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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The Non-Traditionalist’s Guide To Whitetail Shotgun Season

The Non-Traditionalist’s Guide To Whitetail Shotgun Season

The Non-Traditionalist’s Guide To Whitetail Shotgun Season I often tell people summer is my fourth favorite season. By nature I am an “against the flow” kind of person so I gain amusement from my audience’s surprised reaction to such a statement. As a teacher summer certainly brings much appreciated rest from 60-70 hour work weeks, […]

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10 Tips for Iowa Rut Late Season Whitetails

Late Season Whitetails

Late Season Whitetails Time, as always, is fleeting. The time from deer season a year ago to opening day seemed to take forever. We waited with anticipation for October 1 to roll around after a long summer. Now, like a vapor, it is late December and deer season is fast closing in on its conclusion. […]

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2019 Roadside Survey

2019 Roadside Survey

Iowa’s pheasant population steady, quail down Iowa’s pheasant hunters should expect to find a similar number of birds as last year, with the exception of south central and southeast Iowa, where the pheasant population decline was more significant. Based on the August roadside survey, Iowa’s statewide average is 17 pheasants per 30 mile route, down […]

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Phasing Your Way Through the Iowa Rut

Phasing Your Way Through the Iowa Rut

Phasing Your Way Through the Iowa Rut November is a magical time for Iowa bowhunters. The early season buck routines are fading into an all-out crap shoot of big buck activity, where their focus is more about interactions with the does in an area and less on surviving their travels from bedding areas to food […]

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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.