The Fishing Report: Where in Iowa Are the Fish Biting?

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources issues a weekly fishing report on Thursdays. The weekly fishing report is compiled from information gathered from local bait shops, angler creel surveys, and county and state parks staff.

The DNR reminds those boating to be cautious of the low weather because of the recent drought.

Saylorville Reservoir
Channel Catfish - Good: Anglers casting stink bait rigs into any deeper pools with wood habitat are doing very well on channel catfish. Anglers have to be willing to do some walking with the very low water conditions. Walleye - Fair: Very low water conditions have concentrated fish in the areas of deeper water. Anglers fishing below the Fraser and Boone Waterworks dam have been picking up a mixed bag of walleye, white crappie, white bass and channel catfish.

Clear Lake
The water level is 27 inches below crest. Use caution when launching and boating near shore.  Crappie - Fair: Anglers are picking up some crappies while drifting and vertical jigging minnows and crawlers in 6-10 feet of water in the little lake, around the reefs, and between the state dock area and the island.  Walleye - Fair: Walleye over the 14-inch minimum legal length limit are starting to be picked up. Vertical jigging crawlers and minnows in 6-10 feet of water over the reefs and in the little lake seems to be working best.  Yellow Bass - Good: Anglers continue to catch yellow bass on crawlers, cut bait, and minnows. Drifting and vertical jigging in 5-10 feet of water off the state dock area, the rock reefs, and in the little lake has been good. The fish are schooled so move around until you find active fish.

Big Creek Lake
Bluegill - Good: Good sized bluegills are being caught fishing over sunken brush piles using small pieces of live bait.

Red Rock Reservoir
Crappie - Good: Good fall crappie fishing can be found on Red Rock fishing near the docks in the marina. Crappie are also congregated in bays in the Whitebreast arm at depths of 4 to 8 feet as well as the south overlook boat ramp bay.  Drift minnows and panfish jigs or troll small crankbaits.

Greenfield Lake
Catfish are being caught around the jetties. The bluegill bite has picked up. Channel Catfish - Good: Dip bait and shrimp are working to catch channel catfish around the jetties. Late afternoon and into the night has been the best time. Bluegill - Fair: Bluegills up to 8 inches can be caught drifting small jigs tipped with nightcrawler across the open lake.  Crappie - Slow: A few crappies are being caught while drifting.

Lake Anita
Bluegill - Fair: Bluegills are being caught drifting small jigs 6-8 feet down. Tipping the jig with worms or Powerbait seems to help. Can also be caught around brush piles.  Largemouth Bass - Fair: Anglers are catching bass early in the mornings and late afternoons. As the temperature rises, the fish go deeper. Many of the fish caught are in the 14 to 19-inch range.  Crappie - Fair: Anglers are having success jigging around cedar tree piles in the evenings using minnows.

Rathbun Reservoir
Lake level is at 903.86 feet with 904.00 feet being normal pool.  The surface water temperature is 68 degrees.  Channel Catfish - Excellent: Nightcrawlers have been the bait of choice.  Anglers have been trolling or drifting submerged points and underwater rock piles.  Also try areas with the wind blowing into the shore. Walleye - Slow: Anglers have been having some success trolling nightcrawlers around underwater rock piles or using crankbaits trolled in the same areas. Don't forget Lake Rathbun contains zebra mussels so make sure to clean, drain, and dry boats before transporting them to another water body.  Spray boats and trailers with high pressure hot water (above 104 degrees) or let them dry for at least 10 days (5 days in the sun).