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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!

Snowmobiles: The New Rage?

Snowmobiles: The New Rage? I am amazed how far snowmobiles and the sport of snowmobiling have come in the 40-ish years since I first threw a leg over one. I remember our old Ski-Doo and Rupp sleds fondly. At the time they seemed powerful, comfortable and agile. Fast forward 40 years and the performance improvements […]

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Habitat and Hunting Tools Wishlist

Habitat and Hunting Tools Wishlist: Whitetails 365

Habitat and Hunting Tools Wishlist: Whitetails 365 I know the season isn’t over quite yet, but I’m already looking forward to next year once December comes around. Not that I don’t have big plans most years for late season hunting, but because I’m always looking forward to improve for next year. It’s the exciting thing […]

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Early Tactics for Full Buckets

Early Tactics for Full Buckets

Early Tactics for Full Buckets Once the calendar turns to November, anglers in the Ice Belt begin praying for several sub-freezing days and nights to get that first sold ice on fishable waters. Here on the Iowa Great Lakes that can be early as Thanksgiving but most usually around the middle of December. Now that […]

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2020-21 Fur Market Report

2020-21 Fur Market Report

2020-21 Fur Market Report Writing the magazine’s fur market outlook report in recent years, I recall thinking to myself, “Surely next year’s report will be more positive. Surely next year we’ll begin to climb out of the doldrums we are stuck in.” The next year would come and I’d report on the same doom and […]

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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.