9/24/2006	ducky	Ive been up to Waterloo a few times this late Summer, and the water levels have been good and there have been plenty of fish. Try the holes in the big pasture by where the people have their camper set up. Lots of room to cast a fly in all those holes and a big run that was loaded with fish that would be perfect for a dry fly.
9/14/2006	jonathan wolfe	I am wondering if anyone has been out recently on French Creek or Waterloo Creek. I am trying to set up a 3 day shot to those two streams and am curious about water levels and trout activity. If anyone has some news, please let me know. Thanks and tight lines to all.
6/10/2006	Janet	I am going to Des Moines near the end of July and having never been there before, wondering about any fly fishing nearby. Where and what sore of equipment would I need.
4/18/2006	Gareth	I will be moving to Iowa (Mason City) from Wyoming at the end of June. I know nothing about Iowa but am hoping to find some good fly-fishing within a resaonable distance of mason cIty. Here in Wyoming there is plenty of national forest and BLM land open to the public, but it looks like there is less public land out there in Iowa. Can anyone help me out with some advice to find some good fishing spots? Any help will be appreciated!
3/21/2006	ryan	new to the area and fly fishing. If you had one "do it all" set up for the streams of NE IA and SE MN, what would it be? My research has pointed to 7 1/2 - 8 ft rod 4-6 wt? I may also use this for small warm water fishing. Thanks for your input!
2/26/2006	Jacob	I live in NE iowa about 3/4 mile off of bloody run crick, just getting in to fly fishing any tips on winter fishing.
12/8/2005	John	My 3 brothers (chicago based) and I want to take my dad (iowa city based) trout fishing in NE Iowa next summer. We are looking for a guide (none of us have done this before) and a recommendation on where to go and stay.
12/1/2005	jobe	tommorrow is the big day no responses so i hope i make the right choices in where to go to. i cant wait ... iwonder if theres alot of snow yet. wich streams are frozen up. and what fish are biting on. tight lines to all and to all a good trip.........................
11/30/2005	jobe again	i was just wondering if anyone has been flyfishing in north east iowa in the last month. i know the fishing in wisconsin gets really good around march, but thats only because thats as early as you can start fishing trout on our streams. i am curious as to how the fish bite in the winter months in iowa and as to what the best flies are . i always enjoy sinking a nicely tied nymph into deep holes , so i wonder if thats the best choice for the winter months. i hope so but would like to know any secrets to winter fishing. till then tight lines and big trout to all.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11/30/2005	jobe	i recently went to iowa to fish for the first time.(nov. 19th/05) we started fishing on silver creek and had ok luck. 3 rainbows. we then proceeded to the french but got to confused on entering the creek so we made are way over to trout run. i caught 2 browns and 2 rainbows. we plan on coming back to fish the french , the waterloo, and the bear creeks. just wondering where the best spot to enter these streams for flyfishing. oh yah the first trip there was everything expected and more. thank you all year round fishing in iowa.......
8/23/2005	Tim	Fished Little Turkey and Ensign Hollow the weekend of Aug. 20th. Both streams were off color and fished hard, caught a few browns and rainbows on each one using black woolybuggers.
5/17/2005	Matt Pedersen	Just dropping a quick note - if someone is looking for a fly fishing guide or bamboo rod rentals (let alone NE IA fishing reports) check out my site for more info - www.RamblingReports.com MP
5/4/2005	Sean	5/1/05 - Went to Manchester and fished area streams. Good luck with rainbows, but brookies and brownies were not having any thing to do with us. And it was COLD! Snowed on us several times. Decent luck on the smaller fish, 8-12 inches. Big ones must have been full, or the cold snap for the week shut them down.
1/3/2005	The Fishing Musicians	The Fishing Musicians were visiting and say hello. www.fishingmusicians.com Glen Ferguson
8/8/2004	Tim	fished Richmond Springs July 30th- Aug.1st Caught plenty rainbows, had to dodge the crowds on Saturday. Went in the evening and caught them on #8 black beadheaded wooly buggers..
8/4/2004	DanO	I love Waterloo....especially down from Dorchester in the pasture section. You will think that you are out west. It is a special regulation stream in this area. You will enjoy your 9 wt there. Hopper patters and caddis.... princes and hares ear work well. I caught a 20 inch Brown on July 3 in that area. I caught him on a wooly bugger though. Purple and and brown seem to work with a little flash. The guys at www.iowaoutdoors.org have lots of information about trout.
