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.

Authorities said workers were pumping the material from the stream. The small dead fish were found near the creek’s shore. A call to Harding Middle School was not immediately returned.

DNR spokesperson Kevin Baskins says a citizen reported seeing dead fish and a yellowish color in a creek located at Noelridge Park in Cedar Rapids. It was determined that the yellow substance was coming from a storm sewer located at Harding Middle School in Cedar Rapids. Workers at the school were cleaning up linoleum floors and had been dumping the contents of wet vacs into the storm sewer. Baskins says the stripper/wax solution emptied into the creek killing an undetermined amount of small fish. Workers from the school and the city of Cedar Rapids pumped the material from the stream on Sunday. The DNR has told school officials to purchase separate containers to empty material from the wet vacs. “We’ve advised them to put drums there, pour the material into that and then it can be properly disposed of from there,” Baskins said. The school district or the workers could face fines. “At this point, we’re looking at what would be the appropriate enforcement action,” Baskins said.

A $400,000 project to improve a southern Iowa lake has hit a snag. An Iowa Department of Natural Resources crew discovered fish called “gizzard shad” in Lake Wapello last week. Mark Flammang, a fisheries biologist based at Lake Wapello, says they just drained the lake to get rid of the gizzard shad, but now that the lake’s three-quarters full again, the shad are back.

“We’ve spent a lot of time and a lot of dollars basically making a very good lake…better,” Flammang says. “And part of that $400,000 was aimed at draining the lake and getting rid of these fish.”

Gizzard shad are fine for large lakes and reservoirs as they eat plankton and serve as food for bigger fish like walleye, but in small lakes these gizzard shad are bad news because they eat so much they crowd out other fish, like bluegill. Lake Wapello, which is near Bloomfield, is a 270-acre lake that the D.N.R. had hoped to re-stock with bass, bluegill and channel catfish.

“Lake Wapello is a very special resource in southern Iowa. It’s certainly one of the first lakes in this part of the state,” he says. “It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps way back in the ’30s. It’s an extremely beautiful area, a state park there, lots of cabins, lots of camping and swimming — just a great recreational area.”

But plans to reopen the lake for fishing and boating are now on hold as officials decide whether they have to drain the lake again to get rid of the gizzard shad, or find another way to deal with the problem.

“It’s really a resource that’s important to a whole lot of folks down here and not just down around here. There’s a whole lot of anglers who come from far away to fish this (lake), so you can imagine how this would be a large disappointment to us seeing that essentially we’re going to be delayed another year because we will have to eliminate the gizzard shad again,” Flammang says. “On the upside, at least it was caught now and not somewhere farther down the line.”

Flammang won’t speculate as to how the shad got back into the lake. It is illegal to “introduce” live fish to any public waters in the state and Flammang says it’s against the law for anyone to possess live gizzard shad.

The Lake Wapello restoration project also repaired a leak in the dam and expanded access to the lake by improving boat ramps.

Located in Davis County, Lake Wapello is threatened by excessive amounts of sediment and nutrients. As a result, water quality at Lake Wapello has declined over the years. When rain falls in the watershed, it erodes valuable topsoil and washes it into the lake. An estimated 20,000 tons of sediment reaches Lake Wapello annually. Nutrients are another factor threatening water quality at Lake Wapello. High nutrient levels can lead to poor water quality and cloud the water. This can create low oxygen and high ammonia levels, which are harmful to fish and other aquatic life and lead to potentially toxic algae blooms, as well as a variety of other problems.

The Lake Wapello Watershed Project has a number of conservation practices for farm and country living. Landowners in the Lake Wapello watershed can improve the lake by partnering with the Lake Wapello Watershed Project.

This one snuck by me, I didn’t realize kids now are required to WEAR the vest, as opposed to the boat just being required to have enough vests for everyone aboard.

