| Interior river levels have stabilized with the recent weather along with some reports of anglers catching a few walleye as well. Northern pike fishing should pick up as they are the earliest to spawn. For more information contact your local area bait and tackle shop for further information. |
| There have been no reports on the Shell Rock River this past week. Northern pike fishing should pick up in backwater areas in preparation for the upcoming spawn as well. |
| Northern Pike - No Report: Concentrate on backwater areas, try floating a live chub/shiner under a bobber or casting and retrieving flashy spoons for some great pike action. |
| Walleye - No Report: Try fishing a jig head with plastics with or without a live minnow. Look for the deeper pools, current breaks and tail ends of riffles for some walleye action. |
This 26-mile stretch of river in Butler County from Greene downstream to the community of Shell Rock is a must for any angler. This river offers bountiful and robust smallmouth bass and walleye. Two electrofishing surveys conducted by staff in the fall of 2024 collected a total of one hundred fifteen walleye with 54% of those being fifteen inches or greater in length. Walleye twenty to thirty inches in length made up for 15% of the total sample. This fishery has greatly benefited from the IA DNR interior walleye stocking program. Good numbers of smallmouth bass can be caught along with an occasional musky that has escaped from Clear Lake and moved down the Winnebago River into the Shell Rock River. Channel catfish populations are lower in numbers, but are of preferred to memorable size with some catfish approaching 30-inches long. Navigation is best by a kayak, canoe or small jon boat powered with a shallow drive motor. There are two hard surface boat ramps recommended, Camp Comfort County Park (4 miles south of Greene) and Heary Woods State Park south of Clarksville. Boaters whom launch at these sites must motor up-river as there are obstacles (low-head riffle and dam) at both of these areas. There is a gravel access below the boulder riffle at the Camp Comfort County Park and a hard surface boat ramp on the east side of the river below the dam at Shell Rock.(2025)
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 .