NATURALLY SPEAKING by Steve Lekwa

Many anglers love to catch bass. Some specialize to the point that bass are about the only fish they try for. The funny thing is that most of the "bass" that are caught by "bass" anglers aren't bass at all. Rather, they're sunfish that are lumped together in a group of several species collectively known as "black bass." Black bass include the popular large mouth bass and small mouth bass that are familiar to local anglers as well as several less-well-known species like spotted bass and warm mouth that might be found in some Iowa waters, but tend to be more southern in their distribution. Black bass that can be found in most Iowa ponds, lakes, and streams are close relatives of bluegill sunfish, green sunfish, crappies, and rock bass. The whole sunfish clan lays their eggs in nests that are built and defended by the males of the species.

True bass, on the other hand, are mostly marine fish. There are a few freshwater species like white bass and yellow bass that can be found in some Iowa lakes and streams. Several of the marine species like the magnificent striped bass can reach very large sizes and willingly enter fresh water where some become landlocked. Ocean stripped bass have been stocked in some inland lakes and streams including Saylorville Reservoir. They have also been crossed with the native freshwater white bass to create the hybrid "wiper" that grows rapidly and has become a popular stocked game fish in several Iarger lowa lakes. Though outwardly similar in appearance to the sunfish clan, true bass do not nest. They spawn at random and give no care to their eggs and young.

Native white bass are feeding actively during this hot weather in Saylorville Reservoir. I enjoyed a morning pursuing them recently. Most of the fish caught were small (7" to 8"), but they hit lures that looked like little shad minnows readily and put up a spirited fight. Although the smaller year-class dominated, there were a few larger ones near a foot in length that fought like much larger fish. There was the chance that a much larger striped bass might hit our offerings, too, but I didn't come across any of those. Our primary technique was slow trolling relatively near shore. We could see bass feeding actively on the surface and good numbers showed on sonar down to about ten feet in depth. A popular technique is to watch for flocks of gulls that crowd around schools of shad that are driven to the surface by actively feeding bass underneath. Anglers that can reach such a feeding frenzy are just about guaranteed fast action.

Yellow bass and white bass were once stocked in smaller ponds, but they tended to overpopulate and become stunted. They are now limited primarily to larger lakes, reservoirs, and streams. Yellow bass are a popular target for Clear Lake anglers. Story County waters don't host any of the true bass clan, but white bass moved up the Skunk River below Ames several years ago for a summer or two when we had consistently high water. There is no daily limit or possession limit for white or yellow bass in Central Iowa waters, but common sense and ethics dictate that a person should not keep more than they are willing to clean and process properly for eating.

Other fish species are already in "dog days" mode and tend to keep to deeper, cooler water except for brief forays into shallower water to feed. That often occurs early or late in the day and seldom during the full sun and heat of mid day. Fish in deeper lakes and ponds should survive the current hot weather stress, but warm water fish kills are beginning to occur in some bodies of water, particularly the shallower ones and ones with excessive levels of nutrient. Smaller streams have begun to dry up and larger ones are seeing the lowest flow levels in many years. Continued dry, hot weather will bring more bodies of water into critical fish stress conditions.