Upper Mississippi Oct. 15: tailwaters in the mid-60s, crappie fair, Pool 10 stained

Iowa’s upper Mississippi update for mid-October is about cooling water and a bite that is only partly turned on. This is the Bellevue and Guttenberg district sheets, not the Decorah trout report already on the desk. Both districts carry an Oct. 15, 2026, update on the Department of Natural Resources fishing report.

Bellevue biologist Dave Bierman’s district note says levels are steady to slightly rising, temperatures are in the mid-60s, and clarity is improving. Pool 12 at Dubuque is about 4.9 feet on the tailwater and 65 degrees, with duckweed on the surface in many places. Sauger there are fair and expected to improve; walleye are slow, with the same “coming weeks” note. Pool 13 at Bellevue is about 4.5 feet. Freshwater drum are good, and the Oct. 15 comment says anglers are catching them on crankbaits and blade baits as well as nightcrawlers. Sauger are fair, walleye are slow, and white crappie are slow. Pool 14 is about 4.7 feet at Lock and Dam 13 and 66 degrees, with sauger fair on the wing dams and tailwaters. Pool 15 is about 4.4 feet at Lock and Dam 14 and 68 degrees, and the Oct. 15 note says the temperature has risen slightly since last week.

Guttenberg biologist Karen Osterkamp’s Oct. 15 district note says levels should bump slightly and then level off, clarity is fair, floating vegetation is abundant, and the water is in the mid to upper 60s. Pool 9 at Lansing is expected to hold near 7.8 feet. The Oct. 14 comment flags crews on the Blackhawk Bridge and asks boaters to slow down in the construction zone. Black crappie on pools 9, 10, and 11 are fair on comments dated Oct. 15, with the bite called improving in trees and stumps in slight current. Pool 10, updated Oct. 15, is 612.5 feet below Lock and Dam 9 at Lynxville, stained, with tailwater fishing starting to pick up. Pool 11’s Oct. 14 stage note puts the Guttenberg tailwater at 4.5 feet and falling slowly after a small bump, with tailwater fishing better last week. Walleye on Pool 10 are fair on a comment dated Oct. 14.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Iowa DNR — Fish Iowa fishing report (Bellevue and Guttenberg management districts, comments dated Oct. 14–15, 2026).