Lake Icaria fishing: Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Blue Catfish

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Blue Catfish, Channel Catfish, Bluegill, Sunshine Bass

The lake

Lake Icaria covers 690 acres in Iowa, across Adams County. It is a lake: 93.8% of it is 20 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 28 feet (8.5 m). Our records hold 9 species for this water.

Main Ski Zone - Lake Icaria, Iowa.jpg
RedRaider1 · CC BY-SA 4.0

6 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Blue Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Sunshine Bass — Feeding water: 70–80°F. Nonnative.

Also recorded here: Sauger, Bighead Carp, Silver Carp.

Stocking: 11,862,578 fish, 1999–2025

Iowa DNR records list 11,862,578 fish released into this water from 1999 to 2025.

  • Walleye: 11,248,152 in 1999–2025
  • Bluegill: 268,300 in 2004–2005
  • Largemouth Bass: 112,141 in 2004–2013
  • Blue Catfish: 34,368 in 2019–2022
  • Channel Catfish: 12,828 in 2006–2009

One more species on the stocking list.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 28 ft (8.5 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 93.8% of the water is 20 feet or shallower. We hold 60 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 9% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 17.2% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 16.1% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 12.5% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 10.3% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 7.8% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 6.7% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 4.8% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 4.7% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 4.7% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 2.8% of the water
  • 22–24 ft: 2.5% of the water
  • 24–26 ft: 1% of the water

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 75°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 8.1. These readings span 2017–2024.

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.