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 Fish Through The Ice

Catching Fish Through The Ice

Why You’re Not Catching Fish Through The Ice Even the best of us have a day when we just can’t seem to catch fish. Either we can’t get them to bite, or we just plain can’t find them. This is especially frustrating with ice fishing because we can get right on top of the fish, […]

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Conquering Coyote Hunting Scenarios

Conquering Coyote Hunting Scenarios

Conquering Common Coyote Hunting Scenarios A coyote’s notorious ability for escaping trouble is somewhat legendary and if you hunt them very long at all you’ll witness their gifted talent over and over. But the more experience you get at seeing coyotes approach and knowing their habits, the less they will escape. Whether you’re a regular […]

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Weather Effects on Ice Fishing

Weather the Ice: How Weather affects Ice Fishing

Weather the Ice: How Weather affects Ice Fishing Most of us only think of weather and how it affects fish behavior in terms of open water. Up until recent years I gave little to no thought about weather patterns and fishing strategies on the ice. Shame on me for neglecting such factors because weather does […]

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Using Camera for Ice Fishing

Using a camera to down-view

Using a camera to down-view By Steve Weisman Yes, it’s true. During the winter, I am a sight fishing fanatic. To me, it’s part of the rush: to suddenly see a fish or several fish come toward the bait. Plus, sight fishing helps me to see exactly what my presentation is, so I can get […]

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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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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.