Iowa’s State Record Fish: Part 1

Iowa’s State Record Fish: Part 1

By Ben Leal

Iowans enjoy some of the best outdoor opportunities of any State within this great Nation of ours. We have whitetail deer hunting that is without a doubt one of the best. Turkey is not far behind and pheasant are on the rebound. We are bordered by two great rivers, the Mississippi and the Missouri. Between those bookends, Iowa is darted with lakes and ponds that are teaming with fish, from the smallest to the greatest and within those we all pursue our trophies.

For the next several months we are going to highlight some of Iowa’s greatest catches that resulted in becoming the standing state record for that species. We’re also going to talk to the experts at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Management and get their take on where the next state record might come from and why. This month we take a look at perch, walleye, northern pike and muskellunge or musky as they are commonly referred to by anglers.

Yellow Perch
The Yellow Perch lives in lakes in Iowa and reaches its greatest abundance in the natural lakes. It is rarely found in large numbers in flowing water with the exception of the Mississippi River, where it is common in some places. They are also found in some man-made recreational lakes and river impoundments in southern Iowa, but seldom approach the abundance found in natural lakes.

In March of 2012 Travis Peterson from Dubuque Iowa caught the current state record yellow perch from the Mississippi River, Pool 12. This great example of a yellow perch tipped the scales at 2 pounds, 7 ounces. “I think the monster on the Mississippi River will be hard to beat,” said IDNR District Fisheries Biologist Michael Hawkins. “If the record comes back to a natural lake, it will likely come from a low density population, shallow high productivity lake.” He also notes that Yellow perch growth, in NW Iowa, are very sensitive to competition. The more perch that are present in a population, the slower their growth. Yellow perch don’t live long (5-6 years) and they have unlimited food to hit those massive sizes.

Walleye
This fish has large, whitish glossy eyes and strong canine teeth. The Walleye is a brassy olive-buff, sometimes shadowing to yellowish sides and white beneath. The Walleye ranges from occasional to common in Iowa natural lakes and our major interior river drainages, such as the Des Moines, Iowa, Cedar and Wapsipinicon. Stocking programs have greatly increased the original range of this species to the larger man-made lakes and impoundments, and stocking has also improved Walleye populations in many of Iowa’s interior rivers. Walleye are widespread and abundant in the Great Border Rivers.

The state record walleye was caught in September of 1986 by Gloria Eoriatti, from Ankeny Iowa and it tipped the scales at 14 pounds, 8 ounces. “The current state record came out of the Des Moines River and it’s quite possible the next one could come from there as well. Walleye do very well in rivers and there is an abundance of food resources”, said IDNR Fisheries Biologist Ben Wallace. “I would say with most species you’re going to see records caught in the spring time/pre-spawn. In the fish world, the larger individuals tend to be female.”

Mark Flammang IDNR Fisheries Management Biologist from the Lake Rathbun district noted that the record will most likely not come from some of the interior constructed lakes such as Twelve Mile or Sugema Lake. “It’s not that walleye don’t do well here, they actually do and their growth rates are good”, observed Flammang. “Living on a diet of bluegills tends to produce a slightly less robust fish. That said, we manage those systems without species such as gizzard shad for a very good reason, to preserve the quality bluegill, crappie and largemouth bass fishing these lakes rely on.”

Iowa Fisheries Management biologists and technicians annually sample walleye from a number of Iowa’s manmade impoundments. “We have yet to see a walleye over 30 inches come out of Storm lake during our broodstock collection”, adds Wallace. “We’ve seen them get close (29.9), but haven’t seen them top 30 yet.”

There are some incredible catches coming out of Iowa’s lakes and rivers these days. Last month we highlighted the efforts that the IDNR is putting in to improving the walleye fishery throughout the state. With continued efforts we’ll see some record fish soon and maybe, just maybe we’ll see the state record sooner rather than later.

