Spirit 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
Clear Lake
Clear Lake has about 7-9 inches of ice on both the little lake and the main lake. There is a little bit of current flowing into the little lake from Ventura Marsh, so anglers should be aware of possible thin ice on the south side of the little lake. A few smaller permanent shacks have been moved on with 4 wheelers this past week. Use caution if considering using vehicles on the ice as the ice thickness is not uniform. Yellow Bass – Excellent: Action is good if anglers move often if they are not catching fish; anglers doing the best are fishing in 8-12 feet of water and moving till they find schools. Anglers will catch a few different year classes but anglers are catching 8.5-9.4 inch fish consistently. Walleye – Fair: No reports of any keepers yet; try Farmers Beach or the Baptist camp area for some active walleye. Early ice is the better time of the year to try for walleye. Crappie – Good: Crappie have been caught mixed in with some of the yellow bass catches in 8-12 feet of water but the better locations would be in the deeper 15-24 feet holes early morning (7-9 AM) or evening (3-8 PM). Good numbers of 10-12 inch fish.
Big Spirit Lake
Ice conditions: 8-10 inches of ice covered with some slush pockets. Ice conditions varied. Use caution while on the ice. Yellow Perch – Slow: A few perch have been caught in front of the pump house and off of buffalo run. Black Crappie – Fair: Templar lagoon has been producing some small crappies. Walleye – Slow: A few small walleyes have been picked up north of the foot bridge.
Center Lake
Ice conditions: 9-11 inches of ice. The aeration system is in use. Anglers should use caution while on the ice. Fishing activity has been minimal.
East Okoboji Lake
Ice condition: 10-12 inches of ice with some slush. Use caution while on the ice. Yellow Perch – Slow: A few perch on the main lake basin. Yellow Bass – Slow: Some yellows are being caught north of the narrows
Minnewashta Lake
Ice conditions: 9-10 inches of ice. Use caution while on the ice. Fishing activity has been minimal.
Silver Lake (Dickinson)
Ice conditions: 9-12 inches of ice with slush pockets. Ice thickness varied. Use extreme caution during ice activities. The aeration system is in use. Fishing activity has been minimal.
West Okoboji Lake
Ice conditions: 8-10 inches of ice in the bays. Use caution while on the ice. Bluegill – Good: A few bluegills are being caught in Millers and Emerson bay. Spencer beach has also been producing some nice bluegills. Yellow Perch – Good: Some nice perch have been picked up east of Triboji and in Browns bay.
