Preparing for Spring Fishing
Preparing for Spring Fishing It is amazing how fast the seasons come and go! I know that part of the reason has to do with my age, but the fall weather held on so long that it pushed the ice fishing season well into December. Here in northern Iowa, anglers had to head north as […]
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Ice-Out Channel Catfish
Ice-Out Channel Catfish It might come as a surprise to many anglers to learn that channel catfish go on a feeding rampage almost as soon as the ice starts to melt in many of the reservoirs or lakes containing shad and other baitfish. These water bodies experience routine winter die-offs like this every year that […]
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Ready for The Mid-Winter Ice Fishing Blues?
Ready for The Mid-Winter Ice Fishing Blues? As the crisp and frigid air chills your body, snow covers the landscape as far as you can see, the sight is somewhat magical on this early February day. However, as you drive to your ice fishing destination that beautiful sight reminds you that you are smack-dab in […]
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Cutting Tracks and Calling Coyotes
Cutting Tracks and Calling Coyotes The lone disturbance in the pristine virgin snow 20 feet below me told the story. A lone coyote had traveled the ice on the narrow frozen creek directly under the bridge I was checking, carving his footed imprint into the fresh powder from the overnight’s snowfall. I left the truck […]
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Iowa Crow Hunting Tips: The Art of Crow Hunting
The Art of Crow Hunting For the past 20 years, Rick Kilpatrick from Estherville and his sons Josh and Travis have hunted waterfowl, pheasants, partridge, turkeys and – are you ready for this – crows! Yes, that black beady eyed bird that makes that annoying caw, caw, caw sound. Rick, himself, began hunting crows back […]
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Tight Lipped Ice Tactics
Tight Lipped Ice Tactics We’ve all experienced it… a day we load up and head out full of anticipation of a great day out on the ice. You’ve dreamt of that ice rod bending as you set the hook on yet another slab crappie or 10-inch plus bluegill…Vexilar screens lighting up with fish on the […]
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Smoke Poles at the Buzzer
Smoke Poles at the Buzzer My father-in-law loathes the days on the calendar that follow the completion of the New Year’s arrival and fanfare. The “bleak midwinter” is what he dubs these blustery days, and I suppose the vast majority of people living above the 30th parallel share in the sentiment. But if you are […]
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Venison Processing 101
Venison Processing 101 You have just harvested a whitetail deer. Now what? You have two options: you can take your deer to a locker, or you can proceed with processing the deer yourself. Processing your own deer can seem like a big undertaking, but in all honesty, it is not very complicated. The biggest component […]
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Reflect on your Hunting Season: Whitetails 365
Reflect on your Hunting Season: Whitetails 365 Welcome to a brand-new year! You made it. As always, whitetail deer are on my mind and the first month of the year is no different. So often, January is a month that finds us making (and sometimes breaking) New Year’s Resolutions. One resolution that I have is […]
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5 Tips For A Better Deer Mount
5 Tips for a Better Deer Mount Shooting your first deer and biggest buck are exciting milestones in a deer hunter’s life. When these events occur, all hunters want to remember and reminisce on the memory of the hunt. One way to commemorate the memories of the hunt is to mount the deer. When you […]
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