All about the gamefish of Iowa.

1. Fishing for Iowa’s Finest
Game Fish
Fishing for Iowa’s Finest Fish

2. Bluegills are the most common and one of the tastiest gamefish in
Iowa. They fall into the “panfish” category. Note the dark blue gill
flap.

3. Bluegills thrive in small weedy lakes and farm ponds
around the state.

4. Bluegills hide in the weeds and wait for food to crawl or swim by.

5. This water boatman bug would be a real bluegill treat.

6. Bloodworms living on the bottom in the
mud are also favorite bluegill food.
Bloodworms living on
the bottom in the
mud are also favorite
bluegill food.

7. Bloodworms have skinny red
bodies. Iron-rich hemoglobin
helps them breathe in oxygen
even when buried in the mud.

8. Believe it or not, but bloodworms turn into midges, or “stingless
mosquitoes” when they get mature.

9. These little grub baits for bluegills look a lot like bloodworms, don’
they? Dynamite when tipped on a teardrop jig.

10. Mealworms are another good bluegill bait option.

11. Hard to beat a plain old garden worm for bluegill bait.

12. The best thing about bluegills - you don’t need fancy tackle to fool
them.

13. Suspend baits down where the bluegills wait near the bottom.

14. A feisty bluegill fooled by an angleworm.

15. Bluegills are great fun to catch at any age!

16. Bluegills can also be
caught by brave ice
anglers in winter.

17. Bluegills are great
eating any time of year.

18. Bluegill fillets floured with cornmeal & ready for frying.

19. Fresh deep-
fried bluegill
fillets.

20. Bluegills are often confused with other “sunfish”.
Bluegills are often confused with other “sunfish”.

21. This pumpkinseed is another colorful “sunfish”.

22. Pumpkinseeds
have a red dot on
their dark gill
spot.

23. Green sunfish have that red dot on their operculum too.
The state record weighed 2# 1oz.

24. Green sunfish thrive in weedy farm ponds.

25. Find a clear place to cast and start catching.

26. When that bobber starts to bounce, set the hook.

27. Put the green sunfish on a stringer and try for another.

28. Black crappies are another prolific & popular panfish. They have
speckled blackish bodies and round profiles.
The state record black crappie weighed 2# 12oz.

29. Black crappies often school in lakes near shoreline rock jetties or
sunken structures like brush piles.

30. Mississippi River backwaters are another good place to fish for
black crappies.

31. Black crappies concentrate near drowned wood in backwater
habitats, as that’s where the food hides.
Black crappies concentrate near drowned wood in backwater
habitats, as that’s where the food hides.

32. This flashy spotfin shiner is a favorite black crappie food.

33. Black
crappies gulp
small
minnows in
with gusto.

34. Small jigs that imitate injured minnows are great crappie baits.

35. Be careful when catching black crappies as
their mouth is paper thin and tender.

36. Look for lots of black crappies to be congregated around flooded
weeds and brush when they spawn in May.

37. Black
crappies
grow bigger
than
bluegills and
sometimes
weigh two to
three
pounds.

38. Feeding crappies can be caught on floating poppers on warm calm
summer evenings.

39. Time to cast that popper out and catch a black crappie.

40. Black crappies bite in winter too, often right at dusk.

41. Check out that black crappie’s dorsal fin
for an ID check. There should be 7 or 8
separated spines

42. White crappies are close cousins. They have 6 dorsal spines
compared to the black crappie’s 7-8.

43. White crappies
thrive in
Mississippi
backwater sloughs
in southern Iowa.

44. That submerged stump is sure to attract a school of white crappies
in southern Iowa farm ponds and lakes.

45. White crappies
have dark vertical
bars splitting
down their sides.
State record
4# 9 oz

46. White bass are silvery with faint black longitudinal stripes along
their sides. They hunt in packs for minnows and shad.

47. Threadfin
and gizzard
shad are fatty
fish full of
protein for
white bass.
They’re
common in
the
Mississippi
River

48. Tailwater dams along larger
rivers concentrate scrappy white
bass searching for shad.

49. Gizzard shad flee in panic when attacked by white bass.

50. Crappie minnows or shiners, like this emerald shiner, can be fished
below a bobber.

51. White bass can be fooled with a variety of different shiny baits.
State record 3# 14oz.

52. Jigs can be yo-
yo’d back with
or without a
minnow trailer.

53. Small heavy spinners, like a Kastmaster, are fantastic white bass
baits.

54. Fly rod streamers fool white
bass too

55. White bass can fill the
stringer in a jiffy if you’re
fortunate enough to find a
feeding school.
White bass can fill the cooler in a jiffy if you’re fortunate enough
to find a feeding school.

