Heartland Outdoors

Iowa fishing report 1-19-12

Thu, January 19, 2012

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources issues a weekly fishing report on Thursdays in an effort to provide the latest information heading into the weekend. The weekly fishing report is compiled from information gathered from local bait shops, angler creel surveys, and county and state parks staff. For current information, contact the district fisheries office at the phone number listed at the end of each district report.

NORTHWEST
Oldham Lake
Ice thickness ranges from 2 to 5 inches.  Open water reported around trees.

Bacon Creek Lake
A family oriented fishing event is planned for the Jan. 28 trout stocking from noon to 2:30 p.m.  A short fishing clinic will be held at 12:30.  Trout will be tagged and a limited number of prizes will be available for participants who catch a tagged trout.

Storm Lake (including Little Storm Lake)
Ice conditions have improved with six inches of ice being reported on the east side.  Anglers are allowed three walleye per day, all fish between 17 and 22 inches must be released. Anglers are allowed one walleye over 22 inches.  Crappie - Fair:  Walleye - Fair: Some limits of walleye were reported being caught near the inlet in 5 feet of water with a slip bobber rig tipped with a minnow.

Black Hawk Lake
Ice conditions have improved.  Special walleye regulations on Black Hawk Lake are three per walleye per day and all fish must be at least 15 inches.  Aerators are in operation in Town Bay.

Browns Lake
There is 4.5 to 6 inches of ice present.  A pressure ridge was reported just northwest of the boat ramp.

Snyder Bend Lake
4.5 inches of ice off of the boat ramp.

Southwood Conservation Area Pond (east)
There is four inches of ice out from dock.  Open water reported along the shoreline.

Southwood Conservation Area Pond (west)
There is 4.25 inches of ice.

Moorland Pond
The next trout stocking for Moorland Pond has been postponed and moved to March 24th due to poor ice conditions.

Ice conditions are starting to improve around northwest Iowa.  For information contact Ben Wallace or Don Herrig at the Black Hawk District Office in Lake View at 712-657-2638.

Beeds Lake
Ice thickness is 6 to 8 inches.

Lake Smith
Ice thickness is 4 to 6 inches. 

Lake Catherine
Ice thickness is 7 to 8 inches. Bluegills are biting on wax worms.

Clear Lake
Ice thickness is 6 to 10 inches. Yellow bass fishing is fair. Anglers are having success fishing the Farmers Beach area and the west end if the main lake near the Baptist Camp using a small jig tipped with a minnow. A few walleyes are being caught using the same method.

Lake Cornelia
Ice thickness is 4 to 7 inches.

Crystal Lake
Ice thickness is 6 to 8 inches.

Silver Lake (Worth)
Silver Lake will undergo a lake renovation project starting this winter. The fishing regulations have been relaxed. Anglers with a valid fishing license may take fish by any means except dynamite, poison, electroshocking, or any stupefying substances. The daily bag and minimum length restrictions are lifted.

Blue Pit
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has postponed the trout stocking at Blue Pit in Mason City, from Jan. 21, to Feb. 4, due to thin ice conditions. 

Bluebill Lake
Ice thickness is 6 to 10 inches. No activity this week.

For more fishing information in the north central area contact the Clear Lake Fish and Wildlife office at 641-357-3517.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Mississippi River Pool 9
Black Hawk Lake, Shore Slough and the Village Creek boat ramp and marina at Lansing have all been popular with mixed results which can be typical for midwinter fishing.  Bluegill - Good: Bite has slowed, with periods of good fishing activity mostly in the afternoon.

Mississippi River Pool 10
Mixed repots for ice fishing Sturgeon Slough by McGregor and Greymore and Abrough by Prairie du Chien which can be typical of mid-winter fishing.  The ice on Johnson Slough in the Sny Magill area has been safe to cross but anglers should stay on well travelled paths. The boat ramp at Lynxville is closed due to ice.  Bluegill - Good: Good catches of bluegills in the Sny Magill area with a lot of sorting.

Mississippi River Pool 11
Ice conditions have improved at Mud Lake and Sunfish Lake in lower pool 11 but caution should be used in areas near shore or that may have current. The city boat ramp in Guttenberg is closed with ice but as of Jan. 19, the DNR ramp was still open.  Bluegill - Good: Decent catches of bluegill in Sunfish Lake and Zollicoffers with some sorting.  Sauger - Fair: Sauger fishing has slowed a bit but there are still some active fish.

Recent cold weather has strengthened ice and more areas are now accessible for ice fishing. Average ice is six inches. Some weak ice still exists in some areas near shorelines or where there is current so caution should be used.

