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Viking Lake

General Information

County: Montgomery
Location: 4 miles east of Stanton
Acres: 136.00
Maximum Depth: 42.3 ft. (2018)
Motoring Restrictions: No Size Limit at No Wake

Nearby Parks

Viking Lake State Park

Amenities

Amenities at Viking Lake include:
  • Boat Access
  • Fishing Jetty
  • Picnic Area
  • Beach
  • Trails
  • Accessible Facilities
  • Playground
  • Restrooms
  • Camping
  • Good/Excellent Shorefishing
  • Hard Surface Boat Ramp
  • Accessible Shoreline
  • Fish Cleaning Station

There are very few fishing reports due to weather. For information on lakes in the Cold Springs District call (712) 769-2587.
Bluegill - No Report: Bluegills will average 7.5 inches.
Largemouth Bass - No Report:
Black Crappie - No Report: Boat anglers can find black crappies in tree piles. Sorting will be necessary for the larger fish.

Lake Maps

Download Printable Lake Map
Download Printable Fishing Structures Map

You can zoom in on the map for bathymetric information for some lakes

  • 5/5/22 - 90,000 Walleye (Fry)
  • 09/20/2021 - 1,952 Channel Catfish (9.2)
  • 09/18/2019 - 1,900 Channel Catfish (8.8)
  • 05/03/2019 - 200,000 Walleye (Fry)
  • 05/07/2018 - 272,000 Walleye (Fry)
  • 9/11/2017 - 1,902 Channel Catfish (7.7")
  • 4/26/2017 - 177,950 Walleye (fry)
  • 09/08/2015 - 1,895 Channel Catfish (8")

  • Brittle Naiad
  • Curlyleaf Pondweed

The Fishing Regulations brochure is available for download. The summaries listed below are a partial listing provided for your benefit.

  • Black Crappie
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: combined black and white crappie, 25 fish
    • Possession Limit: unlimited
    • Length Limit: none
    • Other: No daily limit on private waters
  • Bluegill
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: 25 fish
    • Possession Limit: unlimited
    • Length Limit: none
    • Other: No daily limit on private waters
  • Channel Catfish
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: combined: channel, blue and flathead catfish, 8 fish
    • Possession Limit: combined: channel, blue and flathead catfish, 30 fish
    • Length Limit: none
    • Other:
  • Green Sunfish
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: none
    • Possession Limit: unlimited
    • Length Limit: none
    • Other:
  • Largemouth Bass
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: combined black bass, 3 fish
    • Possession Limit: combined black bass, 6 fish
    • Length Limit: 15-inch minimum
    • Other:
  • White Crappie
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: combined black and white crappie, 25 fish
    • Possession Limit: unlimited
    • Length Limit: none
    • Other: No daily limit on private waters

The water level at Viking Lake was lowered 8 feet during the summer of 2019 to restructure the fish population. The drawdown persisted through 2020, 2021, and into the spring of this year crowding the fish population giving the predatory largemouth bass and crappies the upper hand. Fishing in 2022 at Viking Lake will center around the largemouth bass, crappie and channel catfish. Largemouth bass fishing is one of the best in the area. The number of quality size bass remains good and bass over 20-inches are sampled regularly. The channel catfish population looks good for both numbers and size. The crappie population consists of 9- to 12-inch black and white crappies. Expect good crappie fishing during the spring and summer of 2022. Bluegill population has shown improvement during the lake draw down; fish exceeding 8-inches are common. The drawdown project is expected to further improve the bluegill size by fall.(2022)

Tip: Click the arrow in the lower right corner to view the Fish Survey Data tool in full-screen mode.

Contacts

Iowa-Caught Fish Are Safe to Eat, In Almost All Cases

The vast majority of Iowa’s streams, rivers and lakes offer safe and high-quality fish that pose little or no threat to human health if consumed. Some limitations may apply for young children and pregnant women. Here’s a Fish Consumption Fact Sheet from the Iowa DNR and the Iowa Dept. of Public Health for more information.