Iowa's licenses run out on January 10, with next year's on sale from December 15. On the Iowa Great Lakes the muskellunge season ends on November 30 and walleye close on February 15, paddlefish snagging opens on the Missouri and Big Sioux on February 1, and every shelter comes off by March 1 or ice melt, whichever is first.
What to fish for in early November
Iowa's winter is an ice season in the north and a river season everywhere. The Iowa Great Lakes and Clear Lake freeze and are fished hard through the ice, with yellow bass in Clear Lake beside the walleye, the Mississippi's backwaters ice over while its main channel runs open below the locks and dams, and the spring creeks of the northeast stay open all winter for trout.
These notes cover the whole winter, the ice included. In early November, the four lakes in the season tables that get near freezing are usually still open water, at 46 to 53F.
Walleye
Feeds at dawn and dusk under the ice on the natural lakes, and through the winter in the tailwaters, where sauger join it.
Where. West Okoboji, Spirit Lake and Clear Lake, and the current below the Mississippi's dams from Lansing to Keokuk.
The walleye waters we forecast Water Usual water now Forecast Spirit Lake about 46F Best Sat, Nov 7, AToday's forecast Mississippi River at Clinton about 52F Today's forecast Clear Lake about 48F Best Sun, Nov 8, A+Today's forecast Yellow Perch
Roams the open flats under the ice in big, wandering schools, and a good day often means finding them again after they move.
Where. Spirit Lake, East and West Okoboji, and Clear Lake.
Bluegill
Bites steadily through the ice from first ice to last.
Where. The backwater lakes of the Mississippi pools, the northern lakes, Hickory Grove and the other state park lakes, and the farm ponds.
Crappie
Suspends over the deepest water in the backwaters and the reservoirs, and rises toward the ice in the evening.
Where. Mississippi sloughs, Saylorville and Red Rock, and Rathbun and the timbered lakes of the southeast once their ice holds.
The crappie waters we forecast Water Usual water now Forecast Rathbun Lake about 53F Best Tue, Nov 10, AToday's forecast Saylorville Lake about 51F Best Sun, Nov 8, AToday's forecast Brown Trout
The Driftless streams' wild browns feed through the winter in spring water that never freezes, on streamers on the gray days, with rainbows held over from the stocking season alongside them.
Where. The spring creeks of Winneshiek, Allamakee, Clayton, Delaware and Dubuque counties, reached on foot through the snow.
Usual water now is that water's normal for this point in the season: a lake's modeled seasonal curve or a river gauge's long-run average, not this year's reading. The forecast link reads this week's.
What changes soon
The next six weeks of this report's calendar for Iowa.
- Mon November 30Last day of the muskellunge season on West Okoboji, East Okoboji and Spirit Lake.
- Tue December 15Iowa's licenses for next year go on sale, and paddlefish snagging licenses are sold from today to December 31 and again from January 1 to 7.
Every date for Iowa from November to February (5)
- Mon November 30Last day of the muskellunge season on West Okoboji, East Okoboji and Spirit Lake.
- Tue December 15Iowa's licenses for next year go on sale, and paddlefish snagging licenses are sold from today to December 31 and again from January 1 to 7.
- Sun January 10Iowa licenses bought for this year expire at the end of the day.
- Mon February 1Paddlefish snagging opens on the Missouri and Big Sioux rivers, to April 30.
- Mon February 15Walleye close on West Okoboji, East Okoboji and Spirit Lake until the first Saturday in May.
This week's fishing reports
This report covers the season. For what was caught this week, read the people who report on this water.
Iowa has the region's strongest winter report, its own DNR's: weekly and statewide, every entry dated by water, with ice thickness, and it ran all last winter, Spirit Lake, the Okobojis, Clear Lake and the Mississippi pools among the waters it covered. The DNR's news releases carry the ice warnings. Outdoor News's weekly Iowa report is for subscribers, and a search for shops on the Iowa Great Lakes and Clear Lake found none publishing in winter.
Where to fish in Iowa, area by area
Each water links to its live forecast. The engine outlook in these areas was generated November 3, 2026, for the 14 days from that date; good hours are the hours at or above a B+.
The Iowa Great Lakes
Spirit Lake · West Okoboji Lake · East Okoboji Lake · Minnewashta Lake · Upper and Lower Gar Lakes
The cluster of natural lakes in the northwest corner: Spirit Lake, the largest natural lake in the state, West Okoboji, deep and clear, and East Okoboji, with walleye, yellow perch and muskellunge, and the small Gar lakes and Minnewashta strung between them.
