Raccoon River is a stream located just 1.5 miles from Des Moines, in Polk County, in the state of Iowa, United States. All of a sudden there was a big splash and the minnow was gone. Channel Catfish. Enjoy canned venison warmed or use it in stews, chili, and other hot dishes. Experimentation proved the mystery fish to be a smallmouth bass and Holcomb begin specifically targeting smallmouths, on a strictly catch-and-release basis. "If I use an inline spinner like a Mepps or a Panther Martin, I always tip it with a minnow," he said. Common carp become harder to find as you go downstream from the lake. Redhorse are also uncommon in this stretch, as the white suckers have become dominant. Daily Bag Limit: combined: channel, blue and flathead catfish, 15 fish. Maks me want to come try for the Yellow Bass, Gar, and Flatheads. Resting ones are more often found in a seam of slower moving water. Current breaks, eddies, shoals, ripples are areas smallmouth like to hang out because there's dissolved oxygen and food there. In order to locate smallmouth bass and effectively catch them, you must first understand current and its intricacies. |
Trip Overview Late summer on the Salmon River presents great smallmouth bass fishing opportunities. Starting just west of Des Moines, the river becomes surrounded by backwater lakes all the down to its confluence with the Des Moines River. As a result, a river smallmouth feels like a lake bass twice its size. I actually do enjoy walleye fishing here, because it is a more intimate setting; wading a clear river in the middle of summer makes every fish enjoyable. Season: Continuous. Reminds me a lot of the Sugar River near me. He has a deep understanding of all types of smallmouth habitats. "Presentation is critical," he added. In 2012, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission prohibited fishing for smallmouths from May 1 to June 15 in much of the Susquehanna, … https://multispeciesfishing.blogspot.com/, roughfish identification, lifelist angling, fishing rare unusual fish species: bowfin burbot buffalo gar redhorse suckers carp. When the water starts to cool down in mid to late September, the fall smallmouth start to feed up for the winter months. The middle to lower section is best for smallmouths and also has a very varied fishery with muskies and walleyes." Length Limit: none. Learn more about two new Elite Archery bows, the Enkore and Remedy, two new broadhead from Slick Trick and a new site from Custom Bow Equipment (CBE). Below the dam, you will find smallmouth bass, yellow bass, walleye, channel catfish, giant bluegill, and even the occasional flathead. "I guarantee that if you are tipped with a minnow and lose the minnow, but keep fishing, your hits will decrease by 50 percent. River Smallmouth Fishing: The Best Techniques & Best Rivers | Tim Holschlag, Ron Nelson | ISBN: 9780976387626 | Kostenloser Versand für alle Bücher mit Versand und Verkauf duch Amazon. 38. Most are gravel and limestone pits, reaching depths of 50’ on average and even 70’ on a few select lakes. The conventional wisdom would have it that smallmouth bass are a rarity infrequently glimpsed by anglers working central Iowa's rivers. The South Raccoon is what comes to mind when you think of channel catfish. This dam is located at the Ticonic Falls in downtown Waterville, just upstream of the confluence with the Sebasticook River (see The Maine Atlas … Downstream of here, the river is chock-full of smallmouth bass, yellow bass, and walleye. For Stefan, a hollow-body frog is the perfect bait to target the backside of log jams, where the current meets the bank. Saw a couple other nice walleye come out when I stopped by the dam in Redfield for a bit. A few yellow bass have ventured over from the Middle Raccoon … Plan your next fishing and boating adventure here. Although Eastern Iowa's best smallmouth fishing is north of Interstate 80, there are pockets of good bass fishing in rivers south of the big highway. The final piece of the river smallmouth arsenal is a frog. Because of the whitewater, float-fishermen typically put in at Gauley Bridge on U.S. Route 60 in Fayette County and paddle, or motor, upstream and down from there. "A lot of guys focus on the riffles below rock and gravel bars," he said, "but I spend as much time fishing the flat stretches between the riffles. There are a few smallmouth bass scattered around rockier areas, and walleyes are uncommon. A dozen rock dams (also known as fishing riffles) can be navigated by experienced paddlers, but many will wish to portage them. Here, some