Early Spring Trout Fishing
Early Spring Trout Fishing

Early Spring Trout Fishing Spring in Northeast Iowa’s Driftless Region marks the beginning of one of the most rewarding trout fishing seasons in the Midwest. This is one of the prettiest areas in Northern Iowa marked with limestone bluffs, spring-fed creeks, and rolling pastures. The Driftless Region contains a several cold, clear streams that flow steadily year-round. This creates perfect trout habitat, and spring offers fishermen peaceful days on the water. With stable water temperatures, increasing insect activity, and hungry post-winter trout, there’s no better time to explore these legendary streams. Why The Driftless Region? This region is a trout […]

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Catching Musky and Pike in Iowa

Catching Musky and Pike in Iowa Muskies (aka the musky or muskellunge, plus many other spellings and titles) are the largest of the pike family. Usually, they prefer clear water lakes and rivers and are most actively feeding in water temperatures 55° to 70° Fahrenheit. They will eat any fish they can catch and prefer […]

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Great Catfishing Destinations in Iowa

Great Catfishing Destinations in Iowa We are already well into the open water season and the catfishing is in full swing. As anglers we always want more and bigger fish. Catfish anglers are no exception. If you are willing to do some driving and some walking if you are a shore angler there are some […]

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Adding Sweeteners to Food Plots

Adding Sweeteners to Food Plots: Whitetails 365

Adding Sweeteners to Food Plots: Whitetails 365 I don’t know that I have a single stand placed for archery hunting that is without some kind of what I call a sweetener. This might be unimpressive if I had only one or two, but I have dozens of stands across five different farms that I plan […]

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Bait Rigs that Catch Fish

Bait Rigs that Catch Fish If you were to go out and ask a dozen anglers what their favorite live bait rig is for any number of species you’ll likely get a dozen different answers. Now it may not be a dozen different baits, but certainly a variety of ways to rig those said baits. […]

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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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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.