"Years ago Iowa anglers mostly targeted bullheads, carp, and channel cats. They all thrive in murky water. Now they can catch bass and walleyes, and we've even created a quality musky fishery in Pleasant Creek and some other lakes," said Conover.

One aspect of fishing has changed in a way that neither man would have predicted when they were first hired.

"Tournament angling emerged in the 1980s and has come on strong. Fishing was once a solitary, family, or small-group activity but it's increasingly become an event driven phenomenon," said Conover.

"Our staff is small, and our budget is limited. Income from the sale of hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses is $30 million annually. That's not much money relative to the need. In order to create better fishing the DNR has to cooperate with other agencies, private groups, and people -- and it really all boils down to water quality," said Bonneau.

Bonneau and Conover, like most fish and wildlife biologists, closely watch the status of the Conservation Reserve Program. "We need to keep the highly erodable land in vegetation, and CRP is critically important to the health of our fish and wildlife populations," said Bonneau. "Many people don't realize that the economic impact of fishing is big. Money spent by people fishing Union County's lakes, for example, adds millions of dollars to the local economy and the value of each water acre in a lake like Pleasant Creek could be as high as $50,000."

When asked to look into the future, both men are optimistic. "We now have good fishing within 25 miles of every Iowan, and I think it will continue to improve," said Conover.

"And our fish are healthy and safe to eat," added Bonneau.

Both men express concern that young people may not have mentors to introduce them to fishing such as previous generations did. "We're working hard to bring fishing to the people, and the IDNR is working to create fishing opportunities in and near Iowa cities and towns. It's very important that kids can bicycle to fishing holes. We encourage Iowa's anglers to take their children, grandchildren, and other young people fishing," said Conover.

The men expressed concern over fishing license sales. "The number of Iowa anglers is flat. Approximately 350,000 licenses are sold every year, but not everyone buys a license or fishes every year. About 600,000 people have bought licenses in one of the past three years, so a lot of anglers don't fish every year.