| 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. |
This stream is entirely on private property. The lower quarter mile of Middle Bear is open to public fishing. The remainder of the stream requires permission from the landowners. Due to private ownership of this property, no map is available. Domestic Brown Trout stocked from 1972-1993. Domestic Brook Trout stocked from 1994-2005 with poor survival. In 2006 and 2009, Wisconsin Ash Creek Strain Brook Trout stocked and again stocked 2010 but all were fin clipped. 2010 samples showed excellent reproduction from 2010 (non-fin clipped fish). Good survival of 2009 fingerling stocking with some reproduction from 2007-08. No additional stocking necessary. Stream sampled in 2017 at 2 sites saw good numbers of Brook Trout up to 12 inches with good reproduction. (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 .
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