Check Out Our Current Issue!
In the April 2026 Issue of the Iowa Sportsman
- Best Places for Early Season Open Water
- Building a Foundation for the Field
- Range Safety Tips
- Building a Farm Pond to Hold More Wildlife
- Shed Antlers: Do they really tell us anything?
- What Makes a Great Food Plot
- Keeping Kids Engaged in Turkey Hunting
- Pre-Spawn Bass
- Springtime Panfish-Perch, Crappie, and Bluegill
Click Here To View This Issue Now!
Summer Work That Pays Off in Bow Season
Summer Work That Pays Off in Bow Season Early mornings in the turkey woods are beginning to give way to graduation celebrations, long afternoons on the lawn mower, gardens, and ball parks for yours truly. I would like to think that this “season” of life that falls between springtime gobblers and fall whitetails would be […]
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Perfecting Your Turkey Setup
Perfecting Your Turkey Setup There is nothing more exciting than enjoying an early Iowa morning, watching the timber wakeup, only to be interrupted by thundering sound of tom. However, when the moment of truth arrives and a tom finally steps into range, your shooting setup becomes just as important as anything else you have done […]
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Calming A Hyper Gun Dog
Calming A Hyper Gun Dog We’ve all experienced a hyper gun dog. If we’re honest, there have been times when the dog is ours. A hyper dog can be a lot of things: annoying, out of control, disruptive, destructive, exhausting, etc. BUT a hyper dog can also be led and taught to manage their energy, […]
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Chase the Bite: Early Season
Chase the Bite: Early Season Walleye, Pike & Crappie in Iowa As May approaches, every angler starts thinking about early-season fishing. Whether you pull your sleeping boat out of the garage or simply slide a couple of fishing poles in your car, you’re ready to find some active fish. The question remains: where do I […]
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Featured Story
Springtime Panfish-Perch, Crappie, and Bluegill
Spring is in full swing here in Iowa, and what can be more pleasant a reminder than the sound of birds, the sight of flowers blooming, and the feel of a warm afternoon? I can think of at least one more thing…Panfish!
I can remember it like yesterday, our family would all meet up at the lake house. There was work to do. The yard was to be picked up, the cabin cleaned, and the dock had to be put in. But then, after the work was finished, it was time for all of us cousins to fish! We would all go out to the garage to pick out a few old rods and tie on a hook and sinker as best we could.
The next order of business was to hunt for worms. Flipping anything that we could find stuck in the ground in hopes of just finding a few crawlers. Once the bait was secured, we were ready to fish. We would go out on the dock and cast, vertical jig, and even troll along the side of the dock. We usually did pretty well use those tactics, but my all-time favorite was walking along the rocks on shore and dropping the bait down every little crevice, not knowing what was going to come up next.
Created By Iowans, For Iowans
The Iowa Sportsman website and magazine are Iowa’s only privately owned media sources catering to hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts here in Iowa. Simply put, we are unlike other Iowa outdoor media sources: All our staff is from Iowa, from our publisher to our writers. We actually follow through on what we advertise; we provide knowledgeable content from people who know the industry or sport discussed.
