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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Hammock Camping in Iowa

Hammock Camping in the Hawkeye State: Hanging out in Iowa It doesn’t seem to matter where we camp, our hammock setup always seems to be the talk of the campground. If we had a nickel for every person that stops by and asks to check out the hammocks that Laura and I camp in, we’d […]

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Whitetails 365: Please and Thank You

Whitetails 365: Please and Thank You I recently had a conversation with a good friend where he said he’d sure like to hunt a particular block of timber. I asked if he had sought permission to hunt said timber to which he replied, “No.” When I questioned as to why there was not a good […]

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Prepare Yourself for Catfishing Challenges

Prepare Yourself for Catfishing Challenges It seems if you catfish it is inevitable that something will happen that can turn your day upside down. Most of this is out of your control. If you fish enough you know how this can go all too well. You know that little things happen, some can be fixed […]

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Did I Miss Him?

Did I Miss Him? Most people might think that middle schoolers can’t or don’t learn from their mistakes. From my experience, there are many lessons to be learned from hunting. My name is Bailey Dodd. I’m a 13-year-old girl, in 8th grade. I have been hunting, trapping, and fishing with my Dad since I was […]

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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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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.