Clear Lake: Ice thickness is 2 to 5 inches.
Blue Pit: The Iowa DNR stocked 2000 rainbow trout Nov. 21st. You must have fishing license and trout stamp to fish for and/or possess trout.
Fin and Feather Lake: Ice thickness is 5 inches.
Lake Cornelia: Ice thickness is 5 inches.
Ice thickness is 5 inches.
Steve Young muskie 1

Steve Young of Parkersburg shows off the 50-inch muskie he caught and released on Clear Lake May 15.
Kid catches muskie

Hunter Palmer, 10, of Mason City, caught and released a 37-inch Muskie off the south shore in Clear Lake in May 2018. He was trying out his new "Lost Look" hook that he had just got from the bait shop down the road from where he caught the Muskie. The hook was empty and didn't have any bait on it. The fish was measured for length and quickly released back into the lake. Palmer reeled it in and a family friend helped him get it in the net. The Muskie is Palmer's first big fish.
Houston muskie in East Park

Houston Conway holds a 14-pound muskie he caught in the Winnebago River in East Park on Sunday, May 21, 2017. His brother, Logan Conway, also caught a muskie that day.
Logan Conway and Muskie

Logan Conway holds a 15-pound, approximately 45-inch muskie he caught in the Winnebago River in East Park on Sunday, May 21, 2017. His brother, Houston, also caught a muskie in the park that day.
Steve Ibarra 2

Steve Ibarra, of Mason City, holds a 37-inch northern pike he caught in the Winnebago River in East Park on Feb. 17, 2017. He said he regularly catches pike, walleye and smallmouth bass in the park.
Muskie

Nicole Steen displays a 38.5-inch muskie she caught with boyfriend Alex Templeton on Clear Lake on Sunday, Aug. 28.
Sea Wall muskie

Fred Pokorney of Manly caught this 44-inch, 21.2-pound muskie on a dock at the Sea Wall on May 13.
Clear Lake muskie

Rick Fowler, Moville, caught a 49-inch muskie while fishing on a Clear Lake dock Tuesday.
Nasheim walleye

In June, 2003, Nick Nasheim, 13, of Mason City, caught this walleye drifting on Clear Lake. He was using a worm.
Dalen's cat

In a 1999 file photo, Cerro Gordo County Attorney Carlyle Dalen shows off a 44 pound flathead catfish he caught in the Mississippi River near Red Wing. It took Dalen and hour and 5 minutes to land the fish on 8 pound test line. He was fishing for walleye and using a jig.
Redig's big fish

Michael Redig of Forest City displays an 8-pound, 10-ounce walleye he caught in June, 2008, on Clear Lake. The 28.5-inch fish was the biggest Redig had ever caught.
12th Street cat

Steven Randall, 11, of Mason City, displays the 8.5-pound catfish he caught in June, 2006, off the 12th Street bridge in Mason City. He used a nightcrawler to catch the big cat his biggest yet. Steven was fishing with his father, Joe. The fish was released back into the Winnebago River.
Tom Caswell's Muskie

Tom Caswell displays the 42.5-inch muskie he caught in April, 2010, off Farmer's Beach in Clear Lake.
Big fish in St. Ansgar

From the left, Christian Vorland, Noah Diekhuis (both of Clear Lake) and Robert Kase of Manly, show off the northern pike they caught in 2002 in the Cedar River near St. Ansgar.
Santee's northern pike

Gerald Santee of Nora Springs holds a 27-inch Northern Pike he caught at the Nora Springs dam in April, 2010.
Richards' river monster

Don Richards, Mason City, holds a 45-inch, 25 pound muskie he caught in the Winnebago River at East Park in April, 2008. It was the third muskie he'd caught in the Winnebago River. Richards has released each muskie that he has caught.
Randall's pike

Joe Randall hoists the Northern Pike he caught in Mason City at Big Black Pit in September, 2003.
Mike Uhlenhopp's northern pike

Mike Uhlenhopp of Alexander displays a 39.25-inch northern pike he caught Feb 24, 2005, on Clear Lake. He used a jig on 6 and 8-pound test line to land the fish, which weighed 15.10 pounds.
Lenz lands a big one

Ninety-two-year-old Ruby Lenz caught this 9-pound catfish in July, 2008, at the grade in Ventura. She and 10 other residents of Concord Care Center in Garner spent part of the day at the lake fishing and enjoying a cookout.
Georgia Hanford cat

Mason City's Jon Lee hands his son Ryan, 11 the catfish, weighing over 15 pounds, the two pulled in while fishing for bluegills in 2004 in Georgia Hanford Park in Mason City.
Frank and the fish

Donnie Frank holds the 25-pound Northern Pike he caught in July, 2000, in a pond on private property. Frank used fish liver and a spray on odorant to bait the fish, which he said was on his line for probably half an hour.
Echelbarger's northern pike

Robert Echelbarger of Mason City displays the 39-inch, 12-pound northern pike he caught in June, 2006, on the Cedar River just below the Mitchell dam. Echelbarger was fishing with his son, Rob.
East Park walleye

