Backbone Lake near Strawberry Point: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Look for Backbone Lake in the Delaware County part of Iowa. The setting is mixed forest on every side. Roughly 101 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Strawberry Point lies 5.1 miles from the water. Manchester is 9.9 miles away, with Elkader at 18 miles. A county boundary sits nearby, which can matter for local access rules.

• Where to Fish on Backbone Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. The old creek line under the surface is the feature worth finding. Records held for Delaware County cover rainbow trout, white sucker and central stoneroller. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Take Backbone Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 16°F in January to roughly 72°F in July. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Once it clears, about late March, the fishing comes on quickly. Break-up sits around late March on average, with the water closing again about early December. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. At Backbone Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Backbone Dam Access gives a made launch, 0.9 miles off. You can park half a mile away and walk in from there. Mapping shows a campsite some half a mile from the water. Picnic facilities are recorded some half a mile out. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Lake Oelwein at 18 miles is the sensible second choice. For Backbone Lake in particular, ask before you travel.