Spring Creek · Limestone · Iowa, US

North Bear Creek

North Bear Creek venue image
Prime · Brown Trout
Blue Winged Olive · 18-22
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
River high but settled. Coloured water — fish bigger and deeper, confident takes down the seams.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia Waterloo Creek
  • Water temp12.4°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Blue Winged Olive
Blue Winged Olive18-22
Proven pattern for this period
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Waterloo Creek
Water temp12.4°C
ClarityClear
Weather1°C
WindSW 10 km/h
Pressure1033 hPa
Rain · recent14.1 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
12°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 time of day could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Chironomids
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 4 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Supporters see the full sub-surface read.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 as a supporter.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

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 — verify regulations.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
South Bear Creek
2.0 km
Brown trout · Brook trout
Waterloo Creek
10 km
84
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
French Creek
18 km
83
Brown trout · Brook trout
Trout Run
22 km
84
Brown trout · Brook trout · Rainbow trout
West Beaver Creek
23 km
0
Brown trout · Brook trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
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 'North Bear Creek' (IA 01-UIA-255), 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-255

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 84 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time60 × 13%7.8
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity62 × 12%7.4
Conditions total= 84
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