FALL is HERE

 

Strike King Lures will have
you catching more fish this FALL

The weather has finally changed and FALL is here in Iowa.  It is time to put the flip-flops away and get those hoodies out.  I truly love the month of October for fishing.  Bass start to feed up, panfish start to school up and larger fish like walleye and pike are very active too.  October has a lot of good memories and I look forward to new ones each and every year.  

With the fall season here, it does translate into a some tackle refinements.  Jerkbaits become a mainstay on the boat, they work great for bass this time of year and a walleye will be fooled every once in awhile too.  I also like poppers this time of year.  As the water cools bass will look towards the top of the water column for their next meal.  This doesn't last long but it sure is fun when you can blast some bass on topwater in October.  Spinnerbaits, a bait that I do not use most of the year, becomes my favorite search bait.  I begin fall with large willow leaf blades and as the water cools I will trade the large blades out for smaller blades.   Lastly, a Texas-rigged Hot Rod Baits tube...this bait is good year-round.  

These are my main baits this time of year, a fifth selection would be a crankbait, shallow or medium diver depending on your location.  As you can tell by the bait selections, fish are starting to feed more on smaller fish than crawdads.  Crawdads will soon...if not already...be making their way under some rocks in a state of dormacy for the fall and winter.  Fish love crawdads, but with fewer and fewer of them roaming around all fish species will focus more on smaller fish to fee on.  

If you don't have a few of these baits tied on...you better get to it and get out to your favorite body of water soon.

Indee Bass Club Visits Lake Delhi

The fourth and final stop of the Indee Bass Club took place on September 20th at Lake Delhi. Anglers from the club also had tournaments on the Okoboji Lakes, and two on the Wapsi River here in Independence this year. The day was a wonderful one for fishing, partly cloudy, mild breezes and little boat traffic. Lake Delhi is known for a lot of bass, both smallmouth and largemouth, making it an ideal place for a youth tournament. The anglers had six hours to figure out what the bass wanted to eat on this particular day, and that they did. The club set a new record with weighing in 33 bass at one event, also a record with the most weight weighed in at a tournament, 57.21 pounds. As mentioned, it was a great day to be in the club and a great day to be on the water fishing.

Nine adult captains took 18 kids out fishing on this day, with 16 anglers able to bring bass to the weigh in. Kaden Shannon and Preston Miller found one bass that weighed 0.76 pounds. In seventh place was Ty Hanson and Antonio Moore with two bass that weighed 1.80 pounds. Sixth place belonged to the team of Landen Putbrese and Keegan King, they had a limit of five keeper bass that weighed 6.76 pounds. In recent years that weight would have put the anglers in the top 2, but on this particular day the big bass were hungry on Lake Delhi. In fifth place was the team of Gable and Carter Eddy, they had 7.88 pounds. Coming in at the fourth spot was Aiden Svoboda and Will Clark, they had 8.18 pounds. In third place was Ranger Reed and Cal Sweeney, they had 9.55 pounds, including a 3.94 pound largemouth. This pair used wacky rigged stick baits and a stupid rigged tube from Hot Rod Baits. In the Runner-Up spot was Memphis Peyton and Brayton Kuhse, they had 10.83 pounds, including a 3.30 pound smallmouth bass. The Delhi Champions reported catching their keepers on wacky rigged stickbaits and ned rigs. Jackson Beatty and Colton Cameron had 11.45 pounds, including the Big Bass of the tournament, a giant largemouth weighing 5.27 pounds caught by Jackson. As you can tell these kids really found a way to catch some great fish! What a way to end the regular season. The anglers do have one more chance to fish representing the Indee Bass Club. The Eastern Iowa Bass Club Battle, which will have the Cedar Falls Fishing Club and the Cedar Rapids Prairie Fishing Team going at it on Coralville Lake on October 11th. Indee has won this fun event 2 of the 3 years it has taken place.

