Iowa may have the best catters around, but they’re so darned tight-lipped you’d think the fish was endangered or something! Very few freely share information, and with the lack of accessable water, who can really blame them!
Anyway, I’m guessing that the schedule is based somewhat more on the angler’s comfort and the fish’s survivability in the livewell than the best times to go. Coralville might be pretty tough in late May, but early May might be okay depending on when the ice comes off. I personally don’t really start pounding the cats until the ‘dog days’ when the thermo is pushing 90 and water temps are well above 70°.
Also, is this tourney circuit targeted toward those with bigger rigs? If so, a lot of the state’s best catfishing will be missed on the Cedar, Wapsi, and other smaller rivers that don’t have enough depth to float a deep-v. There’s enough river above the 5-in-1 here in town to float a good sized boat for about six miles or so, so you might think about something here.
You might also consider adding an event at Delhi. I’ve never seen any real monsters come outta that lake, but there’s a lot of good cats up to around 10lbs or so. That one would be good to have early in the year because the lake really isn’t big enough for the amount of boat traffic it gets.
Is there a website for this circuit with additional info?
