fishing reports Lake Macbride Fishing Reports

[JIvers]

Got my boat out for the first time this year on Lake Macbride. I wasn't expecting much action, but that was OK, as I wanted to see that my outboard was running well, and make sure that there were no other problems with my boat or trailer.

Everything on the boat worked well, so I anchored up on a spot where I marked a fair bit of suspended fish. Nothing much happened, but I did catch a 11" crappie a little before sunset.

I regard that crappie as a bonus; in my experience since I moved down to Johnson County, little happens on Macbride after ice out until the water temp hits forty degrees over the deep water on the main lake arms. The thermometer no longer works on my sonar, but this is a little early in the year for the temps to get that warm, so one fish was cool.

Once the water temps get in to the mid-forties, the crappie bite will be on, until the spawn happens, at which point it goes crazy.

[JIvers]

Got out and fished Macbride for the first time since the end of March yesterday evening. (Can't believe I wasn't able to fish Macbride once in April!)

The weather was mild, and this time of year I expected the crappie to be on fire. The surface temps were 62-63 degrees, so the crappie spawn is very close.

To my surprise, I only caught four crappie in three hours while missing a couple of hits. Several other boats I talked to had pretty much the same luck, or worse. No walleye, wiper, white bass, etc. for me, either.

I kept two crappie, both about 10", one a white, one a black, that still had eggs in them, so the spawn is certainly not done, if it has started. Those two females I kept came out of about 14' of water, so they had not moved shallow yet. After this weekend, when we are supposed to get highs near ninety for several days in a row, I expect the crappie spawn to be on in full.

[JIvers]

I had a little better luck on Macbride last night. Got five nice crappies between 11" and 12.5". All were whites, all had their eggs still in them, all came out of about 13' of water. I didn't bring my thermometer along to check water temps, but I am betting the crappie spawn will be fully underway on Macbride within a week.

I also picked up a bonus 29" channel cat, which was a fun catch on 4 lb. test and an ultralight rig. Pictures coming when I get them developed.

There is a modest fish fly hatch going on--that might explain the surprisingly slow crappie bite. Fish were slurping them off the surface, and the nighthawks and bats came out at dark to scarf the lake flies down, too.

I haven't hit Macbride much yet this spring, but with school done and the walleye bite on the Iowa River seeming to slow down I'll be out there a time or two this coming week before the Memorial Day hordes descend on the lake.

[JIvers]

With the continuing high water on the Iowa River, and the Mississippi around Muscatine hitting flood stage, I went out and tried Macbride tonight. With a few exceptions (July of 2008, right after the flooding, was a great month on Macbride), Macbride is a tough lake to fish in the summer months. I wasn't expecting too much this evening, and I wasn't disappointed.

I fished shiners on slip bobbers, and trolled shad-style crankbaits around the drop-offs and cover, with walleye and crappie my main targets. I didn't find any of those, but I did catch a channel cat, a largemouth (no real size to either), and a couple of typical Macbride bluegills.

Guess I'll go back to fishing current breaks on the Iowa when I have time to fish--I burn less gasoline getting to them.

[Joe]

Please check your boat/trailer when pulling out for the invasive plant brittle naiad. Channel Catfish - Good: Largemouth Bass - Fair: Fish shallow wood or deeper rock.

[Joe]

Any motor size may be used at no-wake speed now. Channel Catfish - Fair: Fishing at sunset and at dark has been producing well. Crappie - Fair: Some anglers are catching nice sized crappies now. Hit the brush piles with minnows or jigs.

[JIvers]

Got out on Macbride tonight to see if the fall crappie/white bass/wiper bite had started yet. Long story short, it hasn't, at least not tonight.

I did catch a 17" channel cat, 12" walleye, and a couple of small crappie trolling crankbaits, which I brought largely as an afterthought. The surface temps over deep water were 60-61 degrees, just warm enough for crankbaits to be effective, in my experience. The couple other boats I talked to didn't report catching anything at all.

Maybe it was the high air pressure today, but I'm going to wait a little bit before hitting Macbride again this fall. The Iowa River is dropping closer to normal fall levels, and it is time the walleye, saugeye, and white bass bite picks up on the Iowa River below Coralville res.

[JIvers]

If anyone has a positive report from Macbride this fall I'd be happy to hear it.

