Cedar River Fishing Reports or Wapsipinicon River Fishing Reports

[Joe]

Water is close to normal flows and looks good. Channel Catfish - Good: Anglers have been using cut bait, chubs, minnows or stink bait. Smallmouth Bass - Fair: Smallmouth bass are being caught, but with no regularity. Crappie - Fair: Anglers are catching a few crappies in the lake at Nashua.

Wapsininicon

Angling has really improved on the Wapsi for many species. Reports have improved for walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass and channel catfish. Northern Pike - Good: Try areas where tributary streams enter the main river as the water temperatures are cooler. Try casting large spinner baits or crankbaits. Channel Catfish - Good: Stink baits, cut baits and chicken liver have been working well on channel catfish. Smallmouth Bass - Good: Both live bait and artificial baits work well this time of year. Walleye - Fair: Look for break lines in the current or drop-offs near sandbars using artificial or live baits.

[Joe]

The river is back to normal and is looking really good. Channel Catfish - Good: Anglers have been using cut bait, chubs, minnows or stink bait. Anglers having the most luck have been fishing the Nashua Lake. Smallmouth Bass - Fair: Smallmouth bass are being caught, but with no regularity using a jig with a crawler. Crappie - Slow: Anglers are catching a few crappies in the lake at Nashua.

River levels are back to normal and remain clear. Fishing has picked up on the rivers this week. Trout streams are in good condition. The district lakes are still catching fish as well.

Wapsipinicon

Angling has really improved for many species. Reports have improved for walleye, smallmouth bass and channel catfish. Recent surveys show good numbers of both smallmouth bass and channel catfish in the Wapsipinicon River. Channel Catfish - Good: Stink baits, cut-baits and chicken liver have been working well on channel catfish. Try fishing riffle areas this time of year also. Smallmouth Bass - Good: Both live bait and artificial baits work well this time of year. Walleye - Fair: Look for break lines in the current or drop-offs near sandbars using artificial or live baits.

[Joe]

The river is looking really good, but water levels are a little lower this week. Channel Catfish - Fair: Anglers have been using cut bait, chubs, minnows or stink bait. Anglers having the most luck have been fishing the Nashua Lake. Smallmouth Bass - Fair: Smallmouth bass are being caught, but with no regularity using a jig with a crawler. Most of the fish have been caught below the dam. Try using a white or pink twister. Crappie - Fair: Anglers are catching a crappies below the dam on minnows. Try using a bobber and minnow. Walleye - Good: Some good sized walleyes have are being caught using a jig and minnow with a white/orange twister around the Midway area.

River levels have come down to normal flow this week in the district. Trout streams are varying from stream to stream.

[Joe]

Cedar River has been producing some of the best fishing all year for walleye, smallmouth bass and channel catfish. Northern Pike - Fair: Try casting spoons or spinner baits near woody structure along shorelines. Channel Catfish - Excellent: Channel catfish have been excellent in the shallower water in or below riffle areas using minnow tipped under a bobber. Smallmouth Bass - Excellent: Smallmouth bass are going gangbusters on artificial lures near rocky shorelines on the Cedar. Walleye - Good: Try fishing break lines in or near the current in three to four feet of water using a jig tipped with a crawler.

[Joe]

Anglers have been getting antsy for the bite to turn on as water temperature is about 47 degrees. The catfish bite has temporarily shut off. Crappie - Slow: Walleye - Slow: A few walleye are being caught on jigs tipped with a minnow or worm.

[Joe]

A few people have been ice fishing in some of the bays above the Nashua impoundment and are catching a few fish. Bluegill - Slow: Try wax worms on ice fishing jig. Crappie - Slow: Crappies are biting on wax worms. Walleye - No Report:

[Joe]

A few people have been ice fishing in some of the bays above the Nashua impoundment and are catching fish. Bluegill - Good: Try a minnow on an ice fishing jig. Smallmouth Bass - Fair: A few have been caught while angling for bluegill and crappies. Crappie - Good: Crappies are biting on jigs tipped with a minnow. Walleye - No Report:

[Joe]

A few people have been ice fishing in some of the bays above the Nashua impoundment and are catching fish. The farm ponds in the area have been hoppin' but please remember to get permission from the landowners. Bluegill - Good: Try a minnow on an ice fishing jig. Smallmouth Bass - Fair: A few have been caught while angling for bluegill and crappies. Crappie - Good: Crappies are biting on jigs tipped with a minnow. Walleye - Fair: Anglers have been catching a few below the dam at Nashua.

[gloomiseye]

Fished the Cedar yesterday and today. Yesterday we were strapped on time but we had a few hits and lost a few keepers on the surface. Today we caught 6 with one nice 18 incher and the rest about 10-13inchers. Also caught a couple northerns with one pretty nice one that jumped out of the water about 4 feet. We also caught a small eye and a couple northerns on the Shell Rock.

