Iowa Big Bass Fisher

NORTHWEST

Badger Lake

North of Ft. Dodge.  Fishing has slowed as mid summer weather conditions have arrived.  Channel Catfish – Good: Catfishing is picking up; try cut bait and chicken liver.  Bluegill – Fair: Anglers have been catching some hand-size bluegill off shore.  Crappie – Fair: Some 9 – 10 inch fish have been caught on small jigs and minnows.

Brushy Creek Lake

Nice bluegill, crappie and a few walleye are being caught.  Try the weed line for pan fish.  Water has muddied up a bit, especially in the north end.  Please clean your your fish at the floating fish cleaning platform at the west ramp.  Channel Catfish – Good: Catfish are hitting on liver, stink bait and night crawlers along the shore line.  Bluegill – Good: Bluegill have moved out from shore; try fishing just off the bottom in 4 to 12 feet of water.  Anglers have been having good luck using a piece of crawler or a wax worm on a small hook.  Crappie – Fair: Crappie are in the trees; try a small jig or minnow rig and fish in 10 to 14 feet of water.

Storm Lake (including Little Storm Lake )

Fishing has slowed.  Remember that Storm Lake has a 17 to 22-inch slot length limit.  All walleye in that range must be immediately released.  Channel Catfish – Excellent: Anglers are still biting on leeches and worms; use a floating jig head and fish the dredge cuts.  White Bass – Good: White bass are being caught throwing twisters and small spoons on Schaller and Stoney points and off Frank Starr Park .  Other points are also worth a try.  Most fish are in the 10 to 15-inch range.  Walleye – Fair: Walleye catch has slowed considerably, but a few fish are being caught trolling the dredge cuts pulling shad raps.  Some anglers are having more luck in the evenings.

Black Hawk Lake

Bullhead and catfish fishing have been good.  Bullhead – Good: Anglers are doing well for 8 to 9 inch bullheads.  Channel Catfish – Good: Shore anglers are having good luck catching 1.5 to 2 pound catfish on various baits including liver, leeches, night crawlers and stink bait.  Stink bait has probably has been most effective this last week.

Anglers are catching catfish, but bluegill, crappie and walleye fishing have slowed to midsummer levels.  For more information about these lakes and rivers call Lannie Miller (712-657-2638) at the Black Hawk District Office in Lake View .

Briggs Woods Lake

Bluegill fishing is good. Largemouth bass fishing is good. Channel catfish are biting on liver. Crappie fishing is still fair.

Clear Lake

Yellow bass fishing has picked up; try fishing in 10 to 14 feet of water in the little lake or drifting cut bait or worms in 7 to 10 feet of water on the north shore of the main lake. A few walleyes (mostly sub-legal) are being caught using the same technique.

Boone River

Channel catfish are biting on stink bait.

Iowa River ( Iowa Falls to Marshalltown )

Fishing has been good for smallmouth bass and channel catfish and walleye.

Big Spirit Lake

Bullhead – Good: Fish at the grade from the fishing pier or in front of the fish barrier with worms on the bottom.  Smallmouth Bass – Good: Use top-water lures in the morning or evening or try jerk baits and jigs on rock bars and connected weed lines.  Yellow Perch – Good: Some sorting is required but fish are being caught while vertically jigging with spoons or jigs tipped with worms in 20 to 22-feet of water on the main lake basin.   Walleye – Fair: Drift fish with Lindy and spinner rigs or slip bobber fish around weed beds and rock bars. If fishing from shore try at the grade at the fish barrier with a slip bobber and minnow or small jig.

East Okoboji Lake

Channel Catfish – Fair: Use stink bait or large minnows around the bridges or off boat docks.  Yellow Bass – Excellent: Vertically jig along weed lines and rock bars with jigging spoons tipped with worms or use a slip bobber and minnow.  Many fish are also being caught around boat docks using mini jigs or a slip bobber and minnow.

West Okoboji Lake

Bluegill – Good: Fish with small hair jigs or use a split shot and hook tipped with live bait around boat docks and weed lines.  Smallmouth Bass – Good: Fish rock bars and weed lines with top-water lures early and late or fish with crawdads on rock bars during the day.  Largemouth Bass – Good: Fish weed lines with jigs, spinner baits, or live bait.  Or throw top-water lures in the mornings and evenings along boat docks and weed lines.  Walleye – Fair: Slip bobber fish with leeches on rock bars and weed lines.

Five Island Lake

Channel Catfish – Excellent: Use stink bait, minnows, or chubs at the rail road bridge.   Walleye – Fair: Fishing has slowed but fish are still being caught while trolling crankbaits.

Big Sioux River

The river was high with recent rains but is starting to lower again.  Channel Catfish – Excellent: Use cut bait or stink bait around deep holes and brush piles.  Flathead Catfish – Good: Use large live bait along cut banks, deep holes, and brush piles.

Little Sioux River (state line to Linn Grove)

River was high with recent rains but is starting to drop again.  Channel Catfish – Good: Use cut bait or crawdads for bait in holes and brush piles.

West Fork Des Moines (state line to Emmetsburg)

River is beginning to lower after recent heavy rains  Channel Catfish – Excellent: Use cut bait or crawdads above brush piles.  Walleye – Fair: Use jig and minnow or crankbaits in deeper holes and current seams.

Silver Lake ( Dickinson )

Walleye – Good: Troll with crankbaits on the north shore and around the island.

