fishing reports Lake Macbride Fishing Reports

[JIvers]

The quote below from the "Macbride Fishing Reports" thread is what I found there Monday morning; there may still be safe ice at Macbride today, but personally I'm done ice-fishing in SE Iowa for this season. Last week's heat and rain made most or all of our ice unsafe, and now we are getting temps that will neither melt all the bad ice for open water fishing or re-freeze it enough to make ice-fishing safe down here.

"I ran out to Macbride this morning [Monday February 21] 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."

[JIvers]

Talked to a couple of guys who went out on Macbride this weekend--they found safe ice for walking everywhere they went, but said they didn't catch much. I was not out there myself, so I can't vouch for that.

I'm tempted to drive out and see if I can't get on a couple more Macbride walleye before the ice goes out, but I don't think I will. My double-secret walleye spots are a ways out, and I don't feel like crossing that ice in the dark for fish that may or may not bite. Besides, I found fishable ice on a pond that should be good for a few days yet.

[JIvers]

I drove out to Macbride this morning after catching a couple channel catfish on the Coralville flood plain; I was a little surprised to see that the south arm is completely ice-free on both sides of the causeway. The ice only went off all of the ponds around here a couple days ago, and Macbride usually takes longer to clear of ice than those much smaller waters, which is why I was a little surprised to see it clear.

I won't be getting out on Macbride real soon, as I personally have little luck fishing that lake in the spring until the water temps over the deep water get above forty degrees, and that doesn't usually happen until the very end of March.

[JIvers]

It's just about that time of year: the spring bite on Macbride (and around Coralville generally) is about to begin. The cool weather might delay things for a bit, but in the past I start catching crappie consistently on Macbride right...about...now. They usually hold on the edges of the creek channels once the water temp. on the main lake hits the mid-forties, although they will move shallower to feed. This general pattern continues until just before Memorial Day weekend, which is when the water temps. hit that mid-sixties range that sets off the crappie spawn, and ridiculously easy fishing.

[gloomiseye]

Do you do much early spring walleye fishing on mcbride?

[JIvers]

Do you do much early spring walleye fishing on mcbride?

I haven't fished pre-spawn walleye on Macbride for a few years now; I'd get one here and there around the causeway or dam face, but not enough to make it worthwhile.

The water temps are usually in the mid to upper forties on Macbride April 1, which is when the crappie start biting; that is also when the walleye spawn. I bet we're a few days behind this year, but once the water temps get in to the fifties the walleye post-spawn bite begins, and fishing for crappie on Macbride in April or May usually equals fishing for walleye (and channel cat, white bass, and wiper).

I don't know how familiar you are with Macbride, but it has a good population of walleye. However, they are not easy to catch consistently. A good day of walleye-fishing on Macbride for me is three or more. I consider five or more walleye in one outing on Macbride a very good day.

Here’s a little hint on how to catch Macbride walleye in the spring: you know those articles on crappie fishing that claim crappie are not always picky light-biters who only want a tiny jig and tube? Those articles are correct.

[gloomiseye]

Never fished there, but it sounds a lot like the lakes around here. Tough to get a consistent pattern on the eyes.

[JIvers]

I got my boat out for the first time this year, and hit Macbride for a couple hours this evening.I never really marked fish holding tight to any sort of cover or structure, which is typical for this time of year, so I drifted the channel edges with a tube and a minnow. That produced one 6" wiper. Judging by the way the other boats kept moving around, I'd guess no one else had better luck than I did.

The surface temp. over deep water was between 47.5 and 48.5 degrees everywhere I checked, so the walleye out there are probably spawning. Besides them, the warmer temps should get the crappie, white bass, channel cat, and everything else in there biting better very soon.

[JIvers]

I've not been out to Macbride in a few weeks, but I've heard via the IDNR fishing report and word on the street that the crappie and walleye bite out there really took off in the last week or two.

Every time I wanted to get my boat out there to see for myself something always came up, but I hope to get out on Macbride by the end of this week, when I am done hunting, and hopefully picking, morels in SE Minnesota.

[JIvers]

I got out on Macbride this morning at 4:30 AM to beat the rain. I would have been there earlier, but I had a trailer light out, which was pointed out to me by the patrolman in North Liberty who pulled me over.

