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Walleye season is about to explodeThe fishing fuse is hnmmrr __A.The fishing fuse is burning hotter each day and it's wired to walleye.One day soon, the action is going to explode up and down the Mississippi River, as well as on our interior rivers in northeast Iowa, like the Cedar, Shell Rock and WapsipiniconA quick poll of Waterloo tackle dealers early this week indicated a slow start to the annual spring walleye run on these waterways. But as the snow disappears and the weather continues to warm, the action will pick up.On the Mississippi, fishing has been spotty with the walleye and sauger running on the small side The best early spots have been Lynxville and Guttenberg,Action has been picking up on the Cedar and Shell Rock rivers, but the - big walleyes haven’t gone on the bite* ■. 'yet.•• -.-No matter what river system you.. may fish this spring, conditions are-•going to be a bit unpredictable and more extreme than normal, especiat-Cedar Falls' Jim Sherwood shows off a pair of 9-pound, 8-ounce walleyes caught during a recent trip to Lake Erie. Sherwood, Bruce Bravard and Burt Glasener brought back 45 walleyes over five pounds fishing out of Marblehead, Ohio.DougNewhoffCourier Sports Writerly on the Mississippi.Minnesota's heavy accumulation of snow will take time to melt away. That means it will take warmer air temperatures to counteract the cold runoff and bring the water temperature up.That may also mean an extended high-water period. Anglers will have to adjust their techniques to the situation. High, last water may dictate a change in jigs — from ¥4- and %-ounce to % and %, Anotheralternative is a three-way swivel rigged with twin jigs.The snow runoff and any rain that comes along will probably keep the water slightly discolored, which makes scent and lure color that much more important. Tipping jigs with live bait helps, fish scents and formulas may provide an advantage. Brighter colors, especially flores-eents, will also help.JIM HILEMAN of Iowa Outdoors said fishing began to pick up over the weekend, at least at Lynxville.I’ve heard some good reports,” he said Monday. Our reports are very encouraging. From what the experts who check in with us say, the next couple of weeks are the time togo,”For those already working the river, chartreuse and blue jigs tipped with minnows have been producing, Hileman said.Buss Soppe of Billy's Tackle said chartreuse heads with chartreuse glitter tails have been working on our local walleyes. Soppe said 18 were brought into his store over the weekend.There was nothing real big,” he added. One was almost seven pounds, but the rest were between a pound and a half and about three pounds.”That’s, been the case on the Mississippi, too. Fishing has been slowly improving, but the fish are running small. .Northern pike are also beginning to show up now and then. Hileman reported one 7¥z-pounder taken last week and Soppe has heard about a few being caught on the Wapsie River.FISHERMEN won’t have to worry about any changes in regulations for walleye and sauger fishing below Lock and Dam No. 3 near Reel Wing, Minn.The DNR office in St. Paul says the proposal to introduce a combination slot limit and mixed daily bag is not in the 1989 regulations.IF THERE is one place today where action on big walleyes is all but guaranteed, it’s Lake Erie.Those who have made that trek the past couple of springs come back raving about the fishing with photo after photo of coolers bulging with big walleyes.Burt Glasener, who owns BS Sports, was part of one three-man group that made the 10-hour drive to Marblehead, Ohio, last week. The trip was almost a duplicate of the one they made last spring.Glasener, Jim Sherwood and Bruce Bravard of Cedar Falls were vertical jigging with spoons and fuzzy grubs on a large flat where the walleyes stage before making their spawning run.The trio brought back 45 walleyes between 5 and 9.8 pounds. The average weight was 6¥ pounds.Fishing pressure is especially heavy on weekends, Glasener says, so the best times are during the week. The walleyes are also close to shore, no more than a mile or so out, and very accessible to smaller (14-and 16-foot) v-bottom boats.While there is a daily bag limit of six walleyes on Lake Erie, there is.no possession limit. That has made it a popular attraction for non-resident fishermen.Still, even with spring anglers taking millions of egg-heavy females out of production before the spawn, Lake Erie fisheries biologists are not immediately concerned about the effect.“Before I came home,” Glasener said, “I talked to a DNR guy. They had just gotten a population report back.“They estimate their number of walleyes at 40 million and sport fisherman take only 10 percent of that each year.”That would leave 36 million to sustain Lake Erie's rejuvenated reputation as the biggest walleye factory in the world.Dead fish showing up in Lake DelhiBy DOUG NEWHOFFCourier Sports WriterDELHI — As winter’s cover of ice begins to break up, dead fish are turning up with more frequency on popular Lake Delhi following a January runoff of toxic ammonia.Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Dave Moeller has been monitoring the situation at Lake Delhi and said Wednesday the extentmore than rough fish, Moeller added.The problem arose in late January during one of our winter rain showers.“It washed off a lot of animal waste that had been spread on fields,” said Moeller. Animal waste is high in ammonia and it washed offinto feeder streams and into the lake.”Once the waste mixes with water,worry about consuming fish even when ammonia levels test somewhat higher than normal. Moeller said there is no danger in eating fish this spring.Lake Delhi currently is about one-third open with the lower section still covered by ice. Fishing pressure, consequently, is virtually non-existent at this point, so it's not known ifanv fish Arp hpincr
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