Driftless
Bear Creek
Live Conditions
Bear Creek — Upper Iowa River at Decorah (proxy)
7-Day Flow
↓ Falling
24-Hr Pressure
28.71 inHg · → High/stable
Local Weather
Tough conditions — fish deep
Today
🌤️Partly cloudy
91° / 70°
Tomorrow
☁️Overcast
86° / 71°
Sun
☁️Overcast
89° / 64°
Mon
⛈️Thunderstorm + hail
83° / 66°
0.75"
Cold front incoming — go deep with nymphs, surface activity likely slow.
Weather by Open-Meteo · No API key · Updated every 30 min
What should I fish today?
⚡ AIAI-powered recommendation using today's live flow, temperature, and hatch data.
2
Time of Day
Using: 848 CFS · TRICO spinner falls
What should I pack?
Rod, flies, tippet, and safety gear specific to today's Bear Creek conditions.
🪰 Hatch Calendar
Bear Creek · July · Summer
Showing typical dates — water temperature data unavailable for live hatch predictions.
Select month
TRICO spinner falls (size 22-24) dawn. Sulphurs evenings. Terrestrials productive. Cold spring flows hold up through summer.
River Map
About Bear Creek
Bear Creek near Highlandville in Winneshiek County is Iowa's #1 rated trout stream — the North Bear and South Bear branches form a small Driftless spring-creek system with high per-mile densities of wild brown trout, plus brook trout in cold headwater reaches. Cold limestone-spring water, technical small-stream fishing, and a long history as the flagship Iowa Driftless fishery.
Regulations
Iowa fishing license required (~$22 resident annual + ~$14.50 trout stamp; 2026 fee changes — verify current rates on Iowa DNR before publishing). Year-round trout season on most NE Iowa streams. 5-fish daily limit on most streams. Verify Winneshiek County special-regulation sections in current Iowa DNR trout regulations.
Learn More
Guides to help you fish Bear Creek with more confidence.
Iowa Trout Fishing Regulations Guide
Iowa fishing license + the separate trout fee, the year-round trout season on most NE Iowa Driftless streams, the 5-fish daily limit on most water,…
Trout Species of Iowa
Iowa's two-species Driftless trout fishery — introduced Brown Trout dominant across the NE Iowa Driftless spring creeks (Bear, Bloody Run, Upper…
How Barometric Pressure Affects Fishing (And How to Use It)
That gorgeous bluebird day after a cold front? Worst fishing of the year. Here's the data behind why pressure changes matter more than the weather…