Every five years, the Iowa DNR selects trout privilege purchasers to participate in a survey regarding our trout program, to assess opinions on what we are currently doing, and to plan for our future work. If you received one of our invitation emails, and because of your interest in trout fishing in Iowa, the Department of Natural Resources would greatly appreciate your participation in our online survey. Your feedback will help guide trout fishing management in Iowa to provide the best quality fishing for you.
Only a portion of trout anglers were randomly selected for this survey. Your response is extremely valuable because it represents that of many trout anglers in your area. By completing the survey online, you greatly reduce our survey costs.
Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary and will be kept confidential. No purchase or consideration is necessary to participate.
2016 Iowa Trout Angler Survey Results
More than 3,600 Iowa trout anglers participated in the 2016 Trout Angler Survey, sharing their trout fishing preferences and experiences.
Eighty percent of respondents are very satisfied with the trout program.
The popularity of the urban trout fishing program continues to increase, with:
- 99,444 trout fishing trips taken in 2016 compared to 70,202 in 2011.
- Thirty percent of trout anglers bought their trout stamp specifically to fish an urban trout lake.
- Heritage Pond, Prairie Park Pond, Terry Trueblood Lake, and Ada Hayden Lake are the most popular urban trout lakes.
- Iowa trout anglers spent about 489,455 days trout fishing
- Iowa anglers made 720,611 trips to trout waters in 2016
- The most popular trout stream is North Bear Creek, near Highlandville in Winneshiek County, with 35,286 visits in 2016.
View all 2016 Iowa Trout Angler Survey results