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Mississippi River Pools 9 to 15: Fishing has slowed as the water levels remained low on the Mississippi River. On Thursday, water levels were as follows: Lansing 7.78 feet, Lynxville, Wis., 11.84 feet, Guttenberg 3.68 feet, Dubuque 7.26 feet, Bellevue 3.81 feet, and Camanche 8.99 feet. Water levels are stable and temperature is 74 degrees. Be careful when boating on the Mississippi as a lot of new snags have appeared after the spring floods. In addition, many wing dams that boaters have been easily crossing for most of the year are now near the water surface. Whenever traveling the Mississippi River by boat, try to stay in the main channel as much as possible.

Walleye fishing is fair along the wing dams from Pools 12 through 15. Use a three-way rig tipped with either a leech or night crawler fished along the front edge of the wing dams. Some folks are also using a three-way rig with a floating crankbait and report catching larger walleyes.

Fishing is good for channel catfish around the wing dams and side channels with rocky shorelines and riprap areas. Channel catfish also may be found near fallen snags and the holes behind the wing dams in Pools 9 through 15. Catfish can also move into the shallow water using the weed line as an overhead cove. Use stink bait or night crawlers and fish off the bottom in the side channels and around the wing dams for catfish. Good catfishing areas in the upper pools include: Minnesota Slough and Winneshiek Slough (Pool 9), Harpers Slough and Stateline Slough (Pool 10), and Cassville Slough and Hurricane Slough (Pool 11). Channel catfish are plentiful in the Mississippi River and now is the time to fish for them.

Anglers fishing in Pools 9 through 15 are having fair to good success for both smallmouth and largemouth bass. Look for areas with moderate current and structure, such as wood or rocks. Bass also concentrate along rocky shorelines with drop-offs. Bass hotspots include Minnesota Slough near New Albin (Pool 9), Harpers Slough in Harpers Ferry (Pool 10), and the tailwater areas below the locks and dams in Guttenberg, Dubuque and Bellevue. In other parts of the pools, try fishing spinner baits along the weedy edges of the main channel.

Bluegill fishing is fair to good in Pools 9 through 15 on wax worms or garden worms suspended under a bobber fished along rip rapped shorelines or near woody structure adjacent to the channel and side channels. Keep moving until you find those good pockets of bluegills. As waters recede, try fishing some eddy current areas near shore wing dam areas. A split shot and a piece of night crawler is ideal to use in these areas. Better bluegill fishing can be found on the wing dams in the Harpers Ferry area (Pool 10) and some movement is being made back to the adjacent backwaters. Crappie fishing is still hit or miss with most fishing occurring in deeper slough areas using crappie rigs and slow trolling around the snags and woody cover in the backwater areas and side channels. The backwater areas around New Albin (Pool 9), Harpers Ferry (Pool 10), and Guttenberg (Pool 11) are good places to fish for crappies as well as Minnesota Slough (Pool 9) and Cassville Slough (Pool 11). Some reports are coming in about crappies being taken off wing dams, which is unusual, but they may be associating with this structure during low water. As fall approaches, crappie fishing should pick up as they begin to concentrate in the deeper sloughs.

Freshwater drum (sheepshead) fishing is good to excellent in Pools 9 through 15 using night crawlers on the bottom. Drum can be found at nearly any shoreline location adjacent to the channel. Use a sliding egg sinker with crawler or crayfish for bait. Large crayfish often produce larger sized drum.

Cedar River (Mitchell, Floyd and Chickasaw): Water levels appear to be relatively stable and river is looking better than earlier in the year. Walleye fishing is fair on twister tails tipped with a night crawler and moved very slowly. Crankbaits are working, but the fish are not hitting them as hard. Smallmouth bass are biting well on night crawlers, but haven't been hitting the artificial lures very well. Fishing is fair for channel catfish using night crawlers, minnows or chicken liver.

Shell Rock River (Floyd and Bremer): Fishing is excellent for channel catfish on night crawlers, live minnows and chicken liver.

Cedar (Bremer) and Shell Rock rivers (Butler): Fishing is good for channel catfish on stink baits, dead minnows and chicken liver. Walleye fishing is good on crankbaits and jigs tipped with a night crawler. Walleyes can be found around woody structure and current breaks. Northern pike fishing has picked up using chubs and spinner baits. Crappies are biting in the Cedar River above and below the Waverly Dam. Fish a minnow under a bobber or cast jigs for crappies.

