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Copper Creek provides a good community fishing spot with healthy populations of largemouth bass, bluegill, channel catfish and hybrid striped bass. 2017 fishery surveys showed good bass numbers with sizes from 8- to 17-inches. Fair numbers of bluegills were sampled over 7 inches with the largest at 8.5 inches. This is above average for similar surface mine lakes. Channel catfish were sampled at 13- to 29-inches. Crappies are present in the lake, but were sampled in low numbers. Based on angler reports, there is likely a little better crappie fishery than what the sampling showed. The originally stocked hybrid striped bass were 20- to 22-inches. A new round of fingerling hybrid striped bass were stocked in late spring 2017.(2017)
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 .