Iowa Sportsman

Waterfowl Biologist Orrin Jones – Podcast

How to Find the Perfect Hunting Buddy

How to Find the Perfect Hunting Buddy Vivek Murthy, a former surgeon general of the United States, has said in recent years that the most prevalent health issue in the country is not cancer or heart disease or obesity. It is isolation. Murthy’s comment is good news to us who are overweight; finding a friend […]

For the Love of the Hunt

For the Love of the Hunt One of the most enjoyable parts of hunting pheasants is hunting with a good hunting dog. Without one, it’s like trying to find the proverbial “needle in a haystack,” especially when hunting some of the massive public hunting areas around here. Filled with lots of good habitat, I’ve often […]

Key In On These Coyote Habits

Key In On These Coyote Habits Coyotes are mysterious creatures certainly! The subject of folklore and myth, they represent the very epitome of stealth and sly. As secretive as they are however, they have routines and habits just like all animals that make them vulnerable to the hunter and trapper alike. Consistently taking coyotes by […]

Early Season Ice Tactics that will Fill your Bucket

Early Season Ice Tactics that will Fill your Bucket Anglers throughout Iowa keep a keen eye on the calendar each year, especially those anglers affectionately known as “ice heads”. Iowa’s average temperatures begin to dip in October and continue the downward trend throughout the month. Halloween paves the way for November to roll in and […]

It is Never to Late to Start Ice Fishing

It is Never to Late to Start Ice Fishing I have been ice fishing since junior high school, or let’s just say, a long time ago.  I can still remember that first time stepping onto the river backwater, it was an eerie feeling, but the feeling of anticipation and excitement soon overtook that eeriness.  Dreams […]

The Non-Traditionalist’s Guide To Whitetail Shotgun Season

The Non-Traditionalist’s Guide To Whitetail Shotgun Season I often tell people summer is my fourth favorite season. By nature I am an “against the flow” kind of person so I gain amusement from my audience’s surprised reaction to such a statement. As a teacher summer certainly brings much appreciated rest from 60-70 hour work weeks, […]

Late Season Whitetails

Late Season Whitetails Time, as always, is fleeting. The time from deer season a year ago to opening day seemed to take forever. We waited with anticipation for October 1 to roll around after a long summer. Now, like a vapor, it is late December and deer season is fast closing in on its conclusion. […]

2019 Roadside Survey

Iowa’s pheasant population steady, quail down Iowa’s pheasant hunters should expect to find a similar number of birds as last year, with the exception of south central and southeast Iowa, where the pheasant population decline was more significant. Based on the August roadside survey, Iowa’s statewide average is 17 pheasants per 30 mile route, down […]

Phasing Your Way Through the Iowa Rut

Phasing Your Way Through the Iowa Rut November is a magical time for Iowa bowhunters. The early season buck routines are fading into an all-out crap shoot of big buck activity, where their focus is more about interactions with the does in an area and less on surviving their travels from bedding areas to food […]