Every week, the Iowa DNR releases is weekly Fishing Report. Here you go for this Memorial Day Weekend!!!
Volga Lake
A few roads in the park are scheduled for maintenance this year, but the park will remain open during this time. The recreation area is in excellent condition with quite a bit of activity. Black Crappie - Good: Use a small jig tipped with a minnow or small plastic worm. Cast your line out with a bobber. Let it sit for a bit then give your line a tiny tug. Take up the slack and repeat very slowly. Bluegill - Fair: A worm threaded on a hook fished under a bobber should catch bluegills moving in to warmer water.

Lake Hendricks
Fish activity has increased and anglers are beginning to take a few fish home. Live baits are working well for all fish. Bluegill - Fair: Bluegills have moved in to shallower water in preparation for spawning. Black Crappie - Good: Crappies are into post spawn mode. Anglers are catching quite a few 5-6 inch crappies but bigger ones have been more finicky. Largemouth Bass - Fair: Bass are on beds and anglers are having a hard time catching them.

Lake Meyer
Water clarity on Lake Meyer is excellent at 10 to 12 feet. Bluegill - Slow: Bluegills are moving in to spawning beds. It’s been difficult to get them to bite. Black Crappie - Slow: Focus efforts on crappies around the submerged habitat. Largemouth Bass - Fair: Try fishing in evening with a shallow water crankbait from shore.

Upper Iowa River (above Decorah)
River water clarity is excellent and levels are stable. Water temperatures are in the upper 60's. Water levels and clarity may change depending on rainfall amounts over the next several days. Walleye - Slow: Try fishing around log jams or current breaks and under rock. White Sucker - Fair: Anglers are still catching a few suckers. A worm on a hook fished off the bottom works best. Smallmouth Bass - Fair: Use small crankbaits or a hook tipped with a worm.

Upper Iowa River (below Decorah)
River clarity is excellent and levels are relatively stable. Water temperatures are in the upper 60's. Conditions could change depending on the track and amount of rain over the next several days. Anglers are catching a nice variety of fish. Smallmouth Bass - Good: Use small crankbaits fished off current breaks. Walleye - Good: Crankbaits fished off current breaks work well. Northern Pike - Fair: Pike can be found in brush piles and undercut banks or rock ledges. Channel Catfish - Fair: A hook tipped with a worm fished along a brush pile works well.

Cedar River (above Nashua)
Currently the river is in excellent condition, but this may change depending on where the storms go and how much rain falls. Smallmouth Bass - Slow: Use a jig tipped with a minnow. Walleye - Good: Use a jig tipped with a twister tail or minnow. Switch between the two when action slows.

Decorah District Streams
Water clarity is excellent, but may turn off color depending on rain amounts over the next several days. This may spur a feeding frenzy for brown trout. Our angler accesses on private property only allow for fishing. All other activities must be permitted by the landowner. Brook Trout - Good: Stream conditions are excellent and require a bit more stealth when approaching. Brown Trout - Good: Caddis flies, small mayflies, midges and gnats are becoming more numerous. Dry fly angling has been excellent. Use a #16 or 18 for the pale evening dun hatches. Try a blue wing olive with a gnarly midge dropper. Be prepared to change flies often. Rainbow Trout - Good: All streams are being stocked with trout. Use a hook tipped with a worm, cheese or dough ball.

A chance of scattered thunderstorms is currently forecast throughout the holiday weekend for our area with temperatures remaining on the warm side in the low 80's during the day to mid-60's at night. Area lakes and streams are in excellent condition. Please contact the Decorah Fish Hatchery at 563-382-8324 for more information.

Silver Lake (Delaware)
Bluegills have moved into the shallows along the weedy edges of vegetation; catch has been good but some sorting may be required. Bluegill - Good: Cast light jigs near the edges of vegetation or a small piece of worm under a bobber. Black Crappie - Fair: Try casting or vertical fishing small colored jigs near the weed edges.

Casey Lake (aka Hickory Hills Lake)
Anglers have been doing well on largemouth bass and fair on bluegill in Casey Lake. Bluegills have been moving in shallow in preparation for the spring spawn. Bluegill - Fair: Slowly drift and retrieve small 1/32 or 1/16 oz. jigs over the spawning beds. Largemouth Bass - Good: Try casting topwater baits early morning or late evening. Spinner baits or crankbaits have been productive during the daytime hours.

George Wyth Lake
There have been good reports of quality size crappie being taken from George Wyth Lake. Try near the fishing dock or off of the jetties for some good crappie action. Black Crappie - Good: Cast hair jigs or various colored tube jigs near the shallows.