Sales of Iowa Fishing Licenses 2002-2008

Iowans and visitors to the state bought season fishing licenses at a record clip through June 1, ending a seven-year trend of declining sales. Possible reasons more people are hooked: better weather, restored lakes, and hot fishing at Clear Lake, Big Spirit Lake and elsewhere. The lure of trout-fishing in Ankeny and other urban spots also helped, said Kevin Baskins, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.  Or maybe a weak economy has coaxed many families to look for fun closer to home, boosting fishing-license sales across the Midwest.

“We have seen some noticeable improvements (in sales), particularly in southwest Iowa, where a number of lakes have been restored,” Baskins said. Winter trout stocking also has helped, including new stocking at Des Moines Area Community College’s pond in Ankeny. “You can get to most fishing places in Iowa with a short drive, and you could end up with a meal or two at the end of the trip, too.”

State records show Iowans through June 1 bought 34,000 more season fishing licenses this year than in the same part of 2008, a jump of 17 percent. Nonresidents purchased 1,761 more, up 19 percent. Most sales come in the first five months of the year, Baskins said.

Perhaps more important, both groups posted the highest sales since the state’s electronic licensing system went online in 2002. Residents bought 229,667 through June 1, breaking the 2003 record by 6,845 for the comparable period. Nonresidents bought 11,157, nearly 700 over the record number in 2002.

At Kabele’s Trading Post & Lodge near Big Spirit Lake, fishing-license and bait sales soared this year when word got around last winter that perch were biting. They still are.

“We usually sell about $50,000 in fishing licenses in a year, and we’ve already sold $60,000 this year,” said Kabele’s co-owner Thane Johnson. “I think we’ll hit $75,000 for the year.”

Kabele’s bait shop usually sells 4,000 waxworms a week in winter. But when perch started hitting, that went to 5,000 to 10,000, he said. “We had one person on Saturday and Sunday who basically did nothing but count waxworms and wigglers,” sorting bulk supplies into small containers.

People have caught perch and walleye in big numbers on Big Spirit, which benefits from higher water and more protected spawning grounds, Johnson said. He and his father have caught hundreds of perch. It’s quite a turnaround from recent years.

A Des Moines Register analysis of state records showed that the dive in license sales before this year was broad. All but 10 Iowa counties sold fewer licenses in the first five months of 2008 than they did in the same part of 2002. (County-by-county figures for this year aren’t available yet.)

The biggest gainers were Cerro Gordo, Woodbury and Ida counties, but even then the highest boost was approximately 11 percent.

Small counties such as Monona, Louisa and Fremont dropped 40 to 60 percent, perhaps in part because even a small change in the raw number of sales could change the percentage sharply. The average county dropped 16.5 percent.

This year is different. In Atlantic, Cappel’s Ace Hardware is selling double the usual amount of bait, said manager Tim Cappel. “The fishing has been phenomenal. People are pulling in 9- to 11-inch crappies, people are getting their limits on bass, and the bluegills are starting to hit. We are seeing a lot of new faces come in and get licenses.”

The state tried to spawn sales by mailing weekly fishing reports to those who stopped buying licenses. The reports, at www.iowadnr.com, also suggest techniques and bait strategies.

It didn’t hurt that trout fishing heated up. Anglers landed big stringers of yellow bass at Clear Lake this spring. Yellow perch, walleyes and bluegills have been hot at the Iowa Great Lakes, especially Big Spirit Lake.

Fishing news around the country is good this year.

Wisconsin’s sales through Memorial Day weekend were up 8 percent over last year, the state reported. “We’ve been collecting license sales data for 35 years and we know that during tough economic times, Wisconsin’s fishing license sales increase,” said Dennis Schenborn of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

A survey by the American Sportfishing Association found an 11 percent increase in license sales nationwide in the first quarter of ‘09 compared with those months in 2008. The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation runs a “Take Me Fishing” direct-mail campaign in 32 states, including Iowa, to drum up sales, said spokeswoman Heather Sieber. There’s hope for Iowa’s fishing future. A DNR survey finds 50 percent of Iowa kids 8 to 15 say they fish.

