Outdoors

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 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...

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...

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. ...

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 hundred-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 (DNR)...

The recent cold weather has furharvesters excited because cold weather helps animal furs become better. Called prime, a pelt becomes prime when the fur is at its peak in color, length, density and texture. This is often determined by fur buyers as they judge a fur’s primeness when determining the price the buyer is willing to pay...

Pollinator Paradise is officially open at the Dickinson County Nature Center. The $1.2 million addition now features children’s museum-quality exhibits including a food truck featuring faux meals that need pollinators to exist, a touchscreen pollinator habitat game and even a life-size apple orchard where you can be a bee and pollinate apple blossoms...

Heading into Iowa’s busiest outdoor ‘opening day,’ shotgun deer season hunters should expect to see about the same number of deer in the timber as last year – with the possible exception for hunters in southcentral Iowa, where local deer populations were impacted by an outbreak of hemorrhagic disease...

The first of Iowa’s two shotgun deer seasons opens on Dec. 7, and while optimism for a successful hunt is the primary focus, hunters are encouraged to brush up on safe hunting practices. Basic firearm rules are pretty straight forward: treat every firearm as though it were loaded; always point the muzzle in a safe direction; be sure of your target and what’s beyond it; keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot...

Well, what’s up with Mother Nature? First, she forgot to give us any “Indian Summer”! Then, this past week, we hit teens for a high, flirting with single digits to zero at night. Suddenly, the small lakes were locked with a skim of thin ice, the canals were iced, Lake Minnewashta was locked and most of East Okoboji had ice...

Ice has arrived on the ponds and small lakes earlier than usual in the northern areas of where people go ice-fishing. In fact, there are some places where anglers are already on the ice and catching fish. Ice-fishing action can be good all season, but it seems like anglers get really excited about early ice, and ponds and small, wind-protected lakes are the first places to offer early ice-fishing...

The first ice period often offers opportunities to catch aggressive walleye in shallow water. On many fisheries — prime time is typically around sunrise and sunset. Ice anglers often anticipate this prime-time period and experience great fishing. While these fish can be aggressive and easy to catch, landing in the right place at the right time is the key to finding and catching walleyes. ...

It was a good half-mile hike back to the 40-acre section of timber on the Red Rock Wildlife Area that gave Jeremy Cochran and Todd Gosselink time to explain their plans to improve the forest resource on this heavily used public area. “It’s a common misconception that the way to manage a forest is to leave it alone. ...

Early this fall, an Okoboji fishing icon was named to a list of anglers to be inducted into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame. Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club founder Jim McDonnell will join nine other anglers as part of the Class of 2020 to be inducted at a ceremony slated for Jan. 18 at the Northern Illinois Sports Show in Grayslake, Illinois...

A perfect fall pheasant hunting morning greeted the 17 participants at the third annual Clay County Pheasants Forever Ladies Pheasant Hunt on Saturday, Nov. 2. Chapter member Paul Daniels, who helped organize the hunt, reflected on the day. “It was a great day for the third annual Ladies Hunt, and it was our best turnout yet," Daniels said. ...

In a recent conversation with some ice-anglers, I learned that ice has arrived in the northern parts of the Ice-Belt. If these weather patterns continue, we’re going to be ice-fishing earlier than usual. That’s great: It means that the time between the end of open water fishing and the start of ice-fishing will be brief...

Enjoy the spectacular colors and cool weather this fall fishing in northeast Iowa’s hundreds of miles of trout streams. From easily accessible streams in state or county parks, to those found in Iowa’s most wild and remote natural spaces, there are plenty of places to catch rainbow, brown and brook trout...

Beginning farmers have the opportunity to manage DNR land through the DNR’s Agriculture Lease Program in 2020, in part to legislation passed in 2013. The list of 2020 leases can be found here: https://www.iowadnr.gov/About-DNR/About-DNR/Realty-Services...

As we go through life, we often think how “things come full circle.” A late October fishing trip for bluegills on West Okoboji was the perfect example of this. My friend, Dick Lineweaver still had his boat on the hoist, so with weather in the 40s and with very little wind, he asked if I wanted to join him one more time before he put the boat away for the season...

I’m not sure, and I hope I’m wrong, but I think I’ve been on my last open water fishing trip for 2019. This is earlier than usual, but for a variety of reasons, I’m winding the open water season down. Like every open water season before this one, I’ve learned and re-learned a good number of things about fishing. I’d like to share some of those things...

Enjoy Iowa’s natural landscapes fishing Iowa’s rivers and streams this fall. A unique angling challenge is hidden around every bend. “You are never far from one of Iowa’s many rivers,” said Greg Gelwicks, Iowa DNR interior rivers research biologist. “Fall is a great time to give them a try.”...

If you’ve ever spotted an abnormally white critter, or taken notice of its pink eyes, you may have seen an albino animal! From snails and fish to robins and deer, albinism has been observed in a wide range of Iowa animals. Albinism is the result of cells that can’t produce melanin, the pigment needed to color skin, scales, eyes and hair. This genetic condition gets passed to offspring when both parents carry the recessive gene. When albinism is present, the animal can appear white or pink...

Hunters donated more than 4,300 deer hides to Elks Lodges across Iowa last year, which was an increase of over 1,000 hides from 2017. The deer hides are used by the Veterans Leather Program to make professionally-crafted leather gloves for veterans in wheelchairs and also turned in to leather used for therapy programs for recovering veterans...

The Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club (IGLFC) will be hosting its annual “Fall DNR Night” on Thursday, Nov. 14. According to Terry Thomsen, IGLFC president, the event will be held at the Oak Hill Outdoor facility located at the corner of 71/86 across from Perkins Restaurant. ...

If you want to catch a big walleye, fall is the time to do so. There are lots of bodies of water across walleye territory that are home to true trophies. If the walleye-of-a-lifetime is your goal, center your efforts on the bodies of water that have a history of producing big walleyes...

Do you love fruit? If you do, then you love the blue orchard mason bee. Blue orchard mason bees (Osmia lignaria) are part of a family of bees that are solitary — meaning they live and breed individually instead of socially in a hive, like honeybees — and use clay to make partitions to their nests and to seal the entrance. They got the orchard part of their name because they are extremely adept at pollinating fruit trees...

Furharvesters take note: the outlook is pretty decent for most of the commonly targeted species ahead of Iowa’s furbearer hunting and trapping season, “Over the past five years, coyotes have become the new hot thing,” said Vince Evelsizer, furbearer wildlife research biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Last year, more than 18,000 coyotes were harvested, easily surpassing the previous record harvest of 15,347...

Iowa furharvesters can help the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) with furbearer management by participating in a furharvester survey. The Iowa DNR is sending this survey out to 5,000 licensed furharvesters prior to this year’s trapping season. ...

Shop with the Pros Day has become one of the most anticipated ice fishing kick-off events in the Midwest. Thane and Tanya Johnson, owners of Kabele’s Trading Post in Spirit Lake, are preparing for their 8th annual Shop with the Pros Day to be held 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9...

It’s the time of year when some anglers start thinking of ice-fishing, and some of those anglers every now and then like to hire a guide to take them fishing. It’s also the time of year when other anglers start thinking about the next open-water fishing season, and some of those anglers, every now and then, like to hire a guide to take them fishing. ...