of the best flathead fishing in central Iowa can be found. Not if you take into account the experience of longtime central Iowa anglers Tom Holcomb and Kurt Rowland, who have been proving that conventional wisdom wrong for more than 20 years. It is one of best kept secrets in Iowegia. The new Savage Impulse rifles are built for speed, accuracy. In fall, the days get shorter, temperatures begin to drop and smallmouths strap on the feedbag. "Downstream from the dam, the river bottom is down to the glacial pan in a lot of places," said Rowland. Awesome. Possession Limit: combined: channel, blue and flathead catfish, 30 fish. These affordable designs are big on features, short on cash outlay — ATA Show. The river smallmouth tend to be stronger from swimming against the current on a daily basis, and once you get them on your line you will have to fight the current as well. A few white bass will show up here and there as well. The Raccoon River and its surrounding area are very unexplored when it comes to fishing. "There are times when the river is high that English Creek, Whitebreast Creek and some of the other tributaries are relatively low and clear when the main river is high and muddy," said Rowland. In fact, the North Raccoon has some of the highest nitrate levels of any river in the Mississippi Basin. The Middle Fork of the Raccoon River (and my personal favorite) begins its trek near Carroll, IA. It flows under tall cliffs and bluffs as it makes its way through the Lennon Mills Dam (which sadly does not allow for easy fish passage). Most river bites won’t be subtle for this reason. "If you can find some rocky habitat in those creeks, you'll probably find some smallmouths.". "If they've been releasing 20,000 cubic feet for three weeks and then drop it to 16,000, I want to be on the river the next day," he said. Fishing for smallmouth in rivers is an exciting way to spend a day. Thankfully, the fight is not over and many environmental action groups are voluntarily installing buffer strips on farmland to help prevent runoff and are creating artificial wetlands and restoring old ones. These lakes also offer excellent bass, crappie, and walleye fishing year round. Another fish that seemingly has a strong population here are smallmouth buffalo. Anywhere the river bumps up against a bluff is also a key winter sanctuary for smallmouth. Bass will target baitfish, cra… Many smaller rivers have tons of smallmouth. Once the Middle Raccoon is free of Lake Panorama, it becomes one of the best-kept secrets in Iowa. Smallmouth bass love fast-moving water – rivers, creeks, anything that has moving water. I had my best luck on the stretch between Panora and Redfield. Subscriber Services. The best 7 river smallmouth fishing lures are; #8 Rapala X-Rap Slashbait ; Rebel Middle Wee Craw ; Heddon Tiny Topedo; 4 inch green pumpkin Senko ; 3″ Mister Twister ; 1/8 ounce rooster tail spinner ; 1/4 ounce Beetlespin spinner bait. Once you reach the dam at Redfield, fishing is amazing. "For years and years, I had them pretty much all to myself, because nobody else knew they were there," he said. When you hook one the fight is on and it will give you a surprising fight for its size. "They don't make a run in early spring like white bass and walleyes, but there's a few of them there that you can pick up with inline spinners tipped with minnows, or jigs tipped with minnows.". It then continues east, now even larger, until it meets the North Raccoon in Van Meter, IA. Since not all of the nitrates have left the river, they settle into the lake and cause massive algae blooms every summer. The only catch is that access points are few and far between, so be wary of that. Smallmouth Bass spawn in Iowa in early May as water temperatures exceed 60 degrees. The river's smallmouth population dwindled through the mid to late '90s. Mid to late summer normally brings Red Rock to normal pool, and the Corps reduces flow though the dam. Smallies like to lie behind those current breaks in those gravel-bottomed areas.". Yellow Bass are quite the anomaly in this river, as they were stocked in Lake Panorama in the late 60s but never became established. Some years, people are told to stay out of the water. This section of river is fairly devoid of access until it reaches Des Moines, which means that there are miles of unpressured water waiting for the kayak-based or boat-based angler. From Van Meter to the river’s confluence in the Des Moines River, it flows completely free of any dams. These seven baits will produce smallmouth bass and rivers throughout the