| For more information on the above lakes and rivers call the Lake Darling Fisheries Station at (319) 694-2430. |
| Black Crappie - Fair: Standard summer pattern at Belva Deer. Slow trolling a jig and minnow or small crankbait down 10 to 12 feet. Trolling speed just over a mile per hour. Most of the fish are caught before 10 am and after 6 pm. |
| Water temperature is 86-87 degrees during the afternoon. |
| Bluegill - Fair: vertically jigging a a small jig tipped with waxworms or fish worm over the tops of the mounds at the upper end of the lake. |
| Largemouth Bass - Fair: The bass like the timber along the old creek channel this time of year and if you can find your way up there when the water is flowing out of the upper marsh in the plunge pool below it. |
Find a very high quality fishery with bluegills leading the way. Good numbers of 10- to 12-inch bluegills abound in this lake. In 2006 the lake produced at least one over 12 inch bluegill that was verified by park staff. Crappie numbers were finally building up with anglers catching nice stringers of 10- to 12-inch fish through the ice in 2007. Anglers are also catching big redear sunfish with some topping 13 inches. Catfish, largemouth bass and a few county stocked walleyes round out the cast of characters in this lake.(2007)
In nearly all cases, Iowa fish are safe to eat. Cleaning and/or preparing the meal causes most of the problems regarding taste or color of fish. Like all living creatures, fish are susceptible to diseases, parasites, and other naturally occurring conditions in the water. If you suspect your fish is affected by any of these conditions, do not eat it. Consider eating smaller and younger fish which usually have lower levels of contaminants than larger ones. Most contaminants accumulate in larger, older fish. For additional information, check out our resources for eating and cooking Iowa caught fish.
To learn more about fish tissue monitoring, visit our Fish Tissue Monitoring page .