BOONE - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) partnered for a third year with MyCatch by Angler’s Atlas to conduct a statewide walleye fishing challenge March 30 through June 30.
Iowa angler Larry Hulsebus was one of the Midwest Walleye Challenge grand prize winners, earning a five-day Northwest Ontario walleye fishing trip.
This year’s walleye challenge was expanded to other states across the Midwest and into Canada as part of a larger fisheries research project funded by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Almost 900 anglers participated from across the Midwest.
“Iowa had the most participants, with nearly 200 anglers signed up, and 128 anglers completed 1119 fishing trips reporting 1,646 fish caught at 93 different water bodies throughout the state,” explains Jeff Kopaska, DNR fisheries research biometrician. “Participation of Iowa anglers continues to grow each year.”
Across the entire Midwest, 434 anglers completed 3066 fishing trips, reporting catches of 3,789 fish at 510 different water bodies. Anglers in Ontario reported catching 533 walleyes, Illinois anglers submitted 434 fish, and Nebraska anglers entered 386 fish.
Iowa anglers competed against other Iowa anglers for biweekly prizes. All catches from across the Midwest qualified for the grand prize drawings. The largest fish caught during the challenge was a 31.5-inch walleye caught by Dylan Ivall in Ontario.
The following Iowa anglers are prize winners.
- Cristian Lemus, for the longest fish, a 29.5- inch walleye
- Jerry Eiben, for the most water bodies fished, with 31 fish caught at 6 different water bodies
- Larry Hulsebus, a random draw cash prize for a submitted catch
- Josh Crouch, for the longest fish in South Dakota, a 28-inch fish
“We learned many great things by expanding the challenge to other Midwest states. It was interesting to see similar catch rates with 0.43 fish per hour in Iowa and 0.3 fish per hour across the Midwest,” said Kopaska. “Iowa anglers shared that catches seemed slower this year with lower catch rate and overall number of fish caught compared to previous years.”
Iowa challenge participants caught the most fish at Big Creek Lake (324 fish), Hickory Grove Lake (216 fish), Brushy Creek Lake (155 fish), the Des Moines River (148 fish), and Rathbun Reservoir (116 fish).
The Midwest Walleye Challenge is a citizen science data collection effort sponsored by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Angler’s Atlas to help improve walleye fishing across Iowa. DNR fisheries biologists use the data entered to assess and manage walleye populations. The MyCatch mobile app maintains anonymous location data, so anglers’ secret spots stay secret.
A new addition to the Midwest Walleye Challenge is a Fall Classic starting September 30 to October 31. Anglers can register for the fall classic at https://www.anglersatlas.com/event/820/. Participants can choose the free entry option to qualify for non-cash prizes or pay the $25 fee to qualify for all prizes including cash payouts.