| 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. |
Fingerling Rainbow Trout are stocked annually. Brown Trout reproduce in the wild and are not stocked. Fishing the Yellow River by canoe or kayak is the only legal means to trout fish without landowner permission on most of this river. There are three areas that provide public access for fishing along this stream. There is public fishing, picnic facilities, and a rustic restroom at Stonebrook Park along Yellow River Drive. There is a public fishing access at Forest Mills Road. There is also a public fishing access and a picnic area available at the Volney Canoe Access. See the printable stream map for more details. Remember to always respect private property along the Yellow River.(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 .