Walleyes- Vinton to Sutcliff Bridge

I ave been heading to the Mississippi a fair bit to fish for walleye and sauger; but even with the closest pools, its nearly 75 minutes or more of driving to get on the water.

My wife and I were driving across Cedar Rapids the other day;, crossing the Cedar at Ellis, and as we crossed; gazing across the river below, she wondered why I did not fish closer to home on the Cedar? I could not really give a good answer, so I am thinking of spending some time fishing the stretch between Vinton and Sutcliff bridge.

I have heard that the DNR stocks walleyes heavily in the Ellis “pool”, someplace near Palisades Kepler, and then again downstream at Cedar Bluffs. Has anyone else heard about this stocking? Is it true? Is there any natural reproduction in this strech? You don’t have to give away your secret spots (I will find them in due time! ) but does anyone have any sort of sucess walleye fishing the Cedar between Vinton and Sutcliff?

Regards,

Joe Jiacinto

Rumors mostly… a few confirmed success stories from the Northern stretches, but not a lot down our way.

Why don’t you Cedar Rapids guys ever talk about the Iowa river? I used to fish that stretch from the Coralville dam downstream and below the bridges in IA City and did pretty well. It takes a different kind of boat during most water conditions than the big Mississippi, but the fish are there.

The Cedar up here by Waterloo Cedar Falls is Ok and getting better. I still drive to the big river and elsewhere, but there are fish to be caught in all the interior Iowa rivers. I used to fish a small flow over dam on the Iowa by Eldora about 20 times a year. Caught my biggest walleye of the year twice in 4 feet of water below that dam. Got skunked more times than I caught walleyes, but when they chose to bite I’d often catch more than one.

I know that doesn’t help much regarding the stretch you asked about, but don’t be too quick to decide the fish aren’t there just because they aren’t biting on a particular trip or trips.

DNR publishes the stocking data and the rule is that the stocked fish move downstream from the put in points.

Good luck,

John

Heard lots of rumors about that stretch of the Iowa, from the dam downstream to IC…

Some of my compadres that target flatheads down there have had some encounters with walleyes. Its literally only a 20 minute drive from my house to the ramp below the dam ; I may need to spend some time learning the river. How treacherous is that stretch? Any sort of dependable channel to speak of?

Regards,

Joe Jiacinto

Can’t help you on the navigation thing too much since I was a canoe fisherman during my days in IC or a shore angler. I think a flatbottom could run all the way down to IC without too much trouble. Don’t know if I’d want to run a deep V down river very far from the outlet. There are times when it’s as crowded below the outlet as it is below the dams on the big river. Post a report if you make any discoveries.

Don’t worry, I will! I have benefited too much from the fine guys on this board to not share my findings.

I have an 18′ flat bottom, so we’ll give it a try. She’s powered by an April 2004-new ‘rude Etec 50, that set me back come cash, so we’ll probably treat her with kid gloves til I learn the channel and get a feel for the depths.

Regards,

Joe Jiacinto