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Listen Now! To the Iowa Hunting and Fishing Report

Watch the October 6th Iowa Hunting and Fishing Report!

Fishing: The fall bite is on! Panfish are still biting, the walleye bite is finally starting to pick up too.

Hunting: Congrats to all the youth hunters who were able to fill their tags. Bow season is now open, movement has been okay.

This week's sponsor of the Hunting and Fishing Report is Polk County Conservation's controlled waterfowl hunting program. Waterfowl hunting blinds at Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt in NE Polk County can be reserved by calling the Chichaqua office at (515) 323-5395 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The twelve blinds are located in both marsh and woodland settings. Blinds cost $30 per day and hold up to four hunters. Reservations are available for both the early split (October 10 – 16) and late split (Oct. 24 – Nov. 30).

Click here to reserve your blind today!
https://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/conservation/things-to-do/hunting

Iowa Hunting Fishing Report
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Check Out Our Current Issue!

In The Iowa Sportsman December 2026 Issue…

Winter brings fresh opportunities for hunters and anglers, and this issue of Iowa Sportsman has plenty to explore. Follow the trail in Whitetail 365: Tracking Goes to the Dogs, explore December Coyote Hunting, and bring your harvest full circle with How to Process Your Own Venison.

Keep your hunting season going with Hunting the Late Split and Where to Find Late-Season Pheasants in Iowa. For a closer look at your equipment, read Understanding Barrel Lengths, Profiles, and Twist Rates, then help your four-legged hunting partner prepare for colder outings with Winter Safety: Keeping Your Dog Warm.

Ready to trade the field for frozen water? Discover Why Anglers Head North to Devils Lake and explore A Minnesota Winter of Big Fish and Miles of Trails. Round out your winter preparations with Ice Augers for Every Situation and Budget.

Click Here To View This Issue Now!
Hinge Cutting for Whitetails

Whitetails 365: Chainsaw Habitat

Whitetails 365: Chainsaw Habitat When it comes to whitetail deer hunting, most hunters will spend an enormous amount of time and resources on their hunting gear. Whether it’s the time they spend planning their new equipment, or the money they budget and save for that big ticket item. Open any fall archery or hunting catalog […]

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Turkey World Slam

Completing the Turkey Grand Slam

“Wrapped up World” As my AeroMexico flight touched the runway at Campeche International Airport, I realized the first, and easiest, leg of this adventure had been completed. The quest was to finally wrap-up my Turkey World Slam. Having taken my Grand Slam (Eastern, Merriam, Rio and Osceola) during the 2006 calendar year in the United […]

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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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Featured Story

A Classic Evening with an Iowa Giant – Bowhunting Boone & Crockett Bucks

Does a plan ever fall into place the way it should? The months leading up to October and November are filled with daydreams of target bucks making their way in front of our stands. Perfect conditions, with a shooter buck coming in on a string, setting up for perfect shot placement. If only that was how it worked… but that wouldn’t be as rewarding, would it?

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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.