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Listen Now! To the Iowa Hunting and Fishing Report

Watch the October 6th Iowa Hunting and Fishing Report!

Fishing: The fall bite is on! Panfish are still biting, the walleye bite is finally starting to pick up too.

Hunting: Congrats to all the youth hunters who were able to fill their tags. Bow season is now open, movement has been okay.

This week's sponsor of the Hunting and Fishing Report is Polk County Conservation's controlled waterfowl hunting program. Waterfowl hunting blinds at Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt in NE Polk County can be reserved by calling the Chichaqua office at (515) 323-5395 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The twelve blinds are located in both marsh and woodland settings. Blinds cost $30 per day and hold up to four hunters. Reservations are available for both the early split (October 10 – 16) and late split (Oct. 24 – Nov. 30).

Click here to reserve your blind today!
https://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/conservation/things-to-do/hunting

Iowa Hunting Fishing Report
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hunting iowa, iowa hunting, bow hunting, october hunting iowa

Hunting Iowa in October

Hunting Iowa in October There’s a certain feeling that settles in as summer starts to fade and we approach the deer seasons. Acorns start to fall and your mind drifts to the woods even when you’re nowhere near them. Long before the leaves turn, the anticipation begins. You think about the first cool morning and […]

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CWD and EHD in Iowa, The Iowa Sportsman, EHD, CWD, Hunting in Iowa, deer population in iowa, Iowas deer hunting 2026

Understanding CWD and EHD in Iowa: What Hunters Should Know for 2026

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dove hunting, the iowa sportsman, iowa's dove season

Gearing Up for Dove Season

Gearing Up for Dove Season Dove season around Iowa is kind of the first kick-off for hunting season. It opens up around September 1st, near the Labor Day holiday, so what better way to celebrate than to go hunting? Dove hunting is hard, you’ll watch groups of men, excellent shooters, miss the doves as they […]

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hunting rubs and scrapes, deer sign,

Hunting Rubs & Scrapes

Unlocking the Secrets of Rubs & Scrapes This fall, many hunters will come across fresh rubs and scrapes to and from their hunting locations. Learning how to read these signs can greatly improve a hunter’s odds of filling a tag on a mature buck. Oftentimes, these signs are more than a single signpost and instead […]

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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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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.