Iowa City Ice Fishing Report

[JIvers]

The late ice panfish bite has definitely picked up on ponds around Coralville and Cedar Rapids.

With the walleye bite below the Coralville Tube slowing down I decided to check one of old standbys in Johnson County, a pond that did not produce at the start of the ice season. It definitely produced last weekend. Right near sunset and sunrise, as has been the case in the past late in the season, the panfish went on a tear. They were not "Macbride bluegills", either. Here are some pictures of bluegills that came within a cat's whisker or two of 9", along with a bonus crappie:

I figure we have a week and a half, maybe, of safe ice left around Iowa City, so I hope to put a few more nice sunnies on the ice before it is gone.

[JIvers]

Three inches of good ice this morning on the small pond near Coralville that always produces on early ice. I got out there right at first light this morning, drilled some holes, dropped bait down...and sat there for an hour and half staring at a blank screen. Never even marked a fish. Still, I can say I was ice-fishing south of I-80 in Johnson County on November 21.

 

 

I checked another pond in the area, and found sketchier ice due to the wind having kept a portion of it open longer. I was still able to spud my way to the edge of the best area for fishing, and will go back there this afternoon. This pond is usually more hit or miss for ice-fishing than the one I hit this morning, but I am going to try it anyway. Then the rain and warm temps tonight and tomorrow will put an end to ice-fishing down here for a little while.

What a difference a year makes. 

I will not be ice-fishing in Johnson County tomorrow, or any time soon, by all accounts.

[JIvers]

There was probably a quarter of an inch of hard clear ice on one of my favorite ponds in Johnson County this morning. 

Too bad that new ice will be entirely gone by mid-week. 

[JIvers]

I hope to have a more positive ice report for the Coralville/Johnson County area by next weekend, based on the current forecast for this week.

The snow that is probably going to wreak havoc with ice formation for some areas north of here is not going to push back first ice around Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, because it will all be falling on open water.

[JIvers]

As of this morning one pond I fish at early ice in Johnson County has skim ice around the edges with open water in the middle, a second is mostly capped, and a third, larger than the others and exposed to the wind, is almost entirely open.

I was hoping I would get on the ice around Iowa City and Cedar Rapids New Year's morning. I don't think that is going to happen, but I am still going to check things out this Friday just to be sure.

[JIvers]

I had some errands to run today in Iowa City, and while I was out I checked the ice on a couple of ponds I like to hit at early ice.

One was completely capped, with 1.5 to 1.75 inches of new ice. I did not think it would be safe for fishing yet, but was hoping I was wrong. With the temperatures predicted for the next couple days I am pretty confident I can get out on there by Sunday afternoon.

The other pond was still probably 25% open, which surprised me a little bit. Not sure if it is wind or waterfowl doing that.

[JIvers]

The 1.75" of clear ice I found on Friday had become just shy of 3" this afternoon--just enough to spud my way out and fish.

The bite was slower than I expected for early ice, but I did end up with seven decent bluegill in two hours of fishing. They were biting light, usually after a bit of looking. All but one fish came on a waxworm on a bare hook.

The important thing is that ice-fishing season is here in Johnson County, at least for a few days. I'll be spudding my holes from today out tomorrow morning and afternoon, and fishing them again.

 

[JIvers]

Without bothering to check, I am sure the rain and warm temps of the last two days made the ice I was on earlier this week south of Cedar Rapids unsafe.

By next weekend we should be on the ice again down here, at least on ponds. Macbride may or may not have good ice on it by then.

[JIvers]

 The midwinter blahs seem to have hit ice-fishing in the Coralville/Iowa City area.

Plenty of ice on area ponds and Lake Macbride, 10" or so everywhere I was this weekend, but the fishing has slowed down in the past couple weeks. I did not get any walleye on Macbride last night after only getting a few smaller ones last weekend, and the pond action for bluegill is down, too. The Macbride bluegill are still biting, and when I am away from the community spots I can sometimes get some in the 7"-8" range.

Time for a road trip soon, I think.

[JIvers]

The midwinter slump is over here; the bluegill who were nowhere to be found a week ago were practically throwing themselves out of the holes today on two of my usual public ponds in Johnson County. There were quite a few sunfish over 8" among them, too. Waxie on a bare hook or a spike on a small teardrop jig: they hit both equally well.

10" of good ice today both places, but that is going to start going quickly, as it looks like the ice season is going to be done soon around Cedar Rapids and Coralville if the current forecasts are right. I'll be hitting the ponds hard from now on out, and will also see if the walleye and crappie bite turns back on Lake Macbride.

[JIvers]

Today will be my last day of ice-fishing for the 2014-15 season in Johnson County.

The warm weather of the last couple days has whittled the ice down to half of what it was last weekend, and killed a lot of the shoreline ice.

One of my usual late ice ponds was already inaccessible this morning, with at least a couple feet of open water anywhere I looked at the shoreline, and very rotten-looking ice beyond that.

My favorite late-ice pond of the last few winters in the area still had some ice along one shore, and I was able to get out there this AM and pound the bluegills until the sun got over the trees. I had about 6" of ice this morning where there was 10" last Monday, and with more sunny, windy, warm conditions today there will be less tonight.

I saw one brave soul on the south arm of Lake Macbride this morning; I was hoping to get out there this weekend and see if the crappie or walleye bites had turned back on for late ice, but I am not feeling that brave.

I am going to try and get out on the same pond I hit this morning one more time later this afternoon, and then it will be time to start thinking about ice out channel catfish on Coralville res., or pre-spawn walleye on the Iowa River.