Check Out Our Current Issue!
In the May 2026 Issue of the Iowa Sportsman
- Chase the Bite: Early Season
- Calming A Hyper Gun Dog
- Perfecting Your Turkey Setup
- Summer Work That Pays Off in Bow Season
- Artifact Hunting in Iowa
- Wild Edible Foraging
- Tactics for Late-Season Toms
- Iowa’s Venom, Oil and Toxic Sap
Click Here To View This Issue Now!
Fishing for September Walleye
Fishing for September Walleye What’s the most popular freshwater fish for the table? That will vary according to where you live. In the South, crappie and catfish vie for the honors. But throughout the Midwest and Great Plains, the walleye reigns supreme. Chasing after these fish can be a challenge. In the spring, they are […]
READ MORE5 Types of Land Access in Iowa
5 Types of Land Access in Iowa You may have heard stories from members of your family or friends about the “hay day” of Iowa Pheasant hunting but never experienced anything like those stories yourself. Although Iowa has not recently been known for its miles of grasslands or public hunting like some other states, a […]
READ MOREHunting Iowa’s Wild Pheasants
Hunting Iowa’s Wild Pheasants As my son Dylan and I turned onto the gravel road leading to our opening day hunting spot last fall we kept our fingers crossed that maybe we’d be lucky enough to be the first hunters to arrive at the IHAP public hunting farm. It was still a half-hour until shooting […]
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Preparing For Waterfowl Season
Preparing For Waterfowl Season The humid heat of summer keeps many of our minds averted from cupped wings and bobbing decoys. For a lot of hunters, myself included, it can be tough to get in the mindset of waterfowl hunting until the season is literally upon us. You rush to assemble the gear, maybe the […]
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Featured Story
Springtime Panfish-Perch, Crappie, and Bluegill
Spring is in full swing here in Iowa, and what can be more pleasant a reminder than the sound of birds, the sight of flowers blooming, and the feel of a warm afternoon? I can think of at least one more thing…Panfish!
I can remember it like yesterday, our family would all meet up at the lake house. There was work to do. The yard was to be picked up, the cabin cleaned, and the dock had to be put in. But then, after the work was finished, it was time for all of us cousins to fish! We would all go out to the garage to pick out a few old rods and tie on a hook and sinker as best we could.
The next order of business was to hunt for worms. Flipping anything that we could find stuck in the ground in hopes of just finding a few crawlers. Once the bait was secured, we were ready to fish. We would go out on the dock and cast, vertical jig, and even troll along the side of the dock. We usually did pretty well use those tactics, but my all-time favorite was walking along the rocks on shore and dropping the bait down every little crevice, not knowing what was going to come up next.
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.
