Iowa Sportsman
Weather the Ice: How Weather affects Ice Fishing
Weather the Ice: How Weather affects Ice Fishing Most of us only think of weather and how it affects fish behavior in terms of open water. Up until recent years I gave little to no thought about weather patterns and fishing strategies on the ice. Shame on me for neglecting such factors because weather does […]
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The New Craze: Catfish through the Ice
The New Craze: Catfish through the Ice Ice Fishing Catfish Tips for Winter Anglers These days as winter sets in the angling crowd move into one of two camps. The crowd that locks themselves in the house for months and the crowd that gets excited for the cold weather fishing season. In the southern states […]
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Trapping Ol’ Bucktooth
Trapping Ol’ Bucktooth Beaver, by far, are some of my favorite animals to trap. For the most part, they aren’t that difficult to locate. They leave quite a bit of tell-tale signs. I have yet to have a farmer tell me that he didn’t want beaver removed from his property. So getting access to trap […]
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Using a camera to down-view
Using a camera to down-view By Steve Weisman Yes, it’s true. During the winter, I am a sight fishing fanatic. To me, it’s part of the rush: to suddenly see a fish or several fish come toward the bait. Plus, sight fishing helps me to see exactly what my presentation is, so I can get […]
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Tips for Sight Fishing Success
Tips for Sight Fishing Success I still remember when I moved to northwest Iowa in 1978. I saw the chain of lakes called the Iowa Great Lakes, and I knew this was where I wanted to be. Although I have had great fishing on all of these lakes, it is West Okoboji that has become […]
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Tip Up Fishing 101
Tip Up Fishing 101 When you break ice fishing down to a minimal level, a tip-up is about as simple and straightforward as it gets. This style of fishing dates back an awful long time and has, if anything, gained in popularity over the past two decades. Tip-ups come in a wide variety of styles […]
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Using Your Eyes to Catch Fish
Using Your Eyes to Catch Fish My favorite ice fishing occurs when I can sight fish, actually watch the action below the ice with my own eyes. To me, it’s the ultimate. To be able to watch the fish approach the lure, to see its response to the presentation and then (hopefully) the resulting strike […]
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Winter Training Drills for Gundogs
Winter Training Drills for Gundogs Do not let the winter season be an excuse to not train your dog. Are you catching onto my theme this year? There are several things we can do with our dogs during the winter months (aside from hunting) to not only keep our dogs sharp, but continue to advance […]
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The Iowa Red Fox
The Red Fox Cunning, agile and charismatic are just a few of the adjectives that describe the Red fox. The largest member of the true foxes, the Red fox is a widespread and very adaptable species that takes up residency as one of Iowa’s most efficient predators. History The Red fox is Eurasian in origin […]
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Winter Panfish Preview on the Iowa Great Lakes
Winter Panfish Preview on the Iowa Great Lakes With the entire open water panfishing so outstanding on the Iowa Great Lakes, ice fishermen can hardly wait to see what the hard water season will bring. Big Spirit, East Okoboji, Upper Gar, Minnewashta and West Okoboji consistently produced excellent panfishing action all summer. From perch, to […]
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