| 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. |
West branch of French Creek contains naturally reproducing populations of Brown Trout and South Pine strain Brook Trout. It was last sampled in 2011 and at that time, there were 216 Brook Trout per mile with fish up to 10 inches. There were 744 Brown Trout per mile with fish up to 13 inches collected. This is an estimated population and actual trout numbers will be higher. There is a catch and release regulation for Brown Trout only and an artificial lure only rule on French Creek. This is a direct tributary to French Creek and is a very secluded small stream with access provided by a 1 mile walk from the parking lot. Primitive camping is allowed on the French Creek Wildlife Management Area.(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 .