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 […]

Check Out Our Current Issue!

Fishing for Early Walleyes

Fishing for Early Walleyes As winter hangs on here in Iowa, anglers begin to think about what lies ahead for open-water fishing. While many of Iowa’s lakes are still covered in ice, I would consider most of those thoughts wishful thinking for now. However, a few sports shows occur in February, and those feed that […]

READ MORE

 Scouting for the 2023 Deer Season : Whitetails 365

 Scouting for the 2023 Deer Season : Whitetails 365 It seems as soon as deer season concludes Jan. 10th, I am already looking forward to opening day of bow season October 1st. In February, we get outside to check for sheds and take inventory of which bucks made it through the gun seasons. Finding sheds […]

READ MORE

2 DIY Taxidermy Projects

2 DIY Taxidermy Projects

2 Do-It-Yourself Taxidermy Projects to Display Your Trophy When it comes to preserving the memory of time out in the timber we often turn to taxidermy to help us preserve the animal as well as the memory. I love walking into a shop or business and looking at different mounts on the wall. Each one […]

READ MORE

Leveraging Perennial Food On Your Land

Leveraging Perennial Food on Your Land

Leveraging Perennial Food on Your Land When we begin planning our food plots, often we focus solely on annuals. We focus on turnips, brassicas, radishes, and maybe some soybeans, sorghum, and corn. For the most part those are fantastic because they yield results right away, within a couple months. However, when it comes to long-term […]

READ MORE

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.

READ FULL STORY

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.