Native Trout in Iowa

Most people laugh when I tell them we have one species of Native Trout in Iowa: the Brook Trout.  This trout was orginally found in spring-fed streams of Northeast Iowa.  Early settlers of Iowa refered to this species as the "stream trout" or "mountain trout" with few descriptions of its physical characteristics.  Today, the trout can be found in several streams in Northeast Iowa, native reproduction still occurs in three of Iowa's 100  fishable trout streams in Northeast Iowa. In these three trout steams, the Brook Trout has enough consistent natural reproduction to maintain a viable population without any stocking.