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
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The Welcome Sign is out at Devils Lake
The Welcome Sign is out at Devils Lake It’s summer. The crops are planted. The kids are out of school. There are no excuses. It’s time to head to Devils Lake, North Dakota and catch some fish. Do it in your boat with your gear. Or, better yet, leave the boat home and hire […]
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Henry Arms Commits to Wisconsin
Henry Repeating Arms Commits to Wisconsin Henry Repeating Arms, one of America’s leading firearm manufacturers, is announcing a firm commitment to establishing 100% of its manufacturing operations in the state of Wisconsin. The commitment includes transferring all of its Bayonne, New Jersey manufacturing operations. Moving them to its newly expanded state-of-the-art headquarters in Rice Lake, […]
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Spring Turkeys’ Thunder
The woods wake up slow but loud on opening morning. First, it’s the hoot owls calling back and forth in the dark, their haunting sounds echoing through the timber. Then, the first streaks of pink and orange stretch across the horizon as the song birds begin to wake up as the landscape takes on […]
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Using UTV’s on your Acreage
One of my favorite musings about human behavior is found in the innovations of Utility Terrain Vehicles (UTVs). What began as a two or three seater ATV with a dump bed on the back rapidly evolved into vehicles with powered windows, HVAC systems, sound systems and a stretched chassis with enough seating to accommodate […]
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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.
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.
