"Rathbun never really goes through lulls," said Flammang. "Even in years when the other fishing is a bit slow, the catfishing generally remains excellent."

The density of channel cats is high, a fact which is mirrored by angler success. The lake enjoys a larger percentage of bigger fish than most other Hawkeye lakes, and there are large numbers of 17- to 24-inch fish.

"We collected fish in excess of 12 pounds in the fall of 2006," said Flammang. "We commonly see fish larger than 28 inches, and those are some big catfish!"

The flathead population is also on the upswing. Good numbers of flatheads are showing up with many of them in the 36-inch range. The best time to see large numbers of these fish is in late June to mid-July when they're in the rocks along the bridge near Bridgeview Park. This hotspot is on the western side of the lake in the Chariton River arm. Other good summer flathead spots are the South Fork bridge, Ranger Point and Prairie Ridge areas. Concentrate on the riprap rocks when the fish are actively spawning.

Locals target cats in the South Fork Arm near Griffinsville, the North Arm west of the Highway 142 causeway up in the bays and the Buck Creek section on the lake's western end just north of the dam.

Other spots on Lake Rathbun hold summer cats as well. Shoreline rocks and points are hotspots during the summer months when the wind is blowing across the surface and drifting food starts to stack up.

Lake Rathbun covers 11,000 acres in Appanoose County in south-central Iowa.

Call the Rathbun Fish Hatchery for additional information at (641) 647-2406.

NORTH TWIN LAKE
Bullheads are the name of the game in this shallow 453-acre lake in northwestern Iowa.

According to fisheries management biologist Lannie Miller, there are lots of them, and they're willing biters. During the 2005 fisheries survey the IDNR conducted on the lake a lot of bulls showed up in the 1-pound range. Nobody knows how many bullheads roam the lake, but the uncontested fact is that there are a lot of these fish.

Bullheads will be up in the shallows at night to feed. The northern section of the lake is often the best bet for nocturnal anglers using anything from night crawlers to chicken livers.

Inflowing water from rainfalls seem to excite bullhead feeding activity. Food is washed into the lake and the cats will move up to intercept it. Even in the daylight hours, heavy rains will sometimes start the bulls feeding.

Look for nice-sized bullheads up along windswept shorelines where dead fish, insects and other catfish delicacies have been washed up. Bullheads are bottom feeders and the wave action helps to stir things up on the lake bottom.

Anglers will occasionally take a channel cat or two along the shoreline or even out in the deeper water. The deepest spot on the lake is only 13 feet deep.

North Twin Lake is located four miles north of Rockwell City in Calhoun County. Two ramps are available off Highway 124 on the south side of the lake.

For more information contact the Blackhawk Fish Management office at (712) 657-2638 or Twin Lakes State Park at (712) 297-7131.

WAPSIPINICON RIVER
"The lower portion of the Wapsipinicon River is a good catfish stream here in southeastern Iowa and is one of those rivers you don't want to overlook when you're thinking about catfishing," said biologist Kline.