| Most interior river levels continue to fall and anglers continue to catch a few walleye, smallmouth bass and channel catfish on the rivers. There have been good reports on area lakes of anglers catching crappie, bluegill and largemouth bass as the lakes begin to warm in and around the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area. Trout streams are in excellent condition. For more information contact your local area bait and tackle shop. |
| Black Crappie - Good: Try fishing a live minnow under a slip bobber or casting various colored tube or hair jigs near structure for some crappie action. |
| Target crappie and bluegill on Lake Delhi right now. Avoid mid-afternoons and weekends due to heavy boat traffic. |
| Bluegill - Good: Try a piece of night crawler underneath a slip bobber near structure. |
Dam repairs at Lake Delhi were completed during 2016 and full-pool was achieved during summer 2016. The current fishery is dominated by medium (5-7 inch) Bluegill, medium (7-10 inch) Black Crappie , and Largemouth Bass. Channel Catfish, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, and White Crappie are also present but are of secondary importance.(2020)
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 .