| 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. |
This stream is managed under a "Catch and Release Brook Trout, Artificial lures only" regulation. Anglers must release all Brook Trout immediately. The stream supports naturally reproducing Brook Trout and Brown Trout populations. South Pine is a small open stream in a narrow valley surrounded by prairie in the floodplain. Access to this stream is challenging. The only way to access this fishery is by walking from the parking lot on Spring Creek Road following the mowed trail about 1 mile to the stream. At the bottom of the first hill past the pond, follow the mowed path to the right. Primitive camping is allowed on the South Pine 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 .