WATER TEMP · IOWA · USGS 05482140
Storm Lake water temperature
Live from the USGS gauge at Storm Lake, Iowa, and what that number means for a jerkbait today.
54.5°F
Reading at
This gauge hasn't reported in over 48 hours, so this is the last number it sent, not today's water. Check the USGS station page before you trust it.
▼ FALLING
Falling 4.1°F in 48 hours. A front or a fall cool-down: add a beat to every pause and expect fish to sulk for a day.
TODAY'S JERKBAIT CALL
53–60°F · PAUSE 2–5 SEC
Peak jerkbait window. Fish are awake and chasing.
Jerk-jerk-pause with a snappier rod. Mix the count every few casts until the fish tell you what they want.
MEGABASS
Vision 110 Jr.
The yen-priced cult favorite. It'll outfish your tackle box and you'll lose it before you're ready.
JACKALL
Rerange 110SP
Tournament-grade slack-line darter. The pause is where it gets eaten.
LUCKY CRAFT
Pointer 100SP
The deep-diver in the lineup. Pulls strikes from fish that ignored everything shallower.
BELOW 45°F · PAUSE 15–30 SEC
Too cold to rush. The jerkbait is a long-pause gamble.
One soft twitch, then dead-stick it. If nothing eats after a few stops, put it down and crawl a finesse bait along the bottom.
RAPALA
Husky Jerk 12
Balsa that's been embarrassing bass for generations. Carry a spare. You'll lose one.
Z-MAN
TRD TubeZ (Ned Rig)
Ned rig in a tube. The cheat code for tough days when nothing else moves.
PAUTZKE
Fire Neds Micro Finesse Jigs
Six pre-rigged 1/16oz Ned jigs built for trout that have seen every spinner in the county. Scaled for panfish, scaled for pressured trout, scaled for a fish tank: take your pick.
45–52°F · PAUSE 5–15 SEC
Prime suspending-jerkbait water. Slow down and let it hang.
Jerk-jerk, then a long stop. The bite comes on the pause, so make the pause the longest part of the retrieve.
MEGABASS
Vision 110 Jr.
The yen-priced cult favorite. It'll outfish your tackle box and you'll lose it before you're ready.
SMITHWICK
Suspending Rogue
Cold-water religion in a long thin package. March bass tournaments have been won on this one bait.
RAPALA
Husky Jerk 12
Balsa that's been embarrassing bass for generations. Carry a spare. You'll lose one.
61–68°F · PAUSE 0–2 SEC
Speed it up. Short pauses, more water covered.
Aggressive twitches and barely-there pauses. Bed fish ignore it, so aim at the ones cruising or chasing bait.
JACKALL
Rerange 110SP
Tournament-grade slack-line darter. The pause is where it gets eaten.
RAPALA
X-Rap SubWalk 09
Walk-the-dog action BELOW the surface. Works the 0-2ft zone where topwater spooks fish but suspending jerkbaits sit too deep. The weird one that outfishes both.
ZOOM
Super Fluke (5")
The cheapest assassin in your tackle box. Twitch, pause, watch it disappear.
69–76°F · PAUSE BARELY
Warm water. The jerk moves to soft plastics and the surface.
Walk-the-dog on top or twitch a fluke just under it. Fish the low-light hours and anywhere shad are getting pushed up.
ZOOM
Super Fluke (5")
The cheapest assassin in your tackle box. Twitch, pause, watch it disappear.
HEDDON
Zara Spook 3/4oz
The original walk-the-dog bait, kicking around since 1939. You jerk it, it walks, bass blow up on it. Eighty-seven years of topwater violence for nine bucks.
RAPALA
X-Rap SubWalk 09
Walk-the-dog action BELOW the surface. Works the 0-2ft zone where topwater spooks fish but suspending jerkbaits sit too deep. The weird one that outfishes both.
77°F AND UP · PAUSE NONE
Bathwater. Jerk early, jerk late, or jerk at night.
Topwater and soft jerks at first light and dusk. Midday fish are parked deep, below where a jerkbait runs.
HEDDON
Zara Spook 3/4oz
The original walk-the-dog bait, kicking around since 1939. You jerk it, it walks, bass blow up on it. Eighty-seven years of topwater violence for nine bucks.
ZOOM
Super Fluke (5")
The cheapest assassin in your tackle box. Twitch, pause, watch it disappear.
YAMAMOTO
Senko 5" Green Pumpkin
The bait that ruined the word 'technique.' Throw it out, let it sink, wait. That's it. That's the whole seminar.
EVERY BAND, ONE TABLE
The jerkbait water-temperature chart
Surface temperature decides how long a jerkbait should sit still. These are the bands we fish by. They're a starting point, not a law: clarity, the last front and the fish themselves get a vote.
| WATER | THE CALL |
|---|---|
| Below 45°FPause 15–30 sec● NOW | Too cold to rush. The jerkbait is a long-pause gamble.Throw: Rapala Husky Jerk 12, Z-Man TRD TubeZ (Ned Rig), Pautzke Fire Neds Micro Finesse Jigs |
| 45–52°FPause 5–15 sec● NOW | Prime suspending-jerkbait water. Slow down and let it hang.Throw: Megabass Vision 110 Jr., Smithwick Suspending Rogue, Rapala Husky Jerk 12 |
| 53–60°FPause 2–5 sec● NOW | Peak jerkbait window. Fish are awake and chasing.Throw: Megabass Vision 110 Jr., Jackall Rerange 110SP, Lucky Craft Pointer 100SP |
| 61–68°FPause 0–2 sec● NOW | Speed it up. Short pauses, more water covered.Throw: Jackall Rerange 110SP, Rapala X-Rap SubWalk 09, Zoom Super Fluke (5") |
| 69–76°FPause Barely● NOW | Warm water. The jerk moves to soft plastics and the surface.Throw: Zoom Super Fluke (5"), Heddon Zara Spook 3/4oz, Rapala X-Rap SubWalk 09 |
| 77°F and upPause None● NOW | Bathwater. Jerk early, jerk late, or jerk at night.Throw: Heddon Zara Spook 3/4oz, Zoom Super Fluke (5"), Yamamoto Senko 5" Green Pumpkin |
MORE WATER, SAME STATE OF MIND
More Iowa water temps
- Mississippi River at ClintonRiver · ClintonPEAK JERKBAIT WINDOWGauge quiet since Oct 17, 7:30 PM CDT60°F▼ FALLING
- Mississippi River at KeokukRiver · KeokukSPEED IT UPGauge quiet since Oct 17, 7:45 PM CDT64°F▼ FALLING
- Des Moines River at OttumwaRiver · OttumwaSPEED IT UPGauge quiet since Oct 17, 8:20 PM CDT64°F▼ FALLING
- Cedar River at VintonRiver · VintonPEAK JERKBAIT WINDOWGauge quiet since Oct 17, 8:15 PM CDT58°F▼ FALLING
About this number
Data: U.S. Geological Survey, National Water Information System, site 05482140 (Storm Lake at Storm Lake, IA). USGS labels recent readings provisional, so they can be revised. Your browser pulls the latest reading straight from USGS when this page loads.
It's one sensor at one spot. Coves, creek arms and shallow flats warm and cool faster than the main lake, and the water a few feet down can be a different story from the surface. Treat it as the starting read, then trust your own electronics.