Upper Iowa River Tips

[Slothin'02]

Hi All,

We're going to be camping at Harvest Farms Campground this weekend and will be taking a paddle and doing some fishing on the Upper Iowa. I've never fished here before and was looking for any tips/advice.

My research has found that smallmouth and rock bass as well as brown and rainbow trout are pretty prevalent, so that's what I'm planning on going for. Right now I'm planning on using spinners and maybe a worm on a slip bobber.

Am I on the right track? Please let me know if I'm planniong on bringing the right tackle and going for the right stuff. I'm not looking for any holes or anything, I'd just like to make sure I'm prepared for what the river has to offer.

Also, is there a bait shop in Harmony?

Thanks for any info!

[Guest]

Don't forget small crawdad crankbaits and jig and grubs/tubes/senkos for the Smallies as well. Good luck and let us know how you do.

[Slothin'02]

Thanks so much for the info. I've got plenty of jigs and crawdads already packed. I'm gonna stop in Harmony for a couple other things so I think I'll be ready.

I'll definately post a follow-up with the results.

Thanks again!

[Slothin'02]

Well, here's the report.

The river was way up and moving fast with lots of new blow-downs from the week before. Being in the stern, I couldn't fish and negotiate the river at the same time. We stopped for lunch and I threw the line in a few times, but not for very long.

With all the rain, the runoff turned the river very cloudy, making the bite very difficult. We ended up with nothing, but had a great paddle. It was a perfect day for it and had a great time.

[Guest]

Good to hear you had a good time. Too bad about the high cloudy water and tough bite.