]]> http://www.bigbassfisher.com/2009/07/04/iowa-fishing-license-sales-hit-7-year-high/feed/ 0 http://www.bigbassfisher.com/2009/07/02/crystal-lake-restoration-almost-complete/ http://www.bigbassfisher.com/2009/07/02/crystal-lake-restoration-almost-complete/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:44:27 +0000 admin http://www.bigbassfisher.com/?p=114

The "World's Largest Bullhead" statue was constructed in 1958 by Carl Frick

After years of planning and community involvement, Crystal Lake is at the end of its long road back to becoming the North Iowa treasure it once was. “It used to be one of the great little fishing spots in North Iowa, and soon it will be back to that level,” said Tom Haan, head of the Hancock County Board of Conservation.

The lake has gone through an extensive dredging and renovation process that has been in the works since around 1991, when fundraising efforts began throughout the community. The process has taken nearly 20 years to complete, but is finally reaching its end.

Lake classification reports in 1980 and 1991 identified Crystal Lake as a high priority candidate for lake restoration, and it was placed on the impaired waters list in 1998. Crystal Lake is one of Iowa’s 34 natural glacial lakes and the 269-acre lake has been suffering from organic enrichment due to sediment build up. The lake had been crippled by high phosphorus and nitrogen levels for years before the dredging process began.

A sediment pond was also constructed near the lake and it is estimated to help reduce sediment and runoff delivery to by upwards of 20%.

Before the project began the lake measured just six feet at its deepest point, and through the utilization of a tier effect plan during dredging, the lake now measures 22 feet at its optimal depth. The tier system has greatly amplified the overall volume of the lake, providing waters that measure 22, 18, 12, and 8 feet respectively depending on location.

The estimated $3 million dollar dredging project got underway in the fall of 2006 and was aimed at removing over 1.1 million cubic yards of sediment. A major goal of the project was to restore the lake to more natural depths in support of recreation and to provide a better environment for aquatic life. The dredging was completed in 2007, which effectively removed Crystal Lake from the impaired waters list, however other problems still remained.

During the flood of 1993, an invasion of carp began which led to water clarity issues among other problems. The lake had seen a similar carp overtaking during the early 1980’s, and the fish population was renovated to promote a healthier environment for aquatic life and more appealing sport fishing. Following the dredging, plans were made to once again renovate the fish population.

During the dredging process, the lake was dropped 18 – 24 inches, providing a seal from the West Fork of the Iowa River which headwaters in Crystal Lake.

This seal helped bar a chemical agent from entering the river that was released into the lake during the fall of 2008 in order to kill off the entire fish population.

Over the two decades since the last fish renovation high levels of nutrients and resultant algae had led to periodic low levels of oxygen at the bottom of the lake. This led to the aquatic community of the lake being dominated by species tolerant of low oxygen conditions, like bullhead and carp.

Other more desirable game fish, like bass and catfish, suffer from impaired spawning and reproduction in low oxygen conditions and populations started to decline in the lake.

Also of concern for county and DNR officials were the effects the carp were having on water quality.  The DNR started a stocking regiment earlier this year and has introduced several species of fish back into the waters.

Throughout the spring officials have released northern fry, catfish, bluegill and bass. All the fish were released at a rate of 100 fish per acre, or 269,000 fish per species.

Plans are being considered to stock the lake with crappie as well.

Now all that is left for Crystal Lake is to wait for the fall when the fish will reach a reasonable size to catch, with ideal fishing conditions being established by next summer as fish reach their optimal size.

Later this year the DNR will conduct fishing surveys to check the progress of the aquatic population through utilizing electric shock techniques to stun the fish, capture, and then weigh them.

“We hope people enjoy the lake and take the necessary precautions to help keep it clean,” said Kurt Meek, a fisheries technician for the DNR. “Users should take special attention to cleaning boats and propellers, along with abstaining from introducing other varieties of fish, those kind of efforts would help substantially.”

