Fishing for Iowa’s Finest Game Fish

Fishing for Iowa’s Finest Fish

Bluegills are the most common and one of the tastiest gamefish in

Iowa. They fall into the “panfish” category. Note the dark blue gill

flap.

Bluegills thrive in small weedy lakes and farm ponds

around the state.

Bluegills hide in the weeds and wait for food to crawl or swim by.

This water boatman bug would be a real bluegill treat.

Bloodworms living on the bottom in the

mud are also favorite bluegill food.Bloodworms living on

the bottom in the

mud are also favorite

bluegill food.

Bloodworms have skinny red

bodies. Iron-rich hemoglobin

helps them breathe in oxygen

even when buried in the mud.

Believe it or not, but bloodworms turn into midges, or “stingless

mosquitoes” when they get mature.

These little grub baits for bluegills look a lot like bloodworms, don’

they? Dynamite when tipped on a teardrop jig.

Mealworms are another good bluegill bait option.

Hard to beat a plain old garden worm for bluegill bait.

The best thing about bluegills - you don’t need fancy tackle to fool

them.

Suspend baits down where the bluegills wait near the bottom.

A feisty bluegill fooled by an angleworm.

Bluegills are great fun to catch at any age!

Bluegills can also be

caught by brave ice

anglers in winter.

Bluegills are great

eating any time of year.

Bluegill fillets floured with cornmeal & ready for frying.

Fresh deep-

fried bluegill

fillets.

Bluegills are often confused with other “sunfish”.Bluegills are often confused with other “sunfish”.

This pumpkinseed is another colorful “sunfish”.

Pumpkinseeds

have a red dot on

their dark gill

spot.

Green sunfish have that red dot on their operculum too.

The state record weighed 2# 1oz.

Green sunfish thrive in weedy farm ponds.

Find a clear place to cast and start catching.

When that bobber starts to bounce, set the hook.

Put the green sunfish on a stringer and try for another.

Black crappies are another prolific & popular panfish. They have

speckled blackish bodies and round profiles.

The state record black crappie weighed 2# 12oz.

Black crappies often school in lakes near shoreline rock jetties or

sunken structures like brush piles.

Mississippi River backwaters are another good place to fish for

black crappies.

Black crappies concentrate near drowned wood in backwater

habitats, as that’s where the food hides.

Black crappies concentrate near drowned wood in backwater

habitats, as that’s where the food hides.

This flashy spotfin shiner is a favorite black crappie food.

Black

crappies gulp

small

minnows in

with gusto.

Small jigs that imitate injured minnows are great crappie baits.

Be careful when catching black crappies as

their mouth is paper thin and tender.

Look for lots of black crappies to be congregated around flooded

weeds and brush when they spawn in May.

Black

crappies

grow bigger

than

bluegills and

sometimes

weigh two to

three

pounds.

Feeding crappies can be caught on floating poppers on warm calm

summer evenings.

Time to cast that popper out and catch a black crappie.

Black crappies bite in winter too, often right at dusk.

Check out that black crappie’s dorsal fin

for an ID check. There should be 7 or 8

separated spines

White crappies are close cousins. They have 6 dorsal spines

compared to the black crappie’s 7-8.

White crappies

thrive in

Mississippi

backwater sloughs

in southern Iowa.

That submerged stump is sure to attract a school of white crappies

in southern Iowa farm ponds and lakes.

White crappies

have dark vertical

bars splitting

down their sides.

State record

4# 9 oz

White bass are silvery with faint black longitudinal stripes along

their sides. They hunt in packs for minnows and shad.

Threadfin

and gizzard

shad are fatty

fish full of

protein for

white bass.

They’re

common in

the

Mississippi

River

Tailwater dams along larger

rivers concentrate scrappy white

bass searching for shad.

Gizzard shad flee in panic when attacked by white bass.

Crappie minnows or shiners, like this emerald shiner, can be fished

below a bobber.

White bass can be fooled with a variety of different shiny baits.

State record 3# 14oz.

Jigs can be yo-

yo’d back with

or without a

minnow trailer.

Small heavy spinners, like a Kastmaster, are fantastic white bass

baits.

Fly rod streamers fool white

bass too

White bass can fill the

stringer in a jiffy if you’re

fortunate enough to find a

feeding school.

White bass can fill the cooler in a jiffy if you’re fortunate enough

to find a feeding school.

White bass fish & chips.

