Me and a few friends are making a trip up to NE Iowa on Saturday. Havn't decided what streams to fish yet.I have never fished N bear or S bear and have heard they are really good, so those are an option. What kind of shape the streams are in. I was also wondering if any bugs are hatching.. Are there and caddis or bwo's yet? Any info will be appriciated... Jack
I fished the Yellow late yesterday afternoon. Yes there were bugs in the air. My guess is BWO's, baetis and probably some midges. At any rate I caught quite a few trout all on Adams size 20 and 18. A few weeks ago ant patterns worked well on N. Bear. Good luck.
Jack, I've been lucky to fish several streams in the past week. Quick summary - there've been mayflies in the air off and on, but not predictably. A few fish rising every day, but one day out of about four I was able to work one long pool over rising fish for over two hours - nice fish, browns and rainbows. This was on N Bear. Tuesday pm at Spring Branch I got skunked, even though a few fish were rising. I couldn't see what they were eating, so maybe midges? I tried Griffiths Gnats size tiny but just didn't have any luck. BWOs or Adams, size 18 - 20, parachute to help me see them, worked for me when the fish were taking dry flies.On Otter yesterday, there were a very few bugs in the air, a very few risers, and we did catch a couple on dry flies, but I did much better on nymphs. Streams were all low and very clear. A little rain - key word little - would maybe help the fishing. A lot of rain and maybe you should stay home and cheer for the Hawkeyes. Dan
I'd call the Decorah rearing station before you go. I've seen all the streams choc milk but S. Bear was clear, so you still might have a good trip just limited on options. Also take Jere's advice and take some ant patterns. I'm heading up as soon as I get my new rod. shoot us a report on how well the ant patterns worked. Good luck
Fished South Bear Weds. Fish were pretty dormant caught a few Rainbow and Brown. Thursday fish more active in chutes, riffles. Caught a lot of Brown and Rainbow. Rained most of the day Thursday but not as heavy as my place in Cedar County (3 inches). Productive patterns were Czech nymphs, pt midges size 18 and 20, brassies in the same size, 16 red copper johns, 24 dries midge patterns. Good Luck and Tight Lines Jack. Personally you can't go wrong with North Bear and South Bear as they both clear faster as any trout streams in Iowa. We were fishing in gin clear water both days. John
Go east from Highlandville to the first bridge. There are campgrounds and parking on each side of the road right before the bridge (about three miles from the general store). This affords you the opportunity to have access to both streams before they merge. My recommendation is to fish North Bear. Follow the truck path and check out the walking paths to the stream. The farther you walk the better it gets. Be sure to check out the eagles flying overhead. We saw groups of 8-12 flying around on both North & South Bear.
Just a quick report: South Bear was running clear, while North Bear was a little high and staind. Only fished N Bear for about 30 mins and caught a nice rainbow. Fished South Bear most of the day. Caught a lot of rainbows and a few browns. All of these fish were caught on nymphs... Mostly Prince nymphs. There were a few bugs in the air but few rising fish.. I tried an ant pattern for a while with no luck, but thats probably because i'm not the worlds best dry fly fisherman... Anyways here is a picture of one of the browns [ image disabled ]
