Clear Lake fishing: Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Walleye

Target species: Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Walleye, Flathead Catfish, Channel Catfish

The lake

Clear Lake covers 3,639 acres in Iowa, across Cerro Gordo County. It is a lake: 91.7% of it is 14 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 22 feet (6.7 m). Our records hold 6 species for this water.

Sunset over North Shore of Clear Lake.jpg
Readthisandlearn · CC BY-SA 3.0

5 target fish, led by Muskellunge

  • Muskellunge — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Flathead Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.

Also recorded here: Common Carp.

Stocking: 378,487,437 fish, 1999–2025

Iowa DNR records list 378,487,437 fish released into this water from 1999 to 2025.

FI0005243.jpg
Susan J. Koscielak / FortepanIowa · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Walleye: 378,117,670 in 2003–2022
  • Northern Pike: 198,456 in 2000–2019
  • Channel Catfish: 147,209 in 1999–2018
  • Flathead Catfish: 15,831 in 2002–2003
  • Muskellunge: 8,271 in 1999–2025

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 22 ft (6.7 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.7% of the water is 14 feet or shallower. We hold 62 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 3.5% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 6.2% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 6.6% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 8.5% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 13.4% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 28.7% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 24.8% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 6.4% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 1.4% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 0.4% of the water

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 73°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 8.4. These readings span 2017–2024.

What is hard here

With 91.7% of the water 14 feet or less, low level turns the flats into hazards.

Where this data comes from

  • Iowa DNR — Iowa DNR: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.