Waters · Lakes · IA · Sun, Sep 27

How's the bite at Lake Okoboji today? Biting — get there by six.

Worth a cast.

Built from solunar, pressure, wind.

6/10
Biting

Today's bite windows

12 AM6 AMNoon6 PM11 PM
Major
12:32 AM–2:32 AM
Moon overhead
Minor
7:51 AM–8:51 AM
Moonset
Major
12:56 PM–2:56 PM
Moon underfoot
Minor
6:50 PM–7:50 PM
Moonrise

Sunrise 7:13 AM · sunset 7:08 PM · tomorrow's first major 1:21 AM–3:21 AM · windows on every water

Solunar · computed updated 8:29 AM

Conditions right now

Water temp estimated
≈58.9°F
7-day mean of air temperature, ±4.5°F typical
computed from NOAA KSPW updated 8:15 AM
Pressure
30.08inHg
rising · +2.71 hPa/12h
NOAA KSPW updated 8:15 AM
Wind
6mph SE
NOAA KSPW updated 8:15 AM
Moon
99% waning
Solunar · computed updated 8:29 AM

What this means

Walleye, Largemouth bass, Crappie
This gauge reports level but no water temperature, so depth calls stay open. Read the windows and the pressure trend instead.

The week ahead

Mon 7 Biting
Tue 7 Biting
Wed 6 Biting
Thu 6 Biting
Fri 7 Biting
Sat 7 Biting
Sun 6 Biting

Forecast days carry solunar and the wind outlook. Pressure and gauge movement land the morning of.

Lake Okoboji depth map and depth chart

Iowa Department of Natural Resources publishes depth contours for this water, not a full bed survey. The deepest contour drawn is 135 ft, so the lake reaches at least that — the true low point sits below it.

Deepest contour
135 ft
Contour lines mapped
113
Basins mapped separately
2

Mapped as separate basins: West Okoboji Lake to 135 ft · East Okoboji Lake to 20 ft.

Depth data from Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Bathymetry changes slowly — treat it as structure, not as today's water.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources · depth contours

Before you go

A Iowa fishing license covers this water — $22 a year for residents. Iowa DNR sets the rules and is the one that counts.

What it costs, and who is exempt →

Nearby waters today

Questions people ask about Lake Okoboji

Answered from the same readings as the rest of this page. Where we have no basis for an answer, there is no entry — spot-by-spot local knowledge is not something we can claim for Lake Okoboji.

Is it worth fishing Lake Okoboji today?
6 out of 10 — biting. Worth a cast. The strongest stretch is 12:32 AM–2:32 AM. That number is worked out fresh each morning from the solunar windows, the pressure trend.
What time should you fish Lake Okoboji?
Today's major windows run 12:32 AM–2:32 AM and 12:56 PM–2:56 PM, with minor windows at 7:51 AM–8:51 AM and 6:50 PM–7:50 PM. Sunrise is 7:13 AM and sunset 7:08 PM. A major landing on first or last light is the stretch worth setting an alarm for.
What is the water temperature at Lake Okoboji?
No gauge on Lake Okoboji measures it, so this is an estimate: roughly 58.9°F, worked out from the 7-day mean of air temperature at NOAA weather station KSPW (Spencer Municipal Airport). Checked against the lakes that do have a thermometer, that method lands within about 4.5°F of the real reading and was off by 8.3°F at worst. Treat it as a ballpark, not a measurement — and note the bite index above ignores it entirely, because an error that size would move the verdict as often as it would fix it.
Can you eat the fish you catch in Lake Okoboji?
That is a health question and it belongs with the state, not with us. IA publishes fish consumption advisories through its health or environmental agency, and those are the ones that count. We give no eating advice.
Do you need a licence to fish Lake Okoboji?
Yes. A Iowa fishing license covers this water, required from age 16. Iowa DNR sets the rules and is the one that counts.

What a Iowa license costs, and who is exempt

What size fish can you keep in Iowa?
It depends on the species, and several have slot limits rather than a simple minimum. Open to harvest today: walleye, sauger and saugeye (a combined total), black bass (largemouth, smallmouth and spotted, a combined total), crappie (black and white). Seasons here change mid-year by agency order, so the status is re-checked every morning.

Walleye, sauger and saugeye (a combined total) limits · Black bass (largemouth, smallmouth and spotted, a combined total) limits · Crappie (black and white) limits · Check a length against the rules

Where these numbers come from

West Okoboji Lake at Lakeside Lab — one of the few natural lakes in the country whose gauge also reports water temperature.

No one types these in by hand. If a source goes quiet, the page says so instead of showing you yesterday.