The captains that provided their time, expertise and boats include: Shane Beatty, Bo Peyton, Todd Reed, Jeff Heinze, Dan Sweeney, Dalton Beau, Garry Anderon, Jesse Roscovious and Todd Ristvedt. The club is sponsored by; Colony Plumbing/Heating/AC, Buchanan County Wildlife Association, Smith D&L Insurance, Klever Concrete, Tim Reed State Farm, BankIowa, Cy&Charley’s, Shay’s Minn Kota, RONA Memorial, Hilltop Motors, Scheels of Cedar Falls, Lew’s Rods/Reels, Strike King Lures, Hot Rod Baits, X-Zone Lures, The Rod Glove. These sponsors make it possible for all anglers to fish without cost. They also provide trophies/awards and all anglers receive fishing gear at each tournament. You can find much more about the club and many more pictures on their Facebook, Instagram and Website.

Do you CHANGE color or weight first?

 To all my jig and Texas-Rig throwers out there this question can make the difference of a bad day and a good day of fishing.  I have done a lot of experimenting with this over the years and I was reminded of this once again last week.  I had spent three straight days on the river catching bass on one of my favorite color of tubes; the Hot Rod Baits GreenPumpkin/Blue tube.  Like most anglers I will change color of baits first, typically depending on the water clarity, which if yo are fishing river systems can change in the matter of a few hours or with a change of scenery.  Two straight days I was catching bass on a 3/16oz Texas Rig, on the third day the bites disappeared.  Same stretch of river, similar current and same water clarity.  The GreenPumpkin/Blue tube was working so well, and it looked so good in the water I wasn't boing to change up colors.  Instead, I changed the weight of my sinker.  I retied and placed a 1/8oz bullet weight on the Texas-Rig and continued fishing.  Several fish later I was feeling like a genius.  So, my inquiring mind took over and started to question the change.  Was it the weight...was it a different stretch of bank...different logs I was pitching at?  So, I turned the boat around and fished the laydown logs that had no bites...sure enough I caught some fish.  This was in the matter of 30 minutes so I am pretty sure the weight had EVERYTHING to do with the fish catches on this particular day.  

On that particular day I was reminded that fishing can literally b a the difference of 1/16th of an ounce, hardly anything.  This instance also reminded me that fish can be quite picky when selecting food to eat.  Not only is color important of obviously the speed of the bait can be crucial as well.  

I hope this tip helps you catch a few more fish this year, stay safe out there and keep your baits wet!

Indee Bass Club July Wapsi River Tournament

Gable, Colton and their
Captain Dan Sweeney

 Mother Nature blessed the Indee Bass Club on July 9th with wonderful weather for their annual Wapsi Summer Scramble.  This event partners up young anglers, which included 16 students, with an adult boat captain for a night of fishing on the Wapsi.  The goal is for the anglers to catch three keeper (12-inch) bass for the live weigh-in.  The teams are ranked on their total weight of the three bass.  Anglers can only use artificial baits and for this event the time limit was four hours.  It is a challenge anytime to catch bass, making team work a valuable component of this learning opportunity for students.  

Students and their adult captains hit the water at 4:30pm.  Boats spread out quickly throughout the Wapsipinicon River system.  Of the eight boats that took part in the event, six boats brought back their limit of three bass.  In sixth place was Jackson Beatty and Ty Hansen, they weighed in 3.06 pounds.  In fifth place was Keegan King and Cal Sweeney, they had 3.80 pounds.  Coming in at forth place was Christian Simmons and Memphis Peyton, they had 4.06 pounds.  In third place was Aiden Svoboda and Carter Eddy, they had 6.62 pounds.  These anglers caught their bass on Hot Rod Baits tubes, buzzbaits, and crankbaits.  Runner-up for the event was Preston Miller and Ranger Reed, they had 7.06 pounds, catching them on swim jigs and Hot Rod Bait tubes.  The Wapsi Summer Scramble Champions were Colton Cameron and Gable Eddy.  They caught their 8.11 pounds of keeper bass on tube baits and wacky worms.  The winning weight was helped by Colton's Big Bass of the event that weighed 3.02 pounds.  

