Fishing at Central Park Lake, Jones County, Iowa

• Overview

  You will find Central Park Lake in Jones County, Iowa. The water sits 945 feet up. It covers about 22 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. You are 7.5 miles from Anamosa. Then Monticello, 9.1 miles, and Cascade, 14 miles. Close by you have: West Goose Lake a touch under 12 miles, East Goose Lake within 14 miles, Leisure Lake a touch under 20 miles, Tegeler Pond within 26 miles and Koch Lake a touch under 28 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Central Park Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Inflow corners move water, and moving water gathers fish. Across Jones County, recorded fish include bluegill, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Take Central Park Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 73°F on average, January about 17°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late March. The water is typically free of ice between late March and early December. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. At Central Park Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. You can park 170 yards away and walk in from there. You can camp about half a mile away, going by the mapping. Facilities run to toilets half a mile from the water. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Failing this one, try West Goose Lake, 12 miles away. Rules at Central Park Lake are worth checking on the day.