Fishing Tales

FISHING

THE MIDWEST

Photo by Bob Jensen

By Bob Jensen

Too much of the time we hear about bodies of water or fi sh species that are experiencing problems. It’s good that we learn about those problems because if we don’t know about them, we can’t fi x them. We’re often hearing about the water being too dirty or too clear, the fi sh being too big or too small. It’s good to hear about bodies of water and fi sh populations that are recovering or have recovered. I was on one of those success-story lakes recently. I joined a couple of local anglers on Clear Lake on a chilly, blustery day when the fi sh shouldn’t have been biting too good, but they were. We caught plenty of eating-sized walleyes and some that were too big to eat. We caught yellow bass that were perfect for the fry pan, and we caught a bunch of nice crappies. All that action in half a day, from a lake that 20 years ago was a bullhead lake with questionable water quality. Today, Clear Lake is one of the premier fi sheries in the Midwest for walleyes and muskies, with a bunch of upand-coming classes of crappies, perch and other species. Let’s check out Clear Lake.

FISHING LICENSES

Clear Lake resident Bill Bunn with a nice walleye, which bodes well for the future of Clear Lake.

Resident Fishing Season (16 and older) $19 Non-Resident Season (16 and older) $41 7-Day Fishing (Resident) $13.50 (Non-Resident) $32 3-Day Fishing (Non-Resident) $17.50 1-Day Fishing (Resident) $9.50 (Non-Resident) $10.50

Licenses sold at: The Crazy Minnow Co.

1124 S. Eighth St. | (641) 357-BAIT

Kramer Hardware

580 Highway 18 E. | (641) 357-7080

Iowa DNR

1203 N. Shore Drive | (641) 357-3517

Clear Lake is a 3,600-acre body of water in north central Iowa. It is of water in north central Iowa. It is surrounded by the communities of Clear Lake and Ventura.

FISHING TOURNAMENTS

Yellow Bass Bonanza (ice): Feb. 13-14 Yellow Bass Bonanza (ice): Feb. 13-14 Muskies Inc.: April 29-30 Muskies Inc.: April 29-30 Kevan Paul is a fi shing guide on Clear Walleye Classic: May 21-22 Walleye Classic: May 21-22 Lake; Bill Bunn is a long-time Clear Take a Kid Fishing: June 4 Take a Kid Fishing: June 4 Lake resident and angler. They were Yellow Bass Bonanza: fall TBA Yellow Bass Bonanza: fall TBA my hosts on this trip. We started Fall-eye Classic: Oct. 2 Fall-eye Classic: Oct. 2 fi shing a wind-protected shoreline Visit our events calendar for details! Visit our events calendar for details! and caught a couple small walleyes. We realized that if we wanted to have more action, we would need to fi sh some wind-blown areas, so we did. And the action picked up right away. We set out a spread of slip-bobbers tipped with jigs and leeches or crawlers. While those rigs fl oated up the ledge from deeper to shallower water, we made short casts with 1/16-ounce jigs. The walleyes didn’t show a preference: We caught’em with jigs and we caught ’em under the bobbers. Nice walleyes! Plenty of 15- to 20-inchers with some shorter ones in the mix also, which bodes well for the future of Clear Lake.

Photo by Bob Jensen

We then moved into shallow water and used 13-foot rods with a 2-foot section of line and a tiny Fire-Fly jig attached to it. We dipped this offering in pockets in the reeds and caught crappies up to 12 inches and some really nice bluegills. Years ago, these species weren’t present in Clear Lake. Now they’re there, and the population is going to get only better if anglers allow them to. We’ve got to release the majority of those crappies. Eat the yellow bass that are caught right along with the crappies.

Several factors enabled Clear Lake to rebound so notably. The water coming in is much cleaner now due to a rejuvenated marsh that feeds the lake. Other water coming in is also cleaner. Additionally, the west end of the lake was dredged a few years ago, creating an entirely new environment. The west end 20 years ago was a bowl 4 feet deep and covered with mud. It’s now a diverse ecosystem with depths to 25 feet and lots of structure. Vegetation is growing in the deeper water and provides lots of habitat.

Clear Lake is a true success story that was created by lots of folks — professional and volunteers. Clear Lake is an example that we can create outstanding fi shing and other water-related opportunities when the desire is there. And, for most of us, the desire is there.

To see the newest episodes of “Fishing the Midwest” television, go to www.fi shingthemidwest.com. If you do Facebook, check us out for a variety of fi shing-related things.

Fishing guide Kevan Paul uses his skills to net a walleye in Clear Lake. “I think, though, it’s the yellow bass that bring anglers to Clear Lake in the winter,” says Bob Jensen. “The action can be non-stop, and yellow bass are wonderful on the table.” Here, shing guide Chris Scholl with a cat sh he pulled from the ice. Scholl and partner Kevan Paul organize Iowa’s Largest Ice Fishing Tournament, the Yellow Bass Bonanza.

Hard & Soft Water Fishing Guide

Clear Lake • Spirit Lake • Okoboji, IA

Fully guided, hassle free fishing

Half or Full Day Open Water / Ice Fishing Hotel or Dock Pick Up Walleye • Muskie • Panfish

Featured on ‘Fishing the Midwest’ and ‘In-Fisherman’