[delmuts]

Went over to the Cedar this morning. Didn't realize that they must have got a bunch of rain north of us, as the river was high! Tried fishing for a short time in the slack water, but nothing happening.

[delmuts]

Was at nasuha this morning. Had heard they were doing well. Got there later than i wanted, but! The fish were on the feed til 8:00. Caught three eaters, missed four others, and had the tail of my plastic bit off three times!

[delmuts]

My son and i fished Nasuha sat morning. ( again we were later than i wanted!!! ) He was putting his first walleye on the stringer before i could get to the water!!( Note! The two easier places to get to the water were already taken, so i have to work my way down in a little rougher areas. not fun with very bad knees!) He managed five wallys and one small norhtern. All i could catch was a crappie,nice smally, and missed a couple of fish.

[delmuts]

Headed over to the cedar again this morning.Got there earlier this time! Lost a nice fish shortly after i got there. ( not certain if my knot broke or came undone ) Missed some fish, but did manage one 21 inchers, a 14, and a 13. Caught six small cigars, and one nice smallie. Nice morning!

[delmuts]

Went over again this morning. The walleye stopped biting, right at day break! Did catch a 20-21 inch smallie!!WOW ! One little northern, and one crappie. Running low on the one plastic, so have to get to a bait shop!

[delmuts]

Was on the cedar yesturday morning. Fishing was awesomw when i first got there.( 5:15 a.m.)

Caught one dink on first cast, and two 16&18 right after that.They dropped the water some, and things shut down. Could only catch one smalley after that.

[delmuts]

Went over to the cedar this morning. The fishing was good numbers wise, but small fish. Had one that was 16, but the rest were 12 and shorter. Caught some small smallies, and had three good fish on, but lost them. As usuall. They stopped biting at day break. Didn't try deeper as i was COLD !!

[delmuts]

Went over yesturday morning. Very slow! Did catch probably my biggest smallie EVER!! Most times they don't have alot of fight with the cold water, but this one had me scranbling for a few minutes! It was GREAT!! Lost one walleye next to the rocks, otherwise missed a couple of hits, and that was it.

[delmuts]

Was over at Nasuha sat. morning.(again!! ) Got there little before 6:00. Into fish right away. Lost a good fish; shortly after landed a 21", 18', and two 14's, along with several small ones, and two small northerns.( slimy little buggers!!!!!) Never had a hit after 7:00. Went home at 9:00.

[delmuts]

The mrs. was gone so i FISHED!!

Tried Volga lake in the morning. Boat stored,( and the docks are out anyway!) so was fishing from the pier around the brush/pallets. Plenty of fish, but all little ones. Had hopes the bigger crappies mite move in.

Went to the cedar late afternoon. WOW !! Got there around 4:30. Caught a couple of dinks, but at 5:00 things started picking up.From 5 to 7 i caught probably 20 fish. Kept a limit of eaters, released a 5# walleye, and a 4 # northern.

[delmuts]

Went over Wed. afternoon. A couple were leaving that had 8 eyes and one nice northern. Said the fishing had been good most of the afternoon. ( said another guy did well too!) It was slow for us. A few small fish, one eater, and i released another 5 lber.

[delmuts]

I took advantage of the warm temps and headed back to the cedar the last two mornings! Monday; the first half hour was good, but very slow after that.( guys fishing minnows on the bottom would get one once in a while.)

Tuesday; steady, but only could manage small fish.

[delmuts]

I wanted to cry yesturday morning!!!

Went to Nasuha again.( cold and windy, BUT!!!) Was the ONLY person there. Caught a small northern, and a small walleye. Then thought i had snagged a chunk of wood,( heavy, not much, if any fight!) but felt like it was trying to pull back. Got it to the surface. A huge walleye!( judging from the ones we caught fishing erie this summer, i'm guess 8#+) It couldn't fight; only wallow.Got it in. Trying to decide whether to mount it ooooooooor? Decided to turn it loose, but wanted a picture. Dig my "new" cell ph. out of my pocket. Turn on the camera. Can't see a thing on the screen.( to dark!) Ok! Camera has flash. WRONG!!!!! This one DON'T !! Turned fish loose. Then remember i have l.e.d. headlight on my fore head!!!! WENT HOME!!

[delmuts]

My son and i went over wed. Kept trying different things to find what they wanted that day.( different grubs,ripple shad,ring worms, power minnows,but finally they wanted a simple worm!) The chomper drop shot worms did the trick. Problem was; we had to leave 30 min. after i figured this out!!!

[delmuts]

Went over yesturday after noon, taking advantage of the nice weather! This time i wanted to get some revenge on all the fishing line that is hung up on the rocks below the dam.( took my lighter muskie rod with 80# braid, with an old spoon tied on! ). Didn't do as well on the line, as i had hoped. Got several bunches with on new crankbait. I can't believe how some one can break off leving 40-50 ft of line in the water.( and this was a braid too) Atleast i didn't get hung up on the stuff near as much with my jig! Fshing was slow with only three little ones.

