Early Spring Trout Fishing
Early Spring Trout Fishing

Early Spring Trout Fishing Spring in Northeast Iowa’s Driftless Region marks the beginning of one of the most rewarding trout fishing seasons in the Midwest. This is one of the prettiest areas in Northern Iowa marked with limestone bluffs, spring-fed creeks, and rolling pastures. The Driftless Region contains a several cold, clear streams that flow steadily year-round. This creates perfect trout habitat, and spring offers fishermen peaceful days on the water. With stable water temperatures, increasing insect activity, and hungry post-winter trout, there’s no better time to explore these legendary streams. Why The Driftless Region? This region is a trout […]

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Training your gun dog for waterfowl retrieval

Training your Dog for Waterfowl Retrieval

Training your Dog for Waterfowl Retrieval The love of water plus the love of retrieving doesn’t make a duck dog. They need to love being steady, or at least act like they love it. An impatient, fidgeting dog will stand out to a team of ducks making their initial buzz by your spread of decoys. […]

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The Story of the Varghese Boys

The Story of the Varghese Boys: Beginner’s Luck

The Story of the Varghese Boys: Beginner’s Luck I was taken into the timber for my first hunt when I was four years old. It was a squirrel hunt at Ledges State Park just outside of Boone, Iowa. My Dad was attending college at Iowa State, and I had a few uncles who were attending […]

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Creating Fall Food Plots with Minimal Equipment Immaculate Spring Food Plots

Immaculate Spring Food Plots: Whitetails 365

Immaculate Spring Food Plots: Whitetails 365 When it comes to hunting big deer, food, habitat, and water are the three ingredients you need to have a stellar place. In this article, we are going to focus on one of my favorite aspects: food. I recommend having a balance of spring and fall crops, you want […]

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Bowfishing Opportunities in Iowa

Bowfishing Opportunities in Iowa

Bowfishing Opportunities in Iowa Bowfishing has always held a special place in my heart. In fact, bowfishing is the only form of archery that I have ever done outside of some casual target practice with a longbow. I first started when I was about 14 years old. My dad had an old 25 lb youth […]

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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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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.