Rathbun Lake

Published: Nov 1, 2018Updated: May 24, 2026

Species

Largemouth Bass

Season

Summer (Current)

15 Fishing Reports

138 Followers

Overview
Current Conditions
Fishing Reports (15)
Techniques

Rathbun Lake Overview

SLOWWind (mph)FAST

01020406080100

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Top Techniques Reported for Largemouth Bass + Summer

Bladed Jigs
1
Buzzbaits
1
Drop Shot
1
Hard Topwater (Walking)
1
Medium Diving Crankbaits (7'-12')
1

Total Fishing Reports

Top Species Reported for Summer

Largemouth Bass8 Reports
Walleye2 Reports
Crappie1 Report

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Fishing Reports

15 Reports on Rathbun Lake

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Chris Rus
Gold Ambassador
4/18/26
- Species
  Largemouth Bass
- Season
  Spring (Spawn)
- Technique
  Bladed Jigs
- Structure
  Flooded Brush
- Forage
  Bluegill
- Water Temperature
  60°
This was stop #1 for the IKFC. We had quite a bit of rain the week leading up to the event which put the bushes on the bank in 1-2' of water. We had a warming trending through out the week but had a cold front moved through on Friday. I abandoned my initial plan but it didn't work out. I made a mid morning move to find cleaner water and managed to put 3 on the board to finish midpack. A chatterbait around the shallow bushes got all of my bites highlighted by a 20".
Bass Snatcher
Gold Ambassador
4/18/26
- Species
  Largemouth Bass
- Season
  Spring (Pre-Spawn)
- Technique
  Crankbaits 13'+
- Structure
  Ledges
- Forage
  Shad
- Water Temperature
  60°
Had an Iowa Kayak Fishing Club tourney on Saturday and it was a struggle to find bites. The day before was very windy and hot. Tourney morning was windier and temps dropped to the 30s. Managed to catch a nice one early in the morning with a deep diving crankbait. Caught some small ones and got some bites off of a white swim jig and small swim bait. There weren’t a lot of fish submitted for the tourney but the quality was great. There are some big bass in Rathbun, if you can find them.
Nick Saul
Gold Ambassador
6/2/23
- Species
  Largemouth Bass
- Season
  Summer
- Technique
  Topwater Walking
- Structure
  Rip Rap
- Forage
  Bluegill
- Water Temperature
  75°
First time at Rathbun with my dad and son and initially were going to chase crappie. We could only catch the 7-9” ones so I changed it up to largemouth. I started with a shower blow and instantly was catching fish. I tied on the choppo for the other 2 and they were having a blast with their top water blow ups! We just looked for rocky banks and covered water.