Trout Streams Provide Quality Fishing Through the Winter

Driving around northeast Iowa last weekend, it was apparent that trout fishing remains a popular fall activity when every parking spot at North and South Bear Creek and Waterloo Creek was filled.

“That was good to see,” said Mike Steuck, fisheries supervisor for interior streams with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Interest in trout fishing usually peaks from April through October, which is the DNR stocking season for roughly 325,000 catchable-size trout each year. But many of those fish will remain in the stream through the winter, providing an experience of fishing for more wild fish with possibly fewer competing anglers.

In addition to the hold-over stocked fish, Iowa has more than 40 trout streams with consistently naturally reproducing brown trout and another 30 streams where natural reproduction is occurring, but not consistently. These streams have a lot of wild fish available for anglers to test their skills.

“It’s a busy place this time of year,” Steuck said. “We have quite a bit of public ground and public streams so you can always find a place to fish.”

Iowa’s trout season is open all year. Iowa’s trout streams are too.

Even during the coldest of cold spells, the streams are not likely to freeze over for very long due to a steady flow of spring-fed water around 50 degrees.

The spring fed streams also have occasional insect hatches on warm afternoons during the winter, which is good news to anglers using dry flies.

“Most common hatches in the winter are midges and they are really small, so dry flies will need to be size 24 or smaller,” Steuck said. When midges are not hatching, he suggests sticking with nymphs.

“Of course if you don’t have the patience for fly fishing, you can always use minnows, spinners, jigs, and the plain hook with a night crawler,” he said. Black or brown jigs that imitate beetles and scuds, minnow imitations, small raps, and rooster tails and panther martens work also.

Fall offers an opportunity to catch some larger brown trout that spawn in shallow rocky areas in the fall.

“Be careful where you’re stepping, to avoid disturbing the redds,” he said. Redds are a cleared area in the gravel, usually with a bit more current in it to keep the nest clean.

While much trout fishing attention in the fall and winter focuses on the events surrounding the stocking in ponds and small lakes around the state, plenty of good fishing remains in trout country, Steuck said.

“We have a lot of fish remaining in our streams and plenty of opportunities to catch them,” he said.

For more information, contact Mike Steuck, Fisheries Supervisor for Interior Streams, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 563-927-3276.

Fishing and Engineering

Looking for ways to incorporate engineering principles into your Fish Iowa! program? Try these activities shared with us by Ti Piper, New Mexico Department of Game & Fish Fishing Skills Educator Contractor.

Ordered Pairs Activity

Materials

casting gear with 1/4 ounce plastic casting weights

100 foot (or metric) tape

25 foot (or metric) tape

3x5 cards for data recording

pens (no pencils for data recording in science engineer field journals).

Doing the Activity

• Lay out 100 foot tape in safe casting zone on playground
• Students cast down the 100' tape while other students report length and “off course” measurement (e.g.,  43' long and -7': cast was seven feet left of the 100' tape, thus the negative seven).
• Data is recorded using pen and 3x5 card by the casting student who then gets back in line.
• All students cast three times and end up with three ordered pairs (e.g., 43,-7; 38,2; 49,15).
• Back in classroom, students make a scatter graph of all data points.
• Pretend that Student Pat is not in class today, and that Student Pat would have made a cast to the average of the data points....find that point.

Options: pick a casting lane that is left/right in the wind, then do the opposite for another set of data points, figure the average effect of the wind on the class's casting results; use three different casting weights.

Line Strength Activity

Materials

Mono fishing line in 2/4/6 pound test

digital fish weighing scales

Doing the Activity

• Remove the pound test information from the spools of line.
• Wrap the end of four feet of line to a wooden dowel; wrap the other end to the 'hook' of the digiscale. (No knots are used in the experiment, only wraps.)
• Two students, each with one end of the experiment, slowly pull the line till it break while a third student reads the scale.
• Record and share all data.
• Do all line/breaks three times.

Options: put an overhand knot in the middle of the line - do the knot test wet and dry; use different brands of six pound line

Berkley High School Fishing Club Challenge - Register by November 30

It's time to start the 2015 challenge - get your team ready and register for the 2015 Berkley® High Fishing Club Challenge. 

The Berkley High Challenge promotes the joy of fishing while learning techniques to develop the skills to create lifelong anglers. Your club can be big or small, skilled or novice, and can fish for any species. It’s not about the biggest or the most fish, it’s about the joy of the sport.