[delmuts]

A while back i sent an e-mail to the Iowa DNR wondering about having a length limit for walleye on our interior rivers. While fishing the Cedar, i see many 8-12 in waleye go home on stringers. this is one part of the reply i got back from them.

Thank you for your e-mail expressing your concern about the future of walleye fishing on Iowa’s interior rivers. This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart not only because I spent considerable time doing research to help develop this fishery, but also because I enjoy fishing for interior river walleyes.

As you may know, Iowa’s interior river walleye fishery is a unique resource that has been greatly expanded over the last 20 years. This did not occur by accident. It was the result of nearly 15 years of research directed at providing quality walleye fishing close to home for many Iowa anglers. Walleye stocking in interior rivers began in 1951 when Iowa fisheries biologists attempted to supplement poor natural reproduction of walleyes in these rivers by stocking walleye fry (fish that have just hatched). Due to the very limited success of these stockings, research was initiated in the mid-1980’s to develop a better strategy for increasing river walleye populations. In the first phase of the study, fry stockings were compared side by side with stockings of 2-inch walleye fingerlings. Unlike the fry, which had very poor survival, the fingerlings survived well and significantly increased adult walleye populations. By the early 1990’s, walleye fingerling stockings had established excellent walleye populations in many of our interior rivers.

Our study also revealed that although adult walleyes in these rivers were spawning, during most years there was little or no survival of these naturally produced fry. This was most likely due to an extremely low abundance of zooplankton in these rivers during the spring. Zooplankton is the primary food source for walleye fry until they become large enough to eat larger invertebrates and small fish. To deal with this shortage of zooplankton, we stock walleye fry in ponds at our Fairport Hatchery. These ponds are rich in zooplankton and provide an environment where the fry have high survival and fast growth. When these fish are 2 inches long and have depleted the zooplankton in the ponds, they are removed and stocked in the rivers. At this size they are able to take advantage of more abundant food sources in the river. Raising walleyes with this method to 2-inch size is relatively inexpensive and has been very effective.

We also learned during our study that walleye fingerlings stocked in Iowa’s interior rivers grew very rapidly. Two inch fingerlings are stocked in late May or early June and reach 7-9 inches by their first fall, 11-14 inches as 1½ year olds, and 15-18 inches as 2 ½ year olds. You mentioned Minnesota in your letter. Walleyes grow much slower in Minnesota lakes than in Iowa’s interior rivers. While our slowest growing interior river walleyes are reaching 15 inches in 2 ½ years, it may take 6-8 years for the average walleye to reach 15 inches in northern Minnesota lakes. Angler harvest has much greater potential to impact these slow growing, naturally reproducing populations. The fast growth of our interior river walleyes and the fact that these populations must be maintained by stocking limits the impact that anglers can have on their populations.

Our research in the 1990’s focused on fine-tuning the walleye-stocking program. During this time, we determined that we could further improve adult walleye numbers in the interior rivers by stocking more fingerlings. We also found that extreme high river levels the first summer after stocking greatly reduced the survival of stocked fingerlings in the rivers. Therefore, river condition during the first summer after stocking was the primary factor that determined whether fingerlings stocked during a given year resulted in a good year class of adult walleyes.

During the 1990’s we also conducted tail-water creel surveys and walleye angler diary programs in the Wapsipinicon, Cedar, and Shell Rock rivers to determine the benefits of the walleye-stocking program to Iowa anglers. From these angler surveys, we obtained information on the size distribution of walleyes caught and harvested on these rivers. Over 50% of walleyes caught were less than 15 inches. While some 12-14 inch fish were harvested, fish less 15 inches made up less than 5% of the total walleye harvest. This is much too low to have any significant effect on the number of larger fish in the population.

So instead of trying to impose additional and more restrictive regulations on walleye anglers that would have little affect on river walleye populations we have been trying to increase walleye populations by: 1) stocking good quality 2 inch walleye fingerlings, 2) increasing the number of walleye fingerlings stocked (since 2000 we have tripled the number of walleyes stocked in Iowa’s interior rivers), 3) expanding the number of interior rivers that we stocked with fingerling walleyes, and 4) increasing the number of stocking sites on each river. Through these measures we will have a greater influence on interior river walleye populations than any regulation could accomplish. River conditions, environmental factors, and natural mortality have a far greater effect than harvest on how many interior river walleyes are available to anglers.

I hope this information helps you understand why we do not have more restrictive regulations on walleye on our interior rivers. If you have any questions or want to discuss the information I sent, just give me a call.

Sincerely,

Gregory T. Gelwicks

Interior Rivers Research Biologist

Iowa Department of Natural Resources

22693 205th Ave.

Manchester, Iowa 52057

(563) 927-3276

[email protected]