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Stream Details

Chihak Creek

General Information

County: Howard
Location: Lower: Take Hwy 9 south from Cresco. Turn south on 345th Ave and travel about 2.4 mi to Cleghorn Wildlife Area. Upper: Travel south from Cresco on Willow Ave. Turn east on King's Road and travel to the Turkey River WMA.
Stream Segment Length: 0.30

Amenities

Amenities at Chihak Creek include:

    Brook Trout - Fair: The best brook trout streams are heavily vegetated making fishing difficult. Dabbling a fly through the narrow unvegetated runs is best or find deeper pools above beaver dams.
    Water levels on most are low but fishable. Trout stream stocking continues on all steams as scheduled even though some are not announced. Beginning October 1, all streams become unannounced but continue to be stocked through the end of October.
    Brown Trout - Good: Recent rain clouded up many streams creating an uptick in Brown Trout activity. They also flushed a good amount of new critters into the water. Anglers may have to be more stealthy when approaching streams. A variety of terrestrial insect patterns will work especially crickets, ants, and grasshoppers.
    Rainbow Trout - Good: A small chunk of worm or cheese under a bobber fished through a deeper hole will turn a rainbow head. Cut line on deeply hooked fish if returning to water.

    Public fishing access to lower Chihak Creek is available on the Howard County Conservation Board's Cleghorn Wildlife Area and on the Iowa DNR's Turkey River Wildlife Management Area. The rest of the stream is on private ground and requires landowner permission to fish and access. The stream has naturally reproducing wild Brown Trout and not stocked. 2019 data show 252 Brown Trout per mile with fish ranging in size from 2 to 13 inches.(2021)

    Stream Maps

    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

      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

      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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