Check Out Our Current Issue!
In the April 2026 Issue of the Iowa Sportsman
- Best Places for Early Season Open Water
- Building a Foundation for the Field
- Range Safety Tips
- Building a Farm Pond to Hold More Wildlife
- Shed Antlers: Do they really tell us anything?
- What Makes a Great Food Plot
- Keeping Kids Engaged in Turkey Hunting
- Pre-Spawn Bass
- Springtime Panfish-Perch, Crappie, and Bluegill
Click Here To View This Issue Now!
The Dangers of Being Too Good: Whitetails 365:
Whitetails 365: The Dangers of Being Too Good I was watching a pretty well-known hunting show a few years back and the host of the show was talking about habitat improvements on his farm. Through the segment, he was explaining why he was creating the best habitat on every acre of his farm. The explanation […]
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Turkey Taking Tips: From some “Not-so-Pro” Hunters!
Turkey Taking Tips: From some “Not-so-Pro” Hunters! There are a lot of “give-Me’s” the creator worked into our daily lives. The sun always rises. The sun always sets. Spring heats up to Summer, mellows out to Fall, cools off to Winter, before warming back up to Spring again. There are thousands of examples of things […]
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Proper Fishing Drag Settings for Big Fish
earneProper Fishing Drag Settings for Big Fish During the process of outfitting a customer new to the sport of angling, there was nothing more gratifying than seeing the looks on their faces when I would show them the properties of their new drag system. I would stand behind the counter holding their rig and instruct […]
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Areas to Locate and Catch Early Spring Bass
Areas to Locate and Catch Early Spring Bass Finally, the water has warmed up a bit, and not a slab of ice in sight. April is the kickoff to bass fishing in the state Iowa, tournaments are popping up, fish in the river systems are becoming active once again and the lake water is getting […]
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Featured Story
Springtime Panfish-Perch, Crappie, and Bluegill
Spring is in full swing here in Iowa, and what can be more pleasant a reminder than the sound of birds, the sight of flowers blooming, and the feel of a warm afternoon? I can think of at least one more thing…Panfish!
I can remember it like yesterday, our family would all meet up at the lake house. There was work to do. The yard was to be picked up, the cabin cleaned, and the dock had to be put in. But then, after the work was finished, it was time for all of us cousins to fish! We would all go out to the garage to pick out a few old rods and tie on a hook and sinker as best we could.
The next order of business was to hunt for worms. Flipping anything that we could find stuck in the ground in hopes of just finding a few crawlers. Once the bait was secured, we were ready to fish. We would go out on the dock and cast, vertical jig, and even troll along the side of the dock. We usually did pretty well use those tactics, but my all-time favorite was walking along the rocks on shore and dropping the bait down every little crevice, not knowing what was going to come up next.
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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.
