Towell Lake

Winter Draw Down may occur this winter after benefits have been seen in the vegetation control and invertebrate communities. Boat launching will be impacted.

Fishing on Towell Lake (Little Prairie Conservation Area) can be difficult for both boat and bank anglers due to the heavy angling pressure in spring and summer, as well as varying amounts of vegetation in the lake. Recent efforts to control aquatic vegetation have been successful and will continue, meaning easier fishing for both bank and boat anglers. 2026 will continue to see improvement in areas with habitat for bank and boat fishermen alike. Anglers report good bass fishing along the edges of this vegetation. Tree piles, which serve as fish attractors, were placed in several areas of the lake in 2025, including off the damn and several popular bank fishing areas.  

Towell Lake has a very large shad population that can produces big bass. Largemouth bass are extremely abundant, especially below the slot length limit of 12-15 inches; we see hundreds each year during sampling. A few largemouth bass over 8 pounds are caught every year and fish over 20 inches are common. Anglers using lures imitating injured shad report good luck for bigger fish, especially at dusk into the night in spring and summer. Anglers have found some success in March and October fishing for Crappie off the edges of dead vegetation. Anglers should expect crappie to average about 8 inches in length, though netting efforts to sample Crappie population were underwhelming. Channel catfish are stocked annually and anglers targeting them are having success during the summer, especially bank anglers fishing from the dam. Normally, boat anglers fishing around the downed trees on the north side of the lake or the dam area, in early July, seem to experience the best catches. However, bank anglers were very successful catching channel catfish, during 2021. Catfish anglers are successful at night fishing from the bank with baits that smell bad or bleed. Springtime Redear sunfish fishing can be very good with live baits in deep submerged brush or when fish are shallow spawning.  The 2025 Redear sample was not as impressive as the 2024, but a third of the fish found were 10 inches long. Fishing at Towell Lake can be very rewarding; all it takes is a little time and patience to figure out what strategy works best.