Monthly Challenges

Your club will participate in “I dare you” type monthly challenges for extra challenge points. Each month a new challenge will be posted with the instructions, timeline and the prizes for that month.

October’s challenge: Berkley’s Scariest Bait –

Select the Berkley bait you think is the SCARIEST and tell us why. (Example – the design, it’s amazingly fierce ability to catch fish, the smell, etc.) Post your answer on Berkley Facebook. Be sure to mention the Berkley High School Club and include the name of your school. All who post will receive ten bonus points for their team. Include a picture of the bait and win a Berkley Line Winding Machine for your team. Competing in these can earn you extra points BUT this is how EVERY TEAM can win prizes throughout the year.

Team and Individual Tasks (Report Card)

All team and individual tasks are simple things all fishing club members should be doing to improve their personal, professional and angler skills.  Each task will earn your team points toward winning the Challenge. Uploading fishing action photos of your team members on the Berkley High School page, participating in a local fishing tournament, renewing your fishing license, or assisting with the clean-up of a local waterway are just a few of the tasks that you can complete to have the opportunity to add hundreds or even thousands of dollars to your club’s arsenal of fishing supplies.  

2015 Fish Iowa! Games

Get Your School Hooked!

"Fish Iowa! Games is a great confidence builder for students. It doesn’t matter your size, age, or gender – everybody can compete on a fair level.”

Fish Iowa! Games is a competition where students cast from three distances using the flipping, pitching, and overhand techniques. It was developed by the Iowa Sports Foundation, in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in 2006. Since then, over 73,000 K-12 students throughout the state have participated.

All medalists (gold, silver, bronze) from each school are invited to compete in the Fish Iowa! Games Finals on June 6 at the Liberty Centre Pond in North Liberty.

2015 Registration Now Open!!!

Register your school or your class now to secure your competition kit. The competition may be held anytime between February 1 and May 1. Competition kits will be shipped beginning mid January.

Competition Kit

• Guidelines and diagrams
• 2 targets
• 2 contest spincast rods & reels
• 16 casting plugs (5/16 oz) for practice
• Participation ribbons – 1 per contestant
• Medals – gold, silver, and bronze for each class
• Sample press release

Special Walleye Stocking

Spawned this past spring, then raised at the Department of Natural Resources’ Rathbun Hatchery, the 8- to 10-inch advanced fingerlings join walleyes already in Pleasant Creek Lake, Lake Macbride and five other Iowa lakes; introduced as tiny, recently hatched fry.

Each just-stocked advanced fingerling walleye has its left pectoral fin clipped to identify it as it shows up in future population surveys…or on the end of an angler’s line. Each year a different fin will be clipped to mark the year the fingerling was stocked in an ongoing research project on Macbride and six other Iowa lakes.

In contrast, fry stocked in the spring are not clipped or marked each year. Due to their larger size at stocking, advanced fingerlings are expected to survive well and may provide more consistent recruitment of walleyes, year to year.

“We stock many more fry, but they have a higher mortality rate than advanced fingerlings. These advanced fingerling walleyes are more expensive to raise; however, a larger percentage may reach (catchable) size,” explains Rebecca Krogman, DNR reservoir research biologist. “We will be able to determine more clearly several years down the road whether one group grows faster, survives better and ultimately recruits to the fishery more successfully.”

The project will include study of the otoliths, scales and spines, referred to collectively as “age structures,” from a sample of walleyes. The otolith is a sort of fish ‘ear bone’ which shows a record of growth, similar to tree rings.

About 9,400 fingerlings went into Macbride this week. Pleasant Creek received about 4,100. They will grow alongside survivors from 2.8 million Macbride fry and 1.2 million fry in Pleasant Creek.

"Every few years, we hope to get a big walleye year from the fry stockings,” notes DNR fisheries management biologist Paul Sleeper. “If the food source is there, typically zooplankton, the fry get a good start. If we have a cold front moving through, reducing zooplankton growth, we will have poorer survival.”

During these “off years” for fry, the advanced fingerling stocking is particularly important for strategically augmenting walleye populations in Iowa reservoirs.

2015 Take It Outside Art Contest

Celebrating wildlife artist, Maynard Reece & Iowa Fish

“We really had a good time doing the contest. It brought in a lot of good discussion and even the teacher aides were surprised at some of the facts I shared from the DNR website. The kids loved it.”

