DECORAH--We've all heard those outrageous claims. Someone boasting that their company or product line offers something for everyone. The claims are rarely true. But when it comes to the real life world of angling, there truly is a product line that provides something for everyone. That product is the Iowa trout program.

Perhaps no one is more passionate, or better versed, on the topic of Iowa trout and trout fishing than is fisheries management biologist, Bill Kalishek.

"I like to think that the 'Good Old Days' of Iowa trout fishing are not something that happened in the past, but rather is occurring right now," says Kalishek. "At first, that may seem puzzling. But once you stop and take a look at the entire picture, it makes perfect sense."

Twenty-five years ago, angler success was totally dependent on weekly stockings of hatchery reared, put and take fish. As recently as the 1980s, only about a half dozen of the state's 105 coldwater trout streams enjoyed an appreciable level of natural reproduction.

Although put and take stockings remain a vital component of Iowa trout fishing, today's program has broadened to include opportunities to pursue genuine stream-reared wild trout, trophy fishing along catch and release stretches of blue ribbon grade streams, land acquisition, in-stream habitat improvements, watershed protection, and stocking high quality put and grow fingerlings.

"It's really exciting to see how much our program has expanded during recent years," said Kalishek. "One of the most interesting changes has been to see how private landowners and conservation groups have become increasingly involved in habitat improvement.

"Currently, the DNR is partnering with Iowa farmers, Trout Unlimited chapters, NRCS, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Completed projects have included things like stream bank stabilization, bank hide construction, and watershed improvements to trout stream uplands."

It is these sorts of habitat improvement projects that have allowed Iowa's trout program to expand. Today, in addition to put and take, anglers are presented with opportunities to fish for put and grow trout, fish quality stretches of artificial lures only [no kill] streams, or match wits with totally wild, naturally produced trout.

As water quality and habitat conditions have improved, the number of streams producing totally wild trout have jumped from 6 to 30. The opportunity for anglers to match their skills against naturally spawned populations of brown trout is now available at 26 Iowa streams. An additional four streams harbor self sustaining populations of wild brook trout. All told, wild trout currently inhabit over 60 miles of Iowa's coldwater streams, and the 'Good Old Days' just keep getting better.

"One of the new things we're doing is going to the stream and collecting wild adult browns and then bringing them into the hatchery system as brood fish. Eggs from these fish are hatched, reared, and then stocked as two-inch fingerlings. What we've found is that the offspring of these wild trout survive up to four times better than fingerlings raised from captive brood stock," said Kalishek.

"Right now, we're annually stocking between 125,000 and 150,000 two-inch brown trout fingerlings. Our goal is to eventually have all of these fish come from totally wild parents. We're not there yet, but it's coming."

Sidebar: Anglers Give Thumbs Up to Iowa Trout Program
According to the results of an ongoing angler survey, recent changes in the Iowa trout program has also created some interesting changes in public attitudes and behavior. In 1991, for example, 60 percent of the anglers interviewed fished with bait, 33 percent used artificals [spinners], and 7 percent used flys. When asked the same questions in 2001, the number of trout fishing enthusiasts using bait had dropped to 43 percent. Those using spinners remained about the same [31 percent], while the number of anglers using flys increased nearly four-fold to 26 percent.

In 1996, only 11 percent of the anglers interviewed said they released all of the trout they caught. In 2001 -- just five years later, the number of people who released all their fish had soared to 27 percent.

In 1975, back when Iowa trout fishing was still mostly a stocked fish, put and take proposition, the survey found that 74 percent of the state's trout stamp purchasers were "very satisfied" with the current program. By any measure, that represents a phenomenal level of popularity regarding a government activity. Even more incredible is that by 2001, the number of "very satisfied" respondents had leaped to 95 percent.

"To have almost everyone say they are very satisfied with Iowa's trout program is extremely gratifying," says Bill Kalishek, a DNR Fisheries Management Biologist stationed at Decorah.

"I think that satisfaction simply reflects the tremendous diversity of Iowa trout fishing. The behavior of our fishermen is clearly changing because our streams and opportunities have changed. Ongoing efforts to improve trout stream habitats has provided better fishing for people at all levels. Iowa trout fishing is just one of those things that truly does offer something for everyone."

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