wapsi river - safe to ice fish?

[wallyhunter]

Not a river fisherman - most of my life has been spent on lakes. I have heard from some folks in the area that I should try the river. Where is a safe place to get familiar with the Wapsi and its walleyes. Or are these waters pretty guarded by those who fish them?

[Luke Haugland]

I think most guys are going to be pretty protective of any small river spots, myself included whether it be the iowa, cedar, wapsi or any other... simply because it takes time and effort to find good walleye holes.  You simply can't go and find old holes on a spot and catch fish on somebody's homework.

A lot of the spots I fish, I spend countless hours in the boat with a depthfinder, and camera locating good ice spots...

My best recommendation is to get out in the boat in your area during the fall, with a gps and look for fish and holes, that "should" ice up.  If you don't have a boat, use a canoe, or float tube, or even just walk/wade the river.  You can get a good idea of depth by how long it takes your jig to go to the bottom.

[KrappieSlayer]

I think most guys are going to be pretty protective of any small river spots, myself included whether it be the iowa, cedar, wapsi or any other... simply because it takes time and effort to find good walleye holes.  You simply can't go and find old holes on a spot and catch fish on somebody's homework.

A lot of the spots I fish, I spend countless hours in the boat with a depthfinder, and camera locating good ice spots...

My best recommendation is to get out in the boat in your area during the fall, with a gps and look for fish and holes, that "should" ice up.  If you don't have a boat, use a canoe, or float tube, or even just walk/wade the river.  You can get a good idea of depth by how long it takes your jig to go to the bottom.

I think Luke sums it up nicely here.  It takes a lot of work to find these spots, but once you get patterns down and see all the big walleye in our small rivers you should never have to leave Iowa to fish big walleye again. 

[wallyhunter]

appreciate it. I am spending time now looking along the river at where the ice is holding. I hope that will give me info as to where to search this year with the boat. River fishing is quite a bit different than lake fishing, in all aspects. I like the looks of the area starting near Troy Mills. during the season last year the landing always had a boat trailer or two. I have a 17' bass tracker, will I be able to manage my way on the river with it?

I appreciate the feedback. Any tips would be helpful. is there a specific thread I should be looking at for river fishing tips?

[shawner30]

90% of the boats I see on the wapsi are jon boats. It can get really shallow in spots. I would be careful with a nice bass boat on the wapsi. 

[MelroseHawkins]

I'm certain you can trim your motor up & the basstracker will ride quite high compared to many other boats, especially V bottoms, but, most guys run short shaft motors on the inland rivers in Iowa.  I would also be a bit leery about taking a nice rig out there but it's not catching fish in your driveway. As long as you know the river very very well since it can change by year. Maybe float the stretch in a canoe or other small boat to test depths & structure prior to putting you $ on the water. Good luck locating walleyes.