Iowa Sportsman
A Flight of Passage!
A Flight of Passage! It starts with a change. That first real bite of cold in early fall when the leaves have barely started to turn and daylight periods grow shorter. It isn’t a rapid change, but more of a coaxing that sends those first early migrants on their southward journey. Waterfowlers sense this as […]
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When the Pressure (Hunting) is High!
When the Pressure (Hunting) is High! I grew up hunting with a great bunch of guys from my church. Most of them were farmers who had plenty of land and enjoyed the company of a city boy and his dad. Deer drives were our method of hunting and with these guys on our team, there […]
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Breaking Down Fall Plots: Whitetails 365
Whitetails 365: Breaking Down Fall Plots It was September of 1999. My hunting buddies and I had been watching a bachelor group of bucks feed between two alfalfa fields all summer long. With each cutting of hay, the group would simply rotate about a quarter mile between the two fields depending on which field was […]
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Fall is Big Bass Season
Fall is Big Bass Season The best part of the Mid-West for many of us is the change in seasons. Each season brings with it a new set of outdoor opportunities: Winter is ice fishing and trapping, spring is turkeys and mushrooms, summer is fishing and water sports, and fall is hunting. But for any […]
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Cover Ground To Catch Perch
Cover Ground To Catch Perch As we move into late July, perch fishing usually begins to take off on Big Spirit Lake. With a little luck, this bite will last through fall. When things are really going, you will see groups of boats, perch armadas, I call them, all fishing a certain area. I have […]
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September Walleye – Transition Time
September Walleye – Transition Time Ask any fresh water angler what is one of the most sought after fish for table fare and you’ll get a resounding response, “walleye”. Sure, crappie and bluegill will come up in that conversation as well, but walleye by far will always be in that list. The common name, “walleye”, […]
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Targeting Wood Ducks in Iowa
Targeting Wood Ducks Wood ducks are hands down my favorite duck species. Their curious behavior, the habitats they like to frequent, the male’s striking plumage, not to mention their meat is better than a lot of duck species in my mind. All of these things combined and more are what put wood ducks on the […]
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What Iowa Public Land Has to offer
What Iowa Public Land Has to offer Public land is getting more and more attention in the outdoor space lately. At a total of 640 million acres of public land available inside the United States, one can start to understand why it has come to draw so much attention. When thinking of public lands, it’s […]
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Improving Your Marksmanship
Improving Your Marksmanship As a bow hunter one of the things that I strive for is to take a shot that is accurate and will take my quarry down quickly. Invariably, like most hunters, I have an errant shot that doesn’t quite hit the mark. At times it is circumstances beyond my control, i.e., unseen […]
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30 Things Every Hunter Worth Their Salt Should Know How To Do
30 Things Every Hunter Worth Their Salt Should Know How To Do Sportsmen come from all walks of life: rich, poor, young, retired, self-inspired, or groomed into the lifestyle by those who came before us. It is safe to say that no two hunters have precisely the same tastes when it comes to what game […]
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