Lake of Three Fires Becomes Hidden Gem

Lake of Three Fires, built in the 1930s, was never known for high water quality. “The lake water was always bad,” said Gary Sobotka, DNR fisheries biologist. “If you could see two feet down, that was lucky.”

Cloudy, polluted water wasn’t the only problem. Carp and other unwanted fish swarmed Lake of Three Fires, creating a lackluster experience for anglers. The lake had shrunk from 127 acres to a mere 70. Trees dominated land that once held water.

Improving the lake would take a multipronged approach. The Lake of Three Fires watershed project assessed the watershed, discovering a host of problems. Soil loss and nutrient levels topped the list, so the project worked with landowners to reduce sediment reaching the lake and created wetlands to filter nutrients from runoff. The DNR worked with in-lake efforts, including increasing the lake’s average depth by 4 feet by dredging roughly 490,000 cubic yards of sediment from the lake. That’s enough soil to fill a 170-mile-long line of dump trucks from Des Moines to Davenport.

Problem carp and gizzard shad disappeared with a lake draining. Freshly stocked largemouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish now swim past new rock reefs and mounds, while anglers hook them from jetties that also battle erosion. Additional rock placed along the shoreline and new basins in the watershed reduce the amount of soil loss. In all, sediment and nutrients reaching the lake have decreased by 70 percent.

The lake’s increased longevity and improved water quality are due to the combination of watershed work and in-lake renovation. Today, water clarity averages 5 to 6 feet, despite heavy spring and summer rainfall. That led to a fish population in great shape, said Sobotka. “The angler count was so bad that we didn’t even used to count the numbers. Now, we have more catchable fish than what we’ve had the past 30 years. I would say we’ve had about three to four times more fishing and lake visitors than we used to have.”

Bob Waters, who led the watershed project before becoming a DSC regional watershed coordinator, agreed. “It used to be called the ‘Lake of Three Fish,’ but now it’s one of the best fisheries in southwest Iowa. The fish population is thriving, which brings more people to the park. It’s a well-kept secret right now, but the word will get out soon enough. It’s come such a long way from what it used to be.”

Read more about watershed improvement successes in 2008 and 2007 (*.pdf)

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Future successes: learn about current improvement projects

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DNR Contact
Allen Bonini
(515) 281-5107
Allen.Bonini@dnr.iowa.gov