New ice reports???

[goodyy7]

Anyone out there still ice fishing? Anyone have any up to date ice fishing reports? Due to lots of work and girlfriend commitments I have not been out in a week and would like to know what the bite is like around the state right now!

goody

[Guest]

Goody,

I was at Big Creek yesterday and the ice was close to 20" on the main lake. We drove out. The Lost Lake are is a little bit thinner only about 12-14"

IceMan

[herb]

Heading to NE Ia. in the morn. Will try to give a report when I get back> Will most likely be my last trip there for ice as the Miss. down here is now open for buisness.

[fishingpreacher]

I went to Cold Springs (Lewis - southwest Iowa) on Thursday, Feb. 20. I caught four crappies and one bluegill in about four hours.

[Guest]

I fished greene castle Sat. and rock creek sun. Caught a few keeper crappies at greene castle. Caught one very small one at rock creek in 3 hours. Anyone ever fish lake iowa?

[IceJohn]

The bite at Lansing died yesterday. Dave and me fish hard 6 long hours 4 keepers.Lots of small bass and b. g. Ice 20 inch plus.I am going back to ponds by home.FISH ON

[Guest]

I fished Big Creek last night. 2 walleyes and 2 crappies. Lots of fish on vex but very tough bite. I drove on the ice for the first time this year in Iowa (exciting, i know) will try again tonight. Anyone been fishing Brushy Creek, Don Williams, or Hickory Grove???? I will be hiting the ice hard in the next few weeks, work obligations are over.Let's hear some reports!!!!!! This site is starting to die out with the best fishing yet to come?????? Thanks Solid

[Guest]

Eric this you?Ryan Hale here.I'll be at the trap attack on West this week-end.I'll let you no how it goes!
Ryan Hale

[goodyy7]

Yup, its me Ryan. I am all over the place if it means more info on the fishies!!! ANyway, I am excited to hear how you do at the trap attack. Figure out your spots yet?? Good luck buddy!

I may get lucky and get out sunday...talked the girlfriend into going with me so it should be a lot of fun. Keep them reports coming in!!!!!

goody

[Guest]

Solid Ice how did you do tonight? Did you make it out to Big Creek agian or did you try someplace else. I haven't been out recently, but have heard of a few reports of keeper Walleye finally coming from Big Creek. I am going to get out tomorrow after work. Not sure exactly where I am heading. Maybe Big Creek. I will post how I end up. I am going to be fishing all weekend. So hopefully the fish will cooperate.

Fish On!
WalleyNate

[Guest]

Fished Brushy Creek last night until 8:45. Fishing was slow for me and the other 10 guys around me except for one guy who caught 20 crappie. Nothing big but average in size. I will be out all day Sat and Sun trying to find bluegills during the day and crappie/walleye early morning and evening. Anyone have any suggestions as to where to fish??? Who is fishing this weekend? Is it worth the trip to Clear Lake? Anyone need a partner for the trap attack at Spirit this weekend? Let's hear it you hard core ice guys.
Thanks Solid Ice

[herb]

Fished all over NE Ia on the Miss. this weekend. Big Missouri, Grenmore, Fenimore cut, Little Missouri, Lake Onalaska, Lawrence Lake, Hayshore. Fair to good is the best way to put it. But still an enjoyable trip. Lots of guys on the Conway and Botsford and Green Lake at Blackhawk Park too.

