Weekly Iowa DNR Fishing Report

fishing 1Spirit Lake, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources issues a weekly fishing report on Thursdays in an effort to provide the latest information heading into the weekend. The weekly fishing report is compiled from information gathered from local bait shops, angler creel surveys, and county and state parks staff. For more information contact the Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery at 712-336-1840.

NORTHWEST

Storm Lake (including Little Storm Lake)

Storm Lake is ice free. Look for early spring temperatures to bring on the bite. More reports will be posted as open water fishing ramps up. Right after ice out is a good time to target channel catfish from shore. Use cut bait or shad guts fished off the bottom to capitalize on the abundant channel catfish population.

 

Big Spirit Lake

Ice conditions: 8-12 inches of ice, but ice is deteriorating rapidly. Use caution while on the ice. Yellow Perch – Fair: Anglers are picking up a few perch once they find them. Bakers Point and north of the pump house in 20 feet of water has been producing. Try small silver spoons or gold tear drops tipped with maggots or wax worms.

 

Center Lake

Ice conditions: 8-10 inches of ice, but ice is deteriorating rapidly. There is a large pocket of open water on the western shore. Use caution while on the ice. Fishing activity was minimal the past week.

 

East Okoboji Lake

Ice condition: 8-12 inches of ice, but ice is deteriorating rapidly. Use caution while on the ice. Yellow Bass – Good: Some nice yellow bass have been caught out in front of Parks Marina in the main lake basin. Tungsten jigs tipped with wax worms or maggots work well. Keep moving to find active schools of fish. Yellow Perch – Fair: Anglers have been picking up some nice perch on Peppermint Point and in front of Parks Marina. Pilkie style lures or tungsten jigs tipped with maggots or wax worms work well. Gold or black are the hot colors.

 

Minnewashta Lake

Ice conditions: 8-12 inches of ice. Use caution while on the ice. Areas near the bridges have opened up. Fishing activity has been minimal.

 

Silver Lake (Dickinson)

The eastern shoreline is all open. No reports from the previous week.

 

West Okoboji Lake

Ice conditions: 8-12 inches of ice, but ice is deteriorating rapidly. Use caution while on the ice. Bluegill – Fair: The southwestern shoreline in Millers bay has been producing nice bluegills in 8-10 feet of water. Look for standing vegetation. A few bluegills have been picked up in Emerson bay as well. Gold tear drops or small tungsten jigs tipped with wax worms work well.

 

Ingham Lake

Ice conditions: 8-10 inches of ice, but ice is deteriorating rapidly. No reports from the last week.

 

Five Island Lake

Ice conditions: 12-13 inches of ice, but conditions varied. Use caution while on the ice. The aeration system is in use. Yellow Bass – Good: Anglers are catching numbers of yellow bass. Keep moving until you find active fish. Tungsten jigs tipped with wax worms or maggots have been producing well.

 

Lost Island Lake

Ice condition: 8-12 inches of ice. Ice is deteriorating rapidly. Use caution while on the ice. Yellow Bass – Fair: The bite has slowed the past week, but anglers are still finding some nice yellows. Keep moving until you find the schools of fish. Small tungsten jigs tipped with wax worms work well. Early morning and evenings are the best bites.

 

Upper Gar Lake

The entire lake is ice free. No reports from the last week.

 

Silver Lake (Palo Alto)

Ice Conditions: 8-10 inches of ice. Ice is deteriorating rapidly. Use caution while on the ice. No reports from the past week.

 

Some open water near shorelines and bridges. Most of the ice is starting to honeycomb. Walleye season is closed on Big Spirit, West and East lakes.


South O’Brien Knocks Off Defending State Champs in Semis

South O'Brien WolverineDes Moines Iowa — South O’Brien will play for the State 1A boys basketball title on Friday night as they knocked off defending champ Gladbrook Reinbeck 65-56 in the semifinals Thursday afternoon. The title match up will come at 6:05 when they go against Council Bluffs St Albert who posted a 70-52 win over Britt West Hancock in the other 1A semifinal. The Wolverines take a 24-3 record as the 7th seed against St Albert the #8 seed with a record of 17-9. We’ll bring you the broadcast on KIWA FM 105.3 with pregame at 6:00 pm. We’ll stream from the website at www.kiwaradio.com.

