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Listen Now! To the Iowa Hunting and Fishing Report

Iowa Hunting and Fishing Report: Cooler Weather Signals the Fall Bite

Cooler temperatures, plenty of rain and the first signs of fall are starting to change outdoor conditions across Iowa. In the September 15, 2026, edition of the Iowa Hunting and Fishing Report, Aaron McKinney breaks down the latest fishing conditions while also getting ready for the fast-approaching bow hunting season.


A special thanks goes to Al Martin Real Estate and Auction for sponsoring this week’s report. The company has an upcoming estate auction in Bloomfield, Iowa, featuring a variety of firearms and outdoor-related items. Outdoorsmen and women looking for shotguns, rifles, handguns and other sporting items will want to check out the upcoming sale: https://almartinauctions.com/september-auctions/?_kx=z8-rbjcsRDFqtgBuODqXLA.RRbGmN#KoettelEstate

Iowa Hunting Fishing Report

Check Out Our Current Issue!

The Basics of Walleye Fishing

The Basics of Walleye Fishing Walleyes are arguably one of the tastiest freshwater fish in the US, and in my opinion, the tastiest fish to catch in the state. On top of that, they also top the charts as one of the feistiest fish to land this side of (and in) the Mississippi river. Walleyes […]

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Diversify your Food Plots for Success

Diversify your Food Plots for Success I have a whole file on my laptop filled with pictures of successful harvests of my daughters. I am the proud dad of four daughters ranging from ages nineteen to twelve. And yes, all four of them are successful deer hunters. Their success, however, came with the benefit of […]

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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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Planting Switchgrass for Cover

Planting Switchgrass for Cover “Switchgrass on my property would be a great way to bring in the pheasants”. This is what I told myself, an avid pheasant hunter, after I bought a small acreage in northwest Iowa. However, I knew enough about plants to know that I was no agronomist, and the thought of planting […]

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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.