7/29/2004	joe price	hi! what are the best streams to flyfish on in allamake county? and if it wasnt too hard could you provide information on wher to fish on these streams. thanks. also, i go late in the month of june, through the 4th. and i was wondering what the best flies to use would be. i use a beefy pole right now because i live in florida and do alot of keys fishing. (9weight sage) but i may get a smaller one. thanks alot. joe
7/20/2004	joe price	Linda T HI! glad to see you taking interest in fly fishing. ok. to learn i would recommend finding a fly shop in your area and call to see if they would quickly show you how to cast. bring your son with and i am sure they will teach him well! good luck to you. -joe
7/20/2004	joe price	someone asked about trout streems in north east iowa. i just got back from a fishing trip in lansing iowa can tell you indeed the streams do get muddy. im not sure how long it takes them to clear out, but my guess is that if you had rain up river then it would take near a week. ps: i didnt have much luck in the streams. so i went out on the river. i would recommend fishing the wing dams this time of summer, our boat managed to pull out a 6-7 pound walleye. compliments of a crawler and a floating jig head with a slip sinker.
6/9/2004	DanO	Doug and I fished McCloud Run Sunday the 6th and had a good time with only four fish. The fish were very shy but we managed one rainbow, two brooke, and a nice 14-15 inch brown. The Brooke and Brown trout all took dries. Anyone else having any luck?
6/1/2004	john	John Petrocelli...I knew someone with the same name from Carteret NJ..any kin to you? Anyone coming to Branson MO take a look at www.semperfly.com Semper Fi
5/27/2004	John Petrocelli	Great website. Makes me long for the midwest ...... Sounds like a lot less crowded than in NYC. BTW: Do you guys remember Gadabout Gaddis - The Flying Fisherman? I put up a tribute page in his honor. Check it out. http://www.seakayaker.com John
5/26/2004	Dano	What are the stream conditions in NE Iowa? Did they get pretty bad with all of the rain? How long will it take them to recover? Thanks, Dano
5/19/2004	Tim	great site, about time we had one for iowa
4/24/2004	Ed	I tried Macloud Run again on Saturday, April 24, and I hit the perfect fly for the day. I had expected a caddis hatch, but perhaps the cool weather kept them from coming up. Instead, I noticed large midges -- maybe size 16 with an olive body and tan wings. I had planned for BWO's and caddis, but not for big midges. After a moment of despair, I remembered some size 16 olive midge emergers in a fly box. I hadn't used them because they were just too big. They were just olive yarn, twisted for a segmented body, white poly yarn for a wing, and a black head, from tying thread, whip finished and cemented. I tried one of those emergers, and caught three trout in about seven casts. By that time, I had pretty well put down that pool (by the culvert), so I moved upstream. The pool at the railroad bridge was full of trout, including some beautiful browns. The trees were too thick to get any back cast, so I used a roll cast, to get the emerger to the fish. I didn't get any reaction right off, so I pulled the emerger up to check on it, and as soon as it got near the surface, a nice rainbow hit it with a strong tug-tug-tug. I realized that the fish thought that the emerger was coming to the surface, and that it was an "induced take." I tried the same thing again, and another trout hit the fly. In an hour at the bridge pool, I caught six trout, the biggest being a 16-inch brown sitting in the middle of the feeding lane. By noon, I had caught a dozen nice trout, including the big brown, and the weather was looking wet, so I declared it a great day and drove home. Since then, I have tied a few more size 16 olive midge emergers. Both times I have been to Macloud Run, I have noticed great big midges, not the size 24's I've seen other places, and I am going to try my luck again with the emergers in about ten days. By the way, this was a Saturday; I saw lots of joggers, bikers and hikers on the path that runs along the stream, but only one other fisherman, just as I was leaving.
4/16/2004	Ed	I fished McLoud Run yesterday (4/14/04)-- the first time I have fished there. Coming from Southeast Iowa, the fact that it is a shorter drive means a lot. The fish were hitting the surface when I arrived about 9:00 AM, with a heavy midge hatch, maybe size 20. The midges were bigger than I have usually seen. A very nice local guy was walking by with his small son, and when he said he fished there twice a week, I knew he could tell me a lot. He told me to fish the culvert -- I found maybe 40 fish there -- and up by the railroad bridge. I didn't actually see any caddis, but the trout were jumping in early afternoon as if they were going after caddis. I saw some black bugs, which I assume were little black caddis, but I didn't see them flying around enough to tell if they were caddis. I saw a lot of very nice brown trout, although I caught mostly rainbows. The local man told me he had caught a 15-inch brookie there recently. I thought brookies that size all lived in Canada. Brookies that size are a sign of a pretty healthy river, although I understand that there was a spill there in the recent past. Griffith's Gnats worked well for the heavy midge hatch in the morning. I know it may not make sense, but a size 18 Royal Wulff really worked in mid-to-late afternoon, when the trout were jumping, I assume for caddis. Small Royal Wulffs always work for me in a caddis hatch, although I don't know why. I fished the riffles, where the trout seemed to be hanging out with the sun out. I was using a 3-weight, with 6X tippet and mostly on my knees to cast. The bottom is mostly sandy, so that worked out until I hit a patch of rocky stream bed. I confess I had so much fun on the first 1/3 of a mile above the parking lot (by Fin 'N' Feather), I didn't get up to the railroad bridge area, which is where the local guy said the better fishing is supposed to be. If the fishing experience I had was not as good as upstream, I'll be back again soon.