56. White bass fish & chips.

57. Yellow bass are a colorful white bass cousin. Whereas white bass
can grow two or three pounds, yellow bass seldom exceed eight
inches in length.
Yellow bass are a
colorful white
bass cousin.

58. Yellow bass are only
found in a few Iowa
lakes, and are
uncommon in the
Mississippi River.
Clear Lake is a top
spot to catch the novel
yellow bass.
State record 1# 9oz

59. Whereas white bass often grow over a
foot long, yellow bass seldom exceed
eight inches.
Still a fine catch!

60. Yellow bass and all Iowa
panfish can be caught in winter
as well as summer

61. Yellow perch are another colorful yellow fish that can be caught
through the ice in winter.

62. Yellow perch are cigar-shaped compared to a yellow bass and have
dark vertical bars streaking their sides.

63. Yellow perch travel in large schools, hunting for minnows like
this blacknose dace

64. Live minnows or small shiny jigs that imitate minnows will tempt a
hungry yellow perch.
Live minnows or small shiny jigs that imitate
minnows will tempt a hungry yellow perch.

65. Boat marinas around lakes or on the Mississippi River often attract
baitfish and yellow perch. Ten-inch perch are “jumbos”. State record
2# 7oz

66. Yellow perch are an
excellent eating
fish!

67. Yellow perch make perfect panfish.

68. Walleyes are the largest members of the perch family. topping out at
about 12 pounds.

69. Yellow perch are one of the walleye’s favorite foods.

70. Walleyes hunt for sleeping perch at night with eyes especially
adapted for seeing after dark.

71. Note that unusual eye that
helps walleyes spot
snoozing perch.

72. Perch-colored crankbaits are good walleye lures. Watch out for
sharp those fish-gripping teeth.

73. Jigs, either in natural minnow
or perch colors, or fancy
fluorescents, fool many finicky
walleyes.

74. Tipping your jig with a tasty
minnow will make the bait doubly
delectable.

75. Wing dams along the Mississippi River and larger rivers are
home to walleyes in Iowa. A good spot to cast crankbaits or jigs.

76. Watch out for those bigger boats when casting jigs for walleyes off
wing dams in the Mississippi River!

77. Many eager anglers travel to large windswept lakes here in the
Midwest where walleyes also thrive.

78. In lakes, spinner rigs can be drifted or trolled behind a boat to
tease a walleye into biting. Bait the hook with one of several live
trailers.

79. Spot-tail shiners make a great spinner trailer, especially early in the
season. Note that round black spot at the tail base.

80. Nightcrawlers are a standard spinner trailer in the summer season.

81. Leeches, otherwise known as “bloodsuckers”, will sometimes trigger
walleyes when nightcrawlers won’t.

82. Spinner rigs are dragged along behind the boat,
letting the motor do the work.

83. Rowing is the old-fashioned way of
working a spinner rig for walleyes
out in the lake.

84. Iowa’s reservoirs and some lakes also host walleyes.
State record 14# 8oz
Iowa’s reservoirs and some
lakes also host
big walleyes.
State record 14# 8oz

85. Many anglers wait until sunset to start walleye fishing.

86. Walleyes are most active at
night, which is the best
time to catch them. Note
the white tail tip.

87. Saugers are a smaller cousin of the walleye, with a spotted dorsal fin
and no white tail tip.
Saugers are a smaller cousin of the
walleye, with a spotted dorsal fin and
no white tail tip.
State record 6# 8oz

88. Saugers have blotchy, grayer bodies than walleyes

89. Saugers are more of a river fish compared to walleyes, preferring
faster moving water. Two-pounders are big.

90. This sauger is ready to be dressed for dinner.

91. Fresh sauger fillets before the frying. They’re boneless.

92. Walleyes and sauger are the best tasting fish fillets, especially when
prepared fresh for lunch along shore.

93. Smallmouth bass are Iowa’s darling
gamefish.

94. Cool clear rocky streams in northeastern Iowa is where most
smallmouth bass live, though some lakes have them too.

95. Smallmouth bass are associated with rocky bottoms since their
favorite food, crayfish, live there.

96. Crayfish are better than chocolate-covered cherries to
smallmouth bass .
Crayfish are
chocolate-covered
cherries to
smallmouth bass .

97. This Rebel Crayfish
will catch smallmouth
bass!

98. Smallmouth bass have relatively small mouths.

99. Besides crayfish, another tried and true smallmouth bass bait is the
devilish looking dobsonfly larvae called a hellgrammite.

