| Contact the Rathbun Fish Hatchery at 641-647-2406 with questions about fishing in south central Iowa. Ice conditions vary at each lake with open water at some areas. Use caution if going out. |
| Lake Keomah is drained for a lake restoration project. Please stay out of the lakebed. |
Keomah has a very high quality bluegill population. Sampling in 2016 yielded a very high abundance of 8- to 10-inch bluegills. Largemouth bass are extremely abundant, but usually less than 15 inches. Keomah supports a very high quality channel catfish fishery with fish of 5 pounds or more common. Crappie at Keomah are of moderate quality, most 8- to 9+-inches.(2016)
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 .