Miller noted that the bluegill bite usually begins in May, when the fish are spawning. During summer months, a lot of anglers drift for them using small leadheads tipped with live bait. Mealworms, crickets, night crawlers and any larval bait can be productive.

As the water continues to warm in the summer, the lake will stratify at about 15 feet. Once the lake stratifies, the bluegills will hold above the dividing line, no matter how good the deeper structure looks.

The lake offers a cement boat ramp. Motors of any size are allowed, but a no-wake restriction is in force. Cabin rentals are available at Crawford Creek for a family fishing getaway.

Brittle naiad, an invasive submergent herb, has been documented in the lake, Miller reported. Anglers should wash their boats and trailers before putting in at another lake.

Crawford Creek Lake covers 62 acres in the Crawford Creek Recreation Area about 3.5 miles south of Battle Creek. For more information, contact the IDNR’s Blackhawk Fish Management Unit at (712) 657-2638 or the Ida County Conservation Board at (712) 364-3300.

IOWA GREAT LAKES
“For really great bluegill action in northwestern Iowa, Spirit Lake and West Okoboji have been red-hot for the last several years,” said IDNR fisheries biologist Mike Hawkins. “Bluegills can be caught throughout most of the year on these two lakes in the Iowa Great Lakes chain. Most of them are caught through the ice during winter, from under docks in the early summer and on the deeper rockpiles on West Okoboji from mid to late summer.”

According to Hawkins, the fish start to move towards the docks on the main lake in West Okoboji in May and June. At West Okoboji especially, it isn’t difficult to cruise the docks, drop a line and find schools of nice-sized ‘gills. The best baits are very small flies under a small casting bobber. Tipping the hook with a small piece of insect can help, but it isn’t necessary, Hawkins advised.

At 5,684 acres, Spirit Lake is Iowa’s largest body of water. It’s extremely productive not only for bluegills but for a host of other game fish as well. West Okoboji covers 3,847 acres and is second in size only to Spirit Lake.

Access points are abundant, and boaters shouldn’t have any problem locating one of the area’s numerous ramps.

The Iowa Great Lakes are about 45 minutes from Emmetsburg in Dickinson County. For more information, contact the IDNR Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery at (712) 336-1840.

LAKE ANITA
Lake Anita is on the rebound following a yellow bass takeover and complete fishery renovation in the fall of 2003.

IDNR biologist Brian Hayes called Anita a “tight” watershed, meaning that the lake doesn’t leak a lot of sediment and nutrients. It’s considered a model of good water quality, and that’s contributed to development into an excellent fishery in recent years.

Fisheries surveys in 2007 indicated that 8-inch bluegills have returned to Anita, and plenty of 6-inchers are following in their footsteps. The lake drawdown provided an opportunity for additional fish structure to be added, including gravel and sand spawning beds that will likely be used during May and June. These beds are located on shallow flats in between 2 and 4 feet of water.

Submerged rock reefs will attract pre-spawn and post-spawn bluegills. The reefs are in 8 to 12 feet of water and rise to within four feet of the surface.