country. Holcomb wades the river carrying a 4-foot-long ultralight spinning rod (which he built himself) fitted with an ultralight open-face spinning reel spooled with 4-pound-test line. Some 40 years later, they began appearing in large numbers downstream in the river. Another popular launching area for kayakers, the river loses elevation and has a long set of rapids and riffles before it ends it merges with the South Raccoon. "A friend and I were wading the Middle Coon, fishing for catfish, and had sat down on a brushpile to take a break," recalled Holcomb. Some of my favorite gar fishing spots include these lakes, as most are connected to the river via flooding or a small inlet that was dug out. All over North America, river smallmouth bass fishing can be absolutely phenomenal if you know where to look. Not many years later, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources acknowledged the unique fishery by establishing a "No-Kill" zone on the Middle Raccoon River from the Lennon Mills Dam at Panora downstream to the dam at Redfield. How I Fish A Stretch Of River For Summer Smallmouth - YouTube ", Holcomb also probes the bases of cutbanks on the outside curves of the river, and never overlooks any isolated rocks or boulders. There were several folks out trying there luck at the dam, one guy brought up a nice walleye, measured to 18", which he released. Raccoon River is a mostly freeflowing river surrounded by rural areas in a wooded val-ley. Today, if flows through thousands of acres of heavily fertilized farmland and is filled with alarmingly high amounts of nitrates and other farm pollutants. When learning new water, Levert recommends fishing when it’s windy. Smallmouth and largemouth bass are protected by the DNR in this stretch of river, and they must all be released. Smallmouth in Shallow Rivers A bank angler must know how to present jigs, soft baits, topwaters and spinnerbaits naturally in current to fool stream-dwelling bass. Don’t miss out on a trip of a lifetime. To prepare for spawning, parent spawners move up larger streams, eventually reaching small tributaries where the actual spawning happens. The first fall is generally the period that writers mean when they hype “fast fall fishing.” Water temperatures are still relatively warm (above 57 degrees) but food sources are declining, and the smallmouth bass’s energy requirements are high because of developing gonad production. "I'll pick up a few smallmouths in late March and early April right below the dam," he said. A few of my personal favorite areas to fish come from this stretch, including hotspots for smallmouth bass, redhorse, and even shortnose gar. Holcomb and Rowland each discovered central Iowa's secret smallmouths years ago in rivers near their homes, and have developed considerable expertise on when, where and how to catch bronzebacks where bronzebacks aren't supposed to be. Caught several nice walleye, a couple very large carp and some smallmouth. "Two things happen. Tim Holschlag has fished more smallmouth bass rivers than any known angler, over 330 different rivers across North America and South Africa. Rowland notes that during this time, smallies may venture up small tributaries that aren't as turbid as the main river. When fishing in rivers, smallmouth bass will all face upstream and watch for food coming down the current. At Nation’s Bridge Park near Stuart, anglers may find themselves sharing the water with paddlers, as this is a well known launching area for kayaks. Smallmouth Bass become quite prevalent, and even though larger fish don’t occur often in this stretch, it is a pristine stretch of river. Ugly Stik's Santa Claus Bass Tournament featured 298 Santa-suit-wearing anglers at Lake... Give a Gift
Thanks to careless farming, a beautiful river was nearly ruined. The 14- to 25-inch diameter nest is found in quiet water near … The action is fast. Because of this, a 2 pound smallmouth bass in the river will fight more like a 2.5 to 3.5 pound bass from a lake. Fishermen will find a variety of fish including smallmouth bass, catfish and walleye here. He combines artificial lures with live baits. The Snake River in Idaho and Oregon is home to some of the most abundant smallmouth bass fisheries in the United States. The breeze accentuates ripples on the water’s surface, making it easier to see current variations. River fishing provides some very exciting smallmouth bass fishing. When bass bite a lure, the strikes will often be violent. Moving waters in the central part of the state offer a variety of opportunities for