The lake is prepared to stay at a reasonable level of cleanliness, and a small outlet structure has been renovated to prevent undesirable fish, like carp, from re-entering the lake population ever again.

The local community has the potential to benefit from the lake once again returning to its place among North Iowa’s great fishing locations, and projections estimate that over $400,000 in fishing related revenues could be added to the local economy.

The lake rests beside a 130-acre DNR owned campground, beach, park, and disk golf course that is maintained by the Hancock County Conservation Board and hosts approximately 14,000 visitors annually.

The Des Moines River near the Center Street Dam in downtown Des Moines during the rescue yesterday

A construction worker dangles from a crane, his arm stretched out to reach a terrified woman trapped in swirling water at the base of a dam. These astonishing images show the dramatic rescue of the woman after her boat overturned near the dam on the Des Moines River in Iowa. She was pulled to safety by the quick-thinking construction crew – but her husband, who was with her in the boat when it overturned yesterday, tragically drowned.

Jason Oglesbee

The heroic Jason Oglesbee, a construction worker working in the area pulled the woman to safety.

“I saw the boat drift down, and he started it up and he hit the bridge base,” construction worker Joe Lowe told local media. ‘”Then he tried to wrap it up with an anchor or line and then I heard him holler at his wife, put your life jacket on. He didn’t have one on.”

The unnamed husband’s concern for his wife may have saved her life. Her life jacket kept her afloat in the swirling waters of the river for up more than half an hour as construction worker Jason Oglesbee battled to reach her. Des Moines police Sgt. Joe Gonzalez said the workers saw the woman floating in a boil and they tried to move a crane over to her. Meanwhile, fire crews tried to throw life preservers from a boat.

Construction worker Jason Oglesbee dangled from a crane and saved the drowning woman in the Des Moines River yesterday

Emergency crews said it is likely the woman would have drowned had it not been for the construction crew’s heroic rescue operation. Clutching life preservers thrown to her by rescue services, the woman struggles to stay afloat near the dam before the rescue.  After the initial attempt with the crane was unsuccessful, the construction company rigged up Oglesbee to the crane with a harness and Oglesbee was able to grab the woman from the water.

‘They just harnessed me in and dipped me down in the water and I grabbed her,’ he said. When asked if he volunteered to be rigged to the crane, Oglesbee said he just happened to be wearing the harness. “‘I just told her to hang on tight. I won’t let go,” Oglesbee recalled.

Oglesbee is lowered to the water by the crane

The Des Moines River near the Center Street Dam in downtown Des Moines during the rescue yesterday He insisted the rescue was a team effort and was reluctant to talk to media, saying: “It’s no big deal. The whole crew did it. If it wasn’t for the team effort of Cramer & Associates, we might have two drowning victims,” Gonzalez said.

The body of the man, who was in his 60s, was pulled from the water about 25 minutes after the boat overturned at 4pm yesterday afternoon. The woman was pulled from the water at 4.35pm and rushed to hospital, where she was pronounced stable last night.

The body of the man, who was in his 60s, was pulled from the water about 25 minutes after the boat overturned at 4pm yesterday afternoon.

The Des Moines River near the Center Street Dam in downtown Des Moines during the rescue yesterday

DES MOINES – Beginning July 1, the minimum requirement to claim Iowa as a state of residence will increase from 30 consecutive days where Iowa is the principle and primary residence, to 90 consecutive days, before someone may purchase a resident hunting, fishing or trapping privilege.

The new residency requirements were approved during the 2009 legislative session and signed by Iowa Governor Chet Culver. It becomes effective July 1.

The new residency rule also specifically excludes people from claiming residency for a special or temporary purpose which includes engaging in hunting, fishing or trapping.

Owning land in Iowa, having an Iowa driver’s license or registering a vehicle or to vote does not mean a person is an Iowa resident.

The new residency requirements can be found in the 2009-10 Iowa Hunting and Trapping Regulations booklet available in early August at locations where hunting and fishing licenses are sold, DNR offices statewide, and on the Web at www.iowadnr.gov.