Help I Have Spring Fever

[DickUrban]

Yes Mary, Delmuts is right about Spring Lake. It has been several years since I fished there but I have caught decent size crappie and blue gill as well as LM bass. And Scott, you've convinced me to go back to Easter to try for some of those slab crappie - about 10" ones is about the best I've done there but haven't given it a fair shake. My experience at Badger mirrors yours. Big blue gill and sometimes big crappie and what we call red ear. I'm not sure that's the right name but they are similar to bull gills with a little different coloring and a round red spot on their "ear". Our self imposed rules are a maximum of 15 panfish each and nothing over 11". We haven't mentioned the slab crappies in Rathbun. The southern Iowa folks think that lake is heaven for crappie and white bass. Talk about spring fever.

[Maryjl]

Dick, I'm confussed is Spring Lake and Pine lake the same thing? I got my Iowa Fishing Atlas out and looked up Pine Lake. This sounds like just the perfect place to take my daughter and her family fishing and picnicing some day this summer. I can hardly wait. I've got a little information for you.

SUNFISH

There are more than a dozen species of Sunfish in North America, with the largest and most popular being the bluegill and the redear sunfish, also known as shellcracker.

A great deal of hydridization occurs among the sunfish species. In some waters, cross- breeding is so common that its difficult to know what your catching.

Redear sunfish get their name from the reddish margin around the otherwise black ear. The sides are light greenish or goldish with scattered reddish flecks.

You made me curiuos when you said redear in your reply so I had to look it up. I know that I'll find a spawning bed and catch big blues one day and go back to that spot the next time and there will be a whole different species there. Whats really fun is to find these spots when the grandkids are with. Sorry to go on like this Sunfish are just one of my favorite fish to fish for. Hope you enjoyed the info.
Thanks Mary

[DickUrban]

Mary - My senior moments (isn't that a generous name for the problem?) are more and more frequent. Pine Lake it is. I don't remember great fishing, but late April - early May would probably be a good time to take the children there. Nothing is more fun for me then to see the little ones catch panfish - especially bluegills. Five of our grandchildren (3 families) are ages 4, 5, and 6. They fished some last year and hope to do more of it this year. It takes 1 to 1 adult supervision at that age but is lots of fun. Thanks for the info on redear and other panfish. The ones we catch must be a cross breed of some sort as they don't have "a black ear tinged with red". They have a very distinctive round red spot (about the size of a dime)
The only time we seem to see them is pre-spawn or during the spawn, so we never keep them. Most of bluegills top out about 9" with a few up to 11". These "redear" tend to be thicker, taller and longer - we have caught them up to 13 1/2"

[Maryjl]

Dick, Where are you catching these big blue gills? That sounds like fun. Are you from southren Iowa? Hows the ice down there? Is anything opening up yet? We've thought about going to Rathbun but just haven't made it yet. Went to Sailorville once did'nt like it much was a bad day lots of boat traffic and very windy. We always have thoughs about going to southren Iowa and fishing because the ice is out earler down there.
Thanks Mary

[DickUrban]

Three Mile and Twelve Mile lakes are the most consistant. Both are near Creston 9 Afton actually the closest town) and near each other. That is about 75 miles SW of Des Moines and would be quite a haul for you. 10" crappie and 9" bluegill are the norm with quite a few 12-13" crappie and 11" bluegill as well as the occasional redear - if that is what they are. Most of the LM bass are still small 12-14" but some to 4 pounds. Have caught 24" walleye, 2-3 pound channel cat and 1/2 pound bullhead. The lakes have muskie but I haven't caught any. The DNR is trying to establish Smallies. There is a campground at three mile, a nicer one at nearby Green Valley State Park and motels in Creston.

[DickUrban]

Now that I have told "the world" about my favorite spots, I hope you will leave the big ones. I think all of us are being more preservation minded. Fish are almost like clean air to me - a nice thing to preserve for our grandchildren. Clearly the folks on this forum feel the same way.