Spring River Bite 2025- Eastern Iowa

Been fishing some local interior rivers and have put together some good nights of fishing. This Saturday I went out and caught my biggest smallie ever, a 21” tank, and my biggest walleye of the year, 26.5”. The smallie I’m gonna stick on the wall, considering the size of the river it came out of, it was something to see. Bites have been mostly nocturnal and current seems, and down stream from feeder creeks have been the places I’m finding fish. Shallow water has me throwing 1/16th and 3/32nd ounce heads, and it’s been plastics, ringworms and swim baits mainly. Attached are some pics. Turkey season will be coming soon, so hopefully I will have pics to post from that as well.

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Nice looking fish! My friend has a cabin down in Clayton and we fish down there every couple of years. Do pretty well with the walleyes and smallies.

What brand of jig are you throwing that has a good hook size in that weight ? Nice fish.

I throw BfishN precision heads, and I also found a supplier online, Bald Eagle Jigs, they’re outta Pennsylvania, and they make 1/16 and 3/32nd oz heads with #1 size hooks, up to 1/0, for bigger K Grubs and swim baits. The head i get from them is called the Little Gripper.

Nice fish Steve.

Umy are you talking about the big city of Clayton on pool 10?

chuck100 wrote:

Nice fish Steve.

Umy are you talking about the big city of Clayton on pool 10?

You mean the one with like 69 people in it? Yes.
Jack lives down the hill kinda across from two story churchy looking building. About a block up from the railroad tracks.
T\he hillsides are STEEP. I look at the rocks laying around and wonder when the next one is going to come rolling through HIS house?!

I fish that area regularly.I like the fall SM bite the best.

chuck100 wrote:

I fish that area regularly.I like the fall SM bite the best.

How’s the clam bite down there?

I lied Chuck, population was 45 on the 2020 census.
My buddy doesn’t even live there, it’s his cabin so….. 44 I guess

For my buddy’s bachelor party we launched outta Clayton and had a big camp out/bonfire/drunk fest on the sandbars. I passed out in the bushes on the island we were camped on and got the worst case of jiggere ever. Then we boated up to Praire du Chien to stop at Stark’s and get more provisions. Good time.