Iowa Sportsman

Catfishing Always Presents Challenges: You can be Prepared

Catfishing Always Presents Challenges: You can be Prepared By Brad Durick It seems if you catfish it is inevitable that something will happen that can turn your day upside down. Most of this is out of your control. If you fish enough you know how this can go all too well. You know that little […]

Spring Whitetail Work For Fall Success – Podcast

The Standard Hunting Poodle

The Standard Hunting Poodle By Ryan Eder I’ll be honest, I never imagined being in a duck blind with a poodle. The thought of trekking through a field in pursuit of a rooster pheasant and shooting over a poodle just never occurred to me. I would venture to guess that this is true for many […]

Avoid the Bust: Select the Right Outfitter

Avoid the Bust: Select the Right Outfitter By Ryan Eder Sometimes as a writer I struggle to find new topics to discuss in an article. This month, however, my inspiration came easily as I had arguably the worst waterfowl hunting experience with an outfitter this season. Selecting an outfitter can be difficult; there are several […]

Red Alert: The Disappearing Fox

Red Alert: The Disappearing Fox By Troy Hoepker I could sense Bob peering over his reading glasses and looking at me much in the same way that my own Grandfather would do from time to time as we both would sit and read quietly. I knew that each of them were simply taking delight in […]

Trolling Tactics for Walleyes

Trolling Tactics for Walleyes By Steve Weisman As a fishing guide on the Iowa Great Lakes, M. Doug Burns is often asked by anglers, “What should I do when I troll for walleyes?” Burns, who has been a professional guide since 1986, begins to answer this question by saying, “There is not one single answer […]

Spawning Bass in Iowa

Spawning Bass in Iowa By Todd Reed “I threw everything at them and nothing!”. “All I seemed to catch were small bass!”, “The bass would follow the bait all the way to the boat!”, “I kept missing bites!”. Do these sound like familiar phrases in May when trying to catch bass? I know I’ve said […]

Catfishing the Ice Out and Cold Water Period

Catfishing the Ice Out and Cold Water Period By Brad Durick Northern winters can get long especially for the catfish anglers of summer. These guys have been patiently waiting all winter for their beloved lakes and rivers to open up so they can get back at it. So after a long winter of laying around […]

Chasing Ice Out ‘Eyes

Chasing Ice Out ‘Eyes By Steve Weisman Ice out! Those two words create a feeling of excitement for walleye fishermen in northern Iowa. Two of those anglers, Kevan Paul, owner of Kevan Paul’s Guide Service out of Clear Lake, and Laef Lundbeck, owner of Blue Water Guide Service out of the Iowa Great Lakes (Royal), […]

Catfishing in the Off-Season

Catfishing in the Off-Season By Brad Durick It is nearing the end of the football season as I write this piece and I keep seeing and hearing references to the playoff teams that championships are won in the off season. The videos they play go back to recruiting or signing top players and current players […]