Iowa’s Venom, Oil and Toxic Sap
Iowa’s Venom, Oil and Toxic Sap

I once struck up a conversation with a man from Australia and while talking I asked him the question most people want to know about Australians, “how many times have you been bitten by one of your crazy spiders you have down there?” His answer was shocking, “Oh not many, probably less than 20 times.”

I once struck up a conversation with a man from Australia and while talking I asked him the question most people want to know about Australians, “how many times have you been bitten by one of your crazy spiders you have down there?” His answer was shocking, “Oh not many, probably less than 20 times.” My coworker and I laughed in horror and amazement and counted our blessing of living in the relatively venom free state of Iowa.

I once struck up a conversation with a man from Australia and while talking I asked him the question most people want to know about Australians, “how many times have you been bitten by one of your crazy spiders you have down there?” His answer was shocking, “Oh not many, probably less than 20 times.” My coworker and I laughed in horror and amazement and counted our blessing of living in the relatively venom free state of Iowa. But only relatively venom free, within Iowa’s borders there are a handful of flora and fauna that if encountered can leave an unlucky Iowan itchy, burning, swollen, scarred and in the worst of scenarios, permanently incapacitated or dead.

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Dangerous Plants and Animals in Iowa

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The Spawn Of Catfish

The Spawn Of Catfish If there is one time of the catfishing season that delivers the most complaints, the most negative attitude and the most arguments about how to catch a channel catfish, it is the spawn and the post spawn. These times happen every year whether we like it or not and there are […]

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Turkey Hunting Roost Tips

Turkey Hunting: It Begins and Ends with the Roost

Turkey Hunting: It Begins and Ends with the Roost Sitting in that crowded blind during the opening hours of my first turkey season is a memory that far from escapes my mind when I think about a successful hunt. It was just chilly enough for a double sweatshirt and to watch the steam coming from […]

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The Ultimate Deer Hunting Property

The Ultimate Deer Hunting Property

The Ultimate Deer Hunting Property As an avid deer hunter here in Iowa I am always thinking or more specifically dreaming of that perfect deer hunting property and how great it would be to actually call myself the owner of such a property. You know what I am talking about; that perfect piece of ground […]

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The Thaw: Ice Out Habits of Iowa Game Fish

The Thaw: Ice Out Habits of Iowa Game Fish The disappearance of ice come spring is a sad time for those of us who love to ice fish. We begrudgingly put away the sleds, augers, and shacks and give one final farewell to all the gear until next winter. But alas, open water season is […]

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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.

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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.