11 boat operators which resulted in the five BWI arrests.

Iowa DNR Conservation Officer Steve Griebel said there were also two boat operators who had blood alcohol readings above .08 but less than .10. The blood alcohol level in Iowa is .10. In Nebraska and South Dakota, the blood alcohol level is .08.

“I think the project was successful,” said Griebel. “The majority of the families on the river are being safe, but too many boaters are disregarding boating safety laws and putting themselves and others at risk. We want people to have fun boating, but safety needs to be their priority on any body of water.”

The Missouri and Big Sioux rivers hazards include a fast current, both are narrow and have a lot of debris.

In addition to the six arrests, the project handed out 13 citations for safety and equipment violations primarily for not having the proper number of lifejackets and for speed and distance violations. Officers also handed out four written warnings and gave three verbal warnings.

A 30-year-old man died after he was sucked off his Jet Ski and into the roller dam near the 2500 block of Old River Road in Cedar Rapids Wednesday night. Witnesses said the man and a 36-year-old woman were riding separate Jet Skis on the Cedar River. The man got close to the dam several times and eventually was sucked under the current at about 7:45 p.m. “You could see the man come up and go back down a couple times, and then he just never came back up,” said Brett Rettenmeier, 20, who was fishing on the river. The female rider attempted to go toward the roller dam and jump into the water to help the man, but bystanders yelled for her to get out, said Cedar Rapids Fire Department spokesman Greg Buelow. She returned to her craft and went to shore. Firefighters who responded to the scene quickly realized they would be performing a river recovery instead of a river rescue because of how long the victim had been under the water, Buelow said. Firefighters launched boats from the Cole Street and Old River Road boat ramps for the recovery. They also positioned a 100-feet ladder and used equipment to retrieve the victim. The victim was wearing a life vest, but it could not help him because of the strength of the undercurrents, Buelow said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital. The Linn County medical examiner will perform an autopsy. Names of those involved were not released pending notification of family.

Roller dams have a recirculating current and anything drawn into the current is pulled under and barreled into a wall.