Thread: Lake Rathbun Crappie Fishing

maybe next year! [/QUOTE]

Burk, this next week to 10 days will be fantastic. You won't regret it if you can work things out. :D
Roger

I'm from Creston and just wanted to ask wats the chances from the bank. I've seen the lake once and know it's BIG!! or what about the bluegill . I would love to tie into some of them :D

Daydreamer, Wish I could help with the crappie situation at Rathbun, but haven't heard much. The reason I jumped on here is because you also asked about bluegill there .Rathbun has been mentioned in a number of articles on why some big Iowa lakes do NOT hold a good population of decent bluegill. Please understand that Rathbun does have bluegill, but not enough decent fish to be worth targeting. The few times I get to Rathbun ,I don't ever consider bluegill as a second choice. They do however have a good population of cats if you need a back up. Wish I could help more, Mike

There's a lot of lakes within an hour's drive of rathbun that are great for BIG gills- Wapello, Shimek Forest, and Sugema just to name afew. Try these if you want a gill over a pound in size. Dave

Originally Posted by Daydreamer

I'm from Creston and just wanted to ask wats the chances from the bank. I've seen the lake once and know it's BIG!! or what about the bluegill . I would love to tie into some of them :D

Don't forget Miami just North of Albia.
Roger

Back to some Rathbun talk. Just got home from Crappie Masters Tourn. Big Fish AND Second Big Fish - 2.09#.
52 teams, 10 fish limit, $150/team entry

1st place - 13.87# $15,800 (boat pkg)
2nd - 13.8 #
3rd - 13.55#
4th - 12.95 #
5th - 12.95#
6th - 12.3 #
7th - 12.6 #
8th - 11.48#
9th - 11.22 #
10th - 11.09 #
20th - 9.8 #
25th - 9.44#
30th - 8.8 #
35th - 8.3 #
40th - 7.52#
45th - 6.61#
50th - 5.08#
Congrats to all you Iowa teams.
Even though these weights look impressive, conditions aren't "on the banks" yet, but very close. If only the weatherman would take up crappie fishing!!!
Roger

Thanks for the help I'l have to try some of the lakes mentioned. Been out of the swing for A while.