Crappie fishing picks up

Cedar River (Cedar Rapids to Moscow)

Channel catfish, fair. Try fishing around brush piles.

Flathead catfish, fair. Try fishing around brush piles.

Sauger, slow. Try fishing sand bars with rock patches.

Walleye, slow. Try fishing rock shorelines.

Cedar River (La Porte City to Cedar Rapids)

Channel catfish, fair. Use cut bait in brush piles.

Flathead catfish, slow. Try live bait in brush piles.

Walleye, fair. Try fishing rock shorelines and brush piles.

Coralville Reservoir

Black crappie, slow. Use minnows in brush piles.

Channel catfish, fair. Try rattle rigs and cut bait.

White crappie, fair. Try fishing around boat docks and rock shorelines.

Spotted bass, fair. Try fishing around boat docks and rock shorelines.

White crappie, slow. Use minnows in brush piles.

Hannen Lake

Black crappie, slow.

Bluegill, good. Mostly 5- to 7-inch fish.

Largemouth bass, good.

Iowa River (Coralville Lake to River Junction)

Smallmouth bass, fair. Try fishing along rocky shorelines.

Spotted bass, fair. Try fishing along rock shorelines.

White bass, fair. Try fishing along rock shorelines.

Wiper (hybrid striped bass), fair. Try fishing along rock shorelines.

Iowa River (Marshalltown to Coralville Lake)

Channel catfish, fair. Use cut bait in brush piles.

Flathead catfish, fair. Try live bait in brush piles.

Walleye, slow. Try fishing along rock shorelines.

Lake Macbride

Black crappie, fair. Use minnows in brush piles in 8-12 feet of water.

Channel catfish, slow. Try green sunfish along the rock jetties.

Flathead catfish, fair. Try green sunfish along the rock jetties.

Largemouth bass, fair. Fish brush piles and green vegetation.

Spotted bass, fair. Try fishing along brush and rock piles.

White crappie, fair. Use minnows in brush piles in 8-12 feet of water.

Wiper (hybrid stiped bass), fair. Use electronics to find fish suspended around points and brush piles with gizzard shad.

Pleasant Creek Lake

Bluegill, slow. Try fishing around brush piles.

Walleye, fair. Try fishing at night around brush and rock piles.

Wapsi River (Troy Mills to Oxford Junction)

Smallmouth bass, fair. Try fishing along rock shorelines.

Walleye, fair. Try fishing around rock shorelines and brush piles.

For more information, contact the Lake Macbride Fisheries Station at 319-624-3615.

Big Hollow Lake

Water temperature is 75 degrees.

Black crappie, good. Crappie fishing is picking up. Look for crappies in the trees in 6-8 feet of water; they are not ready to move in shallower.

Largemouth bass, good. Earlier this week the bass were still feeding in the shallows on the young bluegills and green sunfish. Forecast hot weather will most likely push them out into deeper water for the next few days.

Cedar River (Moscow to Columbus Junction)

The water level on the Cedar near Conesville is falling at a rate of just less than a foot a week.

Channel catfish, good: The catfishing in the Cedar had picked up some as the waters cooled in prep for the fall feed. Hot weather forecast might slow it down some as the slower flow will allow for the water to absorb more heat from the sun.

Iowa River (Columbus Junction to Mississippi River)

The rate of water level drop has slowed to about a foot a week. More sand bars are showing now.

Channel catfish, good. The rate of flow continues to decrease. Try to get your bait a little closer to their nose. Use cut bait or dead shad behind the logjams or right next to the leading edge logjams where it is easy for them to find.

Lake Belva Deer

Water temperature is 72-73 degrees. Water clarity is 18 inches. The water is green in color. Expect the water temperature to rise with the return of hot weather.

Bluegill, good. Some bluegills moved into shallower water; most bluegills remain in deeper water (10-12 feet) among the flooded timber. Use slip bobbers and wax worms or try vertically jigging with wax worms.

Largemouth bass, good. Earlier this week bass were in shallower water feeding on little fish. The hot weather could push them back out to deeper water. Try fishing the flooded timber on the south side in the shade of the hills where the water shouldn’t heat up as fast as the north side.

Lake Darling

Water temperature is 72 degrees; expect the water temperature to rise quickly with several days of 90+ degree weather. Water is very good below the layer of planktonic algae at the surface.

Black crappie, fair. Crappies remain out over the deeper habitat. They might move in shallower the next time it cools down.

Bluegill, good. More bluegills are coming in shallower; most bluegill are still out over the deeper water habitat in 8-9 feet of water.

Channel catfish, fair. Catfish were starting on their fall feed at the end of last week and the beginning of this week; hotter weather shouldn’t bother them too much.

Largemouth bass, good. Bass fishing continues to improve with more coming into shallower water; expect them to head for deeper water when hot weather returns.

Lake Geode

The water is green in color. Water temperature is 73-74 degrees. Water clarity is 20 inches.

Black crappie, good. Water temperatures in the deeper water shouldn’t change too much this weekend. Crappies are still out in the habitat right next to deeper water.

Bluegill, good. More bluegills are 8-inches. Try worm and bobber over the habitat in 7-8 feet of water. They should hold tight this weekend until it starts to cool down again.

Largemouth bass, good. Cast crankbaits just over the edge of the deep water drop-offs into deeper water and retrieve back into shallow. The hot weather will keep them along the edge of the deeper water.

Lost Grove Lake

Water temperature is 70 degrees. Water clarity good is about 3.5 feet. Eurasian watermilfoil has returned to the lake; properly drain, clean and dry equipment before transporting to another body of water.

Bluegill, good. Bluegills are enjoying the cooler water temperatures before it warms back up. Look for them around the habitat in 4-5 feet of water trying to avoid the bass. Worm and bobber works best in that thicker cover.

Largemouth bass, good. Try running crankbaits down about 4 to 5 feet along the edges of the weed beds and along the outer edges of the submerged brush.

Skunk River (Coppock to Mississippi River)

River level continues to drop about 1 foot a week. Should still be enough water to run the Jon boats in if you take your time. Channel Catfish — Good: Use stink baits and cut bait just off the back edges of the sand bars and around the leading edges of the brush piles.

For more information on the above lakes and rivers call the Lake Darling Fisheries Office at 319-694-2430.