The path narrowed. The bank grew steeper. It took a little effort to get back to this bend in the stream. There were trout here. And when the last angler left at the end of the day, there would still be trout here.

The angler count had dropped as Department of Natural Resources hatchery worker Tom Rohde and I worked our way back to the upper end of Swiss Valley Park. Earlier, there were one, two, maybe three anglers at the familiar holes in the more accessible lower end. For them, it was just a few steps off the road to reach one of the pools where trout would be stocked. A couple had a half-pound rainbow or two in the bucket already, waiting for the truck with 400 more to be stocked in this coldwater stream threading through the Dubuque County park.

A couple of the regulars asked Rohde about his homemade bottle cap jigs, or a pickling recipe. "I get to know them all pretty well throughout the year. It's pretty enjoyable coming over and seeing them," admitted Rohde. "There's also the campground nearby, so a lot of new people come out each week, too."

Each year, more than 300,000 catchable sized trout are stocked in about 50 streams throughout northeast Iowa. Most are rainbows; hatched at the Manchester hatchery and raised there or at two other rearing stations throughout the region. Brown and brook trout, too, about 20-30,000 of each are also stocked through the season, too. Anglers--30,000 or so--pay an extra $11 fee each year to support the trout program.

It is a program that provides trout on a schedule; the regular stocking schedule is posted online ( www.iowadnr.com) via phone (563-927-5736) or through a calendar available from the hatcheries. However, it is the 'unannounced schedule' that keeps anglers guessing. "Once a week, we come over to Swiss Valley and stock 200 brook trout unannounced," noted Rohde. "Not everybody likes to follow the stocking truck. It helps ensure fish are in the stream when they come out, say a day or so later."

Manchester stocks three other streams, too. Another half dozen spots get 'unannounced' trout from Big Spring and Decorah stock. "A lot of the (unannounced) sites are more remote; tougher access," explained hatchery worker Randy Mack. "People have to work to get back to them a little more. We stock more brown trout in the unannounced areas, too. They are harder to catch; more likely to be in the streams longer."

As Rohde and I hit the end of the line at Swiss Valley, the fishermen didn't seem to mind. At 'Big Rock,' a pool just below a beaver dam with a limestone outcrop sitting in it, two anglers were flipping light jigs. One had a fly rod; the other a conventional reel with light line. As they talked with us, each caught and turned back a just-stocked trout. They had a good half-mile plus walk to get to the parking area. Their payoff was in the challenge. And the scenery. Rolling hills spread before them, surrounded by timber. Except for the occasional angler wandering through, they could have been 20 miles from civilization.

Back downstream, the anglers, the gear and the catch varied. "I come out four or five times a year; here, Bankston and Brush Creek," offered Steve Saul of Marengo. He doesn't plan around the stocking schedule. "Whenever. There's usually fish around. Probably 60 percent of the time I'll get my limit."

Ron Lanser of Dubuque was a few bends down. Since he's nearby, he gets out here a lot more. "I go up above a lot. We had some small brook trout Tuesday, (biting) up by the beaver ponds. There's a lot of water up around there."

With license plates ranging from all over Iowa; Johnson, Polk, Dubuque, Black Hawk, Clayton counties and more, trout anglers can pretty much dictate their degree of difficulty. Many streams remain just a couple steps from the car. You can make it even harder by trying your skills in one of the put and grow streams, featuring trout released as fingerlings-whose survival instincts resist being caught.

Or you can split the difference; put on your hiking boots and get away from the crowd, but still expect a fairly decent 'return' on your effort. "A lot of people come walk the trails; maybe bring their fishing pole and get their exercise while they get in some fishing," observes Rohde after dropping the last 15 or 18 trout into a deep stretch with no one around. "Swiss Valley, for instances, is an excellent place to fish and get your exercise; and with beautiful places to get back to Nature."

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