[IceJohn]

Fished Black Hawk and D hole did real good.Friday was the best lots of pigs BLUE GILLS.Guys fishing minnows were getting Crappies nice ones. LOts of them darn BASS hiting my pimple I use to get Crappie. FISH ON

[goodyy7]

FINALLY got to get back on the ice after a WAY TOO LONG break from action (due to other "to do's" from higher ranking officials on my free time). Fished 12Mile with my dad and my girlfriend (her first ice outing) from 10:30ish am to around 7pm. Only 2 other sets of people there the ENTIRE day! Started on the old road bed and got some yellow bass. Moved south along the main channel/tree line and fished a sunken arm of trees in deeper water and got more yellows (4 too small to even try to clean), a couple 9" gills, and around a dozen 10-12" eyes. Kept 3dozen yellows in all (PLEASE KEEP ALL OF THESE FISH IF YOU FISH THIS LAKE!!! DONT TURN ANY BACK!!! GREAT EATING BUT IF YOU DONT WANT TO EAT THEM LET THEM LAY ON THE ICE!!! THESE FISH MAY EVENTUALLY RUIN THIS LAKE IF NOT KEPT IN CHECK!!!!) and the two gills...should make a nice mess of fish for tomorrow!! Great to be back on the ice!!!!

goody

[IceJohn]

goodyy7,how big are the yellow bass?Dontleave them on the ice it dont look nice.lot the state get them out.Just my thought on this .Ihate to see any fish or game wasted. FISH ON

[Selmer]

Amen to that Ice John, it sounds like goodyy is a fairly young man and probably hasn't heard or doesn't remember when ALL fish were kept and used. It's gotten to the point in our fishing society that if it's not a certain kind of a certain size, it's not worth having them in the lake, which is a terrible attitude. I'm not saying I'm an old geezer, cause I'm not, but I was taught to hunt and fish by a conservationist, my father, who preached(no pun intended, he's a Lutheran minister) that if you shoot it or catch it and choose to keep it, you WILL eat it and appreciate leaving things alone and that every creature has it's place, God put them here for a reason, even if we can't quite figure out why there are mosquitoes, they are here for a reason. This was put to the test my first year of hunting ducks when I insisted on killing a pair of coots, he made me eat them and there can't be much out there that tastes worse!
Selmer

[Guest]

Selmer,

I wouldn't be so hard on Goody. He does have a point. Yellow bass have a very bad habit of overpopulating a lake. How would you like it if your favorite crappie lake gets overrun by them and when you go there all you catch are these stunted yellows? I do agree that anything that is shot/caught should be eaten. I would never go as far as leaving the fish on the ice (which by the way is against the law) but I would instead take them home and use them for fertilizer. I wish there was a better solutions to control the yellows but this is the only practical methods on some lakes. My 2 Cents

IceMan

[goodyy7]

Ok, lets watch the age comments ...that really has nothing to do with it (27by the way). I have been fishing for every year I could hold a pole and do not waste fish...in fact, I pulled 3dozen of the little suckers out of 12Mile and cleaned all but 4 which were just too darn little to do anything with, which made for cheap cat-food. I do not want people to randomly waste game and would never typically doing such a thing. I am an avid and responsible outdoorsman in every aspect, using the hides of the deer I kill and eating the meat of the rabbits I shoot...only coyotes and possoms fall beyond this spectrum. However, if you know the plight of southern Iowa lakes and thier fight with yellow bass then you know what I mean about not wanting them released back into the lake. Lake Anita is to be killed off and restocked, starting over because they [yellow bass] have taken over. A few years ago there were not so many yellows in 12Mile, but they are beginning to decimate crappie an bluegill year classes right now. They are not the main forage for the bass, cats, and walleye due to their spiny and rough texture and thus are a last option for them, leaving us humans as their key predator. I dont understand why some lakes (natural, northern iowa lakes for example) can sustain them like Clear Lake, while the southern Iowa reservoirs cannot, but I know I dont want to see any more loss of lakes due to these little suckers. Once again, I do not waste fish. I never have. I actually let nearly every fish I catch go (and take heat for this, too) unless it is a yellow bass in southern Iowa or I just need a couple walleye to eat.

