"Fair" Fish? Every August our
Iowa Department of Natural Resources capture beau coup examples of our
"native" Iowa fishes. They have their own open air building in which
they display our Iowa fishes. So every year we have to scope them out.
Some display better than others.
LA
Shovelnose sturgeon never grow as large as the other sturgeons. This
guy is much lighter in color than the normal "wild" coloration. Most
are caught by accident or by snagging. The other two species are
endangered in Iowa.
LA
You occasionally see these show up in the aquarium trade. They are
considered "primitive fish" because that have a cartilaginous backbone.
Because they are such picky feeders, they are hard to keep in aquaria.
LA
Yellow perch look just as good s cichlids. Care for them the same
way. Many people turn up their noses (and lips) at them because
they're susceptible to "worm" infestations. Good looking.
LA
One of the pikes -- probably northern. More numerous in northern
Iowa with a breeding facility at Lake Okoboji. You'll find plenty
of them in our Des Moines River. Largemouth bass in back.
LA
Smallmouth bass are more common in clear streams -- sometimes hard to
find in Iowa. Smaller creeks contain chubs and smallmouth bass.
Minnows and worms are preferred baits. These "bass" are really
sunfish.
LA
Largemouth bass are dumb enough to hit multi-colored plugs that splash
and jerk a lot. You'll find them in our lakes. Cast close to
fallen trees or other debris -- including massive weed banks. If
you're a wader, they also frequent "points" that extend out from the
shore. Bass in our southern states grow twice as large as Iowa
bass due to their longer growing season.
LA
White bass are true members of the bass family. They are not sea
bass or imports, they are real Iowa citizens. When running in the
river (apparently spawning), they hit on any bait and are harvested in
large quantities for a brief period. They average about a pound --
perfect eating size.
LA
Yellow bass -- the other white meat. Pretty similar to the white.
LA
Brook or speckled trout are native to two Iowa coldwater streams.
They have a trout hatchery up on the Turkey River. Hatchery-reared
trout are on the dumb side. You can reach into their "runs" and
pick them up bare handed. Don't do this while the workers are
watching. They've been stocked in the Des Moines area in the old
Banner Strip mine "lakes."
LA
March, 2006 update. The Iowa DNR stocks
these pits twice a year with trout.
LA
Cyprinus carpio, the common Carp,
can be found in creeks, rivers, and lakes. Their tendency to root
like a hog and devour all plant life accounts for much of the turbulence
in our Iowa waters. The Iowa state record tops 50 pounds -- a
whole lot of action on a spin casting rod.
LA
Carp are actually an attractive fish.
LA
White amur or grass carp -- not really a native but neither was the
common carp. The supposedly sterile triploid version of these
plant-eating behemoth was thought to be a piscivorous Pont plant cleaner
upper. Unfortunately, somehow these guys figured out how to spawn
and escaped into the Mississippi and other rivers. They do not eat
normal bait. State record -- 61 pounds.
LA
Bigmouth buffalo were here before the carp moved in. Suckers
rather than minnows like the carp. Excellent eating. Great
fighters. State record 62 pounds. Commercial fishermen
commonly take 40 pounders.
LA
Smallmouth buffalo swim with the bigmouths and rarely exceed 40 pounds.
Most commonly found in our border rivers, the Mississippi and the
Missouri. They are often snagged at the Saylorville outflow.
You can usually see them in Birdland Loon and the Blank Park koi pond.
LA
Another sucker, probably a quillback. Most anglers toss them back
because they consider them too bony.
LA
Channel
catfish eat nearly anything offered. As a result, they grow
rapidly and quite large. State record 36 pounds. Great
scavengers in American cichlid aquaria and koi ponds.
In Summary: We didn't see ALL
our native fish in the DNR exhibit. We did see more than we shot,
mainly because not all their fish looked good enough to shoot. So
were giving the DNR a "fair" grade because they could do better.
Cabellas, for instance, does much better with their native fish
exhibits. LA
© 2008
LA Productions
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