Iowa does have some good places to fish. The Iowa Great Lakes are the premier fishing vacation destination in the state.
Featured Destinations – Quick Links
| Iowa Great Lakes |
| Mississippi River |
| Missouri River |
| Rathbun Lake |
Learn more about our featured fishing destinations below.
Iowa Great Lakes
The Iowa Great Lakes are a group of natural glacial lakes that are located in Dickinson County of northwestern Iowa. The three principal lakes of the group are Big Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake and East Okoboji Lake. Upper Gar Lake, Lower Gar Lake, and Minnewashta Lake round out the lakes of this chain. These lakes are a very popular boating and fishing destination for Iowa.
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River starts at Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota and ends in the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana. It covers more than 2,300 miles and flows through 10 states including 5 major cities. The fishery can be very good depending on what part of the river you are fishing. It will fish much differently up in Minnesota than it does down near New Orleans. There are several featured fishing destinations that we cover that include the Mississippi River as a good body of water to be fishing in that specific area.
Missouri River
The Missouri River begins at the town of Three Forks, Montana, where the Gallatin, Jefferson, and Madison rivers meet in the Rocky Mountains. The river then flows north, east and south where it eventually ends at the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri. The Missouri River is the longest river in North America, flowing more than 2,300 miles. The fishery changes as it moves from the rocky mountains to St. Louis, Missouri. In the mountains, it is a world class trout fishery. As it flows through the Dakotas, it becomes an excellent walleye fishery with northern pike, catfish and other species too. Once the river flows into the St. Louis area, it becomes more of a catfish fishery, but other fish can be found there too.
Rathbun Lake
Rathbun Lake is a large lake in south-central Iowa. With 11,000 acres of water and more than 150 miles of shoreline, there is plenty of water to get out and enjoy the lake. This lake is a very good multi-species lake. Anglers come here to fish for walleye, striped bass, crappie, catfish, sunfish, largemouth bass and white bass.
Rathbun Lake was constructed and is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Located at Chariton River mile marker 142, approximately 7 miles north of Centerville, Iowa, in Appanoose County, it is one of the largest lakes in Iowa.
