Iowan looking for tips

Hey everyone,

It’s great to see a place like this where all us anglers can get together. I’m an Iowan born and bred, but I’ll be living in Rochester this summer. In Iowa, we’re big bass and walleye anglers. Could anyone help me out with some tips of where to start fishing in Rochester this summer? Iowa doesn’t have nearly so many lakes, so I really don’t know where to start. I’m hoping to target mostly bass and hopefully pike (we have very few in Iowa). Thank a lot guys and happy fishing.

William

Hi William,

Welcome!

Lake Zumbro is 10 miles north of Rochester and is a great fishery. It has a large variety of fish including bass (smallmouth, largemouth, white) and northerns. There are several other lakes in the area which offer good fishing, and the Mississippi River (Lake Pepin) is only 25 miles.

Good Fishing,

Mike

Thanks Mike,

Would you recommend above or below the dam on Zumbro lake? Back in Iowa, I fish at Saylorville Dam a lot and there’s pretty good walleye action below the dam, but not up top.

Thanks,
William

There is a lot more area to fish above the dam, so I would recommend that if you have a boat. There is also good fishing below the dam from shore.

Good Fishing,
Mike

Mike forgot to mention that some of the best smallmouth bass fishing is in the Southeast corner of the state. The secret to success for smallie fishing is either wading or floating the many streams in the area.

Also, above and below the Lake Zumbro dam you stand a chance of running into some musky.

Good Luck fishing in the area. Mike is a very reliable source for fishing info as is this web site. As we get closer to the soft water fishing season you’ll be getting a lot more posts about where to look.

Welcome. Great to have you with us. Please feel free to share and post all you want. Lake Zumbro is home to some nice crappies and bluegills too. The backwaters of the Mississippi River offer great panfish, bass and northern fishing as well. Lake Pepin [Lake City area] offers good trolling water for walleyes and saugers and the Red Wing area of the river offers good walleye/sauger waters for jigging, pulling 3-ways with live bait or crankbaits. What is your favorite species to fish for? Do you have a boat. The more info you care to share with us about your fishing the more we are able to give you info that you would mostly want. Thats why I asked the questions. Look around the site and don’t hesitate to ask questions whenever you have any. Mike owns Hooked On Fishing Bait and Tackle just slightly north of town on Broadway which turns into highway 63 north. You may ask questions here plus stop out and ask him personally too if you wish as he is more than willing to share what he knows and hears with people. Again welcome.
Thanks, Bill

Thanks Bill,

This forum really feels like all the times I’ve hung around at my local bait shops exchanging news. I guess during the summer I try hardest for largemouth (no smallies in central Iowa) and hope for some walleye and pike. Plus of course panfish is always great during the summer. My dad has a boat, but I’ll probably just be content with shorefishing this summer since I’ll be here for only a couple months. During the summer in Iowa, I can usually catch a couple 17+ inch largemouth every week, gotta go at night though. Gotta love night fishing during the summer, except one time I caught a fat 55 inch grass carp and I thought I was going to be dragged in. In the rivers, I catch a lot of wipers, crappies, and the occasional walleye. This summer I’m hoping to get my first smallmouth, I’ve heard great stuff about them, but we generally don’t have them in Iowa. Also, pike are pretty scarce in Iowa (except up north), so I’ll try to get a couple of those too. Honestly though, I just want to make sure I get out there near the water because during those hot dog days of summer, there really is nothing better than listening to the crickets and birds with your line in the water. Thanks for all your help guys, and I hope you all get on the water tomorrow- weather’s supposed to be perfect.

Thanks,
William

Welcome Iowan , I Get out to the Zumbro quite often. Always lookin for company! We get into alot of the LM, SM, and even the toothies out there. Tuesday nights during the summer the locals get together out there for a little weekly tourny, alot off fun. I’d be more than willing to show you around a little bit Shoot me a PM we’ll get together if the water ever thaws!!!

Welcome to the forum Iowan. I fish mainly for pan fish in the area around rochester. For being one of 4 county’s in minnesota without a natural lake there is some very good fishing in the area!! I also just started fishing the mississippi river last year for walleye and sauger with my brother (pikester) and a couple of friends of ours. A 45 minute drive from rochester and you can catch some realy nice fish. Send me a PM also if you ever want to go fishing with us on the weekend. Troy Pike

Thanks for all the tips and the great welcome guys , I have a feeling this is going to be a great summer of fishing . Would you guys recommend Zumbro or good ol’ Mississippi R. for bass and pike- or is there any preference? Also, do you guys know of any good shorefishing spots at these two places? Sorry about all the questions, and thanks again for the great welcome .

Go get ’em fish tomorrow,
William

Iowan, yes, welcome to this site. You are going to find this site will answer all your questions and offer more.
Mike/HOF gives a weekly report on Thursday, summing up the action for the entire surrounding area. Then of course there are daily reports from the guys as they report in with their news. The reports will vary from season to season and sometimes from week to week. Weather dictates alot as far as fishing results. Lake Zumbro is a great place to fish for small mouth bass. The real secret to catching them there is to pretend you are fishing for panfish. The pesky rascals love a panfish presentation.
Of course using standard small mouth techniques won’t hurt either. Keep logging on to see the latest in reports and please, don’t forget, we want you to participate also with an occassional report. Welcome again.

I an going to start a new thread on the general discussion forum asking for replies about shore fishing on the Mississipi River from Wabasha to Red Wing. This will hopefully get some replies from anglers who do more shore fishing. I will also do the same here for shore fishing in the Rochester area.
Thanks, Bill