Maquoketa River (Delaware and Jones): Walleye and smallmouth bass are biting on crankbaits or jigs tipped with a night crawler or minnow in the upper stretches of the river. Cast next to woody structure or into current breaks in or near deeper pools. Fishing is good for channel catfish in the deeper pools using stink baits or chicken liver. Fishing below the Lake Delhi dam is excellent for smallmouth bass using artificial or live baits. Crappie, channel catfish and walleye are also biting below the Lake Delhi Dam. Use a minnow suspended under a bobber for crappie. Walleye are hitting jigs tipped with a minnow or night crawler and channel catfish are biting on stink bait, night crawlers and chicken liver.

Turkey River (Clayton): Smallmouth bass fishing is fair using night crawlers, twister tails and shad raps on the edge of current breaks. Walleye are not being caught in large numbers, but the ones that are being caught are big. These hefty fish can be targeted in the deeper pools of the river. Try using jig tipped with live bait. Channel catfish fishing is fair below the Elkader dam using cut baits and a variety of other catfishing favorites.

Upper Iowa River (Winneshiek and Allamakee): Water clarity looks good and flows are consistent. Fishing for smallmouth bass is fair throughout the river, with smaller fish taking up the majority of the catch. They have been biting on white twister tails and spinners. Walleye fishing has slowed. Jigs tipped with a night crawler or crankbaits in the deeper water are the baits of choice for walleyes.

Wapsipinicon River (Black Hawk and Buchanan): Channel catfish are biting on stink baits, night crawlers and chicken liver fished on the bottom near tree snags and in the deeper pools. Smallmouth bass fishing is good on artificial baits and jigs tipped with a night crawler. A few walleye can be caught on crankbaits and jigs tipped with a night crawler or minnow. Cast near the current breaks or runs below the riffles in 3 to 4 feet of water. On the upper portion of the Wapsipinicon River in Bremer County, northern pike fishing is very good using chubs fished under a bobber and/or casting chartreuse or white and silver spinner baits.

Casey Lake (Tama): Fishing is excellent for channel catfish in the early morning and late evening hours. Keep the bait on the bottom for hungry catfish. Largemouth bass fishing is also excellent casting crankbaits or spinner baits off of jetties and along the dam. Fishing is fair for crappies using light-colored jigs or minnows fished around structure or the dam.

East Lake (Black Hawk): Crappie fishing is improving for boat and shore anglers. Fish around deeper structure such as submerged trees or rocky shorelines. Crappies can be found by casting a jig or drifting a minnow below a bobber in deeper water.

Lake Delhi (Delaware): Some crappies are being caught off structure using minnows under a slip bobber or by casting jigs. Fishing is good for channel catfish on stink baits, dead minnows and night crawlers fished in the deeper pools later in the evening. Walleyes are biting well in areas with gravel substrate. Cast or troll larger minnows and/or crankbaits for walleyes.

Lake Hendricks (Howard): The lake is starting to clear up after previously having a substantial green algae bloom. Fishing is fair for bluegills on wax worms or a piece of night crawler suspended under a bobber. Try using smaller gear when fishing midday to hook the finicky ones. Some crappies are also being caught around structure using small jigs. Largemouth bass fishing is fair using a variety of lures worked near structure.

Lake Meyer (Winneshiek): Crappie and bluegill fishing is fair. Anglers are having some success catching crappie using a small jig under a bobber while drifting their boats across the lake. Crappies appear to be suspended in 6 to 8 feet of water. Bluegills are being caught more frequently along the weed line using a worm and slip bobber. A few largemouth bass are being caught with top-water lures in the low-light hours. Try using plastic weed-less worms during other hours of the day. Catfishing has slowed, but a few can still be caught using chicken liver or dead chubs in the mornings and evenings. Try fishing these baits under a bobber due to the heavy vegetation.

Volga Lake (Fayette): Fishing is fair for channel catfish using night crawlers or chicken liver fished on the bottom in the shallow bays. Largemouth bass fishing is good in the early morning and late evening hours. Use slower-moving artificial lures worked along structure. Bluegill fishing is fair using night crawlers under a bobber with many small fish.

Trout Streams: Water conditions and fishing are excellent on a number of streams. A lot of big browns are being caught right now using live bait hooked naturally with little or no weight.

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