Iowa Sportsman
Fly Fishing the Driftless
Fly Fishing the Driftless Nick’s heart tightened as the trout moved. He felt all the old feeling….Ernest Hemingway, Big Two Hearted River Part I. It is the Driftless region of Iowa. Located in the northeastern part of the state extending roughly from Manchester to the Minnesota border and east towards the great Mississippi, it is […]
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Windy Walleyes
Windy Walleyes By Ben Leal When it comes to fishing in the wind there are two camps; there are the “I don’t fish in the wind” campers, and then there are the “I love fishing in the wind” campers. Ironically enough, both camps and fishing styles do yield results. But, when it comes to the […]
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Whitetails 365: Can You Plant Too Much Food?
Whitetails 365: Can You Plant Too Much Food? For as long as I can remember, at least the past 20 seasons, I try to make an honest assessment of how my whitetail season went after it’s over each year. The assessment is made in overall terms of how good my chances were at harvesting a […]
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Three Simple Late Season Turkey Tips
Three Simple Late Season Turkey Tips Gobblers are silent, don’t respond to decoys or calls, have been breeding and fighting, and have been pressured and shot at by hunters for over a month now. If you thought early season turkey hunting was tough then welcome to late season turkey hunting! However with all those difficulties […]
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Gun Shy Dog Training: How to Fix Fear of Gunshots Fast
Gun Shy Dog Training: How to Fix Fear of Gunshots Fast Q: Why is my dog afraid of gunshots?Usually due to negative exposure, loud noise too early, or lack of proper conditioning. What Is a Gun-Shy Dog? A gun-shy dog is a dog that shows fear or anxiety when hearing gunshots, often due to negative […]
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Wonderboy
Story of Wonderboy While many may disagree, one of the greatest sport’s movies is the 1984 masterpiece, The Natural, starring Robert Redford. It is a movie not about baseball, but of fulfilling lost dreams and redemption. Throughout the film, the protagonist, Roy Hobbs, incredible talent, was due to his bat “Wonderboy”. Something made carefully by […]
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Springtime Spawning
Springtime Spawning Largemouth bass are a worldwide favorite sport fish, and, luckily for Iowans, they can find them all over the state. In fact, the Iowa DNR currently reports the presence of these bass in over 500 lakes and streams. So it comes as no surprise that warm temperatures lead many of Iowa’s dedicated fishermen […]
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Farm Ponds at their Finest
Farm Ponds at their Finest Fishing in Iowa is a diverse experience. Two heavyweight rivers set the borders on the East and West banks where 100 pound flatheads and extraterrestrial looking paddlefish wait for willing anglers. Flowing in stark contrast to those monstrous border waters are the pristine cold water creeks of the driftless northeast […]
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Preparing Your Boat for the Season
Preparing Your Boat for the Season Hopefully the spring fishing season has treated you well here in the great state of Iowa. I have been out many times traveling through the state with a boat in tow. No matter if you have a 12-foot jon boat, or a 21-foot fiberglass boat. Boating season is just […]
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Whitetails 365: Protecting Grain Food Plots
Whitetails 365: Protecting Grain Food Plots Why? Why would any hunter want to protect or fence off a food plot so that deer can’t get in? Sounds counter to every reason a hunter would plant a food plot to begin with. And while it’s absolutely true keeping deer from getting into your food plots might […]
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