Rice Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye

Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Yellow Perch, Black Crappie, Bluegill

The lake

Rice Lake covers 957 acres in Iowa, across 2 counties: Worth and Winnebago. It is a lake: 94.3% of it is 6 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 10 feet (3 m). Our records hold 6 species for this water.

Rice Lake State Park, North Dakota (4247120514).jpg
Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0

6 target fish, led by Northern Pike

  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 10 ft (3 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 94.3% of the water is 6 feet or shallower. We hold 48 depth contour lines for this water.

Rice Lake (53624334732).jpg
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region · Public domain
  • 0–1 ft: 19.5% of the water
  • 1–2 ft: 9.2% of the water
  • 2–3 ft: 10.3% of the water
  • 3–4 ft: 14.3% of the water
  • 4–5 ft: 19.1% of the water
  • 5–6 ft: 21.9% of the water
  • 6–7 ft: 5.3% of the water
  • 7–8 ft: 0.4% of the water

Stocking: 6,013,756 fish, 1999–2022

Iowa DNR records list 6,013,756 fish released into this water from 1999 to 2022. The latest stocking on record is from 2022, more than three years ago.

RiceLakeStateParkMN.jpg
McGhiever · CC BY-SA 2.5
  • Walleye: 5,369,537 in 2007–2022
  • Northern Pike: 494,276 in 1999–2012
  • Bluegill: 100,000 in 2014
  • Largemouth Bass: 45,796 in 1999–2014
  • Yellow Perch: 4,000 in 2014
  • Black Crappie: 147 in 2002

What is hard here

With 94.3% of the water 6 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.
  • EPA NLA — EPA National Lakes Assessment: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
  • 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.