Lake macbride

[solonstrong]

How's the fishing on lake macbride? What bait is working? Fow? Thanks boys

[MelroseHawkins]

I was wondering the same thing. Haven't heard much. What's the ice thickness on macbride?

[Ihawkangler]

I was out there last weekend and the ice was fine.  It had a thick layer of slush on top, but the ice under it was 4-6 inches thick.  Just read the fishing report and it references anglers fishing brush and rocks, so there should be signs of activity or huts to guide you where to fish.  I fished southeast of the handicap dock last weekend and caught a decent crappie and the usual dinky gills in 20 feet of water. Talked to a few others who said they fared better earlier in the afternoon on crappie, but most were on the small side.   I have had my best luck with tear drop jigs (fire tiger or similar) and waxies.  I tried minnows, slip bobbers, and forage spoons last year and did not have any success.  If you can find the gills, you will catch some fish, but they don't get much bigger than 5-6 inches.  Anyone not familiar with the lake should use extreme caution venturing to areas that don't show signs of ice huts, etc.  The term "variable ice" is very accurate at Macbride.

[solonstrong]

great info. i am new to the lake but dont like fishing around other people. prefer to find my own fish. can you tell me some of the spots to stay clear of. dont want to get wet, safety first. as i will be away from the crowds looking for fish. any info would be great thanks for your help.

[jckcowboy]

went out on the south arm last night. just a few lookers and a couple light hits. fished 15 to 20fow. only saw small gills on cam. there were only 3 shacks out.

[Joe Wayne]

I went out last night and found nothing but the dreaded "dink gills" in about 10' of water. They were fun & easy to catch, but nothing worth keeping.
Moved out to 40' and marked a ton of fish but couldn't get anything to bite. (This was after dark however.)
I might try that same spot again next time I go out.

Anyone else having better luck?

[MidnightRambler]

I've made probably fifteen trips on to the ice in the last six weeks, including drives of close to two hundred miles in early December.

I live less than a ten-mile drive from Macbride, and I've fished it once this winter. 

I'll probably be out there again at late ice when the walleye bite sometimes picks up after the mid-winter doldrums, which are usually worse than most waters on Macbride.

In the meantime, there are much bigger bluegills and better crappie populations nearby, and if there was a good early ice walleye bite on Macbride I missed it because I was going for the surer thing in easy panfish bites.

[Joe Wayne]

In the meantime, there are much bigger bluegills and better crappie populations nearby

Care to share how nearby?

[Ihawkangler]

Definitely a perplexing lake.  Seems the only bite is first 3 hours and last 2-3 hours.  When the sun goes down, it seems the bite goes with it. I tried man vs. lake last year a few times and sat out there until 9:00 and would catch the occasional micro-gill, but never figured out the crappies or walleyes.  I was convinced the crappies were uncatchable until a dude stopped by my shack to show me his bucket of slabs. Props to the DNR for doing a good with the lake and park, but man, the gills there are two sizes; small and smaller.

[CedarStorm1975]

Macbride is another one of those lakes i which you really love it and do well there, or really hate it and swear you'll never fish there again....but keep going back hoping that today might be the day, lol.  I used to go there all the time, but the irregularity in the ice there just makes me nervous   I will just save it for the spring, the crappies are a bit easier to catch during that time for me any way, lol.

[MidnightRambler]

There are plenty of smaller public waters in Johnson and Linn Counties. Some of them have some very nice panfish in them.

It just takes a little work to find which waters have those big bluegills and crappies.

[MelroseHawkins]

Macbride is another one of those lakes i which you really love it and do well there, or really hate it and swear you'll never fish there again....but keep going back hoping that today might be the day, lol.  I used to go there all the time, but the irregularity in the ice there just makes me nervous   I will just save it for the spring, the crappies are a bit easier to catch during that time for me any way, lol.

I'm confused. I talked to a guy out there on day and he said he feels fine going anywhere on the ice. Once. He feels is thick enough. I was asking about any springs or any danger areas to be aware of. He says he goes all over the ice.

[Ihawkangler]

This year has been a more 'normal' Iowa winter, so ice conditions are better than past years.  Even when it was below freezing last year, there were pockets of sketchy ice on the lake.   I fish near the sailboat ramp side and one spot would be 5-6 inches and a few yards away it would be half as thick with large cracks and water bubbling up.   Ice conditions are variable everywhere, so I tend to stick where I see huts or signs of sled traffic. Some are more adventurous than others and I saw guys fishing near open water late ice last year.    The dudes who put their Clams up across from the campground were literally fishing on ice islands last year.   

[MidnightRambler]

Macbride does not freeze as uniformly as smaller ponds, but once a good freeze sets in the ice should be good for walking everywhere. The deeper, more open water takes longer to freeze than the shallower sheltered coves, which explains some of the differences in ice depths. The area under the powerlines, where there is an old submerged concrete bridge, is another area that takes longer to freeze. Snowdrifts piling up can create thin spots as well--I found a couple of those spots my one trip out there in December--but that can and does happen on any decent-sized lake. The DNR also says there is an area in front of the beach that the geese kept open until quite recently.

