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Listen Now! To the Iowa Hunting and Fishing Report

This week’s Iowa Hunting and Fishing Report finds anglers dealing with lingering late-summer heat while hunting season draws closer across the state. Aaron McKinney checks in with bait shops around Iowa for the latest fishing conditions and also spends some time getting the dogs ready for another season in the field.

A special thanks goes to Al Martin Real Estate and Auction for sponsoring this week’s report. The company has an upcoming estate auction in Bloomfield, Iowa, featuring a variety of firearms and outdoor-related items. Outdoorsmen and women looking for shotguns, rifles, handguns and other sporting items will want to check out the upcoming sale: https://almartinauctions.com/september-auctions/?_kx=z8-rbjcsRDFqtgBuODqXLA.RRbGmN#KoettelEstate

Iowa Hunting Fishing Report

Check Out Our Current Issue!

Ice Fishing Yellow Bass

Yellow Bass Iowa’s Overlooked Panfish

Yellow Bass Iowa’s Overlooked Panfish Iowa has a love-hate relationship with the yellow bass. On one hand they’re plentiful, fun to catch and make delicious table fare. On the other hand, in many instances, they’re an invasive species and out-compete other panfish like crappies and bluegills…even largemouth bass. They are prolific breeders so they can […]

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Offseason Hunting Preparation

Hunting Offseason Preparation: 9 Ways to Boost Success

The End of One Season is the Beginning of a New Season: Offseason Hunting Strategy Guide What should hunters do in the offseason? Hunters should use the offseason to improve success by: Scouting deer movement and habitat Practicing shooting skills regularly Gaining permission for new land Maintaining and upgrading equipment Improving habitat and food sources […]

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Top 9 Channel Catfish Baits

Top 9 Channel Catfish Baits

Top 9 Channel Catfish Baits  I once heard a seasoned catfish tournament angler say, “The best bait collectors usually become the best catfish anglers.” At first, that idea took some thinking—but the more time you spend on the water, the more it proves true. Finding and using the right bait is often what separates average days from […]

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Iowa giant whitetail buck Shorty Greene County

The Quest To Get Shorty!

The Quest To Get Shorty! The Start of an Iowa Giant Whitetail Hunt Trail camera Discovery of a Greene County Giant This story begins way back in the Fall of 2010.  I checked my email and noticed that my friend, Jacob Miner, who hunts a neighboring property to our farm, had sent me some deer […]

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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.