Iowa's trout species
by Bill Kalishek

Iowa’s trout species

After more than a century of stocking, Iowa now hosts three trout species. All three species display a streamlined body shape suitable for life in a fast-moving stream.

Our native brook trout was originally found from Iowa and Minnesota east to Maine, north to Hudson Bay and down the Appalachian mountains to northern Georgia. It is still present in a few streams where it is able to reproduce. Brook trout require the coldest water temperatures and cleanest water of Iowa’s trout species.

The brown trout was historically not present in North America but introduced to this continent from Germany, England and Scotland. Brown trout were first brought into Iowa in the late 1880s. The brown trout is now widespread, spawning naturally in 27 northeast Iowa streams.

The rainbow trout was native to the Pacific coast of North America. Rainbow trout were first propagated and released in Wisconsin in 1872 and probably very soon after that into Iowa. This trout requires continued stocking.