Scott Alman caught a Walleye at East Park in Mason City in June, 2003.
Mom and son muskie

The Globe Gazette 6-year-old William Elston and his mother Tammy Dibert, both of Mason City, caught a 50 inch Muskie in Clear Lake in 2003.
2 for one on Clear Lake

Wyatt, Craig and Leo Anderson show the muskie and crappie that 6-year-old Leo, right, caught on Clear Lake in June, 2016. The muskie was holding the crappie in its mouth when Leo reeled the pair in together.
Big muskie caught on Clear Lake in January, 2016

Mark Zirbel hoists a 49.25-inch muskie he caught in Clear Lake in January, 2016. He had to pull the muskie through a narrow ice hole, which it barely went through, in order to land the big lunker.
Jeff Lutcavish with giant northern

Jeff Lutcavish said he caught this 23-pound northern Sunday in a private quarry near Mason City in November, 2015.
Catfish in Clear Lake

You never know what’s going to bite your bait on north central Iowa’s Clear Lake. Chris Scholl caught this catfish in 2015.
Trout's muskie

Tyler Trout of Mason City shows the big muskellunge he pulled from Clear Lake in June, 2015.
Gregor Walleye

Kristina Gregor shows the 24-inch, 5.45-pound walleye she and husband Tom caught while ice fishing in Clear Lake in 2015.
Fall Classic walleye

Clear Lake Fishing Club secretary Dan Krauth holds a 6.05-pound walleye caught by the team of Alan Gilbert and Del Brown during the Clear Lake Fall Classic walleye fishing tournament in 2014.
Netted walleye

DNR fisheries biologist Scott Grummer holds a 47-inch musky caught during 2014 spring netting on Clear Lake. The fish, which was released, featured a 24-inch girth and weighed 39 lbs.
Gabe Haugland

Gabe Haugland of Clear Lake caught this 42-inch musky on Clear Lake May 18.
Walleye

