Early Spring Trout Fishing
Early Spring Trout Fishing

Early Spring Trout Fishing Spring in Northeast Iowa’s Driftless Region marks the beginning of one of the most rewarding trout fishing seasons in the Midwest. This is one of the prettiest areas in Northern Iowa marked with limestone bluffs, spring-fed creeks, and rolling pastures. The Driftless Region contains a several cold, clear streams that flow steadily year-round. This creates perfect trout habitat, and spring offers fishermen peaceful days on the water. With stable water temperatures, increasing insect activity, and hungry post-winter trout, there’s no better time to explore these legendary streams. Why The Driftless Region? This region is a trout […]

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Establishing and Maintaining Native Warm Season Grasses

Establishing and Maintaining Native Warm Season Grasses My husband and I just moved to our current residence a few years ago. During that first year, we knew we wanted to attract wildlife to our property. We wanted to create a wildlife mecca, holding gamebirds, deer, and other wildlife. The first steps included planting cover and […]

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Best Tips to Catch More Spring Bass You want to be a Fishing Guide

Best Tips to Catch More Spring Bass

Best Tips to Catch More Spring Bass Spring bass fishing can present its challenges, especially for northern states, like Iowa, which tend to experience a wide range of temperature swings coming off ice-out into mid-spring. Those anglers that get out and really look for them, however, are often rewarded with some of the heaviest bass […]

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Finding Public Land for Deer Hunting

Finding the Perfect Public Land Deer Hunting Spot

Whitetails 365: Finding the Perfect Public Land Deer Hunting Spot So, you want some more hunting ground, but cannot afford it. This is the case of most of us. However, you should consider using the publica hunting land available. Right now, you can start scouting these public areas in preparation for opening day. In fact, […]

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Hunting Henned Turkeys

Turkey Nightmare Henned Up

Turkey Nightmare Henned Up A henned up tom is a nightmare that we as turkey hunters will ultimately face many times over in our turkey hunting career. For those that haven’t heard the term “henned-up”, it basically describes a situation where a tom has found a hen or group of hens and is very if […]

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Featured Story

Big Buck Profile: The 2025 Gandy Buck

Ok, this first big buck profile is a little self-serving in that it is of a buck that I personally took this past deer season. While it is likely not the “biggest” big buck that we will profile this year it is definitely one of my most special deer ever.

Turning a Dream into Reality

As has been noted in several articles since 2023, my family and I finally put together the means to purchase our very own piece of Iowa ground. “The 32,” as we call it, has become a passion project to see if we could take an unassuming piece of real estate and harvest a mature deer from there by giving him all he needs in the way of habitat. This year was the first year that the farm would be huntable in the state in which we intended due to construction projects over the past couple of seasons.

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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.