| For more information on the above lakes call the Lake Darling Fisheries Office at (319) 694-2430. |
| NOT RECOMMENDED. UNSAFE. Despite the return of sub-zero weather about 20 acres of open water remains. more areas have just refrozen but aren't near thick enough to walk on. |
The Lake Darling Restoration Project which included the repairing the dam, removing sediment, armoring the shoreline, and new construction of shoreline and boat accesses has been completed. The park, campground, lake and other amenities are now open to the public. Lake Darling reached full crest in spring 2014. The lake filled within about 10 inches of crest by June 18, 2014 before a storm on June 19, 2014 brought heavy rainfall to Lake Darling State Park, completing the lake-filling process. Fingerling (2”) stockings for the newly renovated lake started before the basin reached crest. Bluegills were stocked on April 2, channel catfish on May 30, and largemouth bass on June 20, 2014; black crappie were stocked the same year. Future stocking plans include fingerling redear sunfish in fall 2015. Currently, the largest bluegills in the lake are 7.5- to 8.5-inch; smaller ‘gills from 2.5 inches (2015 year class) to 6.5 inches (2014 year class) are abundant. The largest crappies caught by anglers are 11- to 11.5-inches; there are numerous 4 inch (2015 year class) -8 inch (2014 year class) crappies in the lake. A good number of largemouth bass have reached 12.5 inches, but anglers will observe many 7 inch bass (2014 year class) and the occasional 15 inch bass. Most channel catfish are 10 inches long, but a few larger cats may be found. Anglers have experienced good fishing in 2015, and can expect excellent fishing in 2016-2017. Exceptional fish growth is often observed in new or renovated lakes, such as Lake Darling, due to the presence of abundant resources as compared to fish community size. Anglers may experience good fishing ahead of schedule. A map showing the location of 25 sediment retention/recreational ponds, which anglers can use, is available at the Iowa DNR Southeast Regional Office located within Lake Darling State Park. Initial stocking date is listed on the map so that anglers can target the most mature ponds for bluegill, largemouth bass, and channel catfish.(2015)
In nearly all cases, Iowa fish are safe to eat. Cleaning and/or preparing the meal causes most of the problems regarding taste or color of fish. Like all living creatures, fish are susceptible to diseases, parasites, and other naturally occurring conditions in the water. If you suspect your fish is affected by any of these conditions, do not eat it. Consider eating smaller and younger fish which usually have lower levels of contaminants than larger ones. Most contaminants accumulate in larger, older fish. For additional information, check out our resources for eating and cooking Iowa caught fish.
To learn more about fish tissue monitoring, visit our Fish Tissue Monitoring page .