Anyhow, once I got on the water it was a slow bite: I got one decent channel cat, one dink walleye, and what was for Macbride a good-sized bluegill. Minnows and crankbaits produced nothing at all; only a crawler dragged along the bottom produced fish. The problem was that the areas that hold fish on Macbride this time of year have a lot of rock and brush, so there is no such thing as a "snagless" rig.

I probably tied on a half-dozen crawler rigs before the thunder chased me off the lake. Now I'm sitting here watching the wind blow the heavy rain sideways.

[JIvers]

I got out to Macbride for the first time since Memorial Day, and had a good early morning:

The walleye I CPR'd in the picture went 19.5", and I took a picture of the wiper, which wasn't that big, since I hadn’t got one on Macbride yet this year. I also caught three or four small walleye, a couple of crappies, and a spotted (Kentucky) bass. Everything came on crankbaits.

I hit the water at quarter to five; had I not overslept I would have been fishing at 4:15 AM. The last fish I caught (the wiper) came at about 6:20 AM, After that it was just a scouting trip for ice-fishing.

[JIvers]

Had another decent morning on Macbride--I caught three eater walleye between 14.5" and 16"--this was the largest:

The walleye were done hitting early again, but I picked up a couple of channel cat and a wiper--here is one of the channel cat, both of which went about 15"-16":

I was hoping to put in more time on the Mississippi this summer, but if Macbride keeps producing fish I can live with high water on the river..

[JIvers]

Since the weather was decent tonight, I went out to Macbride for a few hours. Things were a little slow, but besides a few bluegills on live bait I caught a couple small walleye, a 14.5" walleye, and about a 19" channel cat I released after this photo with the biggest walleye:

[JIvers]

I've been very busy lately, but I have made it out to Macbride a couple times this month. There are a lot of shad in the water, which is usually a problem this time of year on that lake.

The bite was pretty slow (a couple crappie and channel cat, a few Macbride bluegills, and no walleye) my last two trips to Macbirde, so I will probably wait a bit before going out there again.

[JIvers]

I haven't caught a walleye on Macbride since the end of July, but the eating-sized channel catfish are hitting well out there right now. I got out this morning for a bit and caught quite a few on crawlers and crankbaits. Here is the largest of the outing, a 21" I released--I also threw back a couple others in that range:

There are still a lot of shad in Macbride, which probably explains why I haven't caught many crappie or walleye on the lake in a while.

[JIvers]

The Macbride bite cooled off in September, but I have hit the lake a couple times this month, looking for a good crappie or white bass bite. So far, I haven't found it.

Last night, I did get a few white bass and wipers on live shiners or crankbaits, but nothing spectacular. The shad were being busted up good on the points and in the coves, and the gulls were having a field day on them, but me and the other boats out there could not find something to really compete with all the live shad the game fish were smacking. Usually anything in a shad-type pattern will produce all kinds of strikes when that is happening, but not last night.

[kiowa]

Got out to Macbride on Tuesday before the cold front came through, pretty decent day with the variety of fish we saw, 1 keeper walleye, a channel cat and flathead, a few bluegill, 1 large mouth just shy of legal and a huge wiper. All in all one of the best days on Macbride I have ever had. The difference was being mobile on the lake. Macbride can be unforgiving to the shore angler outside of spawning crappies in the spring.

[JIvers]

There were some people out on the ice at Macbride this past weekend, altough I was not one of them. I heard they were finding 3" of ice or less, which is not enough for me, especially on that lake.

It looks like the wind should have blown most of the snow we got here this morning off the ice, so with single digit temps forecast for the next few nights I hope to be on Macbride this weekend, looking for crappie and walleye. I will definitely be bringing my spud bar with me, if I go out there.

[JIvers]

I had time to run out to Macbride this morning, but not enough time to fish it.

There were portables clustered all around the south arm west of the causeway, including three lined up along the "wiper dropoff", as I call it, out a few hundred feet from the boat ramp on the south shoreline.

People have been drilling holes near shore on the north arm, and I spudded my way out with no issues. No one was on the north arm this morning, which is why I am going there tonight.

