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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Iowa Trout Grand Slam

Iowa Trout Grand Slam

Iowa Trout Grand Slam Brace yourselves. Those of you unaware that Iowa has fishable trout populations may be in for a shock. Not only DOES Iowa have fishable trout populations in the northeast corner of the state…some of which do NOT rely on regular stocking to maintain their population…but Iowa actually has THREE species of […]

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My 5 Best Largemouth Tips

My 5 Best Largemouth Tips The largemouth bass, the most familiar fish in the country lives all around us.  No matter if you fish a farm pond, a local river, county park, one of the 100’s of man-made lakes around Iowa, or the Mighty Mississippi River, the largemouth bass is waiting for you.  Typically we […]

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What Should I Plant in my Iowa Food Plot

What Should I Plant in my Iowa Food Plot Today, the food plot market offers a plethora of choices and varieties for food plots. You can find a multitude of custom blends and plant species. Quite honestly, it can be a little overwhelming with the amount of choices. To narrow these choices down and help […]

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Whitetail Summer School

Whitetail Summer School Our country in 2020 took a turn that we had never dealt with before. Covid-19 sent us into cover and, in many ways, hindered living in ways that we could never imagine. Our freedoms, to a certain degree, have been suspended by a “bug” that none of us could see with our […]

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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.