For years I’ve lived in Cedar Rapids, IA, and driven through downtown on 1st street, 1st avenue bridge, A avenue bridge and seen people fishing. Many people fish from the A avenue bridge right over the 5 in 1 dam on the Cedar River. I’ve assumed most people are fishing for catfish primarily, but never really knew, or paid much attention.

Smallmouth bass caught below the Cedar River 5 in 1 dam in Cedar Rapids, IAThis week, I decided to fish downtown on the east side of the Cedar River. When I arrived I talked to a man who regularly fishes the area for walleye in the spring. He had done pretty well this spring already on a couple days catching a couple limits of walleye, so that was quite encouraging to me to hear that. While I didn’t experience any luck that day, I plan to add it to my list of locations to fish more often.

Well, more often came later that week when I stopped by after work to make a few casts and see if I could get anything to bite. While I managed no walleyes, I was able to land a 13 inch smallmouth bass on my third cast. That was encouraging. I proceeded to snag two smallmouth buffalo fish, one in the dorsal fin, and the next one in the snout. It appeared the second one was actually trying to eat my BfishN Tackle Pulse-R Paddle Tail, but as their name implies, it’s mouth was too small to eat the moving target.

White bass caught below the 5 in 1 dam while fishing in Cedar RapidsThe water level of the Cedar River was a little higher than normal, but considering it is still this early in the spring, I bet it’s actually lower than in previous years at this time of year.

Before I left, and on at least my fifth “last cast” as every fisherman knows, I finished my afternoon with a nice looking white bass. In 45 mins of fishing, I was pleased with the amount of action I had fishing the east side of the 5 in 1 dam in downtown Cedar Rapids. While no walleyes for me, I know they’re in there, and will be back to try again. And this time, I won’t wait 30 years before I do.