Cherry Lake Fishing Guide, Tama County, Iowa

• Overview

  Iowa holds Cherry Lake, in Tama County. It sits at 807 feet above sea level. Around 30 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. With about 1.0 miles of edge, you can try several depths in one session. Most waters listed here for Tama County are larger. Supplies mean a trip to Tama, 0.6 miles off. Cedar Rapids sits 48 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Cherry Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Survey and observation records for Tama County include bluegill, black crappie, white crappie, channel catfish and common carp. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Cherry Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 17°F in January to roughly 73°F in July. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late March. On average, late March opens the water and early December closes it again. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. It sets the rhythm of the year at Cherry Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Mannatts Landing is the mapped launch, some half a mile from here. A parking area is marked roughly half a mile out. You can camp half a mile off, which suits an early start. Toilets show in mapping about half a mile away. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Sportsman Lake, 6.2 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. None of that is settled for Cherry Lake in what we hold.