If you are thinking about coming to Northeast Iowa to do a little fly fishing over the 4th of July weekend, the water is ready.  Fishing was good last night on the North and South Bear.  The two streams were totally opposite fishing conditions.

The South Bear was a fly fisher’s dream last night.  It was clear, running a little high, and the fish were rising to dry flies .  I was fishing a standard #16 Adams and #16 Caddis.

The North Bear was my fly fishing dream.  The water is running higher than the South Bear, visibilty was about 14 inch down and clearer along the banks and in faster water.  The nice size fish, pictured above, was caught on the North Bear laying along a fast run where the water was clear.  Fish were caught on a #16 all black Hares Ear with no weight.  I also fished the #16 Adams along the bank and had some luck doing that.

The water is back and the fish are aggressive so go fly fishing!

We just can’t get a break from the rain in Northeast Iowa.  Decorah got more rain Saturday night so the water clarity has not improved and although the water level is higher than normal, it is fishable.  Let’s hope the rain will hold off this week and the water will drop.  July is here soon so when the water does start to go down, hopefully it doesn’t go down too fast.

Picture of North Bear Creek today.  The water is back in it’s banks but note the grass on the left side of the creek laying down after high water rushed though..

The Northeast Iowa streams are running high and muddy.  Decorah got about 2 inchs of rain last night so I thought my friend Steve and I should go check out the water.  We looked at S. Bear, N. Bear, Waterloo, and Canoe creeks.  Looking at the grass next to the stream they all looked like they had tripled in size at one point last night.  The water could be fishable by the weekend.  It may still be high and a little off color but if you fish along the bank in the shallower water visibilty could be better.  The San Juan worm is a dirty fly for dirty water.  If you’re in town fishing go see Steve at the  Decorah Chick Hatchery down town and ask him for the hot fly.  He has a nice  selection of flies along with any clothing you may have forgotten.

It was great to be out today!  A father’s day get away for the morning with our good friend Paul from RC & D (Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation & Development)…….  We fished the Bear this morning – it was a slow morning, mostly nymphing the edges of the faster water.  #16 & #18 BH Flash Pheasant Tails and # 18 BH Black Zebra Midges (no weight) where the menu for the day.  The fish have been getting hit with a lot of rain the last few days and we saw some showers for only about 5 minutes this morning but it let up and it became a pretty nice day.  The water is crystal clear and should be getting pretty active in the next few days.  I suggest getting out while the overcast is good and the hatches should be coming off the water in the evenings for you “Dry Fliers”.  It was a good get away gift on father’s day from our wives.  Thanks Ladies!

The rain this past week didn’t give me much hope for the streams around Decorah but the water is clear and fishing well.  Spent most of the day nymphing the faster water.  Flies were size 16 and 18.  Had good luck with non bead head flies and adding weigh if needed.  The fish were very active today.

If you like to fly fish the rivers in this area for trout and small mouth, they are high and dirty.  It may be a week or so for the water to look good again.

Welcome to our new site!  We are just getting the hang of things so check back soon for updates.  We will let you know how the water is looking and fishing in Northeast, Iowa.

It’s been raining for 3 days but water is still looking good.