Outdoors

This year’s walleye opener on the Iowa Great Lakes was a record-breaker with 2,246 anglers registered from a total of 20 states. Although none of the tagged walleyes were caught, there was still a lot of action for a wide range of game fish. Listed below are the winners in each of the categories:...

Through my 40-plus years of working in the fishing industry as a fishing writer, fishing guide, fishing instructor, tournament angler, seminar speaker, radio and television show host, I’ve had the good fortune to fish and hang out with some very memorable people. Some were well known, some not so much. Almost all were wonderful people. It’s my privilege to share some of those memories here on Reel-Times...

Anglers simply love crappie and big crappie. Fish over 14 inches are simply a special fish. In all our travels, we encounter a lot of different fish and truthfully… we love them all. Every fish has a fan, and we never met a fish we didn’t like but if there is one fish that just seems to create an infatuated obsession across the Midwest, that fish might be a big slab crappie...

It's as predictable as May flowers - from border to border, the Wildlife Baby Season has arrived in Iowa. From now until at least mid-June, DNR field offices across the state will be inundated with hundreds of phone calls and scores of deliveries regarding "orphaned wildlife."...

Every spring since I moved to northwest Iowa in 1978, I’ve looked forward to fishing for bluegills and crappies at the Triboji boat ramp and Turtle Lake (east of Crescent Beach) on West Okoboji. The fish come into the shallows and it’s cool to be able to fish from shore...

Since the 1980s, I’ve done lots of fishing seminars at sport shows and for outdoor clubs and fishing tackle retailers. It’s been way over a year since I did my last fishing seminar. Gatherings like those got shut down in early 2020 and haven’t really started up again yet. I have fond memories of those seminars...

Each year, especially during late winter, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) receives reports of sick or dead birds at feeder locations, particularly in the southern part of the state. Unsanitary conditions at bird feeders can lead to the spread of several diseases amongst birds that frequent these feeders...

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ spring fish spawning season is over and Iowa’s cool water fish hatcheries at Fairport, Rathbun, and Spirit Lake are filled to capacity. “Our goal was to collect 1,858 quarts of walleye eggs to produce 149.9 million walleye fry that we can stock in Iowa lakes or raise to a larger size in hatcheries before being released,” said Jay Rudacille, DNR warm and cool water fish culture supervisor...

Iowa boat owners can help to protect the environment by following five simple tips all summer long. • Take time to prepare your boat’s shrink wrap for recycling by removing vents, strapping or zippers. Only the plastic film can be recycled. Many shrink wrap recycling programs today are offered at the local level, so if your marina does not recycle, ask your county government. Some boaters have found that by carefully removing the wrap it can be reused for a second season...

What a roller coaster ride the year 2020 was. COVID-19 totally changed how we do things. So many things were put on hold, and for many families, it became months of masks, social distancing and isolation to protect older members of the family. Now, we sit at a point where vaccines are available to adults. I so hope in 2021 that we can finally put this pandemic behind us...

Warmer weather is here. It took a while this year, but as it always does, or at least always has done so far, the inconsistent weather of spring has been or will soon be replaced by the warmer weather of early and midsummer. It’s going to be warm and even hot in the following weeks and months...

The summer of 2021 for the Iowa Great Lakes Sanitary District will be busy in many different areas. There are several construction projects that the Sanitary District will be involved in, as well as restarting our inspections for possible illegal connections to the public sewer system. The Sanitary District will also continue our normal maintenance schedule of cleaning and inspecting the public sewer systems throughout the summer months...

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach are launching an online training for the national award-winning Growing Up Wild activity guide. This online training provides exciting hands-on activities and resources to help lead children (ages 3-7) out the door to explore nature. ...

On the southwest side of West Lake Okoboji along the north side of Highway 86 sits Garlock Slough, a 77-acre natural marsh that provides protection for the lake by filtering impurities that could enter the lake from the watershed. The watershed of Garlock Slough and its network of smaller wetlands accounts for nearly 10 percent of the land that drains into West Okoboji Lake...

Some anglers believe that a particular lure will enable an angler to catch the most or the biggest fish. It’s almost like it’s a magic bait. While it’s certainly true that some baits are very good day-in and day-out, successful anglers understand that catching fish is usually a result of considering a few little things. Details that don’t seem to be real important are often very important. Some of those details follow...

