Growing up just a mere 4 miles from the Wapsi, much of my ‘schooling’ in how to catch fish took place on this river. There is a nice variety of fish that can be caught throughout the entire river. In my opinion the stretch from Independence down through Troy Mills or even Central City is the best stretch to find smallmouth. Starting in Independence, there are three dams in town (one at the Old Mill and the ‘double dams’ just downstream from there) and plenty of public access through town to the dams and other spots. While in high school the spring northern run below the Mill dam used to be a magnet for fishermen. I was witness to many 8lb+ northerns being pulled from there, as well as numerous smallmouth of all sizes. I can remember skipping class on those nice May days in high school and walking down to the double dams to fish for a bit. I’d snatch up a handful of minnows as the bass chased them to the point of leaping out of the water. Putting them on a hook and throwing them back in resulted in some extremely fast action at times with lots of 10-12” fish and enough 15-16”ers to make it exciting.

There’s boat/canoe access right at the highway 150 bridge as well as Three Elms park just outside of town. This makes for easy access and a convenient put-in for a canoe float. Going from Independence to Quasqueton does make for a perfect one day float, which can be stretched to two by camping on a sand bar if you spend too much time fishing. If you do venture down the Wapsi, make sure to spend time fishing the sewage treatment plant outlet. That spot never ceases to amaze me at how many smallies or northern a person can catch there. The float isn’t anything like the Upper Iowa, but is an easy relaxing float nonetheless. There are certainly worse things you could spend a day doing. Careful if the water is very low, as you’ll be dragging a canoe quite a bit.

There is a lot of good smallie habitat down this stretch, with lots of natural and man-made rock structure. Stick to the rocks and you’ll find some fish (as if you guys needed to be reminded of that). Above and below this Indee to Quasky strech the river loses much of it’s limestone bottom and becomes very muddy and not conducive for good smallmouth fishing. Some of my go-to tactics include a jig with a beetle spinner, sometimes that extra flash really helps attract the fish in the muddy water. Anything fire-tiger colored as well is a guaranteed producer. The biggest fish I’ve caught through here was a 3 pounder caught in 2003 (picture is in my album). If you’re so inclined, I’ve always heard the very deep pools where a quarry sucks out sand can be stacked full of walleyes. Since I can’t catch a walleye to save my life, I can’t personally vouch for this. A little time reading the water will also reveal some good hiding spots for northern. Plenty of brushpiles also make for some fast catfishing at times.

Public access points can also be found at the Iron Bridge access between Independence and Quasky. This take-out makes for a good 4-5 hour float or put-in here to make a good 3-4 hour float down to Quasky. Boises Bend park just downstream from the bridge also has a scary staircase down the bluff to reach the river as well as free camping. A really nice stretch of limestone bluffs make this a quiet and productive fishing hole. The girl scout camp with access on the north side of the river has great fishing but requires a heck of a hike with minimal trails to get down to the river. In Quasky there’s another boat ramp along with a standard overhead dam and a rock dam to make for some interesting fishing of nearly all species. Once you go downstream from Quasky there’s no other access until the Troy Mills Access just upstream from the town of Troy Mills. My experience downstream from Troy Mills is rather limited, but I have had success all the way down to Anamosa. The further down you go, the further apart likely smallie habitat gets.

In my opinion, the fishing quality has dropped dramatically over the past five years. Granted, I haven’t fished the Wapsi nearly as much since I moved away from the river, but it just doesn’t seem like the fish are there as they once were. Many of old river rats who have fished this stretch for decades will also agree the that some of the poorest fishing has occurred in the past few years. Some try and argue the growing otter population is responsible, how much truth there is to that I don’t know. What I do know is I have an album full of pictures of 12-18” smallmouth caught during my youth and it’s very difficult to come across any number of these sized fish. Many times I’ve only caught fish below the 10” mark. Whatever the reason, I hope the fishing does improve, and from the number of smaller fish I think it will.

This doesn’t imply that you should forgo fishing the Wapsi. The river still has plenty of fish to catch, and heck maybe I’m just not as good a fisherman as I think and you’ll have much better luck than I. If you’re looking for something that’s maybe a little closer to home and easier to plan for the Wapsi can definitely satiate your desire for some decent fishing.