All waters · Iowa · Saylorville Lake

Saylorville Lake, IA

Reservoir in Polk County, Iowa. A 5,400-acre USACE reservoir on the Des Moines River just north of Des Moines, central Iowa's most accessible big-water fishery. Known for walleye, white bass and hybrid striped bass runs, plus crappie, channel catfish and largemouth bass. Spring and fall white-bass and wiper action below the river inflow is the headline draw.

45

Overall bite score

Scored 10 min ago · recomputed every 30 minutes

Water tempModeled23
Pressure trendNOAArising50
SolunarComputedmoon 54% lit43
Recent stockingState data50
Time of dayComputed100
WindNOAA10
Cloud coverNOAA100
PrecipitationNOAA50

Each instrument reads 0 to 100. The score is their weighted blend, tuned for lakes and reservoirs. No black box: every reading names its source.

What swims here

8 tracked species in Saylorville Lake, with the months each fishes best.

Channel Catfishabundant
Walleyeabundant
White Bassabundant
Black Crappiecommon
Bluegillcommon
Flathead Catfishcommon
Hybrid Striped Basscommon
Largemouth Basscommon

Water facts

TypeReservoir
CountyPolk
StateIowa
WaterFreshwater
USGS gauge05482000

Live water temperature and flow from USGS 05482000 (Des Moines River at 2nd Avenue, Des Moines, below the dam); also reflects the Des Moines River inflow that drives the white-bass run. Ramps: Cherry Glen, Oak Grove, Sandpiper, Lakeview, Saylorville Marina.

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