Mississippi River: Pool 9
Water level is 8.2 feet at Lansing. Water temperature is near 33 degrees in the main channel. Use caution around the edges when entering the ice. Don't forget your ice cleats with the slick surface. Early ice pan-fishing has been good in deeper backwater cuts. Bluegill - Fair: Ice anglers are doing some sorting for larger gills. Try ice jigs tipped with waxworms. Sauger - No report: Try vertical jigging with a minnow in the Lock and Dam tailwaters. Walleye - No report: Bottom bounce a jig with twister tails in the Lock and Dam tailwaters. Yellow Perch - Good: Shore Slough near Lansing is producing some perch through the ice in the deeper cuts. Pool 10
Water level is 614.8 feet at Lynxville. Water temperature is near 33 degrees in the main channel. Use caution around the edges when entering the ice. Don't forget your ice cleats with the slick surface. The early ice pan-fishing has been good in deeper backwater cuts. Bussey Lake at Guttenberg has been fair for panfishing at the upper end in the cuts. Use caution around the shorelines. Bluegill - Fair: Ice anglers are doing some sorting for the larger gills. Try ice jigs tipped with waxworms. Northern Pike - Good: Reports of nice pike near the Greymore area. Yellow Perch - Good: Try a small jig tipped with a waxworm in the vegetation along deeper backwater dredge cuts.
Pool 11
Water level is 6.3 feet at Guttenberg. Water temperature is 33 degrees in the channel. Mud Lake has been fair in the marina area. Avoid thin ice in the creek area leading to Zollicoffers. Use Caution around the edges when entering the ice. Don't forget your ice cleats with the slick conditions. Bluegill - Fair: Varied reports at Mud Lake and Bertrum Lakes. Northern Pike - Fair: Reports of northern pike being caught on tip-ups/tip downs in marina areas. Yellow Perch - Good: Ice anglers have been picking up some nicer perch this week.
Pool 12
The water level is 6.1 feet at Lock and Dam 11 and 8.7 feet at the RR bridge. Water temperature is around 33 degrees; the water is clear. Ramps in the Dubuque area are frozen in; ice fishing is occurring in most marina areas. Ice around the edges is reported as "iffy" at some locations. Bluegill - Good: Nearly all panfish are in backwater areas for the winter, which are lakes with no flowing water and hopefully deep enough to not freeze to the bottom. Better ice is bringing out more anglers; reports vary, but there has been some nice catches. Yellow Perch - Good: Small yellow perch are being reported with an occasional keeper. Some anglers are using minnows on tip-down rigs.
Pool 13
The water level is 6.7 feet at Lock and Dam 12 at Bellevue and is stable. Water clarity is excellent. Water temperature is around 33 degrees. The DNR ramps is frozen over and boat launching is not possible, but the City of Bellevue Ramp is open. Ice was breaking up in the Bellevue tailwater due to the recent warmup. Bluegill - Good: Nearly all panfish are in backwater areas for the winter, which are lakes with no flowing water and hopefully deep enough to not freeze to the bottom. Recent warm up has caused some edges to unthaw and some ice may not be safe. Rainbow Trout - Excellent: The Bellevue kids trout pond is open and vegetation free. It is a nice safe place to fish with kids on warmer winter days. Please only keep two fish per child, if you plan to keep any. Yellow Perch - Good: Small yellow perch are being reported with an occasional keeper. Some anglers are using minnows on tip-down rigs.
Pool 14
The water level is 5.4 feet at Fulton, 9.7 feet at Camanche and 4.94 feet at LeClaire. Water clarity is excellent. Water temperature is near 33 degrees. Ice was breaking away at the boat ramp, but unsure if it has opened up. Bluegill - No Report: Ice fishing is occurring, but no reports were received. Expect anglers to target Rock Creek near Camanche and Sunfish Lake area near Fulton. Expect the edge of the ice to be in poor condition as the river has warmed and received a lot of rain.
Pool 15
The water level is 6.4 feet at Rock Island. Water clarity is excellent. Water temperature is 33 degrees. Bluegill - No Report: Not a lot of ice angling goes on in Pool 15 as true backwater areas are not present in this pool. Some fishing can occur in the marinas and above the dam at LeClaire, but we have received no reports. The ice is in poor condition around the edges with the rising water and recent rains.
Pool 16
Tailwater stage is 6.4 feet at Lock and Dam 15 in the Quad Cities. Tailwater stage is forecast to stay fairly steady the next few days. There has been some tailwater fishing for walleye and saugers. As of Jan. 5, the Marquette St ramp was free of ice but the ramp is snow covered which could make launching a boat difficult. Unsafe ice conditions with the recent warm temperatures. Sauger - Fair: Some saugers have been caught below the dam this past week; smaller saugers have being caught.
Pool 17
Tailwater stage is 4.93 feet at Lock and Dam 16 in Muscatine and has been steady the past few days. As of Jan. 5, the Muscatine ramps were free of ice but the ramp was snow covered which could make launching a boat difficult. The boat docks have been pulled out of the water. We have not received any tailwater fishing reports for walleye and sauger. Unsafe ice conditions with the recent warm temperatures.
Pool 18
Tailwater stage is 5.28 feet at Lock and Dam 17 at New Boston and has fallen close to a foot the past few days. We have not received any reports on tailwater fishing or ramp conditions this week. Unsafe ice conditions with the recent warm temperatures.
Pool 19
Tailwater stage is 3.02 feet at Lock and Dam 18 above Burlington and is falling. We have not received any tailwater fishing reports or ramp condition reports for this pool this week. Unsafe ice conditions with the recent warm temperatures.