NORTHEAST

Cedar River (above Nashua )

The river is now falling after last weeks rain and is clearing.  Channel Catfish – Fair: Best is to use chicken liver or night crawlers in the evening.  Smallmouth Bass – Slow:  Walleye – Good: Crankbait seem to be working the best.

SOUTHEAST

Iowa River ( Columbus Junction to Mississippi River )

The river level continues to drop slowly.  Channel Catfish – Good: Look for the channel cats along the edges of the sand bars and in the mouths of any feeder creeks.

Coralville Reservoir

Channel Catfish – Fair: Some channel catfish are being caught drifting shad or bluegills, while some are being caught off the rock banks of live bait and even crankbaits.  Flathead Catfish – Fair: Anglers casting crankbaits have been picking up some flatheads along sloping rock banks.

Iowa River ( Coralville Lake to River Junction)

Recent flows coming out of the Coralville dam have been 6,000 cubic feet per second, which is the summer maximum allowed output. The outflow is projected to be reduced July 21.  Channel Catfish – Good: Cut bait had been producing well while the river levels were up.  Flathead Catfish – Good: Fish around creek mouths and pool eddies with live bait.

Lake Wapello

The lake was completely drained during the summer of 2008.

Rathbun Reservoir

Lake Rathbun water temperature is in the 70s.  The lake level is currently at 909.36 feet, which is just over five feet above normal pool.  Channel Catfish – Good: Use night crawlers or cut bait to catch channel catfish around the rip rapped areas around the South Fork and Bridgeview bridges.  Some channel catfish are also being caught by walleye anglers trolling crankbaits.  White Bass – Good: Use flashy blade baits or chrome colored baits to mimic shad.  Try areas with some underwater structure or a change in depth.  The area around Island View has been productive.  Crappie – Slow: Crappies are being caught around flooded vegetation along the shoreline.  A lot of crappies are being caught but most of them are under 8 inches, with an occasional fish over 10 inches.  Tube jigs with minnows have been working the best.  Walleye – Slow: Try drifting night crawlers or trolling crankbaits around underwater islands and ridges.  The South Fork flats and the area around Island View have been producing some catches of keepers.  Some walleyes are being caught in water less than 10 feet deep.

SOUTHWEST

Don Williams Lake

Crappie – Fair: Drift fishing mid lake on the upper half with small tube jigs or minnows has produced is producing some fish.

Jacob Krumm Nature Preserver Lake (west)

Bluegill – Good: Some very nice bluegills are being caught using small jigs or crawlers.  The larger fish are coming from the flooded wood in the upper end of the lake.  8 to 9 inch fish are common

Rock Creek Lake

Channel Catfish – Good: Catfish are being caught using cut bait or shrimp.  Crappie – Fair: Some crappies are being caught drifting with tube jigs tipped with minnows.

Big Creek Lake

Channel Catfish – Fair: Large catfish are being caught in deeper water using leeches.  Crappie – Good: Crappies can be caught drifting deeper water out from the west boat ramp and near the handicap dock using small jigs.  Good catches of crappie are also being caught fishing over the submerged brush piles.  Pink, white, and green twisters work well.

Easter Lake

Walleye – Good: Using leeches or crawlers on bottom bouncers fished near the dam.

Hooper Area Pond

Bluegill – Good: Bluegills are biting well on small jigs tipped with a small piece of crawler.  Largemouth Bass – Good: Due to the turbid water conditions right now bass are biting good on top-water baits.  Crappie – Fair: Crappie are biting on small tube jigs or minnows.

Lake Ahquabi

Channel Catfish – Good: Catfish are being caught on liver and stink baits.  Bluegill – Good: Good sized bluegills are being caught using crawlers fished near the bottom at the edge of the weed beds.  Largemouth Bass – Excellent: Bass are hitting well on any type of weed-less rig fished through the open pockets in the weed beds and along tree falls.

Red Rock Reservoir

White Bass – Fair: The white bass bite has slowed with the cooler water temps.  A few are still being caught using crankbaits or Kastmaster type lures with black/silver or silver/green color combinations to imitate shad.  The better fish are 15 to 17 inches.

Saylorville Reservoir

Channel Catfish – Good: Catfishing is good in the mornings and late evenings fishing with cut bait, shrimp, or leeches.  The upper end of the reservoir has been best.  White Bass – Fair: The white bass bite has slowed with the cooler water temp.  A few are still being caught near Sandpiper, Cherry Glen, and the Mile Long Bridge .  They are being caught by trolling crankbaits or Kastmaster style lures through 15 to 25 feet of water.  Silver, green/silver, or gold colors are working best.

Des Moines River ( Stratford to Saylorville Lake )

Channel Catfish – Good: Channel catfish are being caught using cut bait, liver, or night crawlers fished near any wood cover.

Des Moines River (Saylorville to Red Rock)

Channel Catfish – Good: Good sized channel catfish are being caught below the Saylorville spillway using leeches.

West Lake (Osceola)

Water quality is good and the lake level is near normal.

Three Mile Lake

Water quality is good and water levels are normal.  Water temp is above 70.  Largemouth Bass – Fair: A few fish can be picked up from deeper structure.

Twelve Mile Creek Lake

Water quality is good and the lake level is near normal.  Bullhead – Good: A lot of nice bullheads can be caught using crawlers.  Bluegill – Fair: The bluegill fishing has slowed.  A few nice fish can be picked up using crawlers from the near shore rocky areas or deeper flooded trees.  Largemouth Bass – Fair: A few mid-sized fish can be caught from the structure and rock covered areas.

Water temp is usually in the mid to upper 70s and water quality at most lakes is fair or good.