The weather is starting to turn colder, so your days of warm weather fishing are almost over. Get out! Get to the water! We will help with the Iowa DNR's Fishing Report.

Cedar River (above Nashua)
Fish are more active with stable water levels and cooler temperatures. Fish are taking a variety of lures and baits. Cedar Lake near Nashua is temporarily experiencing a naturally occurring die-off of channel catfish mainly due to a large algal bloom. Catfish are occasionally susceptible to environmental and handling stress. Walleye - Good: Troll main channel or deeper holes and along current breaks. Use a jig tipped with a minnow or twister tail. Channel Catfish - Good: Use a hook with a dead chub or crawler for a 2 pound catfish. Try also chicken liver, stink bait and nightcrawlers around brush piles. Black Crappie - Good: Use a hook tipped with a minnow in eddies below dams and backwaters around brush piles. Smallmouth Bass - Slow: Use crawdad crankbaits along rocky shorelines and substrates.

Decorah District Streams
Hunting season has started. Many streams run through wildlife management areas where hunting is allowed. Wear bright clothing when not stalking a trout. Trout streams are in good condition. Call 563-927-5736 for current catchable trout stocking locations.  Brook Trout- Good: A variety of small mayflies are hatching mid-afternoon. Use a dry fly for insects hatching off the water surface. Use a nymph or scud dropper for subsurface critters. Brown Trout - Good: A hopper pattern with a scud dropper is a dangerous combination.  Rainbow Trout - Good: Freshly stocked trout are hitting a variety of lures and baits. Drift a feathered spinner along an undercut bank.

Lake Hendricks
Lake Hendricks is an electric motor only lake. With cooler weather coming, panfishing is picking up. Black Crappie - Fair: Use a worm or spinnerbait around the jetties. Largemouth Bass - Fair: Try topwater lures along the edge of a vegetation for a hiding bass. Channel Catfish - Good: Use a hook tipped with stink bait. Bluegill - Fair: Find bluegills near vegetation edges.

Lake Meyer
Water temperatures are in the low 60's. Panfishing should start to pick up with cooler temperatures. Lake Meyer is an electric motor only lake. Bluegill - Fair: Use a small hook tipped with a piece of worm under a bobber near jetties in the evening. Black Crappie - Fair: Find crappie suspended near submersed structure. Use a spinner or jig with bright colored twister tail. Largemouth Bass - Good: Early morning and evening bite is best. Use topwater lures fished along vegetation beds or spinners along rocky edges.

Upper Iowa River (above Decorah)
The Upper Iowa is in excellent condition. Be prepared to walk through riffles as water levels fall.  Walleye - Fair: Drift through a deeper hole or along a current break. Use a jig tipped with a twister tail or worm. Smallmouth Bass - Fair: Try jigs tipped with natural colored plastic tails.

Upper Iowa River (below Decorah)
Water temperatures are in the mid to low 60's. Water is slightly muddy below Highway 76. Northern Pike - Fair: Use a steel leader tipped with 1/4 oz. jig tipped with natural colored plastic to a 3 inch jerk bait fished around tributaries or brush piles. Smallmouth Bass - Fair: Use jigs tipped with plastic tails in the current breaks or near rock ledges. Walleye - Fair: Drift a jig tipped with a twister tail or worm through a deeper hole or along a current break. Channel Catfish - Fair: Catch a catfish from shore with a hook tipped with a crawler. Evening is best.

Volga Lake
The lake is currently experiencing a green algae bloom. Black Crappie - Fair: Use a jig with a minnow under a bobber near submersed trees for suspended crappie. Largemouth Bass - Fair: Bass are hitting jigs tipped with a nightcrawler or twister tail. Try a topwater lure in the evening as fish come in shallow to feed. Bluegill - Fair: Use a small hook tipped with a piece of worm under a bobber. Channel Catfish - Good: Use stink bait, worms, and cheese baits. Catfish are active in the evening. Catfish are active in the evening. They are occasionally susceptible to environmental and handling stress. Open sores are visible and likely caused by a bacterial infection. Please release these fish back into the water. Usually, these infections are non-life threatening to fish and people.

Temperature highs in the low 70's and upper 40's for lows in weekend forecast. Area streams and rivers are in good condition. For current fishing information, please call the Decorah Fish Hatchery at 563-382-8324.


Alice Wyth Lake
Reports of anglers catching some crappie in Alice Wyth Lake. Black Crappie - Fair: Try a crappie minnow under a bobber in 4- to 6-feet of water.

Big Woods Lake
Reports of anglers catching some crappie in Big Woods Lake. Black Crappie - Fair: Use a crappie minnow under a bobber in 4- to 6-feet of water.

Casey Lake (aka Hickory Hills Lake)
Bluegill - Fair: Try a piece of nightcrawler under a bobber. Channel Catfish - Good: Use dip baits on the bottom of the lake near the old beach area or the west, shallower end of the lake.

Cedar River (Nashua to La Porte City)
The Cedar River is in excellent condition and producing good catches of walleye, smallmouth bass, channel catfish and northern pike in Bremer and Black Hawk Counties. Walleye - Fair: Cast and retrieve a jig tipped with a crawler below drop-off sandbars when river levels are low. Smallmouth Bass - Good: Cast and retrieve artificial lures for some great smallmouth action. Channel Catfish - Good: Use dip baits or cut baits near riffle areas or upstream of logjams. Northern Pike - Excellent: Pike are going crazy on the river; cast and retrieve bucktail spinners or spoons. Black Crappie - Fair: Use a minnow under a bobber on the river impoundments and above where there is structure. Anglers have to search for crappie. Quality and size has been nice.

Maquoketa River (above Monticello)
Smallmouth Bass - Good: TCast and retrieve artificial lures for some great smallmouth action. Walleye - Good: Cast and retrieve a jig tipped with a crawler below drop-off sandbars when river levels are low.

Shell Rock River (Greene to Shell Rock)
Walleye - Fair: Cast and retrieve a jig tipped with a crawler below drop-off sandbars when river levels are low. Smallmouth Bass - Good: Cast and retrieve artificial lures for some great smallmouth action. Channel Catfish - Good: Use dip baits or cut baits near riffle areas or upstream of logjams. Northern Pike - Excellent: Pike are going crazy on the river; cast and retrieve bucktail spinners or spoons.

Wapsipinicon River (Tripoli to Troy Mills)
Northern Pike - Excellent: Pike are going crazy on the river; cast and retrieve bucktail spinners or spoons. Walleye - Fair: Cast and retrieve a jig tipped with a crawler below drop-off sandbars when river levels are low. Smallmouth Bass - Good: Cast and retrieve artificial lures for some great smallmouth action. Channel Catfish - Good: Use dip baits or cut baits near riffle areas or upstream of logjams.

The weather has held fantastic for angling opportunities this weekend. Reports are excellent for many species on all of the interior rivers.Trout streams remain in excellent condition. Call the N.E. Iowa district office at 563-927-3276 for more information.

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