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This 80 mile stretch of river offers many carry-down type of accesses and five hard surface boat ramps at Pictured Rocks Park, Joinerville Park, Maquoketa City Access, Spragueville Access and Maquoketa River Access. The upper section of this segment is more accessible by canoe or a small jon boat and motor. Below the Spragueville access and downstream the river is big enough to fish from medium to large fishing boats during normal water levels. A fisheries survey in 2024 on the lower Maquoketa River above the Spragueville Access found species such as walleye, sauger, shovelnose sturgeon, smallmouth bass, northern pike, channel catfish and white bass.(2025)
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 .