Springtime Panfish-Perch, Crappie, and Bluegill

Springtime Panfish

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!

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! 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.

Springtime Panfish

Pre-Spawn Bass

Pre-Spawn Bass

One of my all-time seasons for bass fishing is when the water temperatures begin to climb and bass start making their move from deeper winter homes to shallow water where spawning will take place. The transition really begins as water temperatures rise to around 48-58 degrees. Both largemouth and smallmouth bass will start looking for transition zones.

One of my all-time seasons for bass fishing is when the water temperatures begin to climb and bass start making their move from deeper winter homes to shallow water where spawning will take place. The transition really begins as water temperatures rise to around 48-58 degrees. Both largemouth and smallmouth bass will start looking for transition zones. Creek channels giving way to shallow water will be target areas.

One of my all-time seasons for bass fishing is when the water temperatures begin to climb and bass start making their move from deeper winter homes to shallow water where spawning will take place. The transition really begins as water temperatures rise to around 48-58 degrees. Both largemouth and smallmouth bass will start looking for transition zones. Creek channels giving way to shallow water will be target areas. If you can find the baitfish hanging up in the shallow waters at the edge of these channels, you’ll find bass waiting in ambush.

Fishing for Pre-Spawn Bass

Shed Antlers: Do they really tell us anything?

Shed Antlers: Do they really tell us anything?

My whole childhood and formative years were spent growing up in the timbered thickets of southern Mississippi. There was not much need for or success to be had when it came to shed hunting outside of occasionally stumbling across one in a food plot while turkey hunting.

My whole childhood and formative years were spent growing up in the timbered thickets of southern Mississippi. There was not much need for or success to be had when it came to shed hunting outside of occasionally stumbling across one in a food plot while turkey hunting. In my eyes it was a fruitless endeavor. It was not until I moved to southern Iowa in 2016 that I realized not only was shed hunting possible but it was fun and informative.

Shed Antler Hunting Insights

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Featured Story

Big Buck Profile: The 2025 Gandy Buck

Ok, this first big buck profile is a little self-serving in that it is of a buck that I personally took this past deer season. While it is likely not the “biggest” big buck that we will profile this year it is definitely one of my most special deer ever.

Turning a Dream into Reality

As has been noted in several articles since 2023, my family and I finally put together the means to purchase our very own piece of Iowa ground. “The 32,” as we call it, has become a passion project to see if we could take an unassuming piece of real estate and harvest a mature deer from there by giving him all he needs in the way of habitat. This year was the first year that the farm would be huntable in the state in which we intended due to construction projects over the past couple of seasons.

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