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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Check Out Our Current Issue!

End of Fishing Season Things To Do Ways to Rig Plastics Berkley Shares the Science of Fishing Lures

Ways to Rig Plastics

Ways to Rig Plastics Texas-Rig This is a mainstay for anglers searching for bass.  It can be used with any soft plastic that you want banging around the bottom of the lake.  NO matter the plastic you choose rigging is the same for each style of bait. Run the top of your bait over the […]

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Elevating Food Plots with Frost Seeded Clover and Alfalfa Simple Things Landowners can do to Improve Wildlife  Herbicides Now and Next Year's Tree Plantings

Simple Things Landowners can do to Improve Wildlife

Simple Things Landowners can do to Improve Wildlife One of my favorite things about hunting is watching different wildlife interacting and coexisting in one place. Whether you are an avid hunter or wildlife enthusiast, there are a few projects you can do to improve your land’s attractiveness to wildlife. Wildlife require habitat, water, and food […]

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How to Call Waterfowl

Waterfowl Lingo

Waterfowl Lingo Have you ever walked outside and listened to the Snow Geese or Canada’s and wonder what on earth they could be screaming about? Or how about a group of mallards working a marsh and all you can hear is chuckling or that lone hen screaming out a cadence. What about the whistle of […]

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Ways to Catch Summer Catfish on the River

Ways to Catch Summer Catfish on the River

Ways to Catch Summer Catfish on the River Catching catfish on the surface looks pretty easy and it is. One of the beautiful things about catfishing in the 21st century is it can be as simple or as difficult as you want it to be. Ways to catch catfish are many. In some states you […]

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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.