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Lake Keomah

General Information

County: Mahaska
Location: 6 miles east of Oskaloosa in Lake Keomah State Park
Acres: 78.00
Maximum Depth: 18.3 ft. (2019 - 18.3')
Motoring Restrictions: Electric Motors Only

Nearby Parks

Lake Keomah State Park

Amenities

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

Contact the Rathbun Fish Hatchery at 641-647-2406 with questions about fishing in south central Iowa. Skim ice is forming along the lake edges and coves. Ice is not thick enough to support anglers.
Lake Keomah is drained for a lake restoration project. Please keep out of the lakebed. Conditions of dried silt give the appearance of solid ground when in fact the soils are very soft.

Lake Maps

Download Printable Lake Map

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

  • 9/12/2017 - 847 Channel Catfish (7.7")
  • 09/24/2015 - 800 Channel Catfish (8")

  • Brittle Naiad
  • Rusty Crawfish

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

  • Black Bullhead
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: unlimited
    • Possession Limit: unlimited
    • Length Limit: none
    • Other:
  • 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:
  • 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:

Keomah has a very high quality bluegill population. Sampling in 2016 yielded a very high abundance of 8- to 10-inch bluegills. Largemouth bass are extremely abundant, but usually less than 15 inches. Keomah supports a very high quality channel catfish fishery with fish of 5 pounds or more common. Crappie at Keomah are of moderate quality, most 8- to 9+-inches.(2016)

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.