Spring Creek · Limestone · Iowa, US

French Creek

French Creek terrain map
Today · Not the day for it
Pink Shrimp
Forecast · Today
Not the day for it
Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
45% projected
Today's fly
Pink Shrimp
Pink Shrimp
Conditions on the water · Today
Proxy gauge
Level
Rising
Proxy
via Waterloo Creek
Water temp12.9°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather7°C
WindN 10 km/h
Pressure1034 hPa
Rain · recent12.6 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Waterloo Creek. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
13°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Chironomids
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 12 Uhr

12 Uhr(now) — Eastern Blue-Winged Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 40%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost

Peak activity at 12 Uhr — Eastern Blue-Winged Olive (Eastern Blue-Winged Olive, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Supporters see the full sub-surface read.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 as a supporter.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
SulphurHatch
2
3
2
Trico (Eastern)Hatch
2
3
3
2
Eastern Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Eastern Summer BWO (Drunella)Hatch
2
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Fly box · Brown Trout
PL
Pass Lake
8-12 · Pattern
Proven pattern for this period
Local fly shops: Driftless Fly Fishing Co.
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Iowa DNR — French Creek is catch-and-release, artificial-only
  • Verify current regulations.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Waterloo Creek
11 km
85
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
North Bear Creek
18 km
85
Brown trout · Brook trout
Bad Axe River
20 km
0
Brown trout · Brook trout
South Bear Creek
21 km
85
Brown trout · Brook trout
Rush Creek
25 km
0
Brown trout · Brook trout
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Supporting
  • Recreation: Impaired
What this classification means

Recreation: Bacteria/pathogen advisory — mind wading cuts and immersion.

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'French Creek' (IA 01-UIA-248), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Fully Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Pathogens. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · IA 01-UIA-248

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 82 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity55 × 12%6.6
Conditions total= 82
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Waterloo Creekproxy
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout Open all year → Open all year
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts