Check Out Our Current Issue!
In the April 2026 Issue of the Iowa Sportsman
- Best Places for Early Season Open Water
- Building a Foundation for the Field
- Range Safety Tips
- Building a Farm Pond to Hold More Wildlife
- Shed Antlers: Do they really tell us anything?
- What Makes a Great Food Plot
- Keeping Kids Engaged in Turkey Hunting
- Pre-Spawn Bass
- Springtime Panfish-Perch, Crappie, and Bluegill
Click Here To View This Issue Now!
Iowa’s Venom, Oil and Toxic Sap
Iowa’s Venom, Oil and Toxic Sap I once struck up a conversation with a man from Australia and while talking I asked him the question most people want to know about Australians, “how many times have you been bitten by one of your crazy spiders you have down there?” His answer was shocking, “Oh not […]
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Tactics for Late-Season Toms
Tactics for Late-Season Toms The warm spring air felt a little chilly but good as I approached the area I was going to turkey hunt in the dark, well before sunrise. The dew was on the grass, and I headed towards an open field with rolling hills and timber nearby. Be Observant There were plenty […]
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Wild Edible Foraging
Wild Edible Foraging With the arrival of spring comes many long-awaited activities for any outdoors enthusiast, like hiking, fishing, and turkey hunting. There is another short-lived activity that gets some of us out wandering around in nature. This is the adult version of an Easter egg hunt, and it’s called foraging. Foraging for wild edibles […]
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Artifact Hunting in Iowa
Artifact Hunting in Iowa I will admit, in high school, one of my least favorite subjects was history class. I’m not sure what rubbed me so wrong in those years, but something has changed since then. As I grew older, I think I realized how much history could help people shape the future. Knowing our […]
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Featured Story
Springtime Panfish-Perch, Crappie, and Bluegill
Spring is in full swing here in Iowa, and what can be more pleasant a reminder than the sound of birds, the sight of flowers blooming, and the feel of a warm afternoon? I can think of at least one more thing…Panfish!
I can remember it like yesterday, our family would all meet up at the lake house. There was work to do. The yard was to be picked up, the cabin cleaned, and the dock had to be put in. But then, after the work was finished, it was time for all of us cousins to fish! We would all go out to the garage to pick out a few old rods and tie on a hook and sinker as best we could.
The next order of business was to hunt for worms. Flipping anything that we could find stuck in the ground in hopes of just finding a few crawlers. Once the bait was secured, we were ready to fish. We would go out on the dock and cast, vertical jig, and even troll along the side of the dock. We usually did pretty well use those tactics, but my all-time favorite was walking along the rocks on shore and dropping the bait down every little crevice, not knowing what was going to come up next.
Created By Iowans, For Iowans
The Iowa Sportsman website and magazine are Iowa’s only privately owned media sources catering to hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts here in Iowa. Simply put, we are unlike other Iowa outdoor media sources: All our staff is from Iowa, from our publisher to our writers. We actually follow through on what we advertise; we provide knowledgeable content from people who know the industry or sport discussed.
