Iowa’s Venom, Oil and Toxic Sap
Iowa’s Venom, Oil and Toxic Sap

I once struck up a conversation with a man from Australia and while talking I asked him the question most people want to know about Australians, “how many times have you been bitten by one of your crazy spiders you have down there?” His answer was shocking, “Oh not many, probably less than 20 times.”

I once struck up a conversation with a man from Australia and while talking I asked him the question most people want to know about Australians, “how many times have you been bitten by one of your crazy spiders you have down there?” His answer was shocking, “Oh not many, probably less than 20 times.” My coworker and I laughed in horror and amazement and counted our blessing of living in the relatively venom free state of Iowa.

I once struck up a conversation with a man from Australia and while talking I asked him the question most people want to know about Australians, “how many times have you been bitten by one of your crazy spiders you have down there?” His answer was shocking, “Oh not many, probably less than 20 times.” My coworker and I laughed in horror and amazement and counted our blessing of living in the relatively venom free state of Iowa. But only relatively venom free, within Iowa’s borders there are a handful of flora and fauna that if encountered can leave an unlucky Iowan itchy, burning, swollen, scarred and in the worst of scenarios, permanently incapacitated or dead.

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Dangerous Plants and Animals in Iowa

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10 Things You Must Do While Camping

10 Things You Must Do While Camping

10 Things You Must Do While Camping By Jason Smith When I was a kid, camping equated to a tent, a sleeping bag and pillow, and RAIN. Lots and lots of rain! No matter what time of the year or where we camped, rain was pretty much a guarantee. It didn’t matter if we were […]

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The Wild Past of Iowa

The Wild Past of Iowa Iowa officially became a state on December 28, 1846 but that does not mean people weren’t living here long before that. I often wondered as I’ve been in the timber, “Who was here before me?” Alternatively, even along those lines, “What was here before me?” I’m sure if the timber […]

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Elevating Food Plots with Frost Seeded Clover and Alfalfa Simple Things Landowners can do to Improve Wildlife  Herbicides Now and Next Year's Tree Plantings

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 Herbicides Now, and Planning for Next Year’s Tree Plantings: Whitetails 365: A Second Spraying, or the First Weeds are the death of many food plots. Weeds can completely take over a plot of clover or alfalfa, lower yields or kill off soybeans altogether, and can make a corn stand look like CRP ground getting out […]

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The Ins and Outs of ATV Ownership As a kid, I was fortunate enough to be able to ride a 4 wheeler all over my family’s acreage. My father had found a hot deal on a “retired” racing quad. This ATV was purchased with the idea of a do-all type of vehicle, mostly used to […]

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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.