(Lewis) In August 2025, Iowa Department of Natural Resources personnel lowered the water level at Cold Springs Lake near Lewis in preparation for the renovation project aimed at improving the poor size structure of largemouth bass and Bluegill and increasing near-shore habitat.
John Lorenzen, Fisheries Biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says Fish data collected annually for the past decade showed poor bass health with no bass over the legal length limit, not to mention the low catch rates of Bluegill and the quality of fish.
Lorenzen says the DNR has stocked the lake with over 5,000 2–3-inch Bluegill. He says that this past spring, they stocked the lake with pre-spawn adult Bass, and three weeks later, they stocked it with 1,600 2-inch Catfish.
Lorenzen says the lake is currently 14 inches low, so it is getting close to being full thanks to the abundant rainfall. He says anglers could certainly fish for adult bass if they so desire; however, it might be a difficult catch with a stocking rate of five per acre. Lorenzen said they are going to stock some 10-inch Catfish into the Lake this fall.
The fishery renovation is only part of a process to improve the lake’s fish population. The project also included the construction of in-lake fish habitat and pea-gravel spawning beds.
