The Art of Persuasion: Deer Scents, Rattles, and Bleats 
The Art of Persuasion: Deer Scents, Rattles, and Bleats 

The Art of Persuasion: Deer Scents, Rattles, and Bleats In the 80’s, my father and grandfather were “entry-level” deer hunters.  They had been invited to begin hunting a timber here in central Iowa that had a steady population of deer.  In their efforts to learn more regarding the tactics to use to fool a wise old whitetail, my grandfather and father would douse their boots with fox urine!  It was an effort to hide human scent when they were in the woods.  It goes without saying that those boots were not allowed in the house, ever! There is no doubt […]

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The Best Locations for Food Plots

The Best Locations for Food Plots: Whitetails 365

The Best Locations for Food Plots: Whitetails 365 The first food plot I ever planted was a very small field of corn. I had no equipment; none! I didn’t even know how or where to purchase field corn seed. Fertilizer…no idea? If I recall correctly, I had no idea about herbicides either. But I had […]

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Prepping for a Puppy

Prepping for a Puppy

Prepping for a Puppy Theo was the softball sized, orange and white Britt pup we fell in love with. He was only six weeks old then- not quite to the recommended eight weeks for adopting him away from the care of his mama, “Belle.” So after sighing deeply with puppy-smitten adoration, we snapped a few […]

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Chasing Nighttime Fish

Chasing Nighttime Fish

Chasing Nighttime Fish How’s this for fishing the first night of this past Walleye Opener on West Okoboji? Six walleyes 15-16 inches, another 12 walleyes in the slot from 17-22 inches, 5 walleyes over the slot with the largest at 25 inches. Oh, and a 22.5-inch/7-pound 4-ounce trophy smallmouth! Not a bad night’s work, I’d […]

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Deer Cues to Look For

Deer Cues to Look For

Deer Cues to Look For Everybody likes a good hint when they need it right? Remember back in your schooldays when the teacher said, “I’ll give you a hint?” When I heard that phrase, I would zero in to what she was going to say next. I did not want to miss anything that might […]

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Featured Story

Iowa Public Land Hunting 

Every hunter wants to know where to go to harvest a great deer.  We often assume that there is some “honey hole” spot out there that a person can always go to and harvest a trophy year after year.  While having hope for that, we are always keeping our ears perked for that privileged information on where the best place to hunt would be.   

Now, let me ask you, if somebody had the perfect spot to hunt where they are harvesting trophy deer year after year, do you think that they would share that information with you?  Probably not.  Unless they are VERY gracious and kind.   

In this article, I will not share any “secret spots” with you who are reading.  Frankly, because I don’t have any secret spots to share!  However, I’ve lived in Iowa long enough to steer you to certain areas of our great state that might give you a great chance to fill a tag this fall and winter.  So let’s begin with some regions of the state to key into. 

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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.