1,575 public fishing lakes and rivers in Iowa — Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Flathead Catfish and Northern Pike.
See every public fishing venue in Iowa on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
PiscaMaps covers 1,575 public fishing venues across Iowa in 6 regions — 341 lakes and reservoirs and 1,219 rivers. The largest is Lake Winneshiek, at 23,067 acres. Des Moines River is the longest mapped river, running 551 km. Central Iowa has the most venues on file, with 541. 58 venues are documented trout waters.
The most commonly recorded species across Iowa's public waters are Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Flathead Catfish and Northern Pike — the exact mix varies by water type and region. 263 venues have a real boat ramp on file, 236 have nearby camping, and 563 have mapped parking — sourced from OpenStreetMap and recreation.gov's federal facilities database (RIDB) where available.
Iowa's public fishing venues are spread across 6 regions on PiscaMaps:
The most frequently recorded species across Iowa's public venues on PiscaMaps:
Anyone 16-64 needs an Iowa DNR fishing licence — the resident annual is about $22, the non-resident annual about $48, and non-resident 1-day/7-day licences are sold. A trout fee (about $16.50) is required in addition to the fishing licence to fish for or keep trout in the Driftless Area streams and stocked trout lakes. Iowa residents 65 and older can buy a discounted licence, and anyone under 16 fishes free. Buy from Iowa DNR at iowadnr.gov. An Iowa fishing licence covers navigable rivers. The Mississippi is fished on an Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin or Minnesota licence in the border reaches; the Missouri on an Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota or Missouri licence. A trout fee is required on the Driftless Area streams.
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