Hickory Grove Lake
General Information
County: Story
Location: 3 miles southwest of Colo
Acres: 81.50
Maximum Depth: 33.8 ft. (2022)
Motoring Restrictions: Electric Motors Only
Nearby Parks
Amenities
Amenities at Hickory Grove Lake include:
- Boat Access
- Fishing Jetty
- Accessible Pier
- Picnic Area
- Beach
- Trails
- Playground
- Restrooms
- Camping
- Good/Excellent Shorefishing
- Hard Surface Boat Ramp
- Accessible Shoreline
Black Crappie - Good: Catch suspended crappies slowly trolling small twister tail or swim baits 3 to 6 feet deep in the upper two thirds of the lake. |
Bluegill - Fair: Catch bluegills drifting live bait over habitat in 15 feet of water or less. |
For information on Central Iowa lakes and rivers contact Ben Dodd at 641-891-3795 or Andy Otting at 515-204-5885. |
- 6/15/22 - 8,665 Largemouth Bass (1.5)
- 06/28/2021 - 7,547 Largemouth Bass (1.6)
- 05/27/2021 - 5,020 Channel Catfish (1.6)
- 05/07/2021 - 335,300 Walleye (Fry)
- 03/30/2021 - 25,500 Bluegill (2.5)
- 04/24/2020 - 314,709 Walleye (Fry)
- 03/17/2020 - 30,000 Bluegill (4)
- 09/21/2015 - 1,000 Channel Catfish (8")
The
Fishing Regulations brochure is available for download. The summaries listed below are a partial listing provided for your benefit.
- 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:
- Walleye
- Season: Continuous
- Daily Bag Limit: combined walleye, sauger and saugeye; 5 fish
- Possession Limit: combined walleye, sauger and saugeye; 10 fish
- Length Limit: none
- Other:
Hickory Grove Lake is continuing an excellent recovery from renovation in 2020. A fishery survey in spring 2023 found Largemouth Bass from 8- to 14-inches. Bluegills have grown well. The larger bluegills in the fall 2023 survey were 7.5- to 8.5-inches. Black Crappie numbers are increasing. There is a small group of initially stocked crappie that are 11.5- to 13-inches. The larger group that anglers will encounter the most were 8.5- to 9.5-inches in fall 2023. Channel Catfish have reached sizes up to 19-inches. Walleyes are abundant, with most fish being 11- to 13-inches.(2023)
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.