Iowa
Here’s how to properly hold fish in the catch/release era
Is there a right way and a wrong way to hold a fish?
During a time when fisheries conservation demands regular catch-and-release, the answer is a resounding yes. Once it’s out of the water, properly handling a fish is paramount to ensuring it swims away as strong as when it came topside. Whether you’re removing hooks for a healthy release or positioning that personal best catch for a quick photo, there’s a common-sense approach to take in order to get fish back with little or no physical effects to them.
Patience is often the right approach in turkey hunting
As a new turkey hunter, the minute I heard a gobble in the distance, my
How to properly work a jig for open water 2025
In its most basic form, a jig consists of nothing more than a light wire
Here’s how to properly hold fish in the catch/release era
Is there a right way and a wrong way to hold a fish?
During a time when fisheries conservation demands regular catch-and-release, the answer is a resounding yes. Once it’s out of the water, properly handling a fish is paramount to ensuring it swims away as strong as when it came topside. Whether you’re removing hooks for a healthy release or positioning that personal best catch for a quick photo, there’s a common-sense approach to take in order to get fish back with little or no physical effects to them.
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How will Iowa turkey hunters follow up a record harvest from 2024?
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IA Fishing News
Fishing Reports
Iowa’s statewide fishing report on April 18, 2025
Iowa’s statewide fishing report on April 11, 2025
Iowa’s statewide fishing report on April 3, 2025
Iowa’s statewide fishing report on March 27, 2025
Lake Profiles
Bluebill in Iowa’s Cerro Gordo County is small body of water with a few options for anglers
Bass, crappie, bluegills biting on Iowa’s Lake Hendricks in Howard County
Fall bite for bass, panfish, walleye going on Iowa’s West Okoboji Lake
Bass, bluegill, perch to be had at Iowa’s Silver Lake in Worth County this fall
Fishing News
Walleye netting season starts for Iowa DNR fish hatcheries
Al Lindner: Spring river action is the ultimate walleye window
Here’s how to get the most out of your forward-facing sonar
Opinion
Commentary: ‘Corner-crossing’ ruling a huge victory for public land owners
Ryan Rothstein: Out-of-state whitetail tags getting harder and harder to come by
Outdoor Insights: National parks are big business, so why are we gutting them?
Commentary: In Congress’ final days, wildlife, outdoor recreation legislation sent to president
Christmas week chuckles: A mountain-naming controversy as Trump says he’ll rename Denali in Alaska
All About Hunting
Patience is often the right approach in turkey hunting
As a new turkey hunter, the minute I heard a gobble in the distance, my first instinct was to get up and head towards the bird, cutting the distance between us.
The second thing I remember doing often was moving by 7:30 a.m. when I hadn’t heard anything close. In both situations, my youthful inexperience kept me from having the patience needed to be successful. And don’t misunderstand, I still struggle in that area.
Well designed, actively managed CRP benefits pheasants and more
Smoke plumes on the horizon is evidence that its peak season for annual prescribed fire across Iowa.
Prescribed fire is the most cost-effective way to manage land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), providing ecological benefits to native plantings which in turn, benefit wildlife, and in particular, pheasants.
“Managing CRP is important in order to maintain quality habitat for pheasants, namely the brood rearing and nesting cover it provides,” said Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
How will Iowa turkey hunters follow up a record harvest from 2024?
A mild winter followed by timely spring rains has Iowa forests and woodlots leafing out ahead of spring turkey season, possibly tipping the playing field in favor of the gobblers, after a record harvest of more than 16,000 birds in 2024.
The first of Iowa’s four regular spring turkey seasons opens on April 14.
Podcasts
Episode 536 – Remembering Jeff Broberg, dire wolf drama, coaster brookies, spring wild turkey opener
Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Editor Tim Spielman begin the broadcast remembering
Episode 535 – Coaster brookies spawning, remembering Jim Brandenburg, trout, turkeys, dire wolf
Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Editor Tim Spielman talk about the recent
Episode 534 – Canada tariffs update, Wisconsin spring hearings, new Minn BHA chair, MN-FISH Summit
In the midst of additional tariffs drama, Canada announced last week that
Episode 533 – Minnesota delivers 2025 Bassmasters champ Easton Fothergill; plus bluebirds and BWCA
Grand Rapids, Minn.-resident Easton Fothergill’s win at the 2025 Bassmasters Classic last
All Iowa Articles
Iowa’s Tony Caligiuri named new president of the Boone and Crockett Club
The Boone and Crockett Club recently announced that Tony Caligiuri
Jeremiah Haas: Tactics for hunting turkeys in the wind
Spring turkey hunting around the Quad Cities can be anything
Nature Smart: On a quest to find the Sherman’s fox squirrel
I find the variations and diversity in the wild to
Video: Tips for hunting whitetails in the bottoms of hill country
Anyone who hunts whitetails in hill country, even in smaller,
If you want to bag more gobblers, master mouth calls
The turkey-call market is full of options: Box calls, pot
Backyard and Beyond: Night owls and early birds
Doug Wonders’ trail cam caught an interesting photo some nights
Expert anglers share their favorite stream trout lures that go beyond flies
If you spend enough time on a trout stream chasing
New study says pollinator seed mixes may fall short when it comes to early-flowering plants
A new Prairie Research Institute study found that many commercial