Who reports here. The DNR's weekly report carries these lakes through the ice, with the thickness and where the seams and open holes are, and on February 18 last winter its release warned the season was ending early, after a UTV went through on East Okoboji and a pickup on West Okoboji. The muskellunge season here ends on November 30, and walleye close on February 15 until the first Saturday in May.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sat, Nov 7, A9 good hours50F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 5h
The Mississippi River
Pool 10 · Pool 12 · Pool 13 · Pool 14 · Pools 15 to 19
The Mississippi along Iowa's eastern line from the Minnesota border to Keokuk, stepped into pools by locks and dams, with sloughs and backwater lakes that ice over while the current below each dam stays open.
Who reports here. The DNR's weekly report covered the Iowa side of the pools all last winter, from Pool 9 at Lansing and Pool 10 at Lynxville down through Pool 19 in Lee County, each entry with an ice rating for its ramps.
Engine outlook
- Its best day in this outlook has passed.
Clear Lake and north Iowa's lakes
Clear Lake · Crystal Lake · Rice Lake · Silver Lake · Blue Pit
The natural lakes and pits of the north beyond the Iowa Great Lakes: Clear Lake, with Rice, Crystal and Silver lakes near it in the north-central counties, and Storm Lake and Black Hawk Lake to the west. Shallow, wind-swept prairie lakes, several of them aerated through the winter against winterkill, which leaves open water in the ice.
Who reports here. The DNR's weekly report covers these lakes all winter from its Clear Lake and Black Hawk offices. On January 22 it had 11 to 12 inches of ice on Clear Lake with walleye, yellow perch and yellow bass biting, warned of changing ice around the aerators running on four lakes, and noted rainbow trout stocked in Blue Pit on January 17.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sun, Nov 8, A+8 good hours53F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 5h
Northeast Iowa's trout streams
Winneshiek County trout streams · Allamakee County trout streams · Clayton County trout streams · Mitchell County trout streams · Delaware County trout streams
The spring-fed creeks of the Driftless corner, cut into the limestone bluffs of Winneshiek, Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Delaware and Dubuque counties, holding stocked rainbows, wild browns and a few brook trout. The springs keep the better streams from freezing, so they fish all winter.
Who reports here. The DNR's weekly report covers these streams county by county all winter. On January 22 it called them in excellent condition, with good fishing for browns on streamers and for rainbows held over from the stocking season, and warned that reaching open water meant walking through snow. The outlook leaves these creeks out: no thermometer we can read sits on any of them, and a model built on the air cannot see the springs that keep them open.
Southeast Iowa's lakes
Rathbun Reservoir · Lake Macbride · Coralville Lake · Kent Park Lake · Lake Darling
The reservoirs and small state and county park lakes of the southeast, from Coralville and Lake Macbride near Iowa City to Rathbun on the Chariton River and the timbered lakes toward the Missouri line, Sugema among them: crappie, bluegill and bass water that ices later and less reliably than the north.
Who reports here. The DNR's weekly report covers these lakes from its Rathbun, Macbride and Lake Darling offices. On January 22 ice was only starting to form on most of them after a weekend of open water, Rathbun Reservoir was not yet thick enough everywhere, and Lake Keomah was drained for restoration.
Engine outlook
- Best: Tue, Nov 10, A11 good hours59F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 5h
Central and southwest Iowa's lakes
Saylorville Lake · Big Creek Lake · Hickory Grove Lake · Lake Manawa · Big Lake
The lakes of the middle and the southwest, from Saylorville and Big Creek north of Des Moines to the Missouri River oxbows at Council Bluffs and the county and state park lakes of the southern hills, Three Mile, Twelve Mile and Green Valley among them.
Who reports here. The DNR's weekly report covers these lakes from its Boone, Cold Springs and Mount Ayr offices. On January 22 ice ran from 3 to 9 inches around Des Moines, fishable on many lakes north of Interstate 80, with bluegill biting at Hickory Grove, and a trout stocking was set for Big Lake at Council Bluffs on January 28.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sun, Nov 8, A7 good hours57F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 5h
The rules from November to February
Licenses, and which state's rules apply
- An Iowa license runs from the day it is bought to January 10 of the next year, so this year's license runs out part-way through the winter; next year's goes on sale on December 15. Residents pay $22 a year, $10.50 a day or $15.50 for seven days; nonresidents $48 a year, $12 a day, $20.50 for three days or $37.50 for seven. Residents 65 and older can buy a lifetime license for $61.50. Anglers under 16 need no license.
- Fishing for or keeping trout takes a trout fee on top of the license: $14.50 for residents, $17.50 for nonresidents. A child under 16 can fish for trout without one beside a licensed adult who has paid it, the two of them sharing one limit of five.
- On the boundary waters a license from Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, Nebraska or South Dakota is good in Iowa's part of the water that state shares with Iowa, where that state returns the favor.
