NORTHWEST

 Brushy Creek Lake

 The north end of Brushy has around 5 to 6 inches of ice. Bluegill – Fair: 

Storm Lake (including Little Storm Lake)

Storm Lake has 7 to 10 inches of ice depending on location. There is a lot of snow on the ice in the east part of the lake. White Bass – Slow: Some white bass are being picked up fishing out in the deeper dredged areas. Yellow Perch – Slow: Some yellow perch are being picked up fishing out in the deeper dredged areas. Walleye – Fair: Walleye fishing has been hit and miss. Anglers catching the walleye are fishing in 5 to 6 feet of water with the early mornings and late evenings being the best.

Black Hawk Lake

The winter aeration system is on in the Town Bay area. Ice is 7 inches at the Ice House Point boat ramp. Yellow Perch – Slow: Some smaller yellow perch have been caught while fishing for walleye. Walleye – Fair: Fair numbers of walleye were caught over the weekend, but fishing seems to have slowed down a bit recently. Most anglers are targeting the dredge cut in the Denison Beach area.

For more information on the Black Hawk District call 712-657-2638.

Clear Lake

Ice is around 10 to 12 inches on the little lake. Some anglers have driven their permanent shacks out on the little lake. Also some permanent shacks have been set up out from farmers beach on the main lake. Crappie – Good: Anglers are reporting decent numbers of crappies in the deeper water (15- to 22-foot of water) on the little lake. Some of the crappies are 10 to 12 inches. Anglers should target that last hour of light for the best bite. Yellow Bass – Good: Yellows have been caught in 8 to 10 foot of water on the little lake. Size of the catch is split between 5 inches and 8 inches. Larger yellows seem to be coming from shallower water (8-12 foot) while some anglers have had larger numbers of smaller yellows from deeper water (18 to 20 foot).

Lake Cornelia

Cornelia had 6 to 8 inches this past weekend. Activity has been around a dozen shacks. Bluegill – Slow: Anglers are catching some small bluegills but not much for keepers. Yellow Bass – Fair: Activity has been hit or miss. Fishing success earlier in the winter was in the deeper water. 

Crystal Lake

Ice is around 11 to 12 inches. Angler activity has been high. Bluegill – Good: Anglers are doing best on the dredge cut in 12 to 14 foot of water. Anglers have been keeping fish in the 7.75 to 8.25 inch range. Crappie – Good: Anglers are catching 10 to 11 inch black crappies in 17 foot of water. They are suspended 2 to 4 foot off the bottom. 

Blue Pit

Rainbow Trout – No Report: The trout that were stocked in November should still provide some action for ice anglers. Try for them in shallower water on the edges of the pit.

Bluebill Lake

Bluegill – Good: Anglers are having some success fishing for bluegill and crappie near submerged tree clumps.

For lake updates and fishing information in the north central area contact the Clear Lake Fish and Wildlife office at 641-357-3517. 

Big Spirit Lake

Ice Conditions are variable with the snow being on the ice. Vehicle traffic is not advised at this time. Ice reports have the ice being as thick as 11 inches in places with no snow cover, and 4 inches in snow covered spots. Yellow Perch – Fair: Some quality Perch are being caught on the south end near the pump house 200 yards off the bank. Seven to 9.5 inch fish have been creeled. Walleye – Slow: 

West Okoboji Lake

Bluegill – Slow: Gills of nice size are being caught on the weed lines of Emerson and Millers bays. Slow falls and light jigging brings these fish in. Fish weedlines in less than 10 feet of water. Crappie – Slow: Around 12:30 crappie move into the shallows of Millers suspending in about 7 foot of water. Working jigs high in the water column has led to success on multiple occasions for some anglers. Emerson has been seeing few of these crappies but they are beginning to school up in the deeper waters later in the afternoon. Right before dark these fish are beginning to show up in both Emerson and Millers. Yellow Perch – Fair: Millers bay is still presenting a quality bite for those who want to brave the wind and cold. These perch are being caught in 20-plus feet of water, size ranging from 7 to 10 inches. Anglers are having success using small jigs and wax worms. 

Five Island Lake

Yellow Perch – Excellent: Yellow perch are being caught in the deeper holes along with walleye. Perch are ranging in size from 8 to 11 inches. Walleye – Excellent: The Walleye bite at 5 Island has really picked up and fish are being caught in dredge holes and in Townbay. Fish ranging in the 14 to 20-inch range are being caught. 

Scharnberg Pond

On Jan. 31 Scharnberg Pond will be stocked with trout at noon. Rainbow Trout – Fair: Working jigs right below the ice to catch these schooling trout. 

Center Lake

Crappie – No Report: Poor ice conditions exist from the boat ramp north including the whole north shoreline. 

East Okoboji Lake

Channel Catfish – No Report: Limited fishing activity, foot traffic only.

Silver Lake (Dickinson)

Walleye – No Report: Poor ice conditions exist on the east end of the lake extending from the north to south shorelines.

Limited ice fishing activity in the Spirit Lake District. Lakes have variable ice thickness and the recent rain over the weekend has produced slushy ice conditions.