Oxbows below Salorville?

[Carp-fisher]

Hi all,

I lived and fished in the Des Moines area for several years and I used to fish the overflow lake below Salorville Dam. If my memory serves me correct, there is a channel that connects the lake to the river down by the Cottonwood access. It was a real hit or miss fishery. I remember one spring, the lake was filled with pike and walleye. Caught my personal best pike in that pit. The next spring I tried it and couldn't even get a hit. Anybody ever fish this lake?

[PikeBayCommanche]

The one right behind the dam south of the spillway??

[Carp-fisher]

Yep, thats the one.

[PikeBayCommanche]

Drove by today on the way back from the marine shop and looked at it. Yeah I might have to give it a try. Its probably been fished out is what i am thinking.

[Carp-fisher]

If the river is running high, new batches of fish will swim in there.

[PikeBayCommanche]

True, I will give it a try.

[Tony]

Those are some sand pits that existed before the construction of Saylorville reservoir. When the river floods out down there, they can get lots of fish trapped in them. I don't think that happens very often anymore. Back when there used to be cold winters, they would winterkill from time to time, and I remember finding some incredibly large fish of all species floating dead in there after the ice would go out. They can have good crappie and northern fishing from time to time even without high waters due to the creek that runs out to Cottonwood.

[Carp-fisher]

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Those are some sand pits that existed before the construction of Saylorville reservoir. When the river floods out down there, they can get lots of fish trapped in them. I don't think that happens very often anymore. Back when there used to be cold winters, they would winterkill from time to time, and I remember finding some incredibly large fish of all species floating dead in there after the ice would go out. They can have good crappie and northern fishing from time to time even without high waters due to the creek that runs out to Cottonwood.

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Now that I think about it, the best fishing I had in that pit was in the spring of '94. It was absolutely jam packed full of pike then.

Hey Pikebay, if you don't get any at the pit, take a drive up the road to the Big Creek spillway. Walk down on the wildside and bounce a fathead/splitshot rig off the bottom about 30 yards down where the wall comes into the water. Big crappies and whites are hugging the bottom and will gobble that fathead like a twix bar. Take care and report back.

[PikeBayCommanche]

Tony,

Welcome to FM. Do you live in the Des Moines area? Anyways great to have another addition to the Iowa forum.

[PikeBayCommanche]

Tony,

Your input to the Iowa forums is very welcome considering you have fished alot of Iowa water.

Yeah check out the Cass Lake forum we ussally talk about upcoming fishing trips. Where are you fishing for opener?

Again welcome to FM and am sure you will find that there are alot of people with extensive fishing and outdoors knowledge.

[Carp-fisher]

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PBC,

Thanks for the welcome. I grew up and went to school in Des Moines and lived in Ames for 12 years as well. I now live in Turtle River, MN not too far away from Pike Bay. I grew up fishing in the central Iowa area. All I did was fish when I was a kid. I also spent some time in NE Iowa more recently, and can be helpful on topics that spring up for that part of the state.

Around Ames, I fished the Skunk River and the Hallett sand pits north of town as well as the county areas north of town there (can't remember name?). Also fished the Des Moines River around the Boone/Ledges area a lot.

Maybe we'll run into each other on Pike Bay or Cass this year.

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Dang Tony, we have similar experiences. I grew up in Des Moines, lived in Ames for several years and now live in the Twin Cities. Webster City to Lamoni was my fishing stomping grounds for years.

[Tony]

PBC,

Thanks for the welcome. I grew up and went to school in Des Moines and lived in Ames for 12 years as well. I now live in Turtle River, MN not too far away from Pike Bay. I grew up fishing in the central Iowa area. All I did was fish when I was a kid. I also spent some time in NE Iowa more recently, and can be helpful on topics that spring up for that part of the state.

Around Ames, I fished the Skunk River and the Hallett sand pits north of town as well as the county areas north of town there (can't remember name?). Also fished the Des Moines River around the Boone/Ledges area a lot.

Maybe we'll run into each other on Pike Bay or Cass this year.

[goodyy7]

The reason you caught the numbers of pike like that is that the DNR uses those ponds as rearing ponds for thier pike. Can get a lot of numbers in the past, but not as hot as they used to be due to the vast amount of pressure they get. Still good at times for a variety of fish though.

goody

[Tony]

There are some NOP rearing ponds up above the dam on the west side near one of the accesses, but the old pits below the dam aren't used for rearing. They might stock those (not sure anymore), but they would be impossible to use as rearing ponds because there is no way to efficiently harvest fish from them. Rearing ponds need to be of a wadeable depth with no logs, etc to snag the seine on.

[goodyy7]

There is at least one rearing pond up by Sandpiper and I know they plan to build another in that area. As for the ones below Saylorville, I said "used" to use one of them for that I not sure about now....that came from a conversation with Dick McWilliams (head fisheries biologist for the DNR in this area).

goody

[goodyy7]

There is at least one rearing pond up by Sandpiper and I know they plan to build another in that area. As for the ones below Saylorville, I meant to say "used" not "uses" them for that I not sure about now....that came from a conversation with Dick McWilliams (head fisheries biologist for the DNR in this area).

goody

[PikeBayCommanche]

Thanks for the Info. Goody.

[Tony]

That may be, I guess. I was just speaking from my experience of working numerous years for dnr fisheries in Iowa. I worked at the Guttenberg fish hatchery, where all NOP fry production for the state originates. I used to stock the Saylorville rearing ponds with NOP fry for Dick.

[Carp-fisher]

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That may be, I guess. I was just speaking from my experience of working numerous years for dnr fisheries in Iowa. I worked at the Guttenberg fish hatchery, where all NOP fry production for the state originates. I used to stock the Saylorville rearing ponds with NOP fry for

Dick

.

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Thanks for the input Tony. I bet you know all kinds of different fishing spots. My mind is in engineering, but my heart is in fisheries. Years back, I did a summer internship in the water supply section of the Iowa DNR down at the Wallace building. I sat in a cube and punched numbers all day, but I did have access to all kinds of interesting fishery data. That made the experience more than worthwhile.

[DANK]

Tony, what's your last name? My parents retired to Lake Beltrami a few years ago after a life time in Ames. I try to get up to the Turtle River chain/Cass/Pike Bay at least twice a year. Heading up there in three weeks, can't wait!