Harold Getty Lake
Catches of both crappie and largemouth bass have been reported as being good on Harold Getty Lake. Black Crappie - Good: Cast hair jigs or various colored tube jigs near the shallows. Largemouth Bass - Good: Try casting crankbaits or spinnerbaits along and near shoreline and structure; mornings and evenings have been the most productive.

South Prairie Lake
Reports have been good for crappie and bluegill on South Prairie Lake, but quality has been on the smaller side. Black Crappie - Good: Cast hair jigs or various colored tube jigs near the shallows and along submerged vegetation. Bluegill - Good: Try casting light jigs near the edges of vegetation or small piece of worm under a bobber.

Plainfield Lake
Plainfield Lake has provided some quality sized bluegills, but anglers have had to work for them. Bluegill - Fair: Present the lightest oz. jig possible allowing it to slowly fall in water column for some great bluegill action.

Cedar River (Nashua to La Porte City)
The Cedar River has provided some excellent smallmouth bass fishing this past week. Walleye fishing has remained steady with some reports of quality sized fish being caught. Walleye - Good: Casting crankbaits has been hot this past week as water temperatures warm. A jig tipped with half a crawler is a deadly combination this time of year. Smallmouth Bass - Excellent: Cast & retrieve crankbaits, spinnerbaits or topwater plugs near and along both rocky shorelines or woody debris. Channel Catfish - Good: Cut baits fished on the bottom have been producing some nice catches of channel catfish. Water temperatures still remain too cold for stink baits.

Shell Rock River (Greene to Shell Rock)
The Shell Rock River has provided some excellent smallmouth bass fishing this past week. Walleye fishing has remained steady with some reports of quality sized fish being caught. Walleye - Good: Casting crankbaits has been hot this past week as water temperatures warm. A jig tipped with half a crawler is a deadly combination this time of year. Smallmouth Bass - Excellent: Cast and retrieve crankbaits, spinnerbaits or topwater plugs near and along both rocky shorelines or woody debris. Northern Pike - Fair: Artificial baits have been successful for pike this past week. Channel Catfish - Good: Cut baits fished on the bottom have been producing some nice catches of channel catfish. Water temperatures still remain too cold for stink baits.

Maquoketa River (above Monticello)
Anglers are catching smallmouth bass and walleye on the Maquoketa River, particularly in Delaware County. Walleye - Fair: Casting crankbaits has been hot this past week as water temperatures warm. A jig tipped with half a crawler is a deadly combination this time of year. Smallmouth Bass - Fair: Cast and retrieve crankbaits, spinnerbaits or topwater plugs near and along both rocky shorelines or woody debris.

Smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike and channel catfish continue to provide angler satisfaction on the interior rivers. Reports are really good for both on the Cedar and Shell Rock Rivers in particular. Crappies are staging in the area lakes for the days of sunshine to move into the shallows for their annual spring spawn routine. Trout streams remain in excellent condition in Northeast Iowa. For further information, contact the N.E. District Office at 563-927-3276.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Mississippi River Pool 9
Water level is 8.1 feet at Lansing and is expected to remain stable over the next week. The road to the boat ramp at New Albin is open. Water temperature is 66 F. Freshwater Drum - Good: Drum continue to bite well on worms on the bottom. Largemouth Bass - Fair: Largemouth fishing slowed a bit in the cool weather, but should pick up as the water warms. Look for fish along backwater structure. Channel Catfish - Fair: Cut bait or worms on the bottom works best to find feeding cats. Walleye - Slow: Walleye should be moving towards wing dams, but fishing has been slow with so much water. Flathead Catfish - Fair: Flathead catfish are getting more active as they prepare for the spawn. Fish deep holes along main channel or side channel closing dams with live bait. Bluegill - Good: Bluegills are on the spawning beds. Fish backwater area shorelines with small tackle tipped with a worm. Walleye - Fair: Walleye have scattered to wing dams and deep closing dams. Try slow trolling a crawler rig along the wing dams.

Mississippi River Pool 10
Water level is 15.9 feet at Lynxville and is expected to stabilize over the next week. Water temperature is 66 F. Freshwater Drum - Good: Drum continue to bite well on worms on the bottom. Largemouth Bass - Fair: Largemouth fishing slowed a bit in the cool weather, but should pick up as the water warms. Look for fish along backwater structure. Channel Catfish - Fair: Cut bait or worms on the bottom work best bets to find feeding cats. Walleye - Slow: Walleye should be moving towards wing dams, but fishing has been slow with so much water. Flathead Catfish - Good: Flathead catfish are getting more active as they prepare for the spawn. Fish deep holes along main channel or side channel closing dams with live bait. Bluegill - Good: Bluegills are on the spawning beds. Fish backwater area shorelines with small tackle tipped with worm. Walleye - Fair: Walleye have scattered to wing dams and deep closing dams. Try slow trolling a crawler rig along the wing dams.