Captains that volunteered their boats and time for this event included; Andrew Gissell, Dave Wilson, Bo Peyton, Jesse Roscovious, John Malek, Todd Reed, Randy Toale, and Dan Sweeney.  All participants enjoyed pizza at the tend of the event which was purchased with club sponsor money.  The Indee Bass Club is a volunteer ran organization which is made possible by the numerous sponsors they have.  A huge thank you to all of them: Colonly Heating/AC, Smith D&L Insurance, Buchanan County Wildlife, Tim Reed State Farm, BankIowa, Cy&Charley's, Shay's Minn Kota, RONA Memorial, Klever Concrete, Hilltop Motors, SCHEELS of Cedar Falls, Strike King Lures, Lew's Fishing, The Rod Glove, X-Zone Lures, and Hot Rod Baits.  With the help of all these sponsors, Coach Todd Reed was able to give away over $1000 worth of fishing gear to the students and captains at this event.  For more information about the club search them out on Facebook, Instagram or their Google website.

Summer Fishing in IOWA

This article first appeared in The Iowa Sportsman Magazine

Iowa may be one of the best states in the Midwest to fish this time of year.  The water is warming, most all spawning activity is complete, and the rivers are flowing.  No matter what part of the state you live in, you have a river nearby that is waiting for you.  Smallmouth and largemouth bass are really feeding up this time of year and can provide fantastic topwater action.  These species of fish will hit a variety of topwater baits this time of year.  Some favorites amongst bass anglers include; buzzbaits, poppers, walking baits and frogs.  If your river system is large enough, you may have some backwater areas that are starting to provide nice weed patches for fish to hide and feed in.  Not only are these high percentage areas for bass and topwater baits, but are also great for bluegills.  I have never seen a bluegill that could resist a small worm floating under a bobber.  If you live in areas where smaller rivers rule your terrain then it is time to get your topwater baits ready for some smallmouth bass.  Smallmouth love to hang out in current areas and sandbars.  Smallmouth bass will smash a topwater water bait all throughout the day.  Of course, early morning and later in the evening is better for any type of fishing right now, especially topwater baits.  Rocky shorelines provide an ample amount of food for the smallmouth and they will be fooled by small walking baits and popper style baits.  The same goes for catching smallmouth bass on or near sandbars.  

If river fishing isn't for you, or you don’t have a good way to access rivers in your area, then some crappie fishing in a nearby lake is something to focus on.  As the lake temperatures start to warm, crappies will start to align with shaded areas and deeper structures.  Crappies really like shaded shorelines this time of year and boat docks too.  Each provides some cooler water and gives them an advantage in stalking their prey.  Crappies are best known for hitting artificial baits.  They love jigheads and a colorful plastic trailer.  One-eighth ounce jighead or lighter is best for these fish.  My two favorite colors of baits for crappie plastics are; pink and white and a black and chartreuse combination.  Once you figure out the right weight of lure to get it at the depth the crappies are holding, you will have a fantastic time catching these fish.  Mix up the jig head weights and colors until you find the perfect combination for the depth of water you are fishing.  

Another great fish to target in our lakes are bluegills.  Bluegills can usually be seen in large numbers throughout the state at any given lake.  These fish are quite energetic for their size and are very fun to catch on light tackle.  As mentioned earlier, a small worm and bobber is hard to beat when chasing bluegills, however if you are in a boat searching for them you may want to give a drop-shot a try.  When bluegills are relating to the bottom of the lake, there is no better technique to catch them then the drop-shot.  This rig has a bell sinker on the bottom of your line with your hook and bait ties approximately six inches above the sinker.  This allows you to pull the worm or drift with it along the bottom while keeping your hook and bait just off the bottom, bluegills love this presentation.  Typically the bite is a nice little thump on your rod, so it is great to use with kids as well.  The month of June is a great time to explore new areas, the fish are biting and you may find a great new place to fish for years to come.

As you can see, Iowa has a lot to offer right now when it comes to fishing.  The heart-pounding topwater bass strikes, bluegills slowly taking your bobber, or crappies picking up your jig, there is always something biting in June right here in Iowa.