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Stream Details

Bear Creek

General Information

County: Allamakee
Location: From Waukon, take Hwy 76 north for 13 miles before turning west onto County Road A26 (Bear Creek Drive). Travel 2.5 miles and turn north on Washington Rd. Take Washington Rd north for about a mile before veering left onto Tahigwa Dr.
Stream Segment Length: 0.75

Amenities

Amenities at Bear Creek include:
  • Trails
  • Good/Excellent Shorefishing
Brook Trout - Fair: Brook trout taking a variety of flies imitating gnats, midges, caddis or an occasional mayfly. Use care not to alarm it when approaching the stream in gin clear water.
Brown Trout - Good: Best time to fish spooky brown's is when water is off color. Use lures that mimic small minnows or midges.
With turkey season in full swing, anglers should avoid wearing red, white, or blue. Streams maintain nice holdover numbers for the casual angler. Stream stocking continues even though they are not announced. The calendar is now available on-line at https://www.iowadnr.gov/Fishing/Trout-Fishing.
Rainbow Trout - Good: Use a small piece of worm on a hook and fish through a deeper hole.

Sampling in 2017 at 2 sites indicated excellent natural reproduction of Brown Trout with fish ranging in size from young of year up to 18 inches and about 1,273 fish per mile. A few catchable Rainbow Trout emigrating from stocked areas on North and South Bear were also sampled. This section is not stocked with fingerling Brown Trout nor catchable Rainbow Trout and statewide trout regulations are in effect.(2021)

Download Printable Stream Map

Parking Access
Catchable Trout Waters
Fingerling Stocked or Natural Reproduction
Restrictive Regulation Stream

You can zoom the map in and out using the slider on the left hand side, and you can pan the map by clicking and dragging. Rollover features for more information. Click streams to go to their page.

    No known aquatic invasive species have been found
  • 6/21/22 - 947 Rainbow Trout (9.7)
  • 09/09/2019 - 11,186 Rainbow Trout (5.1)
  • 08/26/2019 - 30,714 Rainbow Trout (3.9)
The Fishing Regulations brochure is available for download. The summaries listed below are a partial listing provided for your benefit.

  • Brown Trout
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: combined trout (brook, brown, and rainbow) - 5 fish
    • Possession Limit: combined trout (brook, brown, and rainbow) - 10 fish
    • Length Limit: none
    • Other: Anglers must have paid the Trout Fee to fish for or possess trout
  • Rainbow Trout
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: combined trout (brook, brown, and rainbow) - 5 fish
    • Possession Limit: combined trout (brook, brown, and rainbow) - 10 fish
    • Length Limit: none
    • Other: Anglers must have paid the Trout Fee to fish for or possess trout
  • White Sucker
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: none
    • Possession Limit: unlimited
    • Length Limit: none
    • Other: May be taken by hand fishing, by snagging, by spear or by bow and arrow, day or night.
Tip: Click the arrow in the lower right corner to view the Fish Survey Data tool in full-screen mode.

Iowa-Caught Fish Are Safe to Eat, In Almost All Cases

The vast majority of Iowa’s streams, rivers and lakes offer safe and high-quality fish that pose little or no threat to human health if consumed. Some limitations may apply for young children and pregnant women. Here’s a Fish Consumption Fact Sheet from the Iowa DNR and the Iowa Dept. of Public Health for more information. Here is a list of current fish consumption advisories for Iowa lakes and rivers.

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