Crawford Creek Impoundment

Channel Catfish – Fair: Fair numbers of good sized catfish are being caught.  Bluegill – Good: Good numbers of bluegill are being picked up along with some crappie.

Moorhead Park Pond

Channel Catfish – Fair: Some decent sized catfish have been picked up.  Bluegill – Fair: Good numbers of bluegill can be caught, but they’re smaller fish.  Good opportunity to get kids on some fish.

Brushy Creek Lake

Bluegill – Fair: Tip jig with a piece of crawler and fish in 15-20 feet of water.  Yellow Perch – Fair: Bait jig with a small minnow and fish in 15-20 feet of water.

Storm Lake (including Little Storm Lake)

The dredge machine is in operation on Storm Lake.  Boaters should use caution and stay clear of the dredge machine, booster pump barge, and pipeline.  Channel Catfish – Fair: Catfish have still been biting fairly good.   Use Sonny’s dip bait and fish overcast days to increase chances of success.  White Bass – Fair: No update for white bass this week, but last week shore anglers were picking up white bass with blue and silver 1/4 ounce Kastmasters and Mepps spinners.  Walleye – Slow: Anglers are still catching some walleye trolling, but they’re mostly slot fish.

Black Hawk Lake

Water levels are about seven inches above crest.  Water clarity has improved some.  Channel Catfish – Fair: Anglers have been picking up targeting bluegill off the stone pier.  The catfish are around 15 inches.  Bluegill – Good: Anglers have been catching 7.5-8-inch bluegill off the west Stone Pier in Town Bay.  Largemouth Bass – Fair: Anglers have reported decent action for largemouth.  Most fish are in the sub legal size range. Yellow Perch – Slow: Some larger yellow perch have been picked up fishing around the weed patches near Cottonwood Point. Walleye – Fair: Fair numbers of walleye can be caught throwing twisters or hair jigs in the evenings.  Most walleye are sublegal, around 12-13 inches.

Little Sioux River (Linn Grove to Correctionville)

Discharge around Correctionville is average.  Channel Catfish – Good: Channel catfishing continues to be good with anglers reporting catches of 4-6 pound fish.

Des Moines River (Humboldt to Stratford)

Although the river is below flood stage near Fort Dodge, discharge is still above the 75th percentile.  Channel Catfish – Fair: Anglers have been catching good numbers of channel catfish below the dams in Fort Dodge.  Try night crawlers.

Water levels are at or near crest at most of the lakes in the Black Hawk District.  For more information on fishing in this area contact the Black Hawk District Office in Lake View at 712-657-2638.

Big Spirit Lake

Smallmouth Bass – Fair: Smallmouth should start hitting on jerk baits and trolled crankbaits worked near rock piles. Walleye anglers are likely to come across a few of these hard fighters.  Crappie – Fair: Anglers fishing from piers, docks and by boat near bull rush beds have been picking up a few small crappies using small jigs with plastic twister tails. Slip bobbers and a hook tipped with a small shiner should also work for folks. Yellow Perch – Good: Anglers are starting to get into a bunch of six-inch perch. Very few are angler acceptable size yet, but folks are having fun with them until they grow up a bit more. Walleye – Fair: Cooler daytime and overnight temperatures have dropped the water temperature on Big Spirit. This shift has started to get fish more active. Recent anglers pulling crankbaits near weed lines and across rocky points have been pulling a number of nice walleyes. The catch is still dominated by slot fish but a few keepers and lots of fun fishing is in store for folks hitting the water.

East Okoboji Lake

Yellow Perch – Good: Pilkies tipped with red worms worked near rocky points have been producing a few nice perch. Be prepared to sort some small ones, but anglers can count on keeping some for the freezer. Walleye – Fair: Action has started to pick up with the cooler temperatures in the area. Anglers with the best success are working deeper areas with both live bait rigs and deep running crank baits. Trolling across the deep ends of structure is producing a few nice keepers.  Yellow Bass – Good: Deep weed lines and structures are providing the best action to anglers who use small jigs tipped with live bait.

Silver Lake (Dickinson)

Yellow Perch – Fair: A fair number of smaller yellow perch were seen in sampling nets this summer. Cooler temperatures should make these fish more active and available to the angler. Try pilkies tipped with wigglers or red worms to entice a few of these for the dinner table.  Walleye – Fair: Cooling water temperatures will start to get fish more active. Hit the rocky points with crank baits or drift a shiner through to pick up a few keepers.

West Okoboji Lake

Smallmouth Bass – Fair: The cooler temperatures should have smallmouth moving around rocky points. Troll crankbaits or cast jerk baits to target these fish.  Yellow Perch – Fair: Pilkies tipped with red worms or wigglers will get you some action on yellow perch right now. Work the openings in the weed beds with a slip bobber to target some nice keepers.  Walleye – Fair: Cooler temperatures has increased catch rates recently. Crankbaits trolled near outside weed edges and across rocky points have been producing some nice fish. Jigs tipped with shiners drifted across structure will also get you some hook ups.  Yellow Bass – Good: Small jigs tipped with wigglers will get you some nice action.

Ingham Lake

Bullhead – No Report: Ingham supports a healthy bullhead population of angler acceptable sized fish. Soaking a night crawler should keep anglers entertained for quite a while. When action is hot, this would be a great time to get kids outside fishing with you.

Five Island Lake

Walleye – No Report: Fall temperatures should increase angler success on walleyes. Troll crankbaits near rocky structures to target these fish.

Lost Island Lake

White Bass – Fair: Folks looking for a little action should try a hair jig tipped with a shiner slowly retrieved to entice these guys to bite.  Walleye – Fair: Cooling water temperatures should have fish more active. Troll crankbaits near rocky structures and outside weed edges or drift a jig tipped with a shiner for your best success. Yellow Bass – Fair: Small jigs tipped with twister tails will get you a few small yellows with the occasional keeper.

Little Sioux River (state line to Linn Grove)

Walleye – Fair: Start looking for a few walleyes downstream of rock/sand bars. A shiner worked on a jig head should get them interested.

West Fork Des Moines (state line to Emmetsburg)

Walleye – Fair: Keep an eye out downstream from rock/sand bars right now. Jig heads tipped with shiners worked slowly around these areas should start to produce a few fish.

For lake updates and fishing information for Northwest Iowa, contact the Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery at 712-336-1840.