(Please practice catch and release on these streams)

Here's a subject I have been debating how to write about for the past few weeks, rather than writing about individual streams I will write about the group as a whole. In addition to the 50 put and take trout streams, Iowa has another challenge for those looking to catch more elusive stream reared trout. These 28 streams are stocked once a year with fingerling trout, usually brown, with no stocking of catchable sized fish. The trout are left to fend for themselves as wild trout would be; many don't make it, but those that do are stream smart and strong. They fight harder and longer than any stocked fish, I would rather catch a twelve inch stream reared fish than a fifteen inch stocker.

The put and grow streams are not marked on the Iowa Trout Map, but their location is given. As the booklet states, most are under private ownership, so ask permission before fishing if you are unsure. The farmers have agreed to allow fishing in return for the stocking of the streams on their land. I find that having an Iowa Atlas (this is a topographical atlas with most streams marked, and is available at most sporting goods stores) is very helpful in locating and accessing these streams. The Iowa Trout Map is kind of hard to follow because of the size, but the Atlas only has a few counties per page, so it is much easier to find where the streams flow. You still need the Trout Map to initially locate the streams though.

Once you've decided where to go and when, it is time to think about how. You won't catch many fish with corn or worms most of the time. I haven't fished with bait at one of these streams before, but imagine you could do well with big minnows, or crayfish. A hopper towards the end of summer into fall would undoubtedly bring a nice brown or two to your hand.

I usually take my spinning rod as the quarters are tight in most streams. Many different approaches work, but again my favorite is dragging a tiny crankbait past/through likely hides. I don't advocate using overly heavy tackle for trout, but I would recommend using a light to medium light action rod with 6lb test line for fishing these streams with crankbaits. The browns really attack the baits and the big ones have teeth that can easily sever 4lb line should they get the bait all the way in their mouth. You usually don't need the extra casting distance afforded by the lighter line, and you can land and release the fish much quicker with the extra strength.

If you want to fly fish, I recommend drifting a big streamer under boulders and through downed timber. You can throw a dry fly when a hatch is on, but there is rarely much room to maneuver on these tiny streams. I like standing in the riffles upstream of a hole that flows under a big boulder and letting a streamer be washed down to to a waiting brown. Once hooked you can move downstream along the bank to play the fish as it is pretty difficult to get them coming upstream into the current if they are of any size.



This brings up one important note. I believe you have the best chance of catching a large trout in the put and grow streams. On a recent trip I made to a put and grow I fished for about an hour catching two browns that were about eighteen inches, and being bitten off (I was using an ultralight with 4lb line - bad decision) by a fish that looked to be at least 20 or 22 inches. I saw the fish hit and went to set the hook. I had the familiar feeling walleye anglers get when they set the hooks of their offerings into the toothy mouth of a northern that has swallowed the bait - very brief resistance followed by no resistance and that sinking feeling. I may have had more action at one of the put and take streams, but the quality of the fish and consequently the fishing could not be matched.

It is very important that you practice catch and release in these streams. It takes at least four years after stocking for a brown to grow to three pounds in most of Iowa's streams, so it is essential that most of the fish caught in these streams are released to maintain good populations of fish of all sizes. I would rather see someone keep one three or four pounder from a put and grow stream than five twelve inch fish. By the time a fish reaches twelve inches it has survived the most vulnerable stages of its life and has a decent chance at becoming three pounder if not taken from the stream by a greedy angler. If you want to catch fish for dinner, please fish in the put and take stocked streams. That is exactly what they are managed for. I love to eat trout and keep my fair share throughout the year, but I limit it to those from put and take stocked streams.