Mississippi River Pool 12
Tail water fishing continues in Pool 12.  Ice fishing is limited; please review ice safety tips before venturing out.  Tail water stage is at 5.2 feet and stable.  Sauger - Good: Small sauger continue to bite sporadically in Pool 12.  Most anglers are using a three-way rig with a minnow or a jig and minnow. Some anglers report using ringworms. 

Mississippi River Pool 13
Tail water stage at Bellevue is stable at 4.9 feet. Ice fishing is limited; please review ice safety tips before venturing out.  Ice fishing conditions are marginal at best and snow covered ice will make fishing dangerous.  Sauger - Good: Angers are catching small sauger in the tail waters using a three-way rig with a minnow or a jig and minnow.  A lot of fish are being caught but many are small.

Mississippi River Pool 14
Tail water is completely open, but backwater ice fishing is very limited especially with snow covered ice.  Tail water stage is 4.5 feet at Fulton, Ill.  Sauger - Good: Some nicer sauger reported in the creel.  Most anglers using a three-way with a minnow or jigs and a minnow.  Some folks also using ring worms with no bait.

Mississippi River Pool 15
We have received no information regarding fishing on this water body this week.

Open water conditions persist in the Tail waters of Pools 12 through 15.  Limited backwater fishing has been occurring, but use caution as ice is marginal in many places.  Ice fishing will be very dangerous with the addition of snow insulating the thin ice. 

Mississippi River Pool 16
Tail water stage at Lock and Dam 15 is 4.76 feet. Ice conditions are not safe for ice fishing. Boat ramps are being reported as frozen in. 

Mississippi River Pool 17
Tail water stage at Lock and Dam 16 is 3.72 feet. Ice conditions are not safe for ice fishing. Boat ramps are being reported as frozen in.

Mississippi River Pool 18
Tail water stage at Lock and Dam 17 is 4.00 feet. Ice conditions are not safe for ice fishing. Boat ramps are being reported as frozen in.

Mississippi River Pool 19
Tail water stage at Lock and Dam 18 is 1.83 feet. Ice conditions are not safe for ice fishing. Boat ramps are being reported as frozen in. 

Mississippi River Pools 16-19: The main channel is beginning to ice up with the recent cold temperatures. Boat ramps throughout the pools are being reported as frozen in. Ice conditions are not safe for ice fishing. For more fishing information on Pools 16-19 contact the Fairport Fish Hatchery at 563-263-5062.

SOUTHEAST
Lake Geode
Unsafe ice conditions. Don’t even try it.

Lake Belva Deer
Unsafe ice conditions. The last of the open water just froze Jan. 18 in the morning. Anglers that have checked the coves have not find any ice thick enough to hold them.

Pollmiller Park Lake
Unsafe ice conditions.

Lake of the Hills
Unsafe ice conditions.  The ice is in very poor condition lots of it is very rotten most likely you wouldn’t enough be able to get out far enough to drill test holes.

Lake Darling District Farm Ponds
Ice conditions are improving but they still are very unsafe most areas have less than two inches of ice and it’s not two inches of good clear ice, it won’t even hold up a lab.

For more information on the above lakes call the Lake Darling Fisheries Office at 319-694-2430.

Rodgers Park Lake
The ice has been reported as unsafe as of Jan. 19.

Iowa Lake
The ice has been reported as unsafe as of Jan. 19. There are still some areas of open water.

Kent Park Lake
Anglers are reporting four plus inches of ice on the lake and ponds. Catches have not been reported.

Lake Macbride
The ice is extremely variable. Some areas may have six inches while others only two inches. A few anglers have made it out on to the ice this week but have been staying in the protected bays. The last places to freeze up were down by the dam, under the high lines, and from the causeway bridge to the Southeast. As of Jan. 19, an area under the causeway bridge is still open.

Central Park Lake
The ice has been reported as unsafe as of Jan. 19.

Pleasant Creek Lake
The ice is extremely variable and range from 1 to 6 inches. The west end of the lake has been reported as fishable, and five inches has been reported by the dam. Stay away from the spillway area!  Bluegill - Fair: Nicer bluegills have been caught off the dam in 20-plus feet of water.  Walleye - Fair: Small walleyes are being caught by bluegill fisherman off the dam as well.

Diamond Lake
The ice has been reported as unsafe as of Jan. 19. There are still some areas of open water on the lake.

Otter Creek Lake
The ice has been reported as unsafe as of Jan. 19. There are still some areas of open water on the lake.

Union Grove Lake
Reports say four plus inches of ice, although caution should be used when venturing out. The aeration system has not been turned on yet.

Iowa River (Coralville Lake to River Junction)
Outflow from Coralville Reservoir is 450 cubic feet per second as of Jan. 19.  Walleye - Slow: Walleyes are being caught below the dams on jig/minnows and ringworms. Many smaller fish are being caught but nicer fish are also being picked up.

