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What is all this rain doing to the ice. Will it last another week? Would like to make one more trip.
Reports of 500 plus yellows in a day by the guides and their clients. Thousands and thousands caught during the Yellow Bonanza Derby. Someone mentioned going to the lake and catching little Yellows and feeding them to the eagles? Maybe my grandson wants to catch them when they get to 7" or bigger. Yellows are an "invasive species" trash fish while year after year they provide fun to my children and grandchildren to catch them off the dock? You need to get a clue as to what Clear and Yellows are about.I sense a change in ice fishing in Iowa. Been ice fishing for several years. Was early on the electronics and gear revolution. Now it is normal to see hundreds of people on Brushy, Clear, 12 mile, et. al. any given weekend. The fish are getting pounded..badly. Very badly.At least the limits were changed (due to ice fishing primarily I think) to 20 panfish per day. That doesn't seem to stop guys from going 5 days a week to get their 20 limit of 8" crappies out of Clear or Brushy. Will we see future limits 5 per day? A slot limit of for crappies? Something needs to change.
While I realize you are completely entitled to your opinion and it is respected as such, I am not sure one isolated fishing experience at Clear Lake can be used to substantiate your assumptions of the lake or the yellow bass/crappie population and its subsequent future. The "guides" on here are some of the biggest proponents and advocates for good and ethical stewardship of that lake. Obviously, it is first and foremost, their "own backyard". Why would they do anything that would be detrimental to the fishing? As guides, it's also their livelihood or one would assume. As most on here will agree, the lake seems to be thriving and healthy as the increased weed growth and fish poplulation/size are proof of that fact. It is an undeniable fact the yellow bass are indeed an invasive species and most likely will never have its population threatened by over harvesting. Your children and grandchildren's experience at the lake should remain unaffected. I couldn't agree more with your desire to keep the yellow bass around for their pleasure. Nothing better than having kids experience the fast action that few fish can offer like the yellows. I can't speak to the growth rates of the crappie but it's my understanding the yellows have a rapid growth rate during the warm season...up to an inch a month. So a fast growth rate and prolific population pretty much guarantees successful future fishing experiences for you and your grandkids for years to come.
With the reproduction rates and reputation of the yellow bass it would be hard for me to believe that they could be "over fished" in any lake.
I fished Sunday on the little lake and caught just small perch and a couple small walleyes. I fished 8-10 fow and had the screen full of fish, but it was tiny perch mostly. On the upside, my new Marcum LX7 is nice. Not sure how big of an improvement over my Vexilar, but after 15 years and several million fish, I decided to try a Marcum, just to see what the fuss is. I figure what the heck, I'd spend it anyway, and wake up hung over and covered in baby oil and glitter.....
Fished the little lake tonight in 17 fow. caught fish continuously, mostly yellows, with a few perch and dink walleyes mixed in. caught some really nice yellows. I used spikes, wax wor,s. minnows and gulp. spikes was by far the best bait. I got a lot more on verticle jigs versus horizontal. All in all, a good night, and fish tacos tomorrow. The Marcum worked great, although the Vex would have been just as good. Either way, Ray Charles could have filled a 5 gallon bucket tonight.
