Greg Keefer.

Fine fishing can be found throughout the Hawkeye State. We’ve listed the top prospects for the entire year and where you can find them!

We all have our favorite hotspots where the bite’s been good in the past. Sometimes our favorite waters produce a lot of good fishing over the years; sometimes our stringers show that we’ve been spending too much time fishing down memory lane. Keeping on top of the upswings and falloffs in fish populations takes a little homework and a willingness to change fishing holes once in a while.

Here’s a look at Hawkeye waters in which the fishing should be good this year.

JANUARY
Yellow Perch,
Spirit Lake
The yellow perch fishing can be fantastic through the ice at Spirit Lake. The perch can be tough to locate because they’ll move around the lake’s 5,684 acres, but when you find them, you’ll be on top of the action.

Use a fish finder to look for schools of perch. You may have to drill several holes and keep moving, but make sure to check the holes you’ve already made. When you locate a school of perch, drop a wax worm, red worm or a small minnow.

The pockets of slightly deeper water near the Big Stoney Point west of the public boat launch off state Route 327 and straight off Buffalo Run on state Route 276 on the west side of the lake can be productive.

Public access sites are off Route 327 near Big Stoney Point, the Miniwashta State Park on the north side of the lake, near Marble Beach on the west side and the Orleans Beach area off Route 276 to the south.

For more information, contact the Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery at (712) 336-1840.

FEBRUARY
Bluegills,
West Okoboji Lake
West Okoboji is an ice-fisherman’s dream come true. Bluegills grow large, and there are a lot of them.

The Miller’s, Emerson, North and Smith’s bays all are good places to start plying the depths with larval baits, small ice flies and tiny minnows under a float.

Bluegills easily measure up to 8 inches, and many of them top 9 or 10 inches. These bigger fish will probably be deeper than their smaller cousins, so if you’re finding little bluegills, try fishing a little deeper.

Green vegetation keeps on producing oxygenated water throughout the winter months and that’s where you’ll find the fish.

West Okoboji provides some nice ice-fishing opportunities for crappies, walleyes, yellow perch and northern pike as well.

West Okoboji Lake covers 3,847 acres. Access is from the public ramps located off Emerson Road on the northwest corner of the lake and off War Eagle Road on the east side.

For more information, contact the Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery at (712) 336-1840.

MARCH
Largemouth Bass,
Lake Ahquabi
Largemouth anglers will go home with a smile from this early spring hotspot.

Lake Ahquabi bass are big. The 18-inch minimum-length limit ensures they’re staying in the lake, and many of the fish are pushing that size. The bonus bass are the 20-inch-plus fish.

Anglers are aware of the lake’s excellent largemouth bass prospects and regularly ply the water with an arsenal of artificial baits. IDNR studies have shown that at times the lake receives between 130 and 150 angler hours per acre of fishing pressure, which is heavy.

The bass are educated as a result of the pressure and may pass up the standard offerings. Lake Ahquabi is one of those spots where it pays to experiment. Try dancing a floating crankbait along the surface. The action is entirely different from what the bass have seen before.

Most of the structure consists of fishing jetties, rock reefs and rocks that border the shoreline.

The lake covers 108 acres with shoreline access all around it. A boat can be used but it isn’t necessary.

Additional information is available by calling the IDNR’s southeast management region at (563) 263-5062.