The Ankeny Brief
You don't have to drive to Saylorville to wet a line. Ankeny has a real 14-acre lake and a handful of stocked park ponds right inside town - bass, bluegill, crappie and catfish, plus an accessible pier if you'd rather not mess with a boat. Here's where to go, what you'll catch, and the license basics before you head out.
The go-to spot is Ankeny Lake at DMACC - 14 acres, great shore fishing, an accessible pier and a fishing jetty, holding largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie and channel catfish. Ankeny also has several stocked park ponds (bass, bluegill, crappie). Anyone 16+ needs an Iowa fishing license; add a trout fee if you want to keep trout.
This is the best all-around fishing water in town. Iowa DNR surveys put largemouth bass as the most abundant fish here (most in the 8-14.5″ range, with bigger ones around), plus bluegill up past 8″, black crappie in the 8-10″ range, and channel catfish in good numbers from roughly 12-20″. There's an accessible pier and a fishing jetty, picnic areas and trails around the water - an easy, kid-friendly place to fish from shore.
Beyond the lake, the city keeps several public ponds that are stocked for recreational fishing - you'll find largemouth bass, bluegill and crappie. They're tucked into neighborhood parks and greenways, so there's usually one within a few minutes of wherever you live. The Parks & Recreation office at 1210 NW Prairie Ridge Dr has free fishing pond maps that show which ponds are open to fishing.
The Iowa DNR runs a community (urban) trout stocking program that drops rainbow trout into select Des Moines-metro ponds in fall and winter - a fun cold-weather outing when the bass slow down. Locations rotate year to year, so check the DNR community trout stocking schedule for the current metro list before you go.
Licenses are sold through the Iowa DNR - online, on the app, or at license agents around town. Always check current size and creel limits on the DNR site, since they can change by water body and season.
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Ankeny Lake at DMACC - 14 acres with an accessible pier and jetty, and the widest mix of fish (bass, bluegill, crappie, catfish). It's the easiest spot to fish from shore.
Yes. The DMACC lake has strong shoreline access plus an accessible pier, and the park ponds are all shore fishing. You don't need a boat anywhere in town.
No - anglers under 16 can fish without a license in Iowa. Anyone 16 or older needs one, and a trout fee if they plan to keep trout.
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