Im trying to figure out how to work the camera - First cast on soft plastics of the season too!
This was my first trip to Lake Ahqabi and let me start off by saying the lake is gorgeous! The entire park is absolutely immaculately maintained. There is definitely a lot more to do out here than fish. You can rent a paddle boat for $7.50 an hour (32/day) and canoes for $8.50 an hour (37.50/day). You can also make reservations to camp here.
Its about a 30 minute drive from the west side of Des Moines. Having never been here I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t get there until about 1. I started on on a crank bait at first before switching to plastics. I also had a worm on the bottom. Once I switched to plastics on my first cast with plastics of the SEASON I caught the bass pictured above. Not more than 15 minutes into the trip. Then a couple minutes later my pole that was sitting in my bucket started going off and I pulled another smaller bass out off a worm on bottom. I was in spot A(see map) at the time.
Then disaster struck. My reel broke. I actually had ‘reel’ problems all day after that. I hiked back up to my car and replaced the reel (what you don’t carry a spare?) and went down to spot B (see map). There is actually a point at the bottom of that hill with a picnic table, but it was taken so I just fished somewhat near them, walking down the shore a little ways. I didn’t catch anything here either. So I went to spot C. This spot looked great. There were 4 pieces of land that just kind of shot out into the water before retreating. Apparently nothing I used seemed to work on the fish because I didn’t catch anything. The replacement reel wasn’t exactly in pristine condition and the button on my spincaster stuck all day long. It cost me a crankbait too along with a little bit of pride because a family watched me walk into spot C and ‘cast’ and watched my lure fly about 3/4s of the way accross the lake. After about an hour or so I hopped in my car and went about a half mile south to Hooper Lake. I wasn’t sure I was going the right direction because I went on a gravel road to get there.
Hooper Lake is a much quieter laker. Ahquabi was packed. There were probably 15-20 people on the entire lake. Its not that tiny of a lake either. It has some great looking structure that is just out of reach of the shore fisherman. I parked at the boat ramp and hiked onto the prairie. There were about 4 other shore fishermen there and they didn’t appear to have too much luck while I was there, but as I walked up one guy had a fish in his hand. I didn’t have any luck here after about an hour so I went back to Ahquabi.
I had about 90 minutes left of fishing in me and I spent the 90 minutes at spot D. I had absoulely 0 bites here, well, I think. I might have had snapping turtle take my lure because I had it just sitting in the water near shore and then I looked away at something and turned around and it was snagged, I think, but when I got it free it didn’t look like it had been just snagged. Either way they didn’t like my worms, my plastics or my cranks. Or maybe they just didn’t like me being there. The guy who was fishing on the outshoot just north of me didn’t have any luck either.
After this trip I was just glad there was an A&W on the way home so I could eat some Ice Cream and to make me feel a little bit better about the catch. I’ll defintely go back though. The park area is amazing. One of these weekends I’ll probably try to camp out there.
I dug up some more information about the lake:
The campground is located by the lakeshore. There are 141 campsites (85 with electrical hookups), modern rest rooms and showers and two trailer dump stations. Each campsite has a picnic table and fireplace. A stone lodge overlooking the lake may be reserved for a fee. Constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, it is very popular for family reunions, weddings and other large gatherings. The lodge may be reserved online through the park reservation system.
A modern boat ramp is located at the northern end of the park. Another ramp is located in the campground. Lake Ahquabi is popular with anglers. A number of fishing jetties and a handicapped accessible fishing pier provide great places for a day of shoreline fishing.
Boats, canoes, kayaks, and paddleboats are available for rent through the concessionaire. Bait is also available through the concessionaire. The 115-acre man-made lake has a large sandy beach & offers unsupervised swimming.
Hikers, snowmobilers and cross-country skiers can travel all the way around the lake on a beautiful gravel trail. Other scenic foot trails wind through the woods.
“Ahquabi” is a Sauk and Fox word meaning “resting place,” and it is a fitting name for this scenic 770-acre park. The park site was recommended by “Ding” Darling, nationally known Iowa political cartoonist and conservationist, and was dedicated in 1936. Many of its structures were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930’s and remain available for the enjoyment of park visitors.
For information you may call the concession building during our hours of operation at 515-962-0013.
Hours Of Operation
Sunday through Friday 11 am to 9 pm
Saturday and Holiday’s 8 am to 9 pm
Regular hours begin after Memorial Day and end at the start of the school year (usually the week before Labor Day). They will often be open on weekends in May and into September. Call to verify the hours outside of the regular season.
Lake Ahquabi Map
This sign was located in every single parking lot. I took all the photos in spot D or Hooper Lake (except the bass, thats spot A) 
Spot D @ Lake Ahqaubi- Most of the lake didn't have as many weeds on the shore.
- Spot D @ Lake Ahqaubi
Hooper Lake
- The facilities need updated.
July 6th, 2009
You can barely see it but spot A and B are both near the top of the map. A is near the restroom on the north (where the lake sort of horsehoes) and B is nearby.