The Iowa Sportsman
August Bass Fishing
August Bass Fishing Of all of the methods that anglers use in chasing after and landing bass, having one of these feisty fish explode on a topwater bait is one of my all-time favorites. In my early years of bass fishing and learning to catch them, topwater wasn’t part of my arsenal. As it turned […]
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Introducing Your Gundog to Gunfire
Introducing Your Gundog to Gunfire Every great gun dog begins with a solid foundation, and one of the most important milestones in that journey is becoming comfortable with gunfire. While most hunting breeds possess natural instincts for retrieving and working in the field, a poorly handled introduction to loud noises can create fear and anxiety […]
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Whitetail 365- The August Advantage: Building Your Buck Inventory Before the Rut
Whitetail 365- The August Advantage: Building Your Buck Inventory Before the Rut Sponsored by: Recently, a guest of my podcast and I were having a brief conversation before recording about bucks in velvet. We discussed the anticipation for hunting season. He and I both agree that you have to be so careful when you analyze […]
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Waterfowl Habitat Keeps the Flyway Alive
Waterfowl Habitat Keeps the Flyway Alive There’s something about waterfowl season that sticks with you long after the last flock fades over the tree line. It’s the early mornings when the world is still dark and quiet while you’re heading to the marsh you’ve hunted a hundred times before. It’s the smell of wet cattails, […]
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Spot-And-Stalking Whitetail Deer
Spot-and-Stalk on a 150-Class Buck If you had told me that my 2026 bow season was going to go the way it did, I would’ve laughed. I would have said, “That’d be sweet, but there’s not a chance.” A Season of Change My family and I relocated almost two years ago. We’d spent the last […]
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How to Stay Safe and Prepared for Any Disaster
How to Stay Safe and Prepared for Any Disaster We live in a world where we pretty much have everything we need, but, we live in Iowa. That means we get hit with some natural disasters that leave us without electricity for extended periods of time. We’ve seen this in the derecho of 2020 and […]
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Build the Best Deer Blind Setup Now
Build the Perfect Deer Blind Setup Now Hunting blinds have changed a lot over the years. Hunters now have more choices than ever before. Some hunters like large permanent blinds that stay out all year. Others like lightweight pop-up blinds they can move around. One important thing to remember is deer need time to get […]
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Finding Fish When the Water Heats Up
Finding Fish When the Water Heats Up There is something special about summertime fishing in Iowa. Some of my favorite memories have been made on the water during the hottest days of the year. Average temperatures often sit between 80°F and 90°F, but it’s not uncommon for mid-day highs to climb near 100°F. On top […]
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Planting More Than a Plot: Why Fall Food Plots Matter
Planting More Than a Plot: Why Fall Food Plots Matter I remember the first time we got him on trail camera. My jaw dropped. A 160-inch 8-point we started calling “The Big 8.” The kind of deer that makes you lose sleep trying to figure out how you’ll ever get close. The next time I […]
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Delta Waterfowl Duck Expo is Coming to Des Moines
Delta Waterfowl Duck Expo is Coming to Des Moines For the first time ever, the Delta Waterfowl Duck Hunters Expo is coming to Iowa. It is shaping up to be one of the biggest outdoor events of the summer. Waterfowl hunters from across the country will gather in Des Moines for three full days of […]
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