Mississippi River Pool 11
Water level has fallen to 7.2 feet at Guttenberg and is expected to remain stable. Water temperature is at 66 F. Freshwater Drum - Good: Drum continue to bite well on worms on the bottom. Largemouth Bass - Fair: Largemouth fishing slowed a bit in the cool weather, but should pick up as the water warms. Look for fish along backwater structure. Channel Catfish - Fair: Cut bait or worms on the bottom work best to find feeding cats. Walleye - Slow: Walleye should be moving towards wing dams, but fishing has been slow with so much water. Flathead Catfish - Fair: Flathead catfish are getting more active as they prepare for the spawn. Fish deep holes along main channel or side channel closing dams with live bait. Bluegill - Good: Bluegills are on the spawning beds. Fish backwater area shorelines with small tackle tipped with a worm. Walleye - Fair: Walleyes have scattered to wing dams and deep closing dams. Try slow trolling a crawler rig along the wing dams.

The Upper Mississippi River levels have fallen this week and remain steady. Fishing action continues to improve as water levels have stabilized and water temperatures rise. Water temperature is at 66 F and is expected to rise with hotter weather forecasts.

Mississippi River Pool 12
Water level is 6.6 feet at the Dubuque tailwater and 9.2 feet at the RR bridge. These levels are down from last week and water levels are expected to continue to recede. Water temperature in the main channel is 67 degrees which is up from last week. Northern Pike - Fair: The River has a good population of northern pike. Walleye - Good: The reports on walleye angling in Pool 12 were mixed, but some nice walleyes are being caught. Anglers using crawlers seem to have the best results. Largemouth Bass - Fair: The bass bite seemed to be off the past few weeks, but anglers are starting to again report many small bass along rock piles and in the tailwater rip rap. Freshwater Drum - Good: Lots of freshwater drum can be caught. Cut out all the red meat when cleaning them and they are a fine eating fish. Throw them immediately on ice if you plan on eating them.

Mississippi River Pool 13
Water level is 7.6 feet at Bellevue which is down from last week. Expect water to slowly recede all week. Fishing picked up this week along with the water temperatures. Walleye - Good: Walleyes were reported back on the wing dams. Most anglers are using a small crawler rig. Largemouth Bass - Good: Spring Lake has been producing some nice sized bass for tournament anglers. Smaller bass are being caught in the upper tailwater reaches. Yellow Perch - Fair: No reports this week, but we have had a great spring with many nice yellow perch being caught. Freshwater Drum - Excellent: Loads of freshwater drum are being caught, many from bank anglers. Use large crayfish to catch really large drum. Channel Catfish - Good: Catfish angling really picked up this week. Most anglers are using stink bait in flowing sloughs, especially above log jams. Northern Pike - Fair: Not a lot of pike reported this week, but the populations of pike are excellent and even Green Island is producing some pike.

Mississippi River Pool 14
Water level was recorded at 7.0 feet at Fulton, 10.9 feet at Camanche and 5.7 feet at LeClaire. These readings are all down a bit from last week. Water is expected to recede slowly all week.
Freshwater Drum - Excellent: The drum bite is on. Simple sliding sinker and worms fished in current work best. Largemouth Bass - Good: Lots of small bass being taken in the tailwaters, but some larger ones are coming out of bigger backwaters. Females have been reported nesting in the backwater areas. Black Crappie - Fair: Crappies are back in the report. Few in numbers, but they are nice sized. Channel Catfish - Good: The catfish bite has started. Most anglers are using crawlers when drum fishing but also some stink bait.

Mississippi River Pool 15
Water level is at 7.6 feet at Rock Island, which is down over a foot from last week. Expect water levels to recede further this upcoming week. Water clarity is great right now in Pool 15 and conditions look excellent for angling. Freshwater Drum - Excellent: Freshwater drum are abundant in Pool 15 and can easily be caught from shore. Try fishing the eagles landing area with worm and egg sinkers. Channel Catfish - Fair: Many cats are being caught by anglers just fishing night crawlers on the bottom.

The river warmed up this week. Temperatures rose around 8 degrees this week and are in the upper 60's in the main channel. Water is predicted to recede all week. Many of the panfish species and bass have started spawning.

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