Yellow bass are a colorful white bass cousin. Whereas white bass

can grow two or three pounds, yellow bass seldom exceed eight

inches in length.Yellow bass are a

colorful white

bass cousin.

Yellow bass are only

found in a few Iowa

lakes, and are

uncommon in the

Mississippi River.

Clear Lake is a top

spot to catch the novel

yellow bass.

State record 1# 9oz

Whereas white bass often grow over a

foot long, yellow bass seldom exceed

eight inches.

Still a fine catch!

Yellow bass and all Iowa

panfish can be caught in winter

as well as summer

Yellow perch are another colorful yellow fish that can be caught

through the ice in winter.

Yellow perch are cigar-shaped compared to a yellow bass and have

dark vertical bars streaking their sides.

Yellow perch travel in large schools, hunting for minnows like

this blacknose dace

Live minnows or small shiny jigs that imitate minnows will tempt a

hungry yellow perch.

Live minnows or small shiny jigs that imitate

minnows will tempt a hungry yellow perch.

Boat marinas around lakes or on the Mississippi River often attract

baitfish and yellow perch. Ten-inch perch are “jumbos”. State record

2# 7oz

Yellow perch are an

excellent eating

fish!

Yellow perch make perfect panfish.

Walleyes are the largest members of the perch family. topping out at

about 12 pounds.

Yellow perch are one of the walleye’s favorite foods.

Walleyes hunt for sleeping perch at night with eyes especially

adapted for seeing after dark.

Note that unusual eye that

helps walleyes spot

snoozing perch.

Perch-colored crankbaits are good walleye lures. Watch out for

sharp those fish-gripping teeth.

Jigs, either in natural minnow

or perch colors, or fancy

fluorescents, fool many finicky

walleyes.

Tipping your jig with a tasty

minnow will make the bait doubly

delectable.

Wing dams along the Mississippi River and larger rivers are

home to walleyes in Iowa. A good spot to cast crankbaits or jigs.

Watch out for those bigger boats when casting jigs for walleyes off

wing dams in the Mississippi River!

Many eager anglers travel to large windswept lakes here in the

Midwest where walleyes also thrive.

In lakes, spinner rigs can be drifted or trolled behind a boat to

tease a walleye into biting. Bait the hook with one of several live

trailers.

Spot-tail shiners make a great spinner trailer, especially early in the

season. Note that round black spot at the tail base.

Nightcrawlers are a standard spinner trailer in the summer season.

Leeches, otherwise known as “bloodsuckers”, will sometimes trigger

walleyes when nightcrawlers won’t.

Spinner rigs are dragged along behind the boat,

letting the motor do the work.

Rowing is the old-fashioned way of

working a spinner rig for walleyes

out in the lake.

Iowa’s reservoirs and some lakes also host walleyes.

State record 14# 8oz

Iowa’s reservoirs and some

lakes also host

big walleyes.

State record 14# 8oz

Many anglers wait until sunset to start walleye fishing.

Walleyes are most active at

night, which is the best

time to catch them. Note

the white tail tip.

Saugers are a smaller cousin of the walleye, with a spotted dorsal fin

and no white tail tip.

Saugers are a smaller cousin of the

walleye, with a spotted dorsal fin and

no white tail tip.

State record 6# 8oz

Saugers have blotchy, grayer bodies than walleyes

Saugers are more of a river fish compared to walleyes, preferring

faster moving water. Two-pounders are big.

This sauger is ready to be dressed for dinner.

Fresh sauger fillets before the frying. They’re boneless.

Walleyes and sauger are the best tasting fish fillets, especially when

prepared fresh for lunch along shore.

Smallmouth bass are Iowa’s darling

gamefish.

Cool clear rocky streams in northeastern Iowa is where most

smallmouth bass live, though some lakes have them too.

Smallmouth bass are associated with rocky bottoms since their

favorite food, crayfish, live there.

Crayfish are better than chocolate-covered cherries to

smallmouth bass .Crayfish are

chocolate-covered

cherries to

smallmouth bass .

This Rebel Crayfish

will catch smallmouth

bass!

Smallmouth bass have relatively small mouths.

Besides crayfish, another tried and true smallmouth bass bait is the

devilish looking dobsonfly larvae called a hellgrammite.

Adult dobsonflies aren’t nature’s cutest creatures either.

Jigs that imitate crayfish, hellgrammites, leeches or minnows will all

take their share of smallmouth bass.

