Fishing Report for the Weekend of 5/5/17

It's going to be an amazing weekend to get out on the water and enjoy some fishing. We'll help a bit alongside the Iowa DNR with their weekly Fishing Report for the weekend of 5/5/17.

Cedar River (above Nashua)
Currently, the river is fishable and water levels are falling. Visit https://waterdata.usgs.gov/ia/nwis/rt for current water level information. Water temperatures are in the low to mid 50's. Walleye - Fair: Try a jig tipped with a minnow or nightcrawler below the dams in the pockets. Slow your retrieve with cooler temperatures. Channel Catfish - Fair: Use dead chubs or crawlers fished from shore under a bobber.

Decorah District Streams
The road to the Decorah Fish Hatchery will be under construction through June. Streams are in good condition. Call 563-927-5736 for catchable trout stocking locations. Use jigs tipped with twister tails, feathered spinnerbaits, or flashy spoons. Use a nightcrawler to catch a freshly stocked fish. Brook Trout - Fair: Use scuds or stonefly imitations for fish not rising to the surface. Brown Trout - Fair: A great time to fish for brown trout is when water turns off color from rainfall events. Try caddis fly and midge larvae imitations hatching off the water. Nice hatches of blue wing olives and dark hendricksons are occurring on warmer sunny afternoons. Rainbow Trout - Good: Fish rainbow trout in the head end of riffles. Slowly pull a black bead head fly with a light colored scud or midge dropper through the upper and lower ends of pools for trout in deeper water.

Lake Hendricks
Water temperatures should start to warm with current weather pattern. Slow your retrieve giving fish time to strike. Boat anglers are finding fish in deeper water. Bluegill - Slow: Catch gills moving into shallower water with a small jig. Let it sink and slowly reel it in. Channel Catfish - Slow: Use cut baits on windblown rocky shorelines. Black Crappie - Slow: Warmer shore temperatures are drawing crappies in. Use a hook tipped with a minnow under a bobber. Largemouth Bass - Good: Try a jerk bait fished slowly over rock piles.

Lake Meyer
Visibility is improving. Water temperatures are in the low 50's, but should warm with current weather. Find the latest hot spots on the Iowa DNR's fishing atlas. Set your GPS coordinates to WGS84 to key in to your structure preference. Bluegill - Slow: Use a small jig with a slow retrieve. Channel Catfish - Slow: Try a dead chub or crawler in a rocky windblown shoreline. Largemouth Bass - Good: Use a spinnerbait. Find bass hanging around the shallow water transition zones. Use a slow retrieve in cooler water.

Turkey River (above Clermont)
Water levels are falling and temperatures are in the low to mid 50's. Smallmouth Bass - Fair: Try a jig tipped with a minnow or feathered spinnerbait around a current break. Walleye - Fair: Use a jig tipped with a soft plastic twister tail. Use a slow retrieve in cooler water. White Sucker - Excellent: The sucker bite is on. Try a hook tipped with a nightcrawler fished off the bottom. Black Crappie - Good: Find a slack water area. Let a small jig sink and slowly reel it in.

Upper Iowa River (above Decorah)
Water levels are falling with temperatures in the low 50's. Visibility is improving. Visit https://waterdata.usgs.gov/ia/nwis/rt for current water level information. Walleye - Fair: Try a blade bait or bigger crankbait near coldwater tributaries. Brown Trout - Fair: Use spinnerbaits near the mouths of coldwater tributaries. White Sucker - Good: Use a worm with enough weight for it to sit on the bottom. Watch your rod tip. When it bends, set the hook.

Upper Iowa River (below Decorah)
Water levels are falling and temperatures are in the low 50's. Visibility is improving. The sucker bite is on.  Walleye - Slow: Try spinnerbaits and jerk baits along rocky shorelines. Smallmouth Bass - Slow: Use jigs tipped with nightcrawlers or ringworms. Try also bright colored twister tails. White Sucker - Good: Use a hook with a worm and enough weight to get the worm to the bottom.

Volga Lake
Water temperature is 50 degrees. Fish attractors were recently added in the lake. Find fish attracting structure locations on the Iowa DNR's fishing atlas. Bluegill - Slow: Use small jigs tipped with waxworm along a sunny shoreline. Black Crappie - Slow: Panfish anglers should start to see fish in shallow water. Try a hook tipped with a small minnow under a bobber. Channel Catfish - Fair: Use dead minnows or other dead fish along windblown shores to attract a cruising cat. Largemouth Bass - Good: Try a spinnerbait with a slow retrieve in cooler water. Fish are suspended in 5 to 7 feet water near drop-offs.

Wapsipinicon River (state line to Tripoli)
We have received no information about fishing on this water body this week. Northern Pike - Good: Use spoons or hook tipped with a chub.

Daytime temperatures will be in the low 60's with 30's overnight. It looks like a great weekend to get outside. Area rivers and streams are improving. Anglers must get a landowner's permission to fish private property, even if it can be accessed through public property. For current fishing information, please call the Decorah Fish Hatchery at 563-382-8324.

Manchester District Streams
Trout streams are clear and in excellent condition. Rainbow Trout – Good.

Angling reports have been poor and few this past week as cold weather and rain impeded most of the state. Dropping water temperatures and pressure moved fish deeper on most lakes. Interior river water levels have peaked and are beginning to drop. Trout fishing remains good. Angling should improve with the nice extended forecast. Contact the N.E. District Office at 563-927-3276 for more information.