| Clarity on most streams is good. Stream flows up with recent rain. Rain over weekend may cause streams clarity to decline. |
| Brook Trout - Slow: Use midge, minnow, or leach patterns for fish looking to get more bang for their effort. Midge hatches on sunny afternoons. |
| Brown Trout - Good: Brown trout activity improves when water gets cloudy. Float a line past an undercut bank or current seam for luck. |
| Rainbow Trout - Good: Hatchery holdovers remain in the stream teasing anglers. Use a small spinner bait or hair jig floated past undercut bank or through a deep hole. |
Records indicate annual fingerling domestic Brown Trout stockings in this stream from 1997 to 2003. Sampling data for Clear Creek from 2012 showed 478 Brown Trout per mile with fish up to 13 inches. This is an estimated population and actual trout numbers will be higher. Natural reproduction was detected in 2010. Vegetation and brush along banks limit access to much of the stream. Primitive camping is allowed on this 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 .