Toss a realistic jig down amongst the rocks and twitch it so that

waiting bass will come over and swallow it.

Smallmouth bass are suckers for leggy-looking jigs.

This northern redbelly dace would also be relished by a famished (or

even full) smallmouth bass.

This minnow-imitating Mepps Spinner is a go-to lure for catching

smallmouth bass.

Smallmouth bass fishing is

at its best in Iowa when

September starts trees

turning color and nights

cool down some.

Smallmouth bass are

strong fighting fish

and put up a real

battle as they often

leap out of the water

several times during

the struggle.

A twenty-inch

smallmouth bass is a

great trophy.

State record is 7# 12oz.

Most anglers in the

modern age release

all the smallmouth

bass they catch to

protect the

resource.

Besides wading, fishing from a canoe is another good way to angle

for smallmouth bass.

Fishing kayaks are an option for adventuresome fishers.

The smallmouth bass is also known as the “bronzeback” with a

brownish-olive body and darker vertical stripes on its sides.

Largemouth bass are much more common than smallmouth bass in

Iowa. They have a mossy green back, a white belly, and a wide dark

stripe running lengthwise down their body.

Largemouth bass are most

common in farm ponds and

small lakes, but live in

almost any water body.

Largemouth bass like to hide in the underwater weeds where they

can ambush their prey.

This bullfrog would be breakfast toast for a “bigmouth bass”.

Baits that resemble frogs will catch

largemouth bass.

Golden shiners are a natural largemouth bass food, so a live golden

shiner for bait will certainly catch fish.

Largemouth bass latch onto and swallow heedless shiners head-

first.

Spinnerbaits that pretend to be

golden shiners are great

largemouth bass triggers.

Dawn is the best time to try and catch a largemouth

bass.

Sneak into a largemouth bass lair and see what happens

What if the largemouth bass is laying under that mess?

A weedless-rigged plastic worm is probably the best bait day in

and day out for fooling largemouth bass into biting. Cross their

eyes on the hook-set!

Largemouth

bass have big

but very hard

bony mouths

Largemouth bass fishers prefer heavy-duty rods and reels for

tackling those strapping trophy fish.

Purple plastic worms work best, for

whatever reason

Largemouth bass are aptly named, and will gulp down whatever

they can grab.

Most largemouth

bass weigh a couple

pounds, but five-

pounders can be

caught and a ten-

pounder is possible

Most anglers release largemouth bass too, so they can fan out nests

in May and make more fish-catching fun.

State record 10# 12oz.

Northern pike are extremely aggressive predators and truly a trophy

fish, sometimes called “water tigers”.

Gator fish is a good way to describe a northern pike.

Northern pike are long and thin and can grow to 40” long and 25 lbs.

Their mouths are filled with sharp teeth

Many northern pike lurk in quiet Mississippi

River backwaters.

Northern pike also roam in Iowa’s larger lakes and reservoirs

Long thin fleshy suckers, shiners or chubs, like this common shiner,

are key natural foods for northern pike.

A live shiner suspended below a

bobber is a good northern pike

bait

Tip-ups take the place of

bobbers in winter.

When the flag pops up, pull

in your pike.

Northern pike have razor-sharp teeth so be careful.

Daredevil

Spoons,

especially in a

red and white

striped

“candycane”

pattern, have

taken countless

northern pike

over the years.

Any big showy red and white lure that looks and acts like an

injured sucker will attract a northern pike.

Cast those Daredevils toward

waiting weedbeds.

Northern pike are top-notch fighting fish.

Northern pike taste great, but they’re full of problematic Y-bones, so

release these toothy fighters and eat panfish.

Northern pike taste great, but they’re full of problematic Y-bones, so

release these toothy fighters and eat panfish.

State record 25# 5oz.

Iowa’s most elusive gamefish is the muskellunge (the fish of a

thousand casts).

Muskellunge can only be caught in a few Iowa lakes

Muskellunge like to lay in camouflaging cabbage beds while

waiting for their meals to swim by.

Creek chubs, suckers and even walleyes are eaten.

Big minnow crankbaits will interest a resident muskellunge. Dark

stormy days and fishing at night is the best way to get a muskie on

your line.

Muskies are said to be the fish of a thousand casts!

Six-inch spinners are favorite muskie Baits. Cast with a pool cue for

a pole and use non-stretch braided line.

This proud angler is about to

release a nice muskellunge to

fight another fine day. State

record 50# 6oz.

Good fishing!