Northern Pike
The Northern Pike is distributed over the upper two-thirds of the state. It varies from occasional in a few man-made recreational lakes to common in the natural lakes and large rivers depending on reproductive success. It prefers sluggish, heavily vegetated habitat and is numerous in the upper reaches of the large interior streams, such as the Des Moines, Wapsipinicon and Iowa rivers. It is especially abundant in the Mississippi River above Clinton.

The current state record for northern pike was caught in February of 1977 by angler Allen Forsberg from Albert City Iowa. This awesome fish tipped the scales at 25 pounds, 5 ounces and was taken from West Okoboji Lake in Dickenson County. If the record is broken it wouldn’t be surprising to see it from the same lake or any of the rivers and feeder streams.

The Northern Pike is a voracious feeder, and one of the most predatory fishes in our waters. The species is an opportunistic carnivore and feeds primarily on living organisms. The food of the young is mostly insects and their larvae, but as the fish matures, it feeds primarily on fish. Fishes, such as perch, drum, small suckers, sunfish and even smaller northern pike, make up a large part of the diet. Large pike have been known to eat small muskrats, ducklings and shore birds.

Reproduction of the Northern Pike begins immediately after the ice melts from the lakes and streams. In Iowa, ice out is usually by mid-March and spawning begins when the water temperature approaches 35 degrees F. The pre-spawning movements into the shallow waters start before the ice is out. A large female, usually accompanied by several much smaller males, finds her way into shallow marshy areas of streams or flooded grassy margins of lakes.

“The northern pike’s native range extends through Iowa, but we typically don’t see them do well in Iowa’s warmer southern half”, observed Hawkins. “As a cool water fish reaches the edge of the cool water range in high productivity waters, we typically see two things; the first is fast growth and the second is shorter life-span.”

Muskie
Muskies have been stocked regularly into Brushy Creek, Pleasant Creek, Big Creek, Three Mile, Lake Macbride, Clear Lake, West Okoboji, and Big Spirit since the 1990s. Muskies can also be found in East Okoboji, Upper Gar, Lower Gar, and Lake Minnewashta due to their connection to West Okoboji, and occasionally below Red Rock and Saylorville Reservoirs due to their connections to Big Creek and Brushy Creek. Black Hawk Lake and Lost Grove Lake were stocked with muskies in 2013.

Muskellunge are strictly carnivorous. They eat mostly other fishes such as perch, suckers and shiners. The first food of young Muskellunge is zooplankton, but after a few days of life fish are eaten. It also feeds extensively on frogs, crayfish and large water insects and has been known to devour ducklings, shore birds and even young aquatic mammals.

The current state record for musky is 50 pounds, 6 ounces! That is an amazing trophy and was caught by Kevin Cardwell from Spirit Lake Iowa and was caught on Spirit Lake. The musky has been called the fish of 10,000 casts, be patient and use BIG baits.

“The lakes across the top of the state present the best opportunity for pike and muskie to reach maximum life span for our latitude and still have good growth rates”, adds Hawkins. “Within this small group of lakes, West Okoboji Lake likely provides the habitat, thermal regime and the diverse prey base necessary to produce the next record for both northern pike and musky.”

Possibilities
Every time we head out to chase after any one of these amazing game fish, we have the chance to land the next state record. Some state records are accidental catches, while others may have come from taking time to plan and fish during what would be considered prime trophy time. For the fish we’ve highlighted here this month, I’d say that the spring spawn will be your best bet for boating a trophy. Both female and male of the species are bulking up after a cool winters nap and in preparation for the spawn, of those two, females will be the larger.

Whether accidental or part of a planned chase, the next state record fish could have your name on it. Remember to always harvest selectively and especially during the spawning period. Put the larger males and females back in the fishery after taking a few photos. By doing so you maintain those genetics and bigger and better fish will come. Take someone fishing this spring and introduce them to the joys and wonders of the great outdoors.
Next month we’ll take a look at largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie and bluegill. Until then…tight lines all!