getting into hard-hitting, high-jumping smallmouth bass. They have also installed a filter on the panorama spillway that helps clean out most of the nitrates and algae. Each fork is completely different from the others, and it makes fishing the Raccoon interesting. "There's good access upstream from the new Highway 92 bridge for a ways; otherwise, you have to either wade a lot between bridges and accesses, or drag a boat across a lot of rock and sandbars. Active smallmouth typically hold near or in fast flow. Check for regular water level updates taken through NOAA as well as my interpretations of them. But if you put in the time and make the effort, you're going to catch smallmouths like you wouldn't believe.". : There's less water, so the smallmouths are concentrated in specific areas, and they seem to really go on a feed. The Fishing Regulations brochure is available for download. It flows through the fertile farmlands of central Iowa and draws the majority of its water from 3 forks. Many places on the 3 forks are undocumented by outdoorsmen and are often left alone in favor of bigger waters. The Northwest is home to some of the best smallmouth fishing rivers in the United States. The summaries listed below are a partial listing provided for your benefit. However, the river begins to transform once it passes through Coon Rapids. AOA fishing guides Jim Richmond and Charlie White have been guiding river float trips for over thirty years. It continues to meander its way southeast picking up two large tributaries (Brushy and Beaver Creek) that double its size. Smallmouth Bass Fishing: Big Water vs. Small Rivers Streams and river have currents making it easier to find smallmouth. Channel cats thrive in this river, often exceeding lengths of 18” in a small body of water. I wouldn’t recommend eating much out of this river, though. A few of these lakes are natural backwaters, such as Blue Heron Lake or Gray’s Lake, both which have been converted into city parks. Then it gets dammed up and becomes Lake Panorama. The resulting combination of rocks, cobble, gravel and relatively cool, filtered water provides excellent smallmouth habitat. But in recent years, smallmouth-friendly habitat has reappeared, thanks to moderate water flows and improved soil management practices on the Raccoon watershed. Moving water creates a conveyor belt of food, washing everything downstream to the fish without them having to travel for it. I've had really good luck drifting a minnow under a bobber on that flat water. Until the river reaches Coon Rapids, it will be a slow, algae-filled mess. The DNR’s website also has a Twin Cities area river fishing chart that details the relative abundance of smallmouth bass and other species in the Cannon, Minnesota, Mississippi, Rum and St. Croix rivers. ". Below redfield, the river widens out and continues by Hanging Rock, a giant limestone cliff right on the river. Rowland monitors release rates. In its lower reaches, it begins to become a quicker, rockier stream as it loses elevation. Jim and Charlie have an abundance of experience and knowledge of the rivers and in float fishing for trophy New River smallmouth and musky. Physical description. Fall smallmouth can be found across the United States and Canada and the fishing can be absolutely awesome through the month of October and sometimes even into November, depending on the weather. Kurt Rowland, who operates Whitebreast Adventures guide service -- www.whitebreastadventures.com, (641) 947-2261 -- on Lake Red Rock, discovered smallmouth bass in the Des Moines River below Red Rock Dam nearly 20 years ago. These fish thrive in the waters with current. "There are places, rocky-bottomed areas with some large obstructions that are major current breaks, that can be unbelievable fishing," he said. The river below Red Rock flows high and fast from mid-spring through early summer. I’ve had plenty of days with exceptionally high number of fish, and … It becomes surrounded by conservation areas and becomes much cleaner than it was upstream. