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Mastering Summer Catfish
Iowa Sportsman July 2025
This Issue Brings You:
- Mastering Summer Catfish
- Fishing Iowa: Iowa Hot Spots
- Do It Yourself – Iowa Kill Plots
- Introducing Youth to Shooting Sports
- Whitetails 365 – Drought, Deer & Looming Threat of EHD
- County Spotlight: Iowa Fishing Destinations
- Blind Buyers Guide: Clear Sight Hunting Blinds
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Timing Your Fall Plots: Whitetails 365
Whitetails 365: Timing Your Fall Plots As I sit writing the July installment of the Whitetails 365 column, I’m surrounded by farmers planting their spring crops with sudden urgency. The conditions are just right…warm enough, dry enough, right time of year. Millions of acres of corn and soybeans will be planted in really a very […]
READ MOREWorking to protect shoreline north of Bedell State Park on East Lake Okoboji
Working to protect shoreline north of Bedell State Park on East Lake Okoboji By Steve Weisman Over the years, residents and visitors have stepped up many times to help protect the waters of the Iowa Great Lakes. From providing financial support to help purchase lands that impact the waters, to being volunteers, to reaching out […]
READ MOREA Day of Giants Bowfishing Adventure
A Day of Giants Bowfishing Adventure By Nick Johnson It was a day with an outcome that wasn’t planned. Myself and my good friend Eric Katzenmeyer were set up to fish for bass in Cedar Lake just west of the twin cities. Eric lives in the area and we thought it would be fun to […]
READ MOREBrown Recluse Spiders in Iowa? Unfortunately, Yes!
Brown Recluse Spiders in Iowa? Unfortunately, Yes! By Kevin Godwin By no choice of my own, this spring I became an avid student of spiders. In May I was bitten by a Brown Recluse spider (BR spider) in Woodbury County, IA. This article is a short documentary of my experience. This is shared with the […]
READ MOREFeatured Story
10 Killer Big Buck Bow Hunting Ambushes
Why do top notch hunters shoot quality mature deer year after year? Sure they scout, don’t shoot young bucks, maintain their land, pay attention to the wind, plant food plots, are in big buck country, ect. Yes all of those and many more reasons can attribute to better chances of shooting bigger bucks consistently. However do you know the most important reason why people shoot big deer year after year? Because they place their stands in locations where big bucks like to frequent…it really is that simple. They are in the right place at the right time. You will never consistently shoot mature deer if you are not putting your tree stands in the proper locations.
Whitetails are creatures of habit and instinct, they do everything for a purpose and that is actually a good thing for us hunters. If we know what they like to do, what they don’t like to do, and how they navigate their day then we can key in on certain geographical locations on our properties and ambush an unsuspecting bruiser.
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.