'Six foot catfish' not found at Coralville Dam

After three days of draining an area around the Coralville dam, crews can finally move on with a much needed restoration project.  Dozens of spectators watched as the final few feet of water was pumped out of an area around the outflow gate.  

"The big fish weren't there," said Vernon Eden, 80, who watched the water drain for three days.  According to John Castle, Operations Manager at Coralville Lake, a similar project in the 80's turned up 30-35 thousand pounds of fish.  Many hoped and speculated that a similar outcome would play out this week.

Rumors that motorcycles, washers, TV sets, and "six foot catfish" spread as the water levels dropped.  In the end crews only pulled a few thousand pounds of fish from the area, all of which were immediately moved to the nearby river.

"That's fishing, sometimes you throw it out there and nothing comes back," one spectator announced to the crowd.

A commercial fishing crew contracted to help with the project left without any Buffalo Carp, a fish they planned to haul overnight to New York.  Earlier in the week Castle speculated there was potential for disappointment.  Castle said moving the fish, if there were any, is just a minor part of a major job.

Not that the water is gone it will take about a week to restore the area around the outflow gate.