I'm located in the quad cities area in Iowa, and I would really appreciate if someone here in Iowa or across the river in Illinois could help me locate some rock bass or warmouth. I am totally willing to go out and collect, but I have no idea where to go. Thank you in advance.
Need help collecting in IA/IL
Started by
Guest_aaron7353_*
, Nov 03 2013 07:01 PM
10 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_BenCantrell_*
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Posted 04 November 2013 - 01:22 AM
Rock bass are very common in the Vermillion River forks in Champaign and Vermillion Counties. They can be caught hook and line easily. It looks like there a number of other hotspots in northern Illinois as well.
I have a spot in Wisconsin where I can reliably catch warmouth hook & line, but you'd better check their regulations, because I seem to remember that you can't bring game fish home for your aquarium even if they were caught legally by hook & line. I might be wrong, so read through the regulations and see what you can find. I've netted juvenile warmouth at the southern tip of Illinois, but that's awfully far from you.
I have a spot in Wisconsin where I can reliably catch warmouth hook & line, but you'd better check their regulations, because I seem to remember that you can't bring game fish home for your aquarium even if they were caught legally by hook & line. I might be wrong, so read through the regulations and see what you can find. I've netted juvenile warmouth at the southern tip of Illinois, but that's awfully far from you.
#3
Guest_swampfish_*
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Posted 04 November 2013 - 10:35 AM
Warmouth are common in Clear Lake and Long Lake in Kickapoo State Park just west of Danville, IL. They can be legally kept if collected by hook and line with a fishing license. I have caught warmouth as small as three inches with standard fishing tackle; smaller specimens would be likely with microfishing. Phil Nixon
#4
Guest_Ken_*
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Posted 04 November 2013 - 09:32 PM
Here are a couple maps of where these can be found here in Iowa: http://www.iowadnr.g...SpeciesCode=WAM
http://www.iowadnr.g...SpeciesCode=ROB
Both show in your area. As in Illinois they must be caught using hook and line but you probably already know that.
http://www.iowadnr.g...SpeciesCode=ROB
Both show in your area. As in Illinois they must be caught using hook and line but you probably already know that.
#5
Guest_Uland_*
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Posted 06 November 2013 - 09:55 AM
I recall Mark and I sampled the confluence of the Galena and Mississippi Rivers and found L. gulosus, L. humilis, L. machrochirus, P. nigromaculatus, G. affinis, L. sicculus, E. nigrum and E. asprigene (among a few others).
I would imagine you could find these fish by staying on the Iowa side at Massey Marina or some other nearby boat launch.
I would imagine you could find these fish by staying on the Iowa side at Massey Marina or some other nearby boat launch.
#8
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 06 November 2013 - 12:46 PM
not sure about hook and line collecting, but when collecting shiners with a seine, the cool weather is a lot easier on the fish during collection and transport... here in Georgia, I try to not collect after May or wait until after September. I saw some nice Cyprinella just last weekend.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#9
Guest_Uland_*
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Posted 06 November 2013 - 03:08 PM
Right now the Mississippi River looks good as far as water levels so this should be a fine time. Warmouth are a little odd in my experience. It appears (to me at least) they must have soft bottoms and vegetation. They also prefer to stay deep within tree roots etc. So be sure and look for backwaters with lots of veg (and wood if possible) away from the main portion of the river. If you're in the Chicago or Cook county area often, warmouth are stocked in many if not all of the forest preserve lakes, but they don't look like local wild populations.
#10
DissidentMantis
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- Illinois
Posted 09 October 2019 - 12:08 PM
Old thread but I essentially have the same question. I am looking for Rock bass in the Cook County Chicago/Illinois area. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it. I am also wondering if Rock Bass can coexist peacefully with Red-fin Pickerel in a 120 gallon tank.
#11
olaf
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- NANFA Member
Posted 12 October 2019 - 08:45 AM
Rock Bass are in many of the streams and lakes around here. You should be able to find them without too much trouble in most creeks that feed into the Fox River in Kane or Kendall counties. Likewise most lakes along the southern edge of Wisconsin (Elizabeth Lake in Twin Lakes, Kenosha County, for example) and on the IL side of the line (such as the Fox Chain of Lakes).
Redhorse ID downloads and more: http://moxostoma.com
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