The Department of Natural Resources invites you to enroll your class in our fourth annual “Take It Outside” Art Contest.

This year’s contest will celebrate the great contributions of wildlife artist, Maynard Reece. Reece is considered one of the founding fathers of wildlife art. As a child, he spent many hours exploring Lake Okoboji. His teachers discovered his artistic ability at the age of 13 and entered one of his drawings in the Iowa State Fair. As a young adult, Maynard worked at what is today known as the State Historical Museum collecting specimens for the museum’s collection and painting fish to create the plates for the original publishing of Iowa Fish and Fishing – this was instrumental in launching his career as a freelance artist. Reece’s fish drawings can be viewed on the DNR website. 

Students are encouraged to use their artistic skills to create an image of their favorite Iowa fish (see the eligible fish list in the complete contest rules) in its natural habitat. Fish species fact sheets are available on the DNR Education website (click on Fact Sheets/Fish in the Document Library). Starting next month, check out our Take It Outside: Fish Iowa! blog for more information about Iowa fish and Maynard Reece.

New This Year!

We are partnering with the Wildlife Forever^® State-Fish Art^® Contest to host an Iowa State-Fish Contest in conjunction with our annual Take It Outside Art Contest. The first place artwork in each judging category will be submitted for National Awards. First place winners at the state level will be honored at the annual State-Fish Art Expo this summer.

For more information visit our website.

Complete Contest Rules
Student Entry Form
Educator Registration Form

Celebrate Food Day – Add More Fish to Your Diet

Fish are low in saturated fat and contain protein, calcium, iron, zinc and many vitamins. Eating fish can contribute to a healthy heart, the prevention of diseases and a child’s proper growth. The Iowa Dept. of Public Health recommends eating two meals of fish per week.

There are many easy ways to cook fish. If you are preparing fresh fish, rinse them in cold water and pat dry. Make several shallow, diagonal cuts in the flesh of large fillets to hasten cooking time. No matter the method of cooking you choose, the most important thing to remember is not to overcook the fish.

Try these quick and easy fish recipes. Visit our From Hookin' To Cookin' website for more recipes and tips for cooking fish.

Lemon Fried Bluegill

1 cup flour

1 cup water

1 cup water

2 tsp. grated lemon peel

1 ½ lb. bluegill

¼ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. salt

Flour

oil

Blend flour, lemon peel, salt and pepper. Add water and chill 30 minutes. Heat two inches of oil in fryer to 375 degrees. Coat fish in flour and dip in batter. Fry three minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Mustard fried bluegill

1 16 oz. sour cream

1 cup mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

3 cups yellow cornmeal

Oil

Coat cleaned bluegill fillets with sour cream and mustard mixture and let stand for 20 minutes in refrigerator. Season cornmeal with salt and pepper before dredging fish in mixture. Deep fry in hot oil.

Beer battered bluegill

1 lb. bluegill fillets

1 egg

Oil

1 cup flour

¾ can of beer

Pat fish dry with paper towels. In a bowl, mix egg, flour, and beer until smooth. Let stand 15 minutes. Dip fish in batter and fry in hot oil until both sides are browned.

Fried bluegill

Bluegill fillets

Garlic salt

Pepper

Oil

Yellow cornmeal

Mix ingredients in a bag, using your own estimates according to quantity and taste. Fry in hot oil until crisp.

Fried crappie

1/3 lb. crappie fillets

2 cups pancake mix

Lemon pepper

Salt

Oil

Dip fish in water and sprinkle with salt and lemon pepper. Coat lightly with pancake mix. Fry 4-5 minutes or until fillets flake easily. Serve with cocktail sauce.

Classic fried catfish

¾ cup yellow cornmeal

2 tsp. salt

¼ cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Vegetable oil

1 catfish fillet

¼ tsp. garlic powder

Combine cornmeal, flour, salt, cayenne pepper and garlic powder. Coat fillets with mixture, shaking off excess. Fill deep pot or 12 inch skillet half full with oil. Heat to 350 degrees. Add catfish in single layer and fry until golden brown (about 5-6 minutes depending on size). Remove and drain on paper towels.

Homemade tartar sauce

1 cup light mayonnaise

1 tbs. finely chopped parsley

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tbs. chopped, drained sweet pickle

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tbs. fresh lemon juice

Optional: 1 tbs. chopped drained capers, 1 tbs. chopped drained green olives. Combine ingredients and mix well. Yield about 2/3 cup (6 servings).