4/15/2004	Dano	I fished Coldwater Easter weekend. It started very chilly...I think 26 was the temp. I caught all of my Brook trout on a Prince that I had tied myself and the Rainbows loved a yellow/green Serindipity that I had tied as well. Two of the Brookies were 14 inches...All of the rest were 10-13 inch fish. I really liked the stream and will be back. The DNR are really stocking some nice fish.
2/22/2004	Dano	It was a beautiful weekend for trout fishing! I hit my first ever put and grow stream even though there was little of it without an ice cover. It was in the "Pan Handle Region" and I caught one 10-11 inch brown. I was very pleased as I left all of my nymphs at home by mistake. I guess I had some Wooly Buggers and Dries as well as 6 scuds...Pink, Orange, Tan, and Olive. I caught him on the Tan Scud. I was there only for and hour. Sunday I hit Spring Creek and landed 8 in 1 1/2 hours. Rainbows! All were on the tan or olive scud except for one 12 in. fish that liked my little blue wing olive. Had three jakes check me out and 3-4 does. I treated myself to a 2 wt legend ultra with the smallest Battenkill LA for Christmas. It preformed beautifully!!!
2/18/2004	Dano	Have you seen what they are doing to McCloud Run??? No Dam Beavers AND we now are getting quite a few bank hides. It looks incredible. Talk about a diamond in the rough! Hope to fish a put and grow stream in Mitchell County this weekend or maybe Coldwater. Any advice other than to stay warm? Dano
2/10/2004	Scott Sickau	glad to see another fly fishing site with Iowa connections up and running. Tight Lines - Hatch
1/31/2004	Linda T	My 14 year old son and I love to fish for trout and are able to get up north 3 or 4 times a year. Mostly we have fished North and South bear. Up to this point we have used rod and reel method (nightcrawlers, powerbait, etc..) We would love to learn how to fly fish, but not even sure how to begin learning. We have recently purchased the fly rod gear...would appreciate any tips/tricks from experienced folks who fly fish!
1/14/2004	doug.t	Fished all day New Years Day on North and South Bear creeks, did very well. Most of the fish were caught on size 18 midges and size 16 orange scuds. Hope to go north again soon. Good luck to everyone. Doug
12/13/2003	Dano	Hello all! I fished December 7 at Ensign Hollow, Joy Spring, and McCloud Run. Did not fair well at all. I caught about 5 fingerlings between the three streams using various midges and serendipitys. All sz 18! I guess the day before, Saturday, was a very good day. The action trailed off for me on Sunday. Oh well. It was my birthday! :o) Anyone else having luck? DanO
11/24/2003	Dano	Hey all, I would love to read other posts from time to time to hear how the rest of you are doing with the trout fishing. I was a Spring Creek outside of Orchard again this weekend Nov.22-23. I did well catching around 15-20. All were over 10 and the biggest was a fat 14 incher. I did keep five and the biggest had 4-6 little frogs in his stomach. He was totally gorged with those and a lot of other minnows and other stuff. Know a good FROG pattern??? Weather was perfect on Sunday even though I got snowed on a bit. They really liked my brassie and copper johns size 16-18. They would not touch the Serindipity at all. Have a good Thanksgiving all. Dan
10/13/2003	DanO	Spent Saturday the 11th of October at Spring Creek in Mitchell County. It was a beautiful day and I had no problem catching between 20-30 fish. I was using various dry fly indicators and nymphs for droppers. The copper john (green) worked the best. All of the trout were 10-13 inches in length and were Rainbows.....There is supposed to be Brookies but could not find any that liked my patterns. There are some 15-20 inch fish in many of the holes and ALL were terrific fightning fish! Check out the stream sometime. Just outside of the town of Orchard of hwy 218.
9/2/2003	DDavis89325iS	Fished Mequkoeta river near Strawberry point Monday on Labor Day. Water was WAY down and the rains early this year silted in some of the better holes that were there earlier this year. I caught one 6" brown and that was it. I lost two very nice Browns thouhg, at least 13", but the fish were very very skittish. I was using a 00 Mepps and 4lb test.
