Late reply, haven't been around.
I only worked for the MDC for one summer about 3.5 years ago between my Junior and Senior years of college. I don't remember names very well, but the guy with the 16:1 ratio was actually one of the mechanics/maintenance guys in the shop. Of course, he could have gotten it from one of the fisheries people. Technically I was in the Resource Science division so even though I did mostly fisheries work I didn't interact much with the fisheries people. I did stream backpack fish sampling and habitat assessment, which was pretty sweet in the Ozarks. No better place to learn fish ID; I think we collected something like 70 species of fish by the end of the summer.
If you are gonna cross the Iowa line to fish I would recommend fishing Little River Lake in Leon. It should be closer for you and the fishing is much better IMHO.
I am originally from NW Iowa, but in the course of getting a fisheries degree and gaining work experience I have really gotten around.
