Check Out Our Current Issue!
In the June 2026 Issue of the Iowa Sportsman
- Waterfowl Hunting Tips for Beginners: 5 Ways to Start
- Deer Hunting Preparation in June: Set Up for Success
- 5 Ways to Cook Fresh Fish in Summer
- A Guide to Summer Catfishing
- Are Allergies More Common Today in Dogs?
- June Food Plot Planting in Iowa: What to Grow Now
- Why Suppressors Are Gaining Popularity Today
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Fishing Big Spirit Lake For The Fall Double Header
Fishing Big Spirit Lake: For The Fall Double Header Fall is always a great time for fishing. The months of September and October offer stretches of mild weather and beautiful colors as the trees turn a myriad of colors, and best of all, the fish are putting on that fall “feed bag” and are on […]
READ MOREStrategic Rooster Hunting
Strategic Rooster Hunting If I was asked to identify my greatest weaknesses I would be able to compile an extensive list within a moment, and one item on that list would be grocery shopping. I walk into the store, forget to grab a cart and then begin wandering aimlessly down the aisles waiting for my […]
READ MOREOvercoming and Adapting to Whitetail Obstacles
Overcoming and Adapting to Whitetail Obstacles Obstacles. Hate ‘em, but gotta like ‘em. Right? I’m old enough now to know that when things get in my way of accomplishing a task, I don’t like it. It might make things harder. It might add time to whatever I’m doing. Or maybe it might create delays. It […]
READ MOREDecoying Tactics for Rutting Whitetails
Fake Out: Decoying Tactics for Rutting Whitetails Counterfeit, fraud, hoax, phony: all are words that may be used to describe the art of decoying mature whitetail bucks into archery range. If one can effectively trick the senses of a whitetail buck by using decoying tactics then the odds of having an archery chip shot increase […]
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Featured Story
Springtime Panfish-Perch, Crappie, and Bluegill
Spring is in full swing here in Iowa, and what can be more pleasant a reminder than the sound of birds, the sight of flowers blooming, and the feel of a warm afternoon? I can think of at least one more thing…Panfish!
I can remember it like yesterday, our family would all meet up at the lake house. There was work to do. The yard was to be picked up, the cabin cleaned, and the dock had to be put in. But then, after the work was finished, it was time for all of us cousins to fish! We would all go out to the garage to pick out a few old rods and tie on a hook and sinker as best we could.
The next order of business was to hunt for worms. Flipping anything that we could find stuck in the ground in hopes of just finding a few crawlers. Once the bait was secured, we were ready to fish. We would go out on the dock and cast, vertical jig, and even troll along the side of the dock. We usually did pretty well use those tactics, but my all-time favorite was walking along the rocks on shore and dropping the bait down every little crevice, not knowing what was going to come up next.
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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.
