| The 2025 Catchable trout stocking calendar is now available. Catchable stocking season begins April 1. Start planning your getaway to beautiful northeast Iowa now. |
| Brook Trout - Slow: Use a midge, minnow, or leach pattern for fish looking to get more bang for their effort. |
| Brown Trout - Good: Fish around an undercut bank or similar structure. Cloudy days and off color water are a perfect mix for catching this trout. |
| Rainbow Trout - Good: Hatchery holdovers remain in the stream teasing anglers. Use small spinner baits or hair jigs floated past structure. |
French Creek has a naturally reproducing population of Brown Trout. Last sampled in 2011 found 2,100 Brown Trout per mile with fish up to 20-inches. This is an estimated population and actual trout numbers will be higher. The upstream segment (upstream of the confluence with the West Branch of French Creek) also has a naturally reproducing South Pine strain Brook Trout population with some wild Brown Trout in this area. Sampling in 2017 showed 220 Brook Trout per mile with fish up to 11-inches collected. Brown Trout sampled in this area numbered 700 fish per mile with fish up to 16-inches. There is a catch and release regulation for Brown Trout only and an artificial lure only rule on French Creek. Primitive camping is allowed on the French Creek Wildlife Management Area. Parts of the stream are on private property where only angling is permitted.(2022)
In nearly all cases, Iowa fish are safe to eat. Cleaning and/or preparing the meal causes most of the problems regarding taste or color of fish. Like all living creatures, fish are susceptible to diseases, parasites, and other naturally occurring conditions in the water. If you suspect your fish is affected by any of these conditions, do not eat it. Consider eating smaller and younger fish which usually have lower levels of contaminants than larger ones. Most contaminants accumulate in larger, older fish. For additional information, check out our resources for eating and cooking Iowa caught fish.
To learn more about fish tissue monitoring, visit our Fish Tissue Monitoring page .