fishing

Iowa Ice Hot Spots for Crappie

Iowa Ice Hot Spots for Crappie By Ben Leal At the time of this writing Iowa was experiencing one of the warmest winters that I’ve seen in the sixteen plus years of living here. Southern and Central Iowa ponds, lakes, and reservoirs are all ice free. Northern Iowa is starting to see some skim ice, […]

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Pay Attention for Catfish

Pay Attention for Catfish By Brad Durick In the day of technology it may seem pretty easy to pull the phone out of our pocket and look up the answer to any question of what the fish are doing. There should be a report for the body of water you are on or some hot […]

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Looking at Early Season Open Water

Looking at Early Season Open Water By Steve Weisman Living in Iowa anglers get the chance to experience four seasons for fishing. Right now as we head into the month of March, we have the potential for great ice fishing in northern Iowa (depending on the spring warm-up, of course), yet we also have opportunities […]

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Calling all Iowa Sportsman!

Calling all Iowa Sportsman!

Calling all Iowa Sportsman! Tired of the same old hunting and fishing stories? Want to get the inside scoop on the latest gear, techniques, and local hotspots? Then, you need to tune in to The Iowa Sportsman Podcast. You can expect up-to-date hunting and fishing reports. Get the lowdown on what’s biting and where to […]

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Understanding Thermals and How to Hunt with Them

Iowa’s Native Past

Iowa’s Native Past By Ryan Graden I absolutely hated History class in High School. Sitting in a room attempting to learn and memorize what happened long ago that led us to where we are now as a nation drove me nuts. I knew it was good for me, but to sit in a classroom and […]

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Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Guide John Campbell Chosen to the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame

Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Guide John Campbell Chosen to the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame By Steve Weisman Among the list of inductees into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame is longtime fishing educator, tournament angler and local fishing guide John Campbell. Campbell says with a smile, “It’s exciting and a great honor. […]

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80 Years Collecting and Using Fishing Gear… Now What?

80 Years Collecting and Using Fishing Gear… Now What? By Tom A. Woodruff It all started in 1937 with a corn cob bobber used to fish off a sand bar in Long Crick in “Naturally” Louisa County, Iowa. Yes we always called a creek a crick there. Long crick and that darn corn cob bobber […]

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What is a Trophy Fish

What is a Trophy Fish

Trophy Fish What Makes Em’ Grow   As a lifelong angler I have had the thrill of catching some genuine trophy fish. As a boy, a trophy was anything bigger than the last fish I caught. And in one case it was one that never took the bait, but one I could clearly see as […]

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Bass Fishing in Iowa

Spring Bass Fishing 101 Each March and early April around the state of Iowa people start to focus their thoughts on catching that first bass of the year. Spring is an excellent time of year to target bass around Iowa. More than likely, you will catch your biggest bass of the whole year in one […]

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Bass Spawning in Iowa

Bass Spawning in Iowa

Springtime Spawning Largemouth bass are a worldwide favorite sport fish. Luckily for Iowans, can be found across various types of water bodies all around the state especially when bass spawning in Iowa is in full effect. In fact, the Iowa DNR currently reports the presence of these bass in over 500 lakes and streams. The […]

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