[JIvers]

I ran short on time last night, so I only had time to drill a couple holes by a hump that produces a lot of walleye and catfish in the spring and summer. I'd never ice-fished it before, and found once I got set up that the rise in the bottom wasn't as steep as it looks when I go over it with my boat. It went from 13' to 9' in about forty feet of walking; I want to see it go from 13' to 9' in ten feet of walking. I didn't have time to drill or look anywhere else, and not surprisingly I struck out without marking a fish.

I got out on the north arm early this morning, and targetted panfish rather than walleye. That meant drilling next to a brush pile.

I did not find any crappie this morning, but I did find bluegills, lots of them. By the time they shut off at 8:30 I'd kept eight, and thrown back many more.

The surprising thing is I caught eight bluegills between 7" and 8" on Macbride; for years around Iowa City all you had to say was "Macbride bluegills", and everyone knew you meant four inchers. The last couple years I've noticed some improvement in their size, and this morning was the best evidence of that improvement yet.

The shad, who are the main reason Macbride bluegill don't grow well (shad compete with them for food), are still in there, but maybe the wiper, channel cat, and walleye numbers are keeping the shad in check enough to give the bluegills some food. Or it might be something else altogether. Whatever the reason, it's nice to see decent bluegills in that lake.

The ice this morning was about 5" thick, and in very good shape. It has a blanket of snow now, but tomorrow's weather should clean that off. I think we have enough ice now to get through a few warm days next week.

[JIvers]

I hit one of my tried-and-true walleye spots on Macbride today (as far as any walleye spot can be "true" on that lake ), and fished for just over two hours with one bite. Here is what that bite was:

This fat 21" walleye smacked a chartreuse and white Jigging Rapala; I released her after a couple photos.

The ice was about 7" where I was at, but with the snow on top and warmer air today it is not getting any thicker. Hopefully the rain clears most of that snow off tonight, and we should maintain what ice we have, and maybe make a little more for the next couple days.

[aanderud]

Geez, you really are an 'eye hunter! I thought the name must have come from a time when you fished in MN more. The whole time I lived in C.R. (2001-2005) I never caught a single walleye in Macbride (didn't really target them at all, just fished bass and pannies in pleasant creek and macbride). I did get some out of the wapsi though.

Nice fish! Sounds like things are looking up down there!

[kiowa]

That's a real beaut 'eyehunter! Nice c.p.r. too, not sure I could have let that one go!

[JIvers]

I went looking for walleye on Macbride last night; I had four or five fish (I didn't have my camera, so I can't say for sure they were walleye) check out my lure, but nothing struck.

I think I said it before in this thread, but walleye fishing through the ice on Macbride is, for me, like musky fishing on open water: actually catching one fish is a good day, and having a few fish follow your bait says you are doing something right.

I know from when I do bring my camera with me on Macbride that for every walleye who takes a swipe at my bait, there are eight or ten or who rise off the bottom, look at it an inch away from their nose for a bit...and then drop away.

The walleye I do hook through the ice on Macbride come in super-aggressive, and catching them is easy. Sometimes I don't even see them until they come charging in from off-screen to smack my bait. The 21" I got last Sunday did not show up on my Marcum until she hit. Now if I could figure out how to get the less-interested ones to bite...

[JIvers]

Since the weather forecast does not look good for ice-fishing in SE Iowa, I went out to Macbride again this morning to look for some panfish.

I hit a brushpile in about 12' of water, and pulled up five decent bluegill in five minutes or so. Having first overshot the brushpile, and then having to look for it a bit because my eight-year old GPS is no always super-accurate, it was already after 7:00 AM by the time I dropped my first waxie, and as I feared the bite cooled as it got closer to sunrise. The bluegill got smaller, they hit less frequently, and hit lighter when they were still there. After 7:30 my Showdown screen went blank, and that was it for the morning.

No crappie again this morning, which seems to be a theme for everyone on Macbride this winter. I hear of people catching a few nice ones, but no one says they have caught twenty or forty crappie in a day.

There was about 8" of good ice where I was this morning, and about 6" on my walleye spot last night. That should hold up for a few days, but the forecast does not look good.