Fishing Report for Southeast Iowa

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MARCH 20, 2014

www.iowadnr.gov  |  facebook.com/iowadnr |  twitter.com/iowadnr |  pinterest.com/iowadnr

For lake locations, maps and other information, go towww.iowadnr.gov/Fishing/FishingReports.aspx

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources issues a weekly fishing report on Thursdays in an effort to provide the latest information heading into the weekend. The weekly fishing report is compiled from information gathered from local bait shops, angler creel surveys, and county and state parks staff. For current information, contact the district fisheries office at the phone number listed at the end of each district report.

SOUTHEAST

Lake Geode

Unsafe ice.

Lake Belva Deer

Unsafe ice and open water.

Pollmiller Park Lake

Lots of open water around the shore.  Ice looks rotten.  Unsafe.

Lake of the Hills

Ice is going out fast now.  Unsafe.

Railroad Lake

Unsafe ice.

Wilson Lake

Unsafe ice. The ice is melting fast so it should be gone by the time trout is stocking at noon on March 28.

Environmental Discovery Park North Pond

Ice is rotting away fast. The trout release is March 28 at 10 a.m. 

For more information on the above lakes call the Lake Darling Fisheries Office at 319-694-2430.

Pleasant Creek Lake

Shorelines are poor and it may be possible to access the ice yet, but caution should be used. The lake still has quite a bit of ice in most areas.

Coralville Reservoir

The lake level has reached 679 feet (normal spring drawdown pool level). A few seams are opening up now but there are no boat ramps that are usable. There is open water up at the 380/965 bridges where anglers can fish from shore.

Iowa River (Coralville Lake to River Junction)

The area below the Coralville Dam is open but is very dirty and foamy from the lake being drawn down. Outflow on March 20 is 4,000 CFS and will slowly decrease each day.

Most of the lakes have deteriorated shorelines making accessing the ice difficult to impossible. Ice fishing is not recommended in most areas. For more information, contact the Lake Macbride Fisheries Station at 319-624-3615.

Red Haw Lake

The lake is about 50 percent covered with ice and the ice that is left is not safe for ice fishing.

Albia (lower)

The reservoir's ice is not safe for ice fishing.  The lake is about 50 percent ice covered.

Lake Sugema

The lake is about 50 percent ice covered and the ice remaining is not safe for ice fishing. Tug Forks West has only about 25 percent ice coverage.

Rathbun Reservoir

The lake is about 90 percent ice covered but the remaining ice is not safe for ice fishing. The current lake level is 904 feet. Don't forget Lake Rathbun contains zebra mussels so make sure to clean, drain, and dry equipment before transporting to another water body.

Please contact the Rathbun Fish Hatchery at 641-647-2406 with questions regarding angling in south central Iowa.