There are many things that people need to keep in mind when they go fishing.

Besides some of the safety concerns, the regulations and restrictions also need to be kept in mind. But that can be hard sometimes, as bodies of water in Iowa don’t always have the same regulations and restrictions. Iowa Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer for Guthrie County Jeremy King says that one of the easiest ways to make sure you follow those regulations and restrictions is to take a little time when you first arrive, and just look them up before you get started. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that there is one regulation that many may not know in Guthrie County, and it pertains to the Middle Raccoon River.

“So it used to be from Lennon Mills Dam, which is on the south edge of Panora, all the way down to the Redfield Dam was mandatory catch and release for smallmouth bass and largemouth bass. So no matter which bass you caught, you had to throw it back immediately alive. Well, we’ve extended that from the Lennon Mills Dam up to Lake Panorama’s dam.”

King advises that there are new signs up and down the river mentioning the recent change, and that they’re fairly easy to see as they’re bright yellow with black lettering. He explains that if someone believes they’ve caught a state record fish, they are allowed to take a picture of it and weigh it, but after that it needs to be released back into the river. Smallmouth and largemouth bass are the only species that this regulation applies to in that stretch of the Middle Raccoon River though. To see what other rules and regulations are in place for different species throughout the state, visit www.iowadnr.gov/Fishing.