Tried the lake again tonight, and while there were shad being blown up on the surface I could not put anything in the boat. I had something bite me off twice in a couple minutes, which I suspect was one of the seldom-seen muskie or Northern the IDNR puts in there.

As for the crappie, white bass, and wiper that are usually going strong on Macbride in mid-October, nothing. Not even one of the scrawny Macbride bluegills.

As for the Iowa River around Johnson County, it is slowly dropping to better levels, but I still haven't heard much positive about the walleye and white bass bite on there, either.

This is easily one of my worst falls for fishing in quite a while. Hopefully deer-hunting goes better than this.

[Joe]

Crappie - Fair: Crappies are extremely hit and miss. Some anglers are catching limits, some are catching a few. Fish brush and areas with warmer water. Walleye - Fair: A few walleyes are being picked up by trolling crankbaits. Most success has come in 9 to 11 feet. Any sized motor may be used at no-wake speed. Water temperature is around 50 degrees.

[Joe]

The upper ends of the lake have been frozen for a week, but the main lake just froze over on 12/8. Ice conditions are extremely variable!

[JIvers]

I found about 4" of good clear ice on the north arm of Macbride this afternoon, although one guy coming in said he found thin ice somewhere over the old creek channel.

The fishing was worse than the ice by far today. Some days, I love Macbride, and some days I hate that lake. Today was one of the days I hated it.

I was the first person to drill on some of the off-shore crappie cribs that are going to get POUNDED now that the ice is safe, and was sure I was going to hammer some crappie on them. WRONG. There were some fish holding there, but I could not get them to bite.

I drilled on a couple of smaller brushpiles in shallower water, and couldn't even mark a fish there. I brought along a heavier rod to look on the rockpiles and dropoffs for walleye and wiper, but couldn't raise a fish doing that, either. I should have went pond-fishing again, as I have some nice bluegills that are now available.

Of course, the guys who fish tomorrow where I was tonight may well hammer the fish: that is what Macbride is like.

[crabshack]

good to know eyehunter. sounds like the choice will be easy for me today then... headed to the farm pond!

[Joe]

Ice depths were checked at the following access points on 12/14: Main Ramp in Park 5 ½ inches, Cottage Reserve Road Ramp 6 inches, Handicap Pier 6 inches, Primitive Campground Ramp 7 ½ inches, Anglers Point Ramp 6 inches, Four Lane Sailboat Ramp 7 inches, Opie Ave North Shore Ramp 6 inches. All these measurements were taken 100 feet from shore. Areas that are deeper, unprotected, or later to freeze up will have less ice and could be dangerous. Bluegill - Fair: Any type of structure seems to be holding bluegills. Size is mediocre. Crappie - Fair: Fish over brush in 10 to 20 feet of water. Nice sized fish are available.

[JIvers]

I fished the north arm of Macbride for a couple hours this afternoon; the few holes I drilled showed about 6" of good ice. The couple inches of snow did not seem to hurt anything, as there was no slush between the snow and ice.

I set up on a small piece of timber that gets overlooked by people on their way to the community spots, and marked fish right off the bat. I was hoping I had found some crappie, but instead they were bluegills. By the standards of Macbride they were actually pretty good-sized, with the biggest being maybe 7.5"--maybe the drawdowns of the last two winters killed off enough shad to leave more food for the bluegills. That bite stopped about 4:30, but at least I caught some fish.

The other people I talked to reported a few crappie being caught early in the morning, but nothing in the afternoon. I myself had my best day of ice fishing on Macbride in three years, which isn't staying much. Still no crappie, walleye, or wiper this winter in two trips.

[crabshack]

probably heading out on either tomorrow or tuesday morning. hopefully this front coming through will turn the crappies on!

[Joe]

Hey Great reports guys!

Most areas have 6 inches of ice or more. Some areas that are deeper or last to freeze may have less, so still use caution. Bluegill - Good: Any type of structure seems to be holding bluegills. Size is mediocre. Crappie - Fair: Fish over brush in 10 to 20 feet of water. Nice sized fish are available.

[JIvers]

I hit the north arm of Macbride yesterday afternoon; the ice was good, probably 7", but the action was slow.

I got a few of those "mediocre" sized bluegills, and one cigar walleye right at dusk. I'm still looking for my first Macbride crappie of the winter.

