The 579-acre Lake Sugema is stocked with largemouth bass, bluegill, black crappie, channel catfish, walleye, red ear, and tigermusky . Extensive planning was done by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to establish underwater structure that helps fish survive and reproduce. A boat dock and trailer parking area with electric hook ups, brings people from miles around to fish and enjoy the comforts of the Villages of Van Buren. A great hiking trail, leading all the way to popular Lacey-Keosauqua State Park, begins at the campground's east end.
Lake Sugema has earned a reputation as a great place to fish. One important factor for this has been the steps taken to prevent siltation. Besides the hundreds of farm ponds, crop rotations, crop residue management and other soil saving practices farmers have established in the lake's drainage area, the lake is protected by a series of smaller sediment-control dams.
The area immediately surrounding the lake, nearly 3,000 acres, has been purchased by the DNR and Van Buren County to be managed as a wildlife area. That management is helping to build on the populations of wild turkey, deer, squirrel, geese, quail, rabbits, songbirds, and other wild animals. Habitat is also being developed for raccoon, fox, mink, muskrats, and bald eagles, among other wildlife.
