Iowa Great Lakes fixture, ‘Fish Shack,’ served its last drink on West Lake Okoboji

OKOBOJI, Iowa (KTIV) - “I remember Butch saying, ‘Debbie, it’s going to be the world’s largest fish house,’” says Debbie Parks, co-owner of Parks Marina

It all started as 4 walls and a 10 by 20-foot hole.

“So, what you would do it you would come down and you would bring your beverages per say,” explained Jimy Mac Lenz, Shake the Lake DJ and captain. “And you would just fish off of it.”

But that was just the beginning of a legacy for locals and visitors alike on the Iowa Great Lakes.

“We decided, you know, that the walls would come off in the summer. We would put the rails on, and this thing is going to transform into the world’s largest party barge. And party we did,” Parks reminisced. “We added a DJ, and we called it ‘Shake the Lake’ and sold out every Saturday.”

Turning a fish shack into something that could not only float on water but also drive across the lake was no small feat.

“It was actually kind of an experiment that became a pretty awesome experience here in West Lake Okoboji. So, does it hold a lot of sentimental value? Yeah. I’m going to miss it,” said Lenz.

“I think we added a lot to the lakes area, but it’s not over. We are going to figure out how to get it moved over to the other side of the pond. We don’t know exactly how we are going to do it, but it will live. Believe me, we are not going to let you down all the way here,” Parks explained.

Owners say that they won’t be able to start disassembling, and moving, the ‘Fish Shack’ until the Spring. But they expect it to return on East Lake Okoboji in the summer.