I fish the north arm both because I am more familiar with it from open water, and because the crowds in the winter are on the south arm and under the powerlines.

[JIvers]

The pond fishing in Iowa City has slowed a bit since the New Year's thaw-and-freeze, so I hit the north arm of Macbride today to get away from the crowds on the south arm. The ice is good, probably eight to ten inches.

The crappie drought continues, but I got in to a bunch of bluegills again. The biggest went about 7.5", which is actually good for Macbride. I think the size may have improved because of the draw-down the last two winters, which may have knocked the shad population back and gave the bluegiils who compete with them more food.

There are still shad in there though. Not only did I see dead ones in the ice, but I saw live ones swimming beneath me through the clear ice. I probably should have popped a hole on those. Instead, I fished a rock pile for walleye at sundown, but didn't mark a thing.

[kiowa]

'eyehunter,

have you seen or heard about ice under the res spillway?

[JIvers]

I've not heard anything about ice below the tube, nor have I checked.

It usually takes a serious cold snap to lock up that eddy area on the west side below the tube, and I don't think we've had that yet.

Last winter, I missed out on the three or so days where there was good ice there. High water levels kept it open for most of the winter. The winter before that, we had several weeks of fishing there, and I made good use of it. The flow is lower this winter, but I am betting there isn't any fishable ice there now.

[JIvers]

I've found a good walleye bite in the last week; a good walleye bite for Macbride, anyway--more on that in a bit.

There's plenty of ice everywhere I've been on the lake, probably ten inches of good hard clear stuff. Also smooth as glass, so cleats of some sort were a necessity.

I got away from the crowds, and found bluegill and walleye working the base of some structure. The bluegill were mostly small, although I got a couple of honest-to-gosh eight-inchers, which is huge for Macbride.

As for the 'eyes, ice-fishing for walleye on Macbride is like fishing for muskie; you don’t just count the fish you actually catch, you count the fish who looked at your bait. The walleye in Macbride are very well-fed, thanks to the shad in the lake, and that makes them picky. For every walleye I actually catch through the ice, I probably have fifteen that come up off the bottom, look at my bait an inch in front of their nose for thirty seconds, and then drop back to the bottom. This is every bit as annoying as it sounds.

I’ve usually put one or two walleye on the ice each time I’ve been out, missed one or two strikes, and had ten more check my lure out and swim away. The biggest I’ve got so far this winter was 16”, although I’ve seen larger. On a lot of waters two walleye in an outing is not successful, but on Macbride it is.

As for crappie, I’ve been picking off one here and there that come in suspended. I’m not fishing near any brush, so I’m not expecting to see many specks, although active ones will move through the area.

[kiowa]

Congrats on landing a few 'eyes on macbride, it's a challenging endevour. I'm headed out there for the first time this weekend, if I iced a walleye I would consider that a big accomplsihment. It's nice to hear that there are some 'eyes in that lake, sometimes I wonder...

[JIvers]

'eyehunter,

have you seen or heard about ice under the res spillway?

I'm sure there is still nothing fishable there now, but the flow coming out of the Coralville Tube is pretty low, and scheduled to drop more, so with the predicted lows below zero the next few nights I will be checking there this weekend.

I hope the big eddy freezes up, because my little walleye bite on Macbride seems to have dropped off. That is, instead of catching one or two walleye, and missing one or two strikes, I iced no walleye, and had no strikes, my last couple times out. Still plenty of half-curious fish checking my jig out, though.

[JIvers]

I ran out to Macbride this morning to check the ice conditions: no one was out, but surprisingly the ice right off the sailboat ramp on the north arm was still in decent shape. I walked out with a spud bar about fifty feet, and found five or six inches of good ice beneath a couple inches of half-melted pulp.

A person could probably still ice-fish parts of Macbride, but I am done ice-fishing for the year around Iowa City. Good ice fifty feet out from one ramp does not mean good ice everywhere on the lake, and conditions are only going to get worse with continuing warm temps and more rain around here.

Even if one found safe ice, the heavy run-off coming in to the lake will almost certainly make for dirty water. That usually hurts fishing until it has a few days to clear up, and by that time the ice will almost certainly not be safe.

[kiowa]

Does anyone know if the ice on MacBride is still good? I saw some folks out there last weekend but we where a little warmer this week. I would hate to drive out there for nothing... Thanks