See every public fishing venue in Iowa on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
Missouri River is a public river in Pottawattamie County, Fremont County, Harrison County, Monona County, Woodbury County and Mills County, Iowa, managed by State of Iowa (public / navigable water). You can fish it on an Iowa fishing licence; bank access is at road crossings, state and county parks, DNR access sites and bridge crossings, and riparian owners control the bank on non-navigable reaches. A trout fee is required to fish for or keep trout on the Driftless Area streams. Public access confirmed via marquee water.
The Missouri River along Iowa's western border — a big, powerful, channelised river. Trophy blue and flathead catfish, sauger and walleye in the wing-dam scour holes, shovelnose sturgeon, white bass, and a spring paddlefish snagging season.
It runs roughly 208 miles through the Western Iowa region. Anglers here mostly fish for blue catfish, flathead catfish, channel catfish, sauger; walleye, shovelnose sturgeon, freshwater drum, white bass are also on record. Live flow and gauge height come from the Missouri River at Nebraska City, NE USGS station shown below. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Long Creek and DeSoto Lake.
Species from PiscaMaps water-type profiles, IA DNR trout designations and hand research.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in Iowa. Some state-park and city lakes post hours or gate at dark. Snagging, gigging and bowfishing for carp, gar and buffalo are legal on many waters with their own seasons; trotlines and limb lines are permitted on most rivers and lakes (not on trout streams) with the gear tagged.
Boats: The Iowa Great Lakes, Clear Lake, Rathbun, Red Rock, Saylorville, Coralville and the Mississippi/Missouri rivers have no horsepower limit; smaller state and county lakes often have posted no-wake or horsepower-limit rules. Iowa requires boater education for operators born after 1 Jan 1986.
Bank & bivvy camping: Camp at Iowa state parks (many on the best lakes and rivers — the Iowa Great Lakes area, Clear Lake, Backbone, Pikes Peak overlooking the Mississippi, Lake Ahquabi, Lake Icaria) and Corps campgrounds on Rathbun, Coralville, Saylorville and Red Rock. County conservation boards also run extensive park and camping systems across the state.
Tackle: Statewide largemouth/smallmouth bass daily limit is 6 (14-inch minimum on most water, with special regulations on some Iowa Great Lakes); walleye/sauger 3 in combination (many waters have a minimum length); muskellunge 1 (per-water minimum, often 40+ inch); panfish and catfish generous. Trout limits and gear depend on the stream designation (special-regulation, catch-and-release, put-and-take). Check the current Iowa DNR fishing regulations for this water.
Boat ramps: 20 mapped — Boat ramp, Boat ramp, Boat ramp, Boat ramp, Boat ramp, Boat ramp and others nearby.
Camping: 11 sites mapped nearby — Cottonwood Cove RV Resort, Campsite, Camp Brewster, River View Park Resort, Haworth Park Campground, Campsite and others.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors.
Loading live flow & gauge height…
Live from USGS gauge 06807000 — Missouri River at Nebraska City, NE. Full gauge data →
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.
Every water carries species, bank & boat access, current regulations and live water conditions — and members get Swim Mapper, Catch Logger and Trip Planner. It's the only US map with a dedicated carp-water layer.
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