NORTHEAST

Cedar River (above Nashua) 
Water levels are stabilizing and low. Water clarity is improving. Visit the USGS Water Dashboard for current water levels. Channel Catfish – Excellent: Try a hook loaded with a crawler, chub, chicken livers or stink bait. Northern Pike – No Report: Find pike in shallow vegetated areas out of current. Smallmouth Bass – Good: Find smallies below the dams; use a hook tipped with a ringworm, twister tail or nightcrawler.  Walleye– Good: Try worms or minnows under a slip bobber with enough weight to get your bait near the bottom. Yellow Perch – Good: Use a minnow or worm fished along the lake edges.

Decorah District Streams 
With the onset of fall and cooler temperatures, all stream stocking, announced and unannounced, continue as scheduled. Streams are in good condition. Use caution when crossing or fishing in faster current. Brook Trout – Fair: Try fishing the weed lines and head end of riffles for actively feeding fish. Terrestrial insects are abundant. Brown Trout– Good: Dirty water favors brown trout anglers. Increasing terrestrial insect numbers such as crickets, beetles and grasshoppers washing into streams creates a feeding frenzy for brownies. Rainbow Trout – Good: Use small spinners or crankbaits. Try worms, cheese balls or trout nibbles under a bobber in slower moving water.

Lake Hendricks 
The green algae bloom is less intense. Water temperature is in the low 70s. The bite is improving as temperatures fall. Black Crappie– Fair: Slowly troll for crappie. Best bite is in the evening. Bluegill – Fair: Catch one of these beauties with a small piece of worm. Channel Catfish – Excellent: Best time to catch a nice-size cat is at night using stink bait. Largemouth Bass – Fair: Find fish on the edges of vegetation; use weedless lures to minimize the frustration of casting into weeds.

Lake Meyer
The green algae bloom is reducing clarity to about a foot. Shoreline vegetation diminished, improving shoreline angling. Water temperatures is in the 70s. Black Crappie – Fair: Find crappie suspended. Try trolling weed edges with a jig and twister tail. Bluegill – Fair: Find a cove or weed edge. Use an ice fishing jig tipped with a small piece of worm. Channel Catfish – Good: Try a chunk of worm or squished minnow fished off the bottom near stumps or other woody debris. Largemouth Bass – Fair: Use crankbaits or a jig with plastic tail on weedless hooks along vegetation edges.

North Bear Creek
Bridge replacement work is completed. Rainbow Trout – Excellent: Stocked weekly from April through October.

Turkey River (above Clermont)
Water levels are stabilizing with good water clarity. Smallmouth Bass – Good: Find smallies near undercut banks or rock ledges; use a jig with a twister tail or crankbait. Walleye – Good: Find walleye in deeper pockets just out of flow. 

Turkey River (below Clermont)
Water levels are stabilizing with improved water clarity. Current remains high. Visit the USGS Water Database for more information on water levels. Smallmouth Bass – Good: Try fishing the eddies and drop-offs. Walleye – Good: Find walleye in current breaks or eddies; use crankbaits or spinnerbaits. 

Upper Iowa River (above Decorah) 
Water levels are stabilizing. Water clarity is good. Give strainers such as tree limbs and log jams a wide berth. Smallmouth Bass – Good: Try fishing rocky ledges or along a current break. Walleye – Good.  

Upper Iowa River (below Decorah)
Water levels are stabilizing with good clarity. Current is swift. Smallmouth Bass – Good: Find deeper holes and eddies. Try fishing near the bottom. Walleye – Good: Use a jig tipped with a natural colored twister tail in the edges of eddies. 

Volga Lake 
A green algae bloom is reducing clarity. Water temperature is in the 70s. Few anglers are out. Try slowly trolling around the lake to find suspended fish. Black Crappie – Fair: Use tube jigs tipped with crappie nibble off the jetties. Also try trolling around the lake to find suspended fish. Bluegill – Fair:  Anglers are finding gills off the jetties. Try tube jigs tipped with artificial attractants or a small piece of worm under a bobber. Channel Catfish – Good: Trophy-sized catfish are abundant in this lake. Use a dead chub or squished minnow fished off the bottom near woody debris. Largemouth Bass – Fair: Try fishing crankbaits in drop-offs and around brush piles and other attracting structures; use crankbaits toward evening.

Temperatures are in the 70s to 50s. Rain likely over the weekend. Flows remain elevated.  Use caution when paddling with high current. For current fishing information, please call the Chuck Gipp Decorah Fish Hatchery at 563-382-8324.

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Brinker Lake
Reports of anglers catching a few walleye. Walleye – Fair: Focus on finding humps while casting and retrieving a jig tipped with a nightcrawler. 

Casey Lake (aka Hickory Hills Lake) 
Anglers are catching a few channel catfish after dark. Bluegill fishing has picked up recently. Bluegill – Good: Try a piece of nightcrawler underneath a slip bobber. Channel Catfish – Excellent: Try fishing off the old beach area and to the west using stink baits, livers, leopard frogs or dead cut baits fished on the bottom. Best bite is after dark or early morning. Largemouth Bass – Good: Topwater baits or spinnerbaits work best.

Cedar River (Nashua to La Porte City) 
Water levels continue to drop on the Cedar River. Reports of anglers catching smallmouth bass, walleye and channel catfish. Channel Catfish – Fair: Try stink baits, chicken livers or dead cut baits fished above fallen tree snags. Smallmouth Bass – Good: Cast a jig with half a nightcrawler near current breaks, eddies and rocky shorelines. Walleye – Good: Cast a jig with half a nightcrawler near current breaks, eddies and rocky shorelines. Crankbaits have been doing well on walleye also.

Maquoketa River (above Monticello) 
The Maquoketa River is in excellent condition. Reports of anglers catching smallmouth bass. Smallmouth Bass – Good: Cast a jig with half a nightcrawler near current breaks, eddies and rocky shorelines.

Shell Rock River (Greene to Shell Rock) 
Water levels continue to drop on the Shell Rock River. Reports of anglers catching pike, smallmouth bass, walleye and channel catfish. Smallmouth Bass – Fair: Cast a jig with half a nightcrawler near current breaks, eddies and rocky shorelines. Walleye – Fair:  Cast a jig with half a nightcrawler near current breaks, eddies and rocky shorelines.

Wapsipinicon River (Tripoli to Troy Mills) 
Water levels on the Wapsipinicon River continue to drop. Reports of anglers catching pike, smallmouth bass, walleye and channel catfish. Channel Catfish – Good: Try stink baits, chicken livers or dead cut baits fished above fallen tree snags. Smallmouth Bass – Good: Cast a jig with half a nightcrawler near current breaks, eddies and rocky shorelines. Walleye – Fair: Cast a jig with half a nightcrawler near current breaks eddies and rocky shorelines. Crankbaits have been doing well on walleye also. 

NE Iowa interior river levels are falling and in excellent condition. Reports of anglers catching walleye, smallmouth bass and channel catfish. Trout streams are in excellent condition across NE Iowa. Area Black Hawk County lakes have been slow for panfish and largemouth bass. Contact your local area bait shops for the most recent hot spots. For more information, contact the Manchester Hatchery at 563-927-3276.