Cedar River (La Porte City to Cedar Rapids)
Some anglers have been fishing the backwaters of the Cedar River in Benton and Linn counties. Catches and ice depths have not been reported.

For more information, contact the Lake Macbride Fisheries Station at 319-624-3615.

Red Haw Lake
The lake does not have enough ice to support anglers at this time.

Hawthorn Lake (aka Barnes City Lake)
The lake renovation work is complete and the lake is full.  New fish habitat areas and new jetties have been built.  Fingerlings were stocked in May of 2011.

Albia (lower)
The lake does not have enough ice to support anglers at this time.

Lake Sugema
Lake Sugema contains the invasive plant brittle naiad so make sure not to transport any plant fragments in your equipment.  There is not yet enough ice to support anglers.

Rathbun Reservoir
The lake level is 904.11 feet with 904.0 feet being normal pool.  Some of the coves and bays have ice but not yet enough to support safe fishing.  Don’t forget Lake Rathbun contains zebra mussels so make sure to clean and drain equipment before transporting to another water body.

Ice conditions are extremely variable across southern Iowa.  Use caution.  For further fishing reports in south central Iowa call the Rathbun fish hatchery at 641-647-2406

SOUTHWEST
Jacob Krumm Nature Preserve Lake (west)
Currently four plus inches of ice.  Bluegill - Good: A good mix of fair size bluegill and crappie are being caught near or just out from some of the flooded wood.

Rock Creek Lake
No angling has occurred up to this week due to poor ice.  Ice conditions should improve enough by this weekend.

Big Creek Lake
Big Creek still had open water in the main lake before this recent cold snap.  Ice thickness will vary from thin to six inches.  Bluegill - Good: Anglers fishing the brush piles with good ice over them are doing well on bluegills during the late afternoon and evening just before dark.  Lost Lake portion has received little pressure due to poor ice, but should be accessible this weekend.  Crappie - Fair: Anglers fishing the brush piles are picking up some crappies.  The best crappie bite at Big Creek is usually after dark.

Hickory Grove Lake
The west end of the lake had large areas of open water early in the week and could not support ice fishing; these conditions should improve by the weekend, but use caution.  Anglers fishing out from the east boat ramp were on 4 to 5 inches of ice, which should be 6 or better by now.  Bluegill - Good: Anglers fishing the east end are doing well on nice size bluegills over pallets.  Additional habitat further west should be fishable by late week into the weekend.  Crappie - Fair: Some good 10 to 12-inch crappie are being caught mixed in with the bluegill coming off the pallets.  Fishing later into the day after sunset will produce more crappies.

Lake Petoka
The winter trout stocking will occur unannounced prior to Feb. 1, to avoid a large crowd gathered in a small area on unsafe ice.

Ada Hayden Heritage Park Lake
The winter trout stocking will occur unannounced prior to Feb. 1, to avoid a large crowd gathered in a small area on unsafe ice.  Rainbow Trout - Good: Anglers are catching remaining trout near the north shore on waxies.  Ice conditions are fair, use caution near the fishing pier and avoid the bridge area.

Ice fishing is finally possible in central Iowa. Anglers are urged to be very cautious and check ice thickness frequently.  Ice thicknesses are varying and any new snow cover will hide the weaker spots.  The winter trout stockings in Lake Petoka and Ada Hayden will occur unannounced prior to February 1.  For more information on central Iowa lakes and rivers contact Ben Dodd or Andy Otting at 515-432-2823.

Lake Anita
There have been no reports of ice fishing at this time.

Big Lake (including Gilbert’s Pond)
The trout stocking at West Big Lake is being delayed until March to avoid stocking during unsafe ice conditions.

Ice conditions will vary by lake due to factors such as location in the district, wind, and waterfowl. Call ahead for before you travel. For more information call the southwest district office at 712-769-2587.

Little River Watershed Lake
The lake has been lowered 15 feet to allow shoreline improvements and fish habitat construction.  Construction is underway and expected to be complete by mid-spring.  The fish will be restocked in the spring.

Sands Timber Lake (Blockton Reservoir)
The lake has been drained to allow in-lake water quality improvements to be constructed.  Completion is expected by mid-spring.

Green Valley Lake
The lake level is down eight feet.  The in-lake sediment removal project is complete.  The water level will be allowed to rise as runoff permits.  The fish were restocking in 2009 and have grown very well.  Bluegill, crappie, largemouth bass, and channel catfish are all very good sized.  Anglers should be able to catch good numbers of quality fish this winter and spring.

Summitt Lake
The lake has been drained to allow the reconstruction of the concrete spillway.  Completion is expected in late spring.

The ice is thin in most places.  It is getting thicker each night.  Some areas will have adequate ice but nearby areas will be thin.  Use extreme caution and check the thickness frequently.

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