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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!

After The Season

After The Season: What you can do Now to be Successful Next Fall January 10th has come and gone leaving us the lull of a few winter months with nothing to pursue outdoors. At this point, you could stay inside and watch the sun rise and fall. You could watch the ever-slowing hands of the […]

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Chasing Late Season Bluegills In Clear Water

Chasing Late Season Bluegills In Clear Water For years and years ice fishermen from across the Midwest have headed to northwest Iowa’s West Lake Okoboji to sight fish the finicky bluegills which West Okoboji is famous for. Late ice toward the end of February and into March can be incredible. Once in a while, for […]

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Northern Pike Iowa Great Lakes

Targeting Northern Pike on the Iowa Great Lakes

Targeting Northern Pikes on the Iowa Great Lakes The Iowa Great Lakes is an ice fishing destination for both Iowa anglers and out-of-staters. After all, there is great walleye fishing and panfishing (perch, bluegill and crappie). If an angler is interested, there are also shallows teeming with largemouth bass that will readily attack smaller panfish […]

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Creating the Right Cover

Creating the Right Cover: Whitetails 365

Creating the Right Cover: Whitetails 365 When I was a teenager, the farm I hunted exclusively was my grandpa’s 120 acres. It was filled with mature maples, oaks, and poplar. There was very little undergrowth, woody browse, or bedding cover. The thing is, I didn’t know it. I had no idea that the habitat was […]

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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?

READ FULL STORY

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.