Photo by Jim Barta.

Thanks to the interstate highway system, anglers in Iowa have many midwinter fishing options, no matter what Ol' Man Winter throws at us.

Let's say this winter follows the mild pattern of the past two winters, leaving many of our central and southern lakes ice-free until mid-January. A little windshield time can whisk anglers from southern and central Iowa up Interstate 35 into northern Iowa to find solid ice in which to drill holes and satisfy their ice-fishing addiction.

Or maybe Mother Nature will opt to smack us with weeks of frigid weather, and armors with a foot or more of solid ice even our southern-most lakes. A "hard" winter will see anglers fanning out via the interstate system across the middle and southern sections of the state to explore ice-fishing options in the dozens of county conservation board and state-owned lakes freckling the lower half of our state map.

No matter how warm or cold it gets during an unpredictable Midwestern winter, plenty of ice-fishing is available somewhere in Iowa for anglers willing to dedicate a bit of windshield time to finding fish.

THE NEXUS OFMIDWINTER FISHING
Interstate 80 and Interstate 35 meet at what locals call "the Mixmaster" on the west side of Des Moines. The junction of these two major arteries provides options in every compass direction for anglers searching for a midwinter fishing trip.

Anglers who head north from the Mixmaster are only two hours from the walleyes and yellow perch of Clear Lake, in north-central Iowa. "There is the potential for some really good fishing for walleyes through the ice at Clear Lake this winter," said Iowa Department of Natural Resources fisheries technician Scott Grummer. "It all depends on weather and ice conditions.” Walleye fishing in the 2007 spring raised expectations that Clear Lake was on the verge of a walleye boom; reports heralded excellent catches of walleyes averaging 17 inches through mid-June. But then the walleyes turned off, and anglers wondered what happened to their high hopes.

"The good news for this winter's ice-fishing is that the year-class of walleyes that had everybody so excited last spring is still there," said Grummer. “It’s a large year-class, so there's the potential for some excellent fishing. Looking back, we think what happened last spring was that there was an above-average hatch of forage fish. Once the young-of-the-year fish like bullheads and yellow bass started to develop, the walleyes had so much to eat that they weren't interested in anything anglers put in front of them, so walleye fishing really dropped off after mid-June."

Grummer noted that the flush of forage fish at Clear Lake not only sated the appetite of larger walleyes but also sped the growth of a second year-class of walleyes. A substantial cohort of walleyes that were sublegal last spring — measuring 14-inches or less — will have grown to legal lengths by this winter.

"So there's the potential for two year-classes of walleye this winter, through the ice," he said. "It all depends on ice conditions, and whether anglers can get out there and find them."

Finding Clear Lake’s walleyes is a midwinter challenge. Grummer noted that walleyes in that lake aren’t necessarily associated with reefs, weedbeds and other traditional walleye habitats. "There are always some walleyes around reefs and weedbeds during the winter, but a lot of them seem to be roaming the big mudflats, following schools of yellow perch,” he said. "A huge mudflat in 13 feet of water is as good for walleyes through the ice up here as a reef or weedbed in 8 feet of water."

Local anglers have taken note of the mobile behavior of Clear Lake’s walleyes, and altered their angling strategies correspondingly. Pop-up ice tents and windbreaks are now as common as traditional stationary ice-houses. Flasher-type sonar units help anglers locate schools of baitfish and attending predators through the ice, thus reducing the need for hit-or-miss drilling of holes in the ice.