Panfish
Exploring Iowa’s Water Trails
Exploring Iowa’s Water Trails Iowans are blessed with many rivers, creeks, lakes and reservoirs that are perfect paddling whether they choose a canoe, kayak or even an inner tube. These waterways will take you through a variety of areas that are significant to our state whether from a historical, cultural, geological, or ecological standpoint. Indeed, […]
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Tips for Getting the Fishing Rig Ready for Open Water
Tips for Getting the Fishing Rig Ready for Open Water By Steve Weisman As spring approaches, anglers are transitioning from ice fishing to open water fishing. When this time comes, it’s time to get the boat ready for another year of fishing. There are really two ways to approach this. The first is for those […]
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Late Ice Season Crappies
Late Ice Season Crappies By Ben Leal March is here and anglers are starting to look at their boats, bass and walleye rods, thinking about the open water season. February is the time of year when, in Iowa, most of the outdoor sports and recreation shows take place, giving a reason for thoughts of open […]
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Trolling on Ice
Trolling on Ice By Bob Jensen Open water trolling is a technique, or at least a phrase, that most anglers are familiar with. Trolling on the ice is a technique that more and more ice-anglers are becoming familiar with. Trolling on the ice might not make sense at first, but once you understand the concept, […]
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Battling Invasive Species in Iowa Lakes
Battling Invasive Species in our Iowa Lakes Early in the fall of 2022, a shocking discovery was made on the Okoboji chain of lakes. Eurasian watermilfoil, an aggressive invasive plant that can negatively impact a body of water by outcompeting the native plants and becoming the dominant species was found. The scary part is that […]
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Upgrading Your Summer Fishing Reels
Upgrading Your Summer Fishing Reels The rivers are flowing, and some lakes are free of ice; now is the time to start thinking about your open water fishing arsenal. March is a great time to upgrade an integral part of your fishing tools, and you will notice the difference the first time you use them. […]
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Early Ice vs. Late Ice
Early Ice vs. Late Ice By Rod Woten It’s a debate almost as old as ice fishing itself. Early ice or late ice and which is better? You’ll hear just as many opinions on why one is better as you will for the other. The truth is, they both can be great from a fishing […]
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Iowa Ice Hotspots for Crappie
Iowa Ice Hotspots for Crappie By Ben Leal November of 2019 will be remembered by the sudden blast of cold that blew into the State early in the month…Anglers across Iowa, especially those in the central portions of the state were talking about being on the ice by Thanksgiving. As I sit and hammer out […]
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Fish The Bite… All Day Long
Fish The Bite… All Day Long By Rod Woten By now many ice anglers are well aware of what is often referred to as ‘the golden hours” of ice fishing; those couple of hours that separate dawn from daylight and daylight from dusk when the sun is at the top of the trees and the […]
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Pond Structure Improvement
Pond Structure Improvement There is no doubt that many of Iowa’s anglers began their fishing endeavors on one of the 110,000 ponds scattered throughout the State. This is true for me too, Grandpa would introduce grandchildren to pond fishing, usually with a spiderman or barbie fishing pole. A small hook with a bit of worm […]
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