Deer hunters follow many paths to success. Some hunters carry bows. Others favor firearms. Some dress in camouflage and sit in trees. Other hunters stay on the move, stalking the woodlands in blaze orange apparel. Although methods vary, deer hunters have one thing in common. They all dream of bagging a monster buck – the
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As a life long Iowan who hasn’t moved to Tennessee, Anderson’s recent comments were a poignant reminder of how easy it is to take for granted the abundant natural resources we all enjoy. We’re currently in the season of Thanksgiving. As Iowans, we should all take a moment to count our blessings.           As a Joice, Iowa
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For America’s earliest hunters, archery equipment was a matter of survival For archery deer hunters, November is the grandest month of the year. In Iowa, as elsewhere, bow hunting has enjoyed a tremendous surge in popularity during recent decades. More than 60,000 archers are pursuing deer in Iowa this year. Sporting goods manufacturers have responded to
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  Waterfowl hunters – perhaps even more so than anglers – are hopelessly susceptible to product advertising. New guns, improved ammo, quieter motors, lighter boats, warmer coats, better waders, you name it – all beg to be purchased and tested. Decoys are my personal weakness -- the Achille’s heel of my outdoor pocket book. I’ve been fascinated
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The season is changing and white-tail bucks are beginning to shift gears.  Along the edge of Iowa’s woodlands, fresh scrapes are beginning to appear as bucks mark territories  and announce their presence.  I normally don’t start bow hunting for deer until the first week of November.  This year, however, I decided to do my own
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A Year Like No Other – an early season duck hunt in Cerro Gordo County, 1979. Back row [left to right] Lowell Washburn, Earl Leaman, Sterling Washburn, Leonard Washburn, Ed Kotz, Jr. / Front row – Sandy the Chesapeake & Shad the Lab Photo By: Ed Kotz, Sr.   Duck hunters love to reminisce. Recounting the great
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  DULUTH, MN. --- According to our calendars, autumn has officially begun. If you look to the skies, there are some undeniable signs that the season is changing. In America’s North Country, the annual raptor migration is in full swing. Although the grand passage can be viewed from a variety of locations, there is no better
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We’ve all heard that “Variety is the Spice of Life”.  Although generally applied to other topics, the familiar saying can certainly hold true for the outdoors as well.  One of the things I like most about duck hunting, for example, is that you just never know what’s going to drop into the decoys.  Some visitors
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Black Hills Bighorn Recovery Inches Forward National Wildlife Federation Aids in Securing Safe Habitat CUSTER, SD ---- I saw my first wild bighorn in the summer of 1959. Feeding near a roadway in the Black Hills of western South Dakota, the animal was a spectacular full curl ram. Perfect in every detail, the ram was far more
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  Iowa’s prairie wetlands are one of our richest natural treasures. Wetlands benefit everyone. They store runoff and reduce downstream flooding. Wetlands help stabilize water tables and recharge underground aquifers. Serving as efficient natural filters, aquatic plant life consumes excess nutrients and purifies water by absorbing harmful chemical pollutants. Those are the practical benefits of Iowa marshlands.
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  Blue-winged teal are as fun to eat as they are to hunt. Likewise, for fall mushrooms. Fortunately for us, both Iowa delicacies are currently in season. Iowa’s teal season runs until September 16th. Migrating teal have been plentiful and hunters are bringing home plenty of birds. Fall mushrooms love wet weather, and local woodlands are harboring
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The 2014 reinstatement of the Iowa teal season is the best single change of waterfowl regulations in the past half century. For thousands of Iowans who participated in the September 1st teal season opener, the credibility of that statement was more than obvious. Although much of the state was blanketed by heavily overcast skies, fog,
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