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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!

Ice Fishing Preview

Ice Fishing Preview December is around the corner! And with any luck, we will have a chance to get out and start punching holes and feeding our ice fishing addiction. There have been times when we’re on the ice by Thanksgiving, but in most cases, except for Northern Iowa, we’ll still have ice that’s pretty […]

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Ice Fishing 2020 Predictions

Ice Fishing 2020 Predictions

Ice Fishing 2020 Predictions As I sit here at my keyboard, the Dakotas are getting their first snowfall of the ‘19-20 season. Local temperatures have dropped from the seventies to the 50’s and overnight temps will be teasing the freezing mark. If this is truly the arrival of winter, then it has been a very […]

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Late Season Goose Hunting

Late Season Goose Hunting I’ve never been overly fond of hot weather. In fact, anything over 80 degrees to me renders some level of discomfort unless I am in the water. My wife completely disagrees with this logic so that’s why we live in Iowa where we get to experience hot and cold weather to […]

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Patterning Bucks During Rut

The Puzzle in Patterning a Rutting Buck

The Puzzle in Patterning a Rutting Buck I have always been fascinated with the complexity and interconnection of everything in our natural world. Like a completed jigsaw puzzle, the perfect picture is only there if every piece is carefully laid in the perfect place, starting with the outer edge. A big buck and his rut […]

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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.