Outdoors

Even with the crazy winter weather, one thing has remained constant: our backyard bird feeding. No matter the weather, our birds are always checking out the feeding stations. Whether it’s cold and windy, blustery and snowy or even during a “winter rain,” it’s fun for my wife and me to sit and see just what is going to come to our feeders...

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will release trout in seven locations across Iowa this winter in areas that would not support them in warmer months. Winter trout stockings are a great place to take kids to catch their first fish. A family-friendly event is paired with most stockings to help anglers have success and fun while fishing...

Deer hunting is extremely popular in Iowa with nearly 200,000 hunters taking to the field each year. Unfortunately, there is a disease that keeps making its way closer and closer to northwest Iowa: chronic wasting disease. In looking at several recent Iowa Department of Natural Resources news releases, this is what I have found...

Across much of the Midwest, it’s ice fishing season. However, across much of the Midwest, we’ve experienced inconsistent weather in the past few weeks, which has led to inconsistent success on the ice. When it comes to ice fishing or open water fishing, as different as they may seem, weather is a consistent factor in either situation...

Never say never and never say always with fishing but when it comes to catching big crappies through the ice, there are a few lessons that seem repeating. Doesn’t matter if you find crappies suspended over basins or classic wintering holes. Could be shallow weeds or pencil reeds. Maybe sharp breaking basin or channel edges. Perhaps you are fishing flooded brush piles, cribs or submerged timber...

As a Midwestern boy, it seems strange to say that I’ve always been drawn to water, but ultimately this interest changed my life forever. I was fortunate to grow up in a time where playing and exploring the outdoors was the natural thing for a child to do. My days were spent exploring the woods, rivers and lakes of northern Iowa. It was during these great experiences of my youth that the dream to further explore the world became very real...

At some times of the year, especially in the fall, big baits are the ticket to big fish. But in the winter, much of the time, smaller baits will lead to more catching. Remember, under the ice, fish can get a very close look at the lure you’re using. Small, even tiny lures attached to line that’s almost invisible, will usually put more fish on top of the ice than large lures...

This is the time of year that many of us reflect on what happened in the past year and at the same time make plans for the next year. The outdoors and our natural resources are extremely important to me. A major undertaking this past year in the Iowa Great Lakes area was the fourth annual Okoboji Blue Water Festival held Saturday, Aug. 10...

A hummingbird zips around the yard visiting one colorful flower after the next. A robin sings from the top of the fruit tree. A phoebe darts from a branch to catch an insect in flight. Birds are all around us, and whether we think about it or not, we need them. From pollination and seed dispersal, to pest control and their beautiful sights and sounds, birds benefit humans every day...

The winter weather outside can be frightful, but wildlife are used to it and are even adapted to survive it. Let’s take a look at how three creatures survive the frigid winters of northwest Iowa. It may look like a whole colony of muskrats has overtaken a wetland in the winter. ...

I’ve been in the business of fishing for about 40 years and have been fishing even longer. The changes in fishing and fishing equipment over those years have been many, and a lot of those changes have effected, for the better, the way we fish and what we catch. Following are some of the changes that I’ve experienced...

What an interesting ice fishing season this has been. Here we are beginning the year 2020, and our ice conditions have not improved much over the past couple of weeks. Water is flowing nearly 7 inches over the Big Spirit Lake spillway and leaving the system at Lower Gar nearly 8 inches over full. ...

DES MOINES — Autumn this year in Iowa has been cooler and wetter than normal, according to the latest Water Summary Update. Temperatures for the fall months (September, October and November) averaged 49.3 degrees, or 0.9 degrees below normal, while precipitation totaled 12.33 inches, or 4.30 inches above normal...

Looking for an evening out, the chance to eat some awesome wild game dishes with proceeds going for area youth scholarships? Well, you better mark Saturday, Jan. 11, on your calendar for the annual Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club’s Wild Game Feed. Held at Haggy’s in Royal, doors open at 6 p.m., this annual event continues to grow each year in popularity with the cost being a freewill donation...

Rivers, both large and small, crisscross North America. Many of those rivers are full of fish in a wide variety of species, and many of those species of fish like to get caught in the winter. Here are some ideas for catching those fish now and for the next few months...

For the second consecutive year, the North American Ice Fishing Circuit will be holding one of their qualifiers on West Okoboji’s Little Emerson/Big Emerson Bay. Scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 19, the tournament will be the highlight of a weekend devoted to ice fishing activities. ...

GUTTENBERG — Kevin Hanson had to throttle back his heavy flat-bottomed aluminum boat as he began to break up a thin layer of ice that had formed overnight on the slack water in Pool 11 of the Upper Mississippi River. Hanson, fisheries technician with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Guttenberg station, was on his last run of the year collecting traps for a mudpuppy population study before ice up...

Iowa anglers can buy the Missouri and Big Sioux rivers paddlefish license and tags starting Dec. 15 through Jan. 7. Buy your special paddlefish license and tags on the Iowa DNR online licenses sales website at gooutdoorsiowa.com. A resident license sells for $25.50. You must also have a valid Iowa fishing license...

Iowans can buy 2020 resident hunting, fishing and other licenses on Dec. 15. Licenses purchased for 2019 expire on Jan. 10. The menu of license options includes the popular outdoor combo annual resident hunting/fishing/habitat combo license for $55; the angler’s special three-year fishing license for $62; and the hunter’s special three-year hunting license with habitat included for $101...

Early settlers found an ocean of prairie when they arrived in the Midwest. Looking out over our countryside today, it is hard to imagine how this landscape would have looked. By some accounts, this tall grass wilderness and its unending expanse was so vast it was overwhelming for some. ...

Ice fishing and open water fishing are certainly two very different things, but in some ways they’re very similar. Following are some fishing ideas that will help an angler be more successful at catching fish from open water or through the ice. A very basic rule for fishing success is so basic, but so important. ...

It’s finally here for good. Ice fishing is underway ... exciting times. By Dec. 12, West Okoboji was finally locked, and the entire Iowa Great Lakes system was iced over. Although there had been some action prior, it had been pretty sporadic, but this past Friday, my grandson, Hunter went with me for my first ice fishing trip of the year. I had talked to other anglers who had been out, and they were comfortable with the ice depth...

WEST UNION — The winding roads of Fayette County, east of Eldorado, lead to a 130-acre area split by the Turkey River that could be a sneaky-good spot for hunting deer in a part of the state known for its deer hunting. “This site has two food plots on it next to a grove of trees near the river as part of a 100-acre tall grass prairie — I think it would be a great place to harvest a deer or two,” said Greg Schmitt, private lands biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources...

This is the second part of looking at successful early ice walleye strategies. There are many successful strategies used to target early ice walleyes. My most successful strategy by far is being much more aggressive before the sun gets low and simply hit what I consider as many good spots as possible long before the fish should be there. ...

In the past several years, a number of anglers have mentioned to me that they would like to get involved in ice fishing. We’ve talked about what it takes to go ice fishing and I’ve learned that there are just a few things that need to be kept in mind if someone wants to try their hand at fishing through a hole in the ice. Let’s talk about some of those things...

Sometimes I think we are our own worst enemy. I know I can be. It happens to me when I think about the plight of conservation and what our children and grandchildren will be facing in the future. I want so much for them to have a better life than we do. I think that’s really what we all want. Yet, many times, I, myself, think negative thoughts and just complain. Instead of being part of the solution, there I am griping and complaining. You know, feeling sorry for myself and our current plight...