If you happened to miss last Thursday night’s Facebook Live spring gill netting results on the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club’s Facebook page, you’re still in luck. It will continue to be the club’s Facebook page, so at your leisure you can watch the results...

Nobody knows for sure how years we have had the Lake Patrol on the Iowa Great Lakes. One good history marker is the stone Lake Patrol building at the water’s edge in the Gull Point State Park. It was built in the early 1930s by workers from the Civilian Conservation Corp...

Drought conditions are improving across the state, thanks to more precipitation than usual during March, according to the latest Water Summary Update. In March, 2.62 inches of precipitation fell across the state,  0.5 inches above normal. Almost 60 percent of the state is now free from any dryness or drought designation, an improvement from conditions that existed a month ago...

The past two weeks have been an incredibly busy and crazy time for the DNR personnel at the Spirit Lake Hatchery as the annual northern pike, musky and walleye egg collection has taken place. After last year’s pandemic limitations using only hatchery staff (instead of other DNR personnel from other parts of the state) manning a pair of two-person boats to collect fish, this year’s efforts have included five two-person boats, which has definitely increased the numbers and speed of collection...

The early part of the open water fishing season can bring catching challenges. There are influences beyond an anglers control that make the catching part of fishing a little more difficult sometimes. Changing weather in the early season certainly affects the catching. One day it can be 70 degrees, the next day it’s snowing. That doesn’t make fish hungry. Different species of fish spawning at different times can also slow the bite a bit...

For many walleye fishing enthusiasts, spring walleye runs are the first game each season. Each river system has its own intricacies and nuances. There are obviously differences between river systems, and each system has a unique personality. Regardless of river system, the most important component of fishing rivers for walleyes in my opinion is simply being flexible and nimble...

Over the years, I have been impressed with Iowa’s Shallow Lake Restoration program. The program takes shallow water lakes that for a variety of reasons have become impaired bodies of water with poor water clarity, lack of aquatic plant life an overabundance of rough fish (carp), sporadic fisheries, limited wildlife use and production and, as a result, offer very poor recreational opportunities and once again turns them into vibrant clean bodies of water...

With the ice fishing season over, and the open water fishing season upon us, it’s good to think about some of the things that can affect our fishing success. There are a good number of those things. We think about where we’re going fishing, when we’re going fishing, or who we’re going fishing with. ...

A new federal law goes into effect on April 1, that requires the operator of a boat with an installed Engine Cut-Off Switch (ECOS) to use the ECOS link while operating on all federally navigable waterways. In Iowa, that means the four flood control reservoirs: Coralville, Rathbun, Red Rock and Saylorville; and the Mississippi and Missouri rivers...

With hundreds of serene lakes, tranquil ponds and 71,000 miles of mellow waterways—we’ve got you covered with peaceful places to refresh and wet a line! These are just a sampling of fishing opportunities by county across the Hawkeye state. There are oh so many more opportunities. (From the Spring 2021 issue of Iowa Outdoors magazine)...

It’s the end of March, the Rotary car has gone in on Smith’s Bay, the lakes are opening, we’ve had our first true spring rain of 2021. Lakes are opening up, and our spring bird migration is in full swing. First the Canada geese, then the Trumpeter swans, followed by our ducks, both puddlers and divers. ...

It’s the time of year when many anglers are getting ready for the open water fishing season. Something that every angler should do is make sure that your fishing line is ready to go fishing. You want to start the fishing season with fresh line. Your line is the only thing between us and the fish. If we want to increase our odds of landing a trophy, we need to have good line on our reel. But in addition to good line, we need the right line...

While matching 2020’s record breaking hunter participation and harvest is not likely to happen, Iowa’s 2021 spring turkey season will have plenty of opportunities for those ready to be back in the timber. “We had good turkey production and poult survival over much of the state, but especially in southeast Iowa, which is good news for hunters in that region,” said Jim Coffey, forest wildlife research biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. ...

Spring turkey hunting success and safety comes down to the same thing – proper planning. “Be aware of what’s around you. Even if you’re on private property, there could be other hunters out there who are coming to your call. Remember, turkey hunters are skilled in the art of concealment. ...

She Goes Outdoors has a new subscription box available focused on fishing. The subscription box is designed to develop and expand outdoor skills. The box is packed full of gear, educational resources, and more for only $50, which includes shipping and handling. Boxes are available for purchase now at https://www.sgooutdoors.com/...