Bait, gear and fish you cannot keep
- Two lines, or three with a $14 third-line permit, each with no more than two hooks, and every line in sight. On the Mississippi, Missouri and Big Sioux rivers up to three tip-ups may be used as well, each tagged with the owner's name and address. No live fish but hooked bait may be put into public water.
Lakes, ponds and rivers
- Seasons are continuous. Inland daily limits: five walleye, sauger and saugeye combined; three black bass, of at least 15 inches on public lakes and at least 12 inches in interior streams; three northern pike; one muskellunge of at least 40 inches; 25 each of crappie, bluegill and yellow perch; five trout; eight catfish on lakes and 15 on streams. A limit posted at a water comes first, and where rules overlap the strictest applies.
- On West Okoboji, East Okoboji and Spirit Lake the walleye season closes on February 15 and reopens the first Saturday in May, and the muskellunge season ends on November 30. The walleye limit is three on those lakes, on the Gar lakes and Minnewashta, and on Storm Lake, Clear Lake and Big Creek Lake.
- On the boundary rivers the limits are higher: six walleye, sauger and saugeye (four on the Big Sioux and Missouri), five black bass (of at least 14 inches on the Mississippi), and five northern pike (six on the Big Sioux).
Through the ice
- A shelter left unattended on the ice or on state land shows the owner's DNR number, or full name, street address and city, in 3-inch block letters. Every shelter on the ice between sunset and sunrise carries reflectors on all sides, a shelter in use stays unlocked, and all of them come off by March 1 or ice melt, whichever is first.
- The DNR recommends at least four inches of clear blue ice for fishing, checked with test holes near shore and as you go. New ice is stronger than old, and ice around submerged trees and plants is weaker. The weekly DNR fishing report carries ice conditions.
Read on these agency pages: Iowa Code chapter 483A: Fishing and hunting licenses (2026, PDF), Iowa DNR: Fishing Licenses, Iowa DNR: Trout Fishing, Iowa Code chapter 481A: Wildlife conservation (2026, PDF), Iowa DNR: Fishing Regulations & Laws, Iowa Administrative Code 571, chapter 81: Fishing regulations (PDF), Iowa DNR: Ice Fishing.
The season at a glance
What these months usually do
Each lake's own seasonal curve, the one the engine scores the lake on: what these dates usually do, modeled rather than measured, and not a forecast for this year.
| Water | Nov 1 | Dec 1 | Jan 1 | Feb 1 | Feb 28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear Lake | 49F | 38F | 35F | 35F | 36F |
| Rathbun Lake | 54F | 43F | 36F | 36F | 38F |
| Saylorville Lake | 52F | 42F | 36F | 36F | 37F |
| Spirit Lake | 47F | 37F | 35F | 35F | 35F |
Each river's own gauge: its average for these dates across the years it has recorded, measured, and not a forecast for this year.
| Water | Nov 1 | Dec 1 | Jan 1 | Feb 1 | Feb 28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at ClintonMississippi River at Clinton, IA, 1978 to 2026 | 55F | 33F | 33F | 33F | 33F |
The moon from November to February
| Month | New moon | Full moon |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | Mon, Nov 9 | Tue, Nov 24 |
| December 2026 | Tue, Dec 8 | Wed, Dec 23 |
| January 2027 | Thu, Jan 7 | Fri, Jan 22 |
| February 2027 | Sat, Feb 6 | Sat, Feb 20 |
The U.S. Naval Observatory's dates, on local time.
Daylight in each area from November to February
Worked out for one place in each area, on its own clock.
| Area | Shortest day | Earliest sunset | Latest sunrise |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Iowa Great Lakesat Spirit Lake | 8h 57m, Dec 21 | 4:46pm, around Dec 9 | 7:55am, around Jan 3 |
| The Mississippi Riverat Mississippi River at Clinton | 9h 8m, Dec 21 | 4:32pm, around Dec 9 | 7:30am, around Jan 3 |
| Clear Lake and north Iowa's lakesat Clear Lake | 8h 59m, Dec 21 | 4:40pm, around Dec 9 | 7:47am, around Jan 3 |
| Northeast Iowa's trout streamsat Bloody Run Creek | 9h 0m, Dec 21 | 4:32pm, around Dec 9 | 7:38am, around Jan 3 |
| Southeast Iowa's lakesat Rathbun Lake | 9h 14m, Dec 21 | 4:45pm, around Dec 8 | 7:38am, around Jan 4 |
| Central and southwest Iowa's lakesat Saylorville Lake | 9h 8m, Dec 21 | 4:46pm, around Dec 9 | 7:44am, around Jan 3 |