A fun day of fishing for the whole family is coming at CarpFEST 2025! Join the Des Moines Izaak Walton League, Des Moines Parks and Recreation, and the Iowa DNR Saturday, May 31 at Gray’s Lake Park in Des Moines! Try your hand at Carp fishing, and you might win a prize! Admission is FREE! Prizes will be awarded for LONGEST Carp, with Buffalo excluded. Gear, bait and instructions are available. Licenses are required for contestants 16 and over. Carp caught may be kept by the fisherman or donated onsite to the wildlife rehabilitation organization S.O.A.R. (Saving Our Avian Resources). All ages are welcome. Enter the park from Fleur at the North West Entrance to the park. Onsite Registration begins at 8:00 am; Fishing begins at 9:00 am and stops at 11:30 (a horn will sound). Awards will be given out after all the fish have been measured. The Izaak Walton League was founded by anglers over 100 years ago. We are dedicated to healthy waters in the United States. There are too many Carp in Gray’s Lake. Removing some will improve the lake and the fishery.

This is an all ages event, with prizes for the longest fish for youth and adults!