Can you keep a black bass (largemouth, smallmouth and spotted, a combined total) in Iowa?

The 15-inch minimum is Iowa's default for all public lakes without posted water-specific rules; interior streams run a lower 12-inch minimum instead. West Okoboji's clear water makes it one of the state's best smallmouth fisheries.

Iowa DNR source page

What we left out on purpose

• The 19-25-inch protected walleye slot is a 'posted or published' length limit under 81.2(3)(b), documented in the DNR's own 2026 season announcement rather than in the Administrative Code itself - it could change with a future posting, which is why this entry carries a short review cycle.
• The walleye closure reopens on the first Saturday of May, a moving date modeled here as the fixed window 02-15 to 05-01 (correct for 2026, when the season opened May 2) - the window needs re-pinning each year at review.
• Muskellunge and tiger muskie carry their own season on these lakes (May 21 - November 30, 1 per day, 40-inch minimum statewide) - not modelled, no target species of this site.
• Yellow perch (25/50 statewide) and bluegill are popular here but not modelled - outside this site's tracked targets for the water; the three species modelled match the page's walleye/bass/crappie targets exactly.