Iowa Lake

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What kind of fish can you catch in Iowa Lake?

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Iowa Lake, located south of Fairmont on the Iowa-Minnesota border in Martin County, is a 732 acre border water lake with a maximum depth of 9.4 feet and an average depth in the 3 to 4 foot range. Iowa Lake is located near the top of its watershed on South Creek, a tributary to the Blue Earth River. South Silver Lake is the source of South Creek and connected to Iowa Lake via a culvert. Iowa Lake is a large shallow lake that is susceptible to low dissolved oxygen in the winter months and high water temperatures in the summer. In addition, Iowa Lake is commonly dominated by Common Carp, Black Bullhead, and Bigmouth Buffalo, which degrade water quality and habitat. Iowa Lake is managed for Yellow Perch, Northern Pike, Black Crappie, White Crappie, and Walleye. A standard survey was completed the week of July 31, 2023 using two gill nets and nine trap nets to monitor fish populations.

Historically, Yellow Perch catch rates have ranged from 0.0 per gill net in 2017 to 103.3 in 2005, averaging 44.1 per gill net since 1990. In 2023, the Yellow Perch catch rate at Iowa Lake was 20.0 per gill net, an increase from the 2017 catch rate of 0.0 per gill net and within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (3.0 to 22.5 per gill net). The increase in abundance was likely the result of the adult Yellow Perch that were stocked in 2018, as they likely produced future year classes of Yellow Perch. Lengths of Yellow Perch ranged from 5.2 to 9.5 inches and averaged 7.9 inches.

The Walleye gill net catch rate of 20.0 per gill net was the highest catch ever recorded on Iowa Lake, exceeding the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (3.2 to 15.3 per gill net). Four year classes of Walleye were sampled (2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022), with the 2022 stocked year class accounting for 93 percent of the sample (N=37 out of 40). 2019 (N=1 fish) and 2020 (N=1 fish) were unstocked years, so these Walleye were likely illegally moved by an angler, as natural reproduction is highly unlikely in Iowa Lake. Lengths of Walleye ranged from 4.9 to 19.4 inches and averaged 10.7 inches. The strong 2022 year class should provide good angling in a year or two, and should provide a top level predator to help control Bullhead and Common Carp populations.

The 2023 Black Crappie catch rate was the highest ever recorded on Iowa Lake at 16.3 per trap net. It exceeds the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (1.0 to 12.3 per gill net). Historically, catch rates ranged from 0.0 per gill net in 2017 to 11.0 per gill net in 1994 and averaged 5.4 per gill net since 1990. Black Crappie lengths ranged from 5.7 to 11.8 inches and averaged 7.3 inches. It appears that Black Crappie are the dominant Crappies species in Iowa Lake currently, as only 3 White Crappie were captured in the survey.

No Northern Pike were sampled in 2023 in Iowa Lake despite adults and fry being stocked in 2018 and 2022, respectively, indicating that these stockings may have been mostly unsuccessful.

Four Channel Catfish were sampled in the survey which marks the first time that Channel Catfish have been sampled in Iowa Lake. Channel Catfish lengths ranged from 16.3 to 18.7 inches and averaged 17.9 inches. The Black Bullhead catch rate was 41.0 per gill net which is within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (4.6 to 83.0 per gill net). Black Bullhead ranged in length from 5.7 to 11.7 inches and averaged 9.2 inches. Other species sampled included Bigmouth Buffalo, Bluegill, Common Carp, Freshwater Drum, Hybrid Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Orangespotted Sunfish, White Bass, and Yellow Bullhead.

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