Trish Tiedemann of Mason City caught this 8-pound, 28-inch walleye while fishing at Leech Lake in Minnesota.
Jensen's Fishing the Midwest: Fall can be the best time for trophy fish
Depending on where you live, the young people and their teachers are getting ready to go back to school, football season is either here or just around the corner, and the fall fishing season is not far off. Some folks may not like this progression of seasons, but many anglers do. They know that autumn can provide the best fishing of the year for both numbers of fish and trophy fish. Many anglers have caught the biggest fish of their life in the fall. If we want to take full advantage of fall fishing, now is a good time to make preparations to do so. Following are some things to keep in mind as we prepare for fall fishing.
Whether you’re fishing a lake, river, or reservoir, at some point in the fall the fish will school up. In the summer they’ll be loosely schooled more of the time, but when the fish feel the water temperatures drop and notice the days getting shorter, they’ll group up. Therefore, it works well to keep moving with an eye on your sonar until you find where the fish are hanging out.
The importance of paying attention to your sonar was once again driven home on a fall trip to Lake Kabetogama a couple of years ago. Kab is known for its walleyes, but it’s also a world-class smallmouth fishery. We were fishing for the smallmouth on deep structures. We located the structures on the maps in our sonar units, then cruised over them looking for fish. The first two spots were fishless, the third showed fish.
We dropped jigs and dropshot rigs to them and had immediate action. Just for the heck of it, we tried similar looking structures that didn’t show fish on the sonar, and that’s what we caught: Nothing. The fact that you’ve got to fish where the fish are if you want to catch fish was reinforced that day. We were using Raymarine sonar at the time: I can’t remember which units we had, but the Axiom series of sonar from Raymarine that we’re using now does an amazing job of showing fish, and they have the other features necessary that make fish-catching so much more consistent.
Start the autumn season off with fresh line. Just as we start the season with fresh line, we want to be sure our connection to the fish is in good shape in the fall. Be sure that when that fish-of-a-lifetime eats your bait, your line will be ready to handle it. There are lots of line choices out there, and they all have a purpose. With that said, day-in and day-out, I use P-Line CX or CXX Premium. These are kind of like monofilament line, and I’ve developed a lot of trust in them. If I want more sensitivity and better hooksetting ability, I use XTCB braid with a Tactical fluorocarbon leader. This set-up provides the ultimate in strength and minimal stretch, yet allows for a very natural presentation.
In the fall, fish like larger lures. Even the smaller fish eat bigger baits in the autumn. Mother Nature tells the fish that it’s better to eat one large meal instead of several smaller ones. Use big bait for big fish.
There are lots of options for recreation in the fall. Football and hunting take up lots of folk’s time. But if you like to fish, reserve some time for doing-so. The weather is pleasant, the scenery is nice, and the catching can be outstanding. Discover that for yourself when the leaves on the trees turn colorful.
North Iowa anglers have landed some big fish over the years, reeling in massive walleyes, northern pike, catfish and muskies. This gallery con…
Muskies: Mitchell County Conservation intern explains 'the mystery fish' (with photos)
OSAGE | Local anglers had an opportunity to hear about the “mystery fish" -- also known more commonly as the muskie, from Levi Nettleton, recent naturalist intern with Mitchell County Conservation.
Nettleton, who will be a senior science education major at the University of Northern Iowa this fall, told attendees muskies are known as the mystery fish because of their unpredictability.
“Muskies are very unpredictable,” he said. “You can find them in waters that are 6 inches to a 100 feet deep. They look like a pike, but they have six teeth instead of five teeth like northern, and northern are spotted.”
Nettleton said a female Muskie can lay up to 265,000 eggs, but their survival rate is very low. They spawn best in water temps of 55 to 65 degrees, laying their eggs randomly in shallow waters where predators can consume the eggs.
“Many fishermen believe the muskie is a major consumer of other game fish such as bass and walleye, but they are apt to eat softer fish like bullheads and minnows,” Nettleton said, noting they also eat insects, crayfish, small mammals and waterfowl.
"Many believe they are aggressive, but that isn’t true, unless they are feeding," he said. "They are complicated for naturalists to study.”
Nettleton said Muskies’ habitats also vary, meaning they can be found in weeds like tobacco cabbage or 30 feet deep in open water. He said fisherman can find them in different places throughout the year.
Nettleton shared his enthusiasm for catching the large game fish, something he started four years ago.
“Once you do it, it can become an addiction," he said. "There's a lot of skill in muskie fishing, and sometimes, muskies are called the fish of a 100,000 casts.”
Nettleton’s study has rewarded him well, as he caught and released 36 muskies last year and 12 so far this year.
Fishermen seeking muskies typically use 7- to 10-foot rods, according to Nettleton. He uses a 300- to 400-foot reel with 22 pounds of drag, with 50-100 braid line and steel or fluorocarbon leaders.
He also carries needle-nosed pliers longer than 8 inches and a rubberized net, so he doesn't harm the Muskie.
He gave some additional pointers:
• Leave the catch in the water and support and release it when the fish is calm.
• Cut the hook if the fish has been deep-hooked.
• Don't fish over 80 degrees.
• If trolling, start at 2 mph, increasing to 4 mph.
• Do figure-eights to attract muskies.
Nettleton, who whose biggest catch was 53 inches long, said there are Muskies in the Cedar, Iowa, Shell Rock, and Winnebago rivers, as well as in Clear Lake.
The largest populations of muskies are in Minnesota, according to Nettleton, where the largest caught was 56 inches long and weighed 54 pounds.
North Iowa anglers have landed some big fish over the years, reeling in massive walleyes, northern pike, catfish and muskies. This gallery con…
Rice Lake: Ice thickness is 3 to 5 inches.
Most of the lakes in north central Iowa have frozen over. Very little fishing activity has been reported. If you venture out, use extreme caution and check ice thickness as you go. For information on the lakes and rivers in the north central area, contact the Clear Lake Fish and Wildlife office at 641-357-3517.
Cedar River (above Nashua):
Flows remain high. Backwaters are starting to freeze. Check ice depths often, especially where there is current. Ice fishing is not recommended. Walleye - Fair: Find walleye in pockets and deeper water. Fish are taking a variety of bright colored lures or jigs tipped with worms or minnows. Smallmouth Bass -Slow: Use a slow presentation with a small spinnerbait. Northern Pike - Fair: Pike are aggressively taking lures tipped with minnows.
Decorah District Streams:
Iowa's trout season stays open all year long.Shotgun deer season opens this weekend. Many trout streams run through wildlife management areas. Wear bright colors and make noise so hunters know you're not a deer. Brown Trout - Good: Watch the stream bottom for cleared areas in gravel (trout nests or redds). Avoid stepping in the nests. Use larger flies or lures mimicking minnows. Rainbow Trout - Good: Fish near bottom if no hatches are occurring. Use a weighted caddis stonefly or mayfly nymph. Brook Trout - Good: Brook Trout spawn is here; brook trout build nests in the stream bottom. Good insect hatches occur on warm sunny afternoons. Try nymphs, emerger or topwater patterns.
Upper Iowa River (above Decorah):
Water levels are stable with excellent clarity. Ice is forming in slack water areas. Visit the USGS Water Data website for current information. Walleye - Fair: Use crankbaits or a hook tipped with a minnow in eddies and deeper water. Catches are highly variable. Smallmouth Bass - Fair: Look for bass in deeper pocket eddies and near undercut banks. A variety of lures and baits are working.
Upper Iowa River (below Decorah):
Water levels are stabilizing with excellent clarity. Fish are searching for overwintering holes out of current. Smallmouth Bass - Slow: Use bright colored lures fished in deeper water and rock ledges. Walleye - Fair: Try a jig tipped with minnow or slow action plastic tail fished deep. Shore fishing should yield better catches.
Shell Rock River (Greene to Shell Rock):
Few reports this past week due to cold and ice flow conditions.
Few angling reports this past week on the interior rivers with the recent cold temperatures and ice flows. Smaller lakes and ponds are now starting to ice over, but ice fishing is not recommended. Trout streams remain in excellent condition, but the weekend forecast looks wet and cold. Call the N.E. Iowa district office at 563-927-3276 for more information.
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