100. Adult dobsonflies aren’t nature’s cutest creatures either.

101. Jigs that imitate crayfish, hellgrammites, leeches or minnows will all
take their share of smallmouth bass.

102. Toss a realistic jig down amongst the rocks and twitch it so that
waiting bass will come over and swallow it.

103. Smallmouth bass are suckers for leggy-looking jigs.

104. This northern redbelly dace would also be relished by a famished (or
even full) smallmouth bass.

105. This minnow-imitating Mepps Spinner is a go-to lure for catching
smallmouth bass.

106. Smallmouth bass fishing is
at its best in Iowa when
September starts trees
turning color and nights
cool down some.

107. Smallmouth bass are
strong fighting fish
and put up a real
battle as they often
leap out of the water
several times during
the struggle.
A twenty-inch
smallmouth bass is a
great trophy.
State record is 7# 12oz.

108. Most anglers in the
modern age release
all the smallmouth
bass they catch to
protect the
resource.

109. Besides wading, fishing from a canoe is another good way to angle
for smallmouth bass.

110. Fishing kayaks are an option for adventuresome fishers.

111. The smallmouth bass is also known as the “bronzeback” with a
brownish-olive body and darker vertical stripes on its sides.

112. Largemouth bass are much more common than smallmouth bass in
Iowa. They have a mossy green back, a white belly, and a wide dark
stripe running lengthwise down their body.

113. Largemouth bass are most
common in farm ponds and
small lakes, but live in
almost any water body.

114. Largemouth bass like to hide in the underwater weeds where they
can ambush their prey.

115. This bullfrog would be breakfast toast for a “bigmouth bass”.

116. Baits that resemble frogs will catch
largemouth bass.

117. Golden shiners are a natural largemouth bass food, so a live golden
shiner for bait will certainly catch fish.

118. Largemouth bass latch onto and swallow heedless shiners head-
first.

119. Spinnerbaits that pretend to be
golden shiners are great
largemouth bass triggers.

120. Dawn is the best time to try and catch a largemouth
bass.

121. Sneak into a largemouth bass lair and see what happens

122. What if the largemouth bass is laying under that mess?

123. A weedless-rigged plastic worm is probably the best bait day in
and day out for fooling largemouth bass into biting. Cross their
eyes on the hook-set!

124. Largemouth
bass have big
but very hard
bony mouths

125. Largemouth bass fishers prefer heavy-duty rods and reels for
tackling those strapping trophy fish.

126. Purple plastic worms work best, for
whatever reason

127. Largemouth bass are aptly named, and will gulp down whatever
they can grab.

128. Most largemouth
bass weigh a couple
pounds, but five-
pounders can be
caught and a ten-
pounder is possible

129. Most anglers release largemouth bass too, so they can fan out nests
in May and make more fish-catching fun.
State record 10# 12oz.

130. Northern pike are extremely aggressive predators and truly a trophy
fish, sometimes called “water tigers”.

131. Gator fish is a good way to describe a northern pike.

132. Northern pike are long and thin and can grow to 40” long and 25 lbs.
Their mouths are filled with sharp teeth

133. Many northern pike lurk in quiet Mississippi
River backwaters.

134. Northern pike also roam in Iowa’s larger lakes and reservoirs

135. Long thin fleshy suckers, shiners or chubs, like this common shiner,
are key natural foods for northern pike.

136. A live shiner suspended below a
bobber is a good northern pike
bait

137. Tip-ups take the place of
bobbers in winter.

138. When the flag pops up, pull
in your pike.

139. Northern pike have razor-sharp teeth so be careful.

140. Daredevil
Spoons,
especially in a
red and white
striped
“candycane”
pattern, have
taken countless
northern pike
over the years.

141. Any big showy red and white lure that looks and acts like an
injured sucker will attract a northern pike.

142. Cast those Daredevils toward
waiting weedbeds.

143. Northern pike are top-notch fighting fish.

144. Northern pike taste great, but they’re full of problematic Y-bones, so
release these toothy fighters and eat panfish.
Northern pike taste great, but they’re full of problematic Y-bones, so
release these toothy fighters and eat panfish.
State record 25# 5oz.

145. Iowa’s most elusive gamefish is the muskellunge (the fish of a
thousand casts).

146. Muskellunge can only be caught in a few Iowa lakes

147. Muskellunge like to lay in camouflaging cabbage beds while
waiting for their meals to swim by.

148. Creek chubs, suckers and even walleyes are eaten.

149. Big minnow crankbaits will interest a resident muskellunge. Dark
stormy days and fishing at night is the best way to get a muskie on
your line.

150. Muskies are said to be the fish of a thousand casts!

151. Six-inch spinners are favorite muskie Baits. Cast with a pool cue for
a pole and use non-stretch braided line.

152. This proud angler is about to
release a nice muskellunge to
fight another fine day. State
record 50# 6oz.

153. Good fishing!