| Most area lakes have 14 or more inches of ice, but many lakes still have areas of open water that have persisted throughout the winter. Permanent Ice shelters must be removed from lakes and state property beginning February 20th unless occupied overnight. The Walleye season on the IGL's is now closed until May 3rd. For the most up to date information, call 712-330-2542 |
| Most places have 16 inches of ice or more, but there are still many unsafe areas or areas of open water out on the main lake. The Walleye season is currently closed. |
| Bluegill - Good: |
| Black Crappie - Fair: |
Fishing at West Okoboji Lake has been good in recent years, especially when it comes to panfish. There has been consistent recruitment in recent years creating good year classes of 8-9 inch bluegill that have been providing excellent fishing throughout the warm and cold-water seasons. Yellow Perch have also seen consistent recruitment, but often require a good amount of sorting in order to take home many 9+ inch fish. Recently a large year class of young of the year Black Crappie has been observed which should offer great fishing opportunities in the next couple years as these young fish continue to grow. Northern Pike anglers have been successful at catching many 30+ inch fish in recent season. The Muskellunge fishery has been great in recent years with some anglers reporting over 20+ catches a season with fish pushing up over 50 inches. Bass anglers have also been very successful in the last year. There is currently a large year class of 15+ inch Largemouth Bass with some fish pushing up above 20 inches. A large year class of 14+ inch Smallmouth Bass has also been observed, which will provide great fishing opportunities in the coming season. Walleye catch has been somewhat inconsistent, but recent changes to the slot limit in the last year has opened up the opportunity to catch fish that had previously been in the old slot. Currently the protected Walleye slot is 19-25 inches. There is still a bag limit of 3 fish where one of those fish can be over 25 inches. (2022)
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 .