I practically lived on that lake during the winters in the crappie boom years of roughly 2004-2009, and I will say that for all the second-hand talk I heard of "springs" on Macbride I never found one, nor have I met anyone who could actually point me to a spot where there is a spring.

These days, I avoid Macbride in the winter because the crappie fishing is a shadow of what it was six years ago, the walleye and wiper can be tough to find consistently through the ice, and of course those tiny starving bluegills.

[MelroseHawkins]

Thanks for the info. Good to know. I agree the depths being so variable with some deep areas can explain the variable ice, especially some yrs. We had good ice making weather this year. I grew up in n Iowa & used to going n to Minnesota or clear lake or pool 9 on the miss. I get Leary anything s of i-80 or around the area.

[Joe Wayne]

I practically lived on that lake during the winters in the crappie boom years of roughly 2004-2009, and I will say that for all the second-hand talk I heard of "springs" on Macbride I never found one, nor have I met anyone who could actually point me to a spot where there is a spring.

I was fishing just west of the Sailing club boat ramp and kept seeing what appeared to large air bubbles coming up on the sonar. Depth was around the 40' mark. It was the weirdest thing. Perhaps this was one of those springs you were talking about.

[ICEMAN429]

On the north arm in the area west of the sailboat ramp there is no water that's even close to 40fow? Deepest water in that area would be about 25fow, unless you were talking about a different ramp. Regardless I've never seen a spring out there either and I've fished pretty much everywhere on the lake. Its been a tough year out there. The walleye bite was good for me early but that went cold quick and the crappie population is pretty low right now.

[MelroseHawkins]

On the north arm in the area west of the sailboat ramp there is no water that's even close to 40fow? Deepest water in that area would be about 25fow, unless you were talking about a different ramp. Regardless I've never seen a spring out there either and I've fished pretty much everywhere on the lake. Its been a tough year out there. The walleye bite was good for me early but that went cold quick and the crappie population is pretty low right now.

He must be thinking about around the penninsula then heading south. It starts to get deep i that N & S channel. I also thought something was weird when he stated 40'. Hmm.

[rugby ice]

Over the bridge south of the power lines it get 35/40ish. While on this topic anyone have any luck in the deep area? Walleyes or channel cats? Thanks in advance!

[MelroseHawkins]

What can be done with that lake about the small gills? What could the dnr do as far as stocking to help? Debate.

[MidnightRambler]

The problem with the bluegill in Macbride is competition with shad for the small invertebrates that form the base of the diet for both fish. The DNR stocks wiper, walleye, and channel cat in part to keep the shad in check, but there is only so much that can be done. Shad are very prolific spawners.

The IDNR hoped that the drawdown in the early 2000s would kill the shad off entirely. Right after the drawdown there was an increase in bluegill size, but either a few shad survived or someone dumped more shad in the lake, and those gains in bluegill size were lost. Even if the drawdown had succeeded in killing off all the shad, they would have found their way back in during the 2008 flood when the reservoir went over the Macbride dam. Sooner or later they will/would get back in again after the next major flood.

In short, there isn't much that can be done about the size of the bluegill in Macbride, because there is no practical way to eliminate the shad.

The upside to all those shad is plenty of food for walleye, channel cat, and crappie. One or two good spawns and we could see crappie numbers and size like that of seven years ago.

[Joe Wayne]

If you leave from the sailing ramp and go around the West point, there is a spot out there that is 40 feet deep. I marked it on the sonar an it's also listed on the navionics map as the same depth.

[ICEMAN429]

What can be done with that lake about the small gills? What could the dnr do as far as stocking to help? Debate.

Pretty much what was already said, shad outcompete the gills for the same food. The DNR can't do much about the shad but it has resulted in great walleye, wiper, and channel catfish populations.

[ICEMAN429]

If you leave from the sailing ramp and go around the West point, there is a spot out there that is 40 feet deep. I marked it on the sonar an it's also listed on the navionics map as the same depth.
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Ok, sorry. When I think "sailboat" ramp, I think of the south ramp of the north arm where they store a lot of the sailboats in the summer... is that club ramp a public ramp?

[Crfergus]

Walleyes walleyes and more walleyes are the cure for dink gills

[Ihawkangler]

I have wondered the same.  A 6-7 inch bluegill is about as good as it gets out there.  I wouldn't think they would be stunted due to scarcity of food or population density.  The out of control shad population can't be good for any species.  I am sure the muskies eat their share, but those things take over after they spawn.

[Joe Wayne]

The Sailing Club ramp is part of the Macbride Nature & Recreation Area. It's open to the public during park hours. Parking is very limited So I'm not sure how much "public" use it gets. There is however the public ramp just next to it towards the east. Typically I use that just to not be in the way of the club users. It's not that much further of a walk.

[solonstrong]

Wipers are a F1 hybrid, and they can't reproduce. To get the shad under control I say stock more wipers, a lot more. Catfish also eat a ton of shad. I say up the stocking numbers on both those fish.