On a side note....I didnt know it was illegal to let these fish lie on the ice. I was told by a pretty reliable source that they are non-gamefish and have no limits, thus they can be used for whatever. Please clarify if this is wrong and I will correct myself. In any case I do highly agree that fertilizer, cat food, trapping bait, catfish bait ingredients, etc. are a much wiser use for them. JUST DO NOT LET THE YELLOWS GO IN 12MILE!!!!!!

oh yeah,to answer IceJohn...the yellows are currently running an average of probably 7"...barely big enough to clean, where 3 years ago I would say they averaged 9". The average size going down is also a sign of overpopulation. My 2cents!!

goody

[This message has been edited by goodyy7 (edited 03-06-2003).]

[herb]

Selmer, coots are actually quite good eating if prepared right. An old swede taught me this back in the 60's. Same goes for divers like bluebills.

[Guest]

Goody,
I agree that the yellows should not be put back in the lake, but fish do feed on them. I was down on Rathbun a couple of weeks ago and caught about a 2 1/2 pound cat that spit out a yellow bass when I landed it. While cleaning the crappies some of the larger ones also had small yellow in their stomach. This winter is the first time I have caught yellow bass down there. It has always had a lot of white bass but not yellows. Shad is the main forage in Rathbun.

[Selmer]

Sorry goodyy, I'd just come back from fishing a lake where there were 6 and 7" gills lying all over, the kind I would clean just for good eating. I don't disagree that yellow bass should probably be kept, I figured they were much like white bass, which I have never seen overpopulate a lake, but don't leave them lying on the ice, which you are not doing, which is good. I'll watch the age comments, I was expecting more in the high teens range, as it turns out your are older than me by a few years, yes, my foot is quite tasty right now, don't mind me while I finish it off....
If we have lots of little fish that we think should come out of a lake we take them, clean them and give them away to very gracious elderly folk who love fish but aren't able to get out anymore. I've heard yellow bass are tasty, how do they compare to bluegills or perch? I'm a South Dakota transplant and love bluegills, perch, pike, and walleyes, in that order. White bass are tasty when smoked, anything in the sunfish family is eaten, they're yummy. Anyway, I hope I didn't offend anyone or step on any toes, I was mainly frustrated with what I had seen on the ice that day.
Selmer

[Selmer]

Herb, I had a recipe for coots once, I think it was similar to this.
One coot
tsp. salt
tsp. pepper
small onion
two garlic cloves
one board.

rub coot down with salt and pepper, place onion and garlic in body cavity. Nail coot to a board, roast at 350 for 3 hours, throw away coot, eat board, it will be more tender and taste better!

I don't know why you're comparing bluebills and coots, it's night a day difference, I love divers that have been feeding on small invertebrates and underwater veggies, bluebilles are called butterballs in my house because they are usually so plump when we get them.
Selmer

[Guest]

Selmer,

Are you referring to Beeds Lake when you are talking about gills being left on the ice? I have witnessed this quite a bit while I have fished there. The first time I was there a couple guys were keeping gills that are 3-4 inches. Well needless to say I gave them a little bit more than an earful before I was finished with them they had packed up and left. These guys seemed like regulars there so keep your eyes out for them Selmer. Do people not understand that the big gills were at one time small? And to tell you the truth I do not mind catching small gills either. I just really enjoy catching fish whether big or small.

IceMan

[This message has been edited by NEIAIceMan (edited 03-07-2003).]

[goodyy7]

No problem Selmer...I have had the same experiences and would have liked to have gotten my hands on them fish wasters. And yes, yellows are quite tasty!! taking the pin bones out(they do cook out of fish that small but I take them out anyway!)takes out a blood line that gives it a tad of a fishy taste, but they are as good as gills for sure. I just cooked up a batch yesterday and couldnt tell the difference in them and crappie (fish marsala...mmmmm).

On another note, hows the fishing during the week? ANyone doing much good? I am headed out all day sat and all day sun...not sure where yet, but it should be nice temps!!!

tight lines

goody

[herb]

Selmer, I wasn't comparing the two for quality. Just stating that they are good table fare when fixed properly. I've seen too many times where "big time duck hunters" will shoot both species of those birds and leave them float down river or stuff them down in the mud because they Didn't think they were worth messing with. Very wastefull!