I trapped a prime red fox the other day. I don’t do much trapping anymore, and the fox came as a bit of a surprise. Although the set was located where I’ve seen fox or fox tracks in the past, I figured that I was most likely to catch a raccoon. In reality, catching the
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     Regal Canvasback Remains at Pinnacle of Fine Dining   The end was in sight. With only a handful of days remaining, the 2017 Iowa duck season was winding down. To make matters even worse, the southbound migration through northern Iowa had long since passed. Stale, refuge-oriented mallards and a few stragglers of other species was
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  It’s true that most people – myself included -- tend to forget things over time. But something that no one ever forgets is the day they bag their very first pheasant. For me, the milestone event occurred at the tail end of the 1959 Iowa hunting season. Anticipation had been building for days. After learning
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  By now, I think everyone has heard how Al Gore claims to have invented the internet. It’s a well-known story. But the inconvenient truth of the matter is that the former Vice President never actually made the claim. Instead, the oft repeated, urban legend sprang from a misrepresentation of comments made by Gore during a
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  For Iowa deer hunting enthusiasts, November is the grandest month of the year. Nothing else can stand in its shadow. The annual rut is slamming into overdrive and mature, heavy antlered bucks are on the prowl. Restless, edgy, and itching for a fight; nocturnal stags have suddenly changed their ways. Brazen and bristling with attitude,
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    The morning wasn’t shaping up the way I had planned. With barely an hour to go until daybreak, the rain drops were rolling off my roof. Under the driveway yard light, the goose trailer was hooked to the truck and ready to go. But those decoys wouldn't be heading anywhere today. The semi-remote corn
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Antique Shop Treasure Ignites Duck Hunting Memories Clear Lake’s Don Humburg was an Iowa outdoor legend. Hunter, trapper, master angler, boat builder, decoy maker, you name it -- if it happened in the great out-of-doors, Humburg could do it and do it well. As a conservation crusader, Don was a tireless worker in the early days
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       High Plains Pronghorns Provide Outdoor Thrills On the high plains of western Dakota, autumn has arrived. Down in the valleys and creek bottoms, the cottonwood and aspens have turned a brilliant gold. Up here on top, the distinctive blue green of wild sage and bright red of dwarf rosebud offer colorful contrast to the tawny
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                            Arrayed in a dazzling cloak of pure white, the great egret is one of the world’s most spectacular birds. A long-distance migrant, the huge bird is equally at home on northern Minnesota lakes during summer and balmy West Indies lagoons in winter. In Northern Iowa, the month of September offers peak viewing as migrating egrets,
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     Strong Hunter Turnout – Good Success For Iowa hunting enthusiasts, the Labor Day weekend is a big time, nonstop, action-packed event. The 2017 dove season began September 1st, and although large numbers of doves had already migrated out of the state, most of Iowa’s 10,000 participants appear to have enjoyed anywhere from good to somewhere
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