8/27/2003	Dale	Spent the week of August 16th through the 22nd at Backbone State Park. Richmond springs was low and clear and the fish were skittish. However, I was able to take some nice rainbows, including one 14 incher,, on a size 10 gold beadhead, black crystal wooly bugger. I also caught a few other rainbows ona size 14 beadhead pheasant tail nymph and a size 16 starling and herl soft hackle. There are also good numbers of native browns in this stream but catching them under these conditions requires some work and diligence. most of the ones I caught ranged between 7 and 9 inches plus one that was around 11 inches. Even though I could see flsdhes of fish taking nymphs off the botton they mostly seemed to be keyed in towards the fish. All of my my fish came on a size 18 parachute pheasant tail and a size 20 yellow humpy. small flies and long fine leaders ( 6x and smaller) was the way to go for the native browns.
8/9/2003	Dan O	I was at McCloud Run in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday (Aug 6, 2003). I was doing well with a pheasant tail nymph (18) and a BH prince (18) tied below a Elk Hair Caddis (16). Caught all on the droppers except for one 15 inch Brown that really slammed the Elk Hair. I gues I landed 15 or so in the 5 hours I was there. Not bad I thought for my first summer of fly fishing. Kind of a neat stream...Interstate 380 on one side, railroad and bike trail on the other. I had lots of people watching that were walking or riding by, but no other fishermen. I even had a doe and fawn at 15 yards playing in the stream for about a half hour on a wooded secton of the stream. Next summer there should be some very nice fish their!
6/3/2003	Tim	Fished North Bear morning of 5-31-03. Not nearly as many fish spotted on the stream as I did on a visit there last July. Had a trout on my 2nd cast and he shook off. Good sign right? Well I managed to go another hour before hooking up and that one shook off too. My friend picked up a couple small Brookies. Kids picked up some nice Browns on worms. Fished C&R portion of Waterloo and just couldn't find the right fly to match afternoon hatch. It was very sunny and fish were spooky. Was getting frustrated but 3 other fisherman we spoke with were having similar results." Moved above Dorchester and there was a lot of activity in the water as the shade developed after 5PM. There must have been 5 different hatches of midges, mayfly, caddis and bit later - mosquitoes! Picked up 2 nice Browns on size 20 midges.Sunday morning (6-1-03)on the Waterloo and mid-day on the French - I found luck with bead head caddis pupa (16 and18). A few 11 - 13 inchers, both Browns and Rainbows. Even had one break my tippet while fighting him. I liked the French and it has big Browns, but it is small/narrow water with lots of bank cover.
4/28/2003	Sterling Dedic	Fished Spring Branch for about 6 hours Saturday morning after getting off work. It was an excellent day for it too, not to hot and not to cool. Midges were on from sunrise till I left, with #20 and 22 Griffiths Gnats producing a majority of the fish. The most satisfying of the day was an 8 inch Rainbow that was tucked up into an eddy along the rocks on the opposite back. Took nearly 2 hours to hook up but I met and beat the challenge.
9/7/2002	Mark Hora	Just thought I would say I love to camp and fish at Baileys ford and Back Bone State Park they are very clean and well keeped parks, I wish more parks could be as nice as these are. We never had much of a chance to stay at Back Bone this year but spent most of our time at Baileys Ford, The park rangers that come around and collect camping fees are outstanding, very freindly and personable, We had been paid up for 3 or 4 nights and where sitting in the camper early this spring because of the rain and cold, the one Ranger made it a point to stop and make sure we where ok this is just un heard of in alot of parks, so keep up the good work and keep all of your great employees in delaware county and we see you again soon!
7/25/2002	fishy	a report from driftless @ www.iowaoutdoors.com - Fished Spring Branch in Delaware County Tuesday 7/23/02 afternoon and evening. The stream is still a little off color and just a bit above normal flows. Fished a three fly setup Adams on top, trailed by a copper john, trailed by midge nymph. Had most success with copper john and trailing midge, but did get a couple on the Adams. There was a light hatch just about sundown but not much activity. Best spots were the deep holes and along the bankhides.
6/16/2002	fishy	Trout stream conditions are improving after last week’s heavy rains. For current trout stocking information, call the Manchester Trout Hatchery at 563-927-5736, the Big Spring Rearing Station at 563-245-1699 and the Decorah Rearing Station at 563-382-3315. Trout stocking schedules for the entire year are located on the DNR website at www.state.ia.us/fish.
5/29/2002	Driftless	Here are a few pictures from a trip to Spring Branch Creek in Delaware County on May 2. A good midge hatch was on most of the afternoon. I got a few pictures of the trout sipping midges next to "the wall" on the stream next to the hatchery. The 16" brown was the fish of the day. He was sipping midges in some slack water and finally sipped one of mine. It was fun afternoon, a grand slam, caught rainbows, brooks, and browns. Have been doing good on midges, prince nymphs and griffith's gnats on a few other streams recently as well. Note from MTF: See pictures below that Driftless was kind enough to e-mail to MTF.
Click images to view larger size photos.