Iowa Sportsman

Summer Whitetail Food Plots

Whitetails 365 – The Dog Days of Summer

Whitetails 365 – The Dog Days of Summer There is honestly very few things that get me excited about managing my farm in July. Spring planting of food plots and spraying has been completed. Stands are already hung for the most part. Everything is growing in the deer’s realm including fawns and antlers. These are […]

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Wolves in Iowa Then Now

Wolves in Iowa: Then and Now

Wolves in Iowa: Then and Now Minnesota and Wisconsin wolf populations have grown to numbers not seen in over a century when they were nearly hunted and trapped out of existence in the lower 48 states. Each of our neighbors to the north had their first controversial wolf hunting seasons in 2012 since the delisting […]

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Trolling for Walleyes over Weeds

Trolling for Walleyes over the Weeds

Trolling for Walleyes over the Weeds Last August, I had the chance to listen to Jon Thelen, walleye guide and host of Lindy’s Fish Ed Television Series, give a fishing seminar at the Okoboji Blue Water Festival. His topic was “Walleyes in the Weeds,” and I was excited to hear what his thoughts were on […]

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Summer Coyote hunting

Summer Coyote Hunting Tips: Strategies That Work

Summertime Coyotes Does anyone miss hunting yet now that most of our favorite game seasons have been closed for quite some time? It seems that as soon as a hunting season ends for the year we are already dreaming of opening morning of the next season’s first march through the fields to bag another rooster, […]

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Fishing for Big Bluegills

Time for Big Bluegills

Time for Big Bluegills If you are a kid at heart like I am, now is the time to get after those big bluegills on Iowa’s lakes. It starts a little earlier in the south because the water warms sooner, but it always happens this time of year. About the last week in May through […]

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Improving Walleye and Musky Fishing in Iowa Project Update

Improving Walleye and Musky Fishing in Iowa Project Update

Improving Walleye and Musky Fishing in Iowa Walleye always seem to be at the top of our favorite fish to chase here in Iowa. March begins the Walleye spawning run in many rivers and lakes, tempting fishermen and women out of hibernation to chase after them just after ice-out. Musky…the elusive yet hard fighting predatory […]

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Tips For Impactful Trail Camera Scouting

Tips For Impactful Trail Camera Scouting During summer, deer hunters begin to get excited for the upcoming bow season. Lots of scouting and treestand work begins now in preparation for opening day. Over the last 20 years we have seen hunters completely change hunting strategies to incorporate trail cameras. We have seen the technology advance […]

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A Family Campout to Remember

A Family Campout to Remember Camping is a common ground outdoor experience for most American families at some point in the formative years. Inevitably, some of these campouts will unravel into miserable one and done experiences that will later tell the hilarious tale of six-inch rainfall, relentless mosquitoes, unfathomably filthy pit toilets, and collapsed tents. […]

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The Inkpaduta Canoe Trails

The Inkpaduta Canoe Trail

The Inkpaduta Canoe Trail “I would say the river is too low to have an enjoyable float.” These were the disappointing words spoken to me by Cherokee County Naturalist and Assistant Director Laura Jones. Having planned a canoe trip on the Little Sioux River through Clay, O’Brien, Cherokee, and Woodbury counties in early May. I […]

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Timing Your Fall Plots: Whitetails 365

Whitetails 365: Timing Your Fall Plots As I sit writing the July installment of the Whitetails 365 column, I’m surrounded by farmers planting their spring crops with sudden urgency. The conditions are just right…warm enough, dry enough, right time of year. Millions of acres of corn and soybeans will be planted in really a very […]

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