South O’Brien opened with a 15-11 first quarter lead. They were up 33-27 at the half and led 46-38 at the end of the third quarter going on to win 65-56. The big edge was points in the paint with a 26-18 advantage for the wolverines and at the free throw line where they went 18-of-25. South O’Brien also shot a sizzling 57 percent for game and owned a 33-20 advantage on the glass.

That’s South O’Brien coach Kiley Yates. South O’Brien will bid for its first title on Friday night.


Balanced scoring for South O’Brien had Damon Struve with 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Kyle Paulsen scored 15 points and Cameron Maxwell 11. Maxwell was extremely efficient with a 4-for-4 performance from the field and 3-of-4 from the line.

The Rebels were led by Joe Smoldt with 33 points in the contest followed by Tyler Pierce with 8 points.

It’s South O’Brien and Council Bluffs St Albert for the Class 1A boys basketball title Friday night with a 6:05 opening tip off.


South O’Brien and Western set for State Basketball Semifinals Thursday

ihsaa_officeDes Moines Iowa — Both South O’Brien and Western Christian have made it to the semifinals of the Iowa boy’s State Basketball Tournament. The Wolverines meet Gladbrook Reinbeck in a 1A semi with coverage begining at noon for a 12:15 opening tip. Later in the afternoon Western squares off against Anamosa with pregame at 3:30 and opening tip at 3:45. We’ll bring you the broadcast of both games on KIWA FM 105.3 and stream from the website at www.kiwaradio.com.

Stifling defense by South O’Brien held Grand View Christian’s top ranked offense to less than half of their season average in a 46-32 quarterfinal win at the Class 1A boys basketball tournament Monday in Des Moines. Grand View had averaged 80.6 points per game coming into the State Tournament.

At the end of the first quarter Grand View led 12-11. At the half South O’Brien had pulled in front 18-15. By the end of the third quarter the lead was up to 34-23 with the Wolverines going on to win it 46-32. Cameron Maxwell led the Wolverines with 19 points as the games top scorer. He was joined in double figures by Damon Struve with 10. Stephen Glenn led Grand View Christian with 9 points.

Another factor in the game was the free throw line where South O’Brien went 10-of-19 while Grand View Christian did not shoot a free throw in the contest.With the win South O’Brien the #7 seed advanced to the semifinals with a record of 23-3.

South O’Brien will meet #3 seed Gladbrook Reinbeck who defeated #6 seed Jesup 67-48 in the quarterfinals Monday. In that game Gladbrook Reinbeck trailed 25-21 at the half before outscoring Jesup 24-9 in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter they pushed to lead to as much as 20 points as they went on to the win 67-48.

Gladbrook Reinbeck was led by Joe Smoldt with 35 points incuding a 12-for-13 performance at the free throw line and 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. Tyler Eiffer hit for 11 points with Josh Cooley adding 10 points.

Pregame for the 1A semifinal comes your way at noon with the opening tip at 12:15.

 

 

The 2A semi between (23-2) Western Christian the #2 seed and Anamosa is set to tip off at 3:45 Thursday afternoon. Jesse Jansma hit a jumper for the first points of the ball game and Western Christian never trailed on route to a 56-42 win over Kuemper Catholic in their 2A quarterfnal game on Tuesday.

Western took a 13-11 first quarter lead and pushed that to a 27-19 halftime advantage. A Joey Horstman three with :04 seconds left in the third quarter put the Wolfpack up 42-34 going into the fourth quarter. Western would go on to win it 56-42.

Jesse Jansma led the offense with 14 points followed by Josh Van Lingen and Dustin Marra with 12 points each. Both had double-doubles as Van Lingen pulled down 14 rebounds while Marra had a dozen boards.

Kuemper had one player in double figures as Matt Dentlinger hit for 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for a double-double of his own. With the win Western improved to 23-2 on the year. The Knights ended the year at 18-7.

Defense and rebounding helped Western Christian advance in class 2A. Despite shooting only 40 percent for the game the Wolfpack never trailed in their 56-42 win over Carroll Kuemper.

(21-5) Anamosa the #6 seed upset #3 seed Des Moines Christian 74-60 to advance to the semifinal round Monday. Anamosa opened a 20-4 first quarter lead and never looked back. Anamosa had four players in double figures led by Tyler Zumbach with 19 points. Kyle Schepanski had 18. Also in double figures were Kolin Schulte with 14 and Kyle Sayre with 12.

