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Time to set your Tree Stand!
By Dan Johnson August is hot. August is humid. But if you’re like me, you’ve procrastinated too long and it’s the last chance to get some work done before the season starts. Because in September, I don’t step foot on the properties I hunt, except to maybe check some easy accessible trail cameras. So what happens in August, other than sweating my profusely? I hang treestands. I used to hang them earlier in the year, like May or June, but over the years I realized that there is still a lot of growth and movement that happens in the timber during that timeframe. This means that there have been times where I will hunt one of those stands in late [...]
Spread your Lines for more Fishing Success
By Bob Jensen Wherever you're fishing, it often helps to get as many lines in the water as possible. The more lines you have in the water, the better your chances for getting a fish to eat your bait. The key is keeping your lines from tangling. A tool that will enable an angler to get multiple lines in the water effectively is a planer board. Whether you're fishing for stripers in the middle sections of the country, crappies wherever crappies live, or walleyes in reservoirs and natural lakes, planer boards will enable you to effectively present more baits. A planer board is about the size of a business envelope. Most of them have a small flag that makes them [...]
River Honkers
By Nick Johnson Have you hung up your waders and retired the decoys for the season? I hope not! There is still season left and now is the time to be out hunting when most others have called it a year. Lakes, ponds and smaller streams are largely frozen and the remaining geese are forced to use available open water to roost, which in Iowa means rivers; something that we are in no shortage of. If field hunting is not an option, look to rivers for late season honkers. By now most species of waterfowl are happily courting in their wintering grounds further south. Geese have largely reached their wintering grounds as well but they are hardier than most other [...]
Hot Weather Fishing Success
By Bob Jensen In most places, it’s been either hot or really hot for the past few weeks. And, in many places, the fishing has been hot for anglers who adapt their techniques to the hot weather. Fishing in the heat of summer is different from other seasons in some ways, but it’s also the same in a couple of ways. If you keep a few things in mind when you’re on the water, you can experience some outstanding fishing action. Following are some of the things you need to keep in mind if you want to catch fish during the hottest time of the year. The most important thing to remember, just like any other time of the year, [...]
Signs to Success
By Ryan Graden I had been sitting in this stand all evening. It was one of many long hour sits during November for one particular buck that I knew was in the “neck of the woods” that I was frequenting. He was not a buck of a lifetime, but he was a definite Pope & Young buck that I wouldn’t mind having on my wall. I first set eyes on him while on a horse ride with my wife and a few friends that we work with. We happened to be on a trail that weaved its way through some heavy brome grass when all of the sudden, the lead horse literally leapt one giant hop to the left as [...]
Useful Tactics For Walleyes In The Heat!
By Steve Weisman The dog days of summer…historically, for lots of anglers these words mean the end of walleye fishing until the cool fall days begin. For fishing guide and tournament angler Kevan Paul, the dog days of summer can still be days of good walleye fishing. “I agree that some lakes just seem to shut down, but there are also lakes where even during the heat of the summer you can have good walleye action.” Paul’s recommendation right off the bat is this: know the body of water you will be fishing. What does the lake have to offer? “You have to know the water. I guide on both Clear Lake and the Iowa Great Lakes, and I also [...]
Shoot your trophy during the early season!
By Ricky Kinder October 1 is a date that archery hunters in Iowa treat as a holiday, as it is the opening day of archery season for whitetail! While those last few weeks always seem to drag on, the season will be here before we know it. Although the early stages of archery season doesn’t get as much publicity as the rut does, it can be just as good for harvesting a mature buck if know what you are doing. In fact early season is one of my favorite times to hunt for a couple of reasons. The first being that after a ten month lay off I am finally back sitting in a tree pursuing one of Mother Natures [...]
Horsin’ Around With Redhorse
By Nick Johnson I can remember it like yesterday, sitting along the bank of a creek with my friend Dave drowning worms in pursuit of anything, really. We were young kids at the time, enjoying our freedom, not yet feeling the obligations of a summer job. The dry heat was enough to keep the bugs at bay and my hands were covered in slime from numerous bullhead, carp and small catfish that had been taking our baits on a regular basis. We were fishing in a deep pool of the stream and the bite was pretty good considering it was mid-day. My line began to twitch and I could tell something was worrying with my bait. It wasn’t the tug [...]
An Epic Journey: Snow Goose Migrations
By: Nick Johnson I can recall as a kid, staring blindly into the cobalt-blue spring sky searching for the source of strange bark sounds and low murmuring chatter. Brilliant white specks would appear, heading northward signaling that the annual spring snow goose migration was well underway. I never fathomed the journey that these geese traveled yet I admired the big flocks as they rode the air currents high above me in strung out, undulating rhythms. A truly amazing feat, waterfowl migrations are one of the greatest natural spectacles in North America. Snow goose migrations are among the longest, spanning from the far artic regions of the north to wintering grounds as far south as the Texas and Mexico coastlines. The [...]
The art of hunting afoot
Let's not kid ourselves. Hunting a whitetail deer on foot is a major challenge. In Iowa, some hunters might even think it a little...hmmm...crazy. Yes, that's the word, crazy. Oh yeah, and trying to do it with a bow? Ha, you've gotta be joking, right?! You'll be up against the following: extremely good hearing, extremely good vision, and out-of-this-world olfactory senses (nose). Nobody would be foolish enough to attempt such a thing! Count me as a fool! Bow hunting deer using your own two feet is going to put your skills and conditioning to the test. Are you really scent free? Can you accurately judge the wind? Is your stealth good enough to take on a deer's keen ears? These [...]
