Well now, this post will not be your normal travelogue piece.  First, the thought of trout fishing probably conjures up images of exotic locations with scenic vistas and expensive equipment.  Well for those who have spent a little time here reading my opines, you will recognize that I usually don’t live my life that way.  Things are a little more folksy, down to earth, and consist of real world activities that have a cost but are within reach of the average working stiff.

Yeah, but trout fishing as seen on TV is pretty high dollar stuff with specialized equipment and skills that are outside of my means and abilities.  Hold on, hold on, we are getting there but we need to set some expectations first.

I want you to imagine a beautiful stream along side a quiet gravel road deep in the Rockies on a golden, quaking aspen autumn day and see a tall thin man standing calf deep in a stream with a fly rod briskly whipping a #21 midge forward and back to just the right spot and imagine the swirl of a big rainbow coming up behind ……. wait a minute that is not what this is about.  I am talking about fishing for trout in IOWA!!  Yup the “tall corn state.” We are talking, worm dangling, lure casting, cow pies on the bank, pheasants cackling over the limestone hill, IOWA.

So maybe your idea of trout fishing is the description I just gave of a fishing afternoon in the Rockies.  Good enough, keep googling, cuz this ain’t the right stop on your magical mystery tour. We are heading to the great state of Iowa for a glorious afternoon of fishing without much fellowship. The price will be right and the enjoyment will be similar but without all of the trappings of an outdoor channel extravaganza.

Iowa began their program of “put and take” stocking back during the mid point of the last century.  The idea is that the state will hatch and grow trout to be eventually stocked in appropriate streams within the state.  Then we the “fishermen” (fisherpeople sounds a bit pretentious) will spend our weekends in the spring and fall dangling worms and such bait as we can buy or find until one jumps out of the water and lands at our feet.  Well maybe it is not quite that easy.  We are using equipment made by companies like Zebco, Mitchell, Eagle Claw, Berkley with Mustad hooks and such.  We buy our bait at WalMart and Cabela’s and Bass Pro and our rods and reels together cost well under a $100.  We carry our stuff in our coverall pockets and our hooded sweatshirt pouches and we don’t even understand what a tippet is used for, ”weight forward” is a concept of how our diet has put the pounds on us over the years and creels are those folks that live down on the bayou and got hit by hurricane Katrina, right?

Anyway, you get the point that this is not a sophisticated exercise, right.  The fun of fishing, is, well, fishing. Getting outside on a beautiful fall afternoon with a sandwich and can of pop nee soda in your 5 gallon bucket, a dozen night crawlers, a couple of old fishing poles that have seen lots of service and some wonderful spring fed water flowing through limestone covered hills with rocks the size of your pickup in the middle of the stream hiding 1# -3# fish awaiting the plunk of your bait to entice them out of their environs and into your bucket.

The state hatchery publishes a stocking schedule of what streams will be stocked and when.  There are quite a few streams that are being stocked and lots of fish are being placed for the enjoyment of the citizenry that take a fancy to a little walk in the farm lands, on a spring or fall day, who have the patience to wait out these little guys hunger pangs.

Now the purists out there are saying, “that ain’t trout fishing” well good for you it might be different than your style of trout fishing but it is trout fishing Iowa style and if you think your enjoyment is any greater then the enjoyment I just described you are sorely mistaken. Fun is fun and if you’ve a hankering to fly fish or some other esoteric form of killing fish, have at it.  In the years I have fished these cold water streams in Iowa, I have seen every form of fishing I know of and all have provided hours of pleasure for their purveyors.  So you go ahead and do it your way and I will do it mine and we can all coexist.

Part of the nice thing about Iowa trout streams is NO CROWDS! If you have ever tried trout fishing in Missouri or any of the other popular states you are used to being able to see many folks from where you stand fishing in your favorite hole.  It will be the exception when you can see anyone from your favorite hole when fishing an Iowa trout stream except in the state parks that are stocked.

License fees are reasonable and an annual non-resident fishing license is $39.50 and a Trout Fee is $11.00 (this used to be called a trout stamp.) So for about $50 and some bait you can be in business and most of us cannot drive to another trout fishing location for that price, so give it a try.

As far as equipment goes, any old rod and reel will work.  Old timey trout fisherman tell you you need 4# or less line and ultralight rods and reels.  Well, while those types of gear catch a lot of fish, I have stood next to guys using their Zebcos and watched them pull fish after fish out of the same hole I was in with my fancy equipment and they were home cleaning fish before I got my limit.

I use graphite rods because I really like the feel of them when a light tap, tap, tap is felt on the end of the bait,  I use a Shimano Spirex 500 FA reel with a G Loomis ultra light graphite rod of 5′ 6″ with 4# line of some brand that Cabela’s wound on for me. But, again, it is not necessary. The fish are looking for food and as long as they think that is what they are getting, they don’t care that it is attached to a cheapo rod and reel, they just want to eat.

So the real purpose of fishing is decompression time for many of us.  There are those that fish to eat and for them my suggestion is find some other type of fishing as the limit is 5 trout per day. Go fish crappie where the limit is about 1 million crappie per day and you can fish one day and eat for weeks. So if the enjoyment of being out in nature and relaxing is your goal then Iowa trout fishing is something you really need to explore.

I hope this helps, as I really am feeling the pull to get up there and get after them.  The stocking season does not start for another couple of months but the carry-over trout always seem like a fun thing to try.

If you’ve a hankering to, check out this site http://www.iowadnr.com/fish/fishing/trout/troutstr.html everyhting you ever wanted to know about Iowa trout fishing is located there including stocking schedules.  Enjoy and don’t forget who sent you.  You’re gonna love it! Any time you can get outdoors and spend a day you are a better person. Make it a habit.