(DNR photo)
Just in time for the summer fishing season, the state Department of Natural Resources is adding more than 2,000 fish structure locations to the maps of lakes on its website.
John Lorenzen, a fisheries research technician at the DNR, says it’s valuable information for anyone who’s on the hunt for fish. “These structures are habitat fishing structures that congregate fish and allow anglers to have a better success rate,” Lorenzen says. “The structures include things like brush piles, rock reefs, spawning beds, things of that nature.”
DNR Fisheries staff and partners, like county conservation groups and fishing clubs, strategically place fish structures in Iowa lakes to attract fish for anglers. In addition to the various underwater structures, another 215 lake contour maps have also been added to the website.
“That information is also uploaded to our Online Fishing Atlas, which is an interactive satellite map,” Lorenzen says. “You can turn your location on on your phone and it shows where you are in relation to the lake and its features. So, those individual habitat fishing structures will be located on the map as well as our lake contours.”
The information can be downloaded to the “fish finder” gadget on your boat, or just access it directly from your phone. Lorenzen says, “So, if you don’t have a fish finder but you want to fish from shore or fish even in a boat using your smartphone, that information is also available to anybody who wants it.”
The new maps can be found by Googling “Iowa fishing maps” or through the website: www.iowadnr.gov/Fishing/Fishing-Maps