The popular annual stream trout stocking season begins April 4. This year’s trout stocking calendar, available on the DNR website at www.iowadnr.gov/Fishing/Trout-Fishing, has a new look along with a few schedule changes from previous years.
Stocked streams will receive a combination of announced and unannounced stockings of catchable trout throughout the 2016 stocking season. Previously, most stream stockings were either always announced or unannounced the entire season. This year, more streams will have approximately half of their stockings announced and half unannounced.
The DNR Trout Program strives to provide a diversity of trout fishing opportunities for Iowans, including announced catchable stockings, unannounced catchable stockings, fingerling stockings, wild populations, streams with restrictive regulations, easy universal access areas and remote streams with difficult access.
Iowa’s three trout hatcheries produce and stock approximately 310,000 catchable-sized rainbow or brook trout and 110,000 fingerling brown trout into hundreds of miles of northeast Iowa streams April through October. A list of stocked streams is available on the DNR trout map or trout stream webpage at iowadnr.gov/Fishing/Trout-Fishing.
Funding to support the trout stocking program comes from the sale of fishing licenses and trout fees. In 2014, nearly 39,000 Iowans and over 4,300 nonresidents spent over 430,000 days trout fishing. This year’s modified stocking schedule will help improve hatchery staff efficiency and ensure long-term sustainability of Iowa’s successful and growing trout program.
Anglers need to have a valid fishing license and pay the trout fee to fish for or possess trout. The daily limit is five trout per licensed angler with a possession limit of 10.
Weekly stocking information is available on the 24-hour trout stocking hotline at 563-927-5736.