Pregame for the 2A semifinal comes your way at 3:30 with opening tip scheduled for 3:45.


Sibley Graduate to be Inducted Into IHSAA Officiating Hall of Fame Saturday

sibley ocheyedan school logoDes Moines Iowa — New members of the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Basketball Halls of Fame in officiating and basketball will be inducted during the 2016 State Boys Tournament on Saturday, March 12th.Four officials will be honored at the halftime of the Class 3A Championship game and two coaches and five former players will be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame during the halftime of the Class 4A title game.

One of the officials being honored at halftime of the 3A Championship game is 1974 Sibley High School graduate Steve Wick now living in LeMars. Wick was a multiple sport athlete who earned his 1978 college degree in elementary education from Westmar College, where he played football, baseball and golf.

As a college freshman he started officiating basketball working junior varsity men and women’s games and lower level high school contests. A 37-year career in basketball and 16 more in football earned him numerous pre-State Tournament assignments in basketball from 1994-1999. He was chosen for the State Basketball Tournament 17 times including four championship contests. In football he worked 26 playoff games in 15 years including one semifinal and two championship games.

He spent 37-years as an elementary teacher with the last 27 at LeMars, retiring in the spring of 2015. He and his wife Kim reside in LeMars.

Congratulations to 1974 Sibley High School graduate Steve Wick now living in LeMars.


10,000 Boat Owners Still Need to Verify Hull ID by April 30

Iowa DNRAn estimated 10,000 Iowa boat owners who were notified that their crafts were assigned a hull identification number by the manufacturer that is not in compliance with the U.S. Coast Guard have yet to verify their HIN with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources before their current registration expires on April 30.

“This is no fault of the boat owner; they purchased a craft that had an incorrect HIN issued by the manufacturer. We want to help them resolve this before their registration expires but time is starting to run out. Don’t wait until the last minute to take care of this,” said Susan Stocker, boating law administrator for the Iowa DNR.

The DNR has placed information regarding the process and to help answer questions online at http://www.iowadnr.gov/Things-to-Do/Boating.

Stocker said the process is fairly simple; they need to either trace the HIN with a pencil or take a photo of it and email it to HIN@dnr.iowa.gov, fax to 515-725-8201 Attn: HIN Verification or mail to Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Attn: HIN Verification, 502 East Ninth Street, Des Moines, IA 50319-0034. Boat owners will need to verify the HIN prior to April 30, 2016, in order to renew their boat registration.

Part of the verification process includes boat owners signing an affidavit included in the mailing that confirms they will permanently attach the new HIN to the boat (if a new HIN is provided) to comply with US Coast Guard regulations.

“If they no longer own the boat in question, they should let us know in the space provided on the affidavit,” Stocker said.

If boat owners have questions they should contact the Iowa DNR at HIN@dnr.iowa.gov or 515-725-8200.


Dutch Fall Short in Comeback

MOC logoDes Moines, Iowa — MOC Floyd Valley fell to the two time defending State Champions Dubuque Wahlert in their 3A Quarterfinal Tuesday afternoon in Des Moines by a score of 79-74

Dubuque Wahlert would jump to a quick lead and after one quarter of play, the Golden Ealges would lead 19-12. Iowa Hawkeye recruit Cordell Pemsl would start the 2nd quarter with a a block and slam it home with authority to set the tone for Dubuque Wahlert. By intermission the Golden Eagles would lead 36-25.

Dubuque Wahlert would keep the pedal to the metal in the third, and heading into the final 8 minutes, the Golden Eagles would lead 58-48. MOC-Floyd Valley would get to within 4 midway through the final quarter, but the Golden Eagles would hit key free throws in the final minute to come away with the 79-74 win.

Dubuque Wahlert had 3 players in double figures. Davide Wedewer had a team high 22. Cordell Pemsl put up 19 points and  Josh Schmitt added 10 of his own.

The Dutch were led by Levi Jansen with a game high 42 points, and Christian Korver who added 21 of his own.

Dubuque Wahlert improves to 20-5 on the season. MOC Floyd Valley ends their year at 21-4.