Mild winter limits ice fishing, bodes well for pheasants

The protracted autumn weather in what should be the heart of an Iowa winter has of course put a hold on ice fishing and snowmobiling, but the unseasonable warmth and lack of snow cover portend excellent survival rates for wildlife.

The Department of Natural Resources reports that safe ice exists in only a few northern Iowa locations such as Clear Lake and Mississippi River backwaters with little or no current.

The southern third of Iowa, which typically has a shorter ice fishing season than the northern third, might not have any ice fishing this winter unless conditions change dramatically, said Steve Waters, the Department of Natural Resources fisheries supervisor for Southeast Iowa.

After five straight snowier-than-normal winters, Iowa's rapidly declining pheasant population desperately needed a mild winter, said Todd Bogenschutz, the DNR's upland game manager.

The lack of snow cover makes it easier for pheasants to find food and to hide from predators, Bogenschutz said.

“I only wish it could have happened two years sooner, when there were still enough pheasants to create a substantial rebound,” he said.

Records show that pheasant populations can double in a single year following a mild winter and a nesting season that is neither too wet nor too cold.

But given that last August's roadside pheasant count – the most reliable means of predicting pheasant numbers – registered a record low 7 pheasants per 30 mile rote, the upside of a mild winter and hospitable spring is not all that promising, Bogenschutz said.

“Yes, it would be great to double our pheasant population, but it would be much better if we were doubling a decent population,” he said.