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Red Rock Dam acts as a filter for the sometimes-muddy river, and glaciers laid a base layer of sand, gravel, cobble and rocks beneath the fertile black soil of the current Des Moines River valley. In an area to which access is already, according to Rowland, "challenging," that means tough fishing for shore-anglers "There are very few public accesses in that stretch of river, and the local landowners can be pretty territorial about trespassers," he warned. Even with high nitrates, fish do alright. "You'll catch twice as many fish if you cast parallel to the current rather than across the current. Description and Range. That means a rocky bottom, some current and reasonably clear water. The prime wintering spots for river smallmouth are any indentions in the river bottom or holes 15 to 18 feet deep. The river's smallmouth population dwindled through the mid to late '90s. Thankfully, the Iowa DNR took notice to this and has begun lake cleanup processes. Smallmouth bass are one of two species of black bass in Washington with the other being the more popular and widely distributed largemouth bass. In terms of fishing, the North Raccoon is not all bad. I've had days when I literally caught a 2- or 3-pound smallmouth on every cast.". Expansion of Woodland Series targets continues fun, realistic way to practice. All Rights Reserved. Reading current’s an important skill and helps find the nooks and crannies where big smallmouth lurk in rivers. Another fish that seemingly has a strong population here are smallmouth buffalo. The waterworks plant in Des Moines has actually sued three different counties in northern Iowa over water quality. Humans and Mother Nature combined to create smallmouth habitat on the Des Moines. Rowland uses 6-foot Berkley Bionics spinning rods and Abu Garcia or Mitchell open-face spinning reels loaded with 6-pound-test Trilene XL monofilament. It uneventfully flows southeast through farm fields, picking up loads of fertilizers, causing mass eutrophication in this stretch of river. When it comes to fishing baits, you won't find a more unusual variety than the strange brews... Want to learn how to cook tasty walleye? First Look: Savage Arms' Impulse Straight-Pull Rifle, New for 2021, Rinehart's 1/3-Scale Moose Archery Targets, Savage Renegauge Shotgun Review: A Fast-Shooting, Smooth-Cycling Semiauto, 5 Favorite Fall Hot Spots for Smallmouths, The Quintessential Guide to Summer Cranking for Bass, Good Deeds: Bass-Fishing Santas Raise $15K in Toys for Kids, New for 2021: Elite Archery Bows, Slick Trick Broadheads and CBE Sight, New for 2021: Hoyt RX-5, RX-5 Ultra, Ventum 30 and Ventum 33, New for 2021: Excalibur Crossbow, BowTech Bows, TightSpot Quiver, Ripcord Rests, Black Gold Sights. It then makes a turn east and heads straight in that direction until it meets the Middle Raccoon River. Best river smallmouth fishing rod and reel An ideal position is in a current break (slack water) immediately alongside the swift current. On some of the smaller rivers, you can go catch 50-100 smallmouth in a day, but a three pounder might be good one on those smaller systems. How To: Finding Smallmouth in Winter Rivers Jeff Little demonstrates how to use a kayak to whittle down water By Jeff Little. Reading water to locate these spot’s isn’t enough. "When that flow drops to 16,000, the smallmouths absolutely stack up below those current breaks. They will only get one shot at your bait so they need to make it count. For today’s smallmouth bass fishing trip, I target the most downstream of the many hydropower dams on the Kennebec River based on the pattern I developed in previous years on the Androscoggin River (click here, here, and here for examples). Today, they have an established population in the Middle Raccoon. Used worms all day. All Game & Fish subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. Plus, lower light intensity makes fish less wary. The channel cats are aggressive and can often be caught on lures throughout the summer and fall. Outfitters will tell you that you won’t be able to catch the monsters like you want but, instead, fishermen will be rewarded with plenty of 12-18 inch smallmouth bass. The Raccoon is also very susceptible to flooding just due to the fact that it is largely free-flowing except for one reservoir on the Middle Fork and a few low-head dams scattered upstream. "One of our minnows was dangling on the surface, just barely in the water. Are diverse, ranging from water quality in the river through NOAA as well as interpretations. Now have digital access to their high amounts of silt in the Des Moines has actually sued three counties. Both the US and Canada present in the water midstate waterways are more favorable to catfish smallies... In mid to late '90s, boulders, river smallmouth feels like lake..., grass lines and timber are all smallmouth hangouts on rivers more urban raccoon river smallmouth fishing. Of a sudden there was a big splash and the photos are the proof of that large. 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