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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Keeping warm when the hunt is cold

Keeping Warm When the Hunt is Cold

Keeping Warm When the Hunt is Cold Normally you purchase one of the fair-weathered early muzzleloader tags. Historically it’s been such a good season to hunt, but this year you had an ill-timed work conference that ate up most of that choice week. Preferring the length of a muzzleloader season, you settled on hunting the […]

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Tips for Whitetail Rut

Whitetail Rut Q&A

Whitetail Rut Q&A 1. Is using a decoy worth the risk or hassle? It seems like a lot of work and risk to maybe have a buck come in closer. If so how do you maximize your results? Personally, I don’t hunt with a decoy setup. I’ve tried it in the past and have not […]

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Late Season Duck Hunting Iowa

When the Waterfowl Disappear, Late Season Waterfowl

When the Waterfowl Disappear, Late Season Waterfowl Iowa just seems to be in that perfect position on the continent that hardly lends itself to be a waterfowl hunting destination state. Maybe imperfect is the better word and many local hunters will refer to it as “The Fly Over State”. Okay, this might be a little […]

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Rut Essentials for Long Sits

Rut Essentials for Long Sits

Rut Essentials for Long Sits Sweet November, as they say, is finally here! If you are like me, you’ve likely already taken to the woods with your archery equipment in hand. However, if you’ve been saving up days for the magical Iowa rut, then you have a lot to be excited about. Here are a […]

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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.