Check Out Our Current Issue!
In the April 2026 Issue of the Iowa Sportsman
- Best Places for Early Season Open Water
- Building a Foundation for the Field
- Range Safety Tips
- Building a Farm Pond to Hold More Wildlife
- Shed Antlers: Do they really tell us anything?
- What Makes a Great Food Plot
- Keeping Kids Engaged in Turkey Hunting
- Pre-Spawn Bass
- Springtime Panfish-Perch, Crappie, and Bluegill
Click Here To View This Issue Now!
Introduce Someone New To Fishing
Introduce Someone New to Fishing Most of us probably have someone in our lives that took the time to introduce us to fishing. It may have been a grandparent, your Dad or your Mom, or even just a friend that invited you out one day. So the seed was planted, and you’re now an angler. […]
READ MOREHigh School Bass Fishing
High School Bass Fishing Over the past five years there is a growing trend in schools and teenagers across Iowa. No, it isn’t the latest app on a phone or a brand new gaming device, it is bass fishing! While bass fishing at the high school level isn’t anything brand new, the competitive side of […]
READ MOREDigital Hunting Maps And How To Use Them
Digital Hunting Maps And How To Use Them It’s crazy to think back ten to fifteen years ago and relive the days when a very important tool for me in terms of hunting was a hard copy of the Iowa Sportsman’s Atlas. I still have that Atlas somewhere tucked away in storage, full of highlighter […]
READ MOREWild Edibles and How To Use Them
Wild Edibles and How To Use Them When COVID hit, the world went crazy! And rightly so. None of us knew what this meant for our population. What was in store for us? Rather, what was NOT in the store for us! I remember going to purchase groceries shortly after lockdowns hit and seeing shelves […]
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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.
