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FEATURES
32 THE TURKEY SEASON DILEMMA 12 THE LEGEND OF VIRGIL EVERY IOWA SPORTSMAN SHOULD KNOW HOW TO DO” 16 BECOMING A BETTER CATFISH ANGLER 36 “THINGS OF A CONSISTENT BEARD COLLECTOR 20 TRAITS 44 2017-18 DEER HARVEST NUMBERS 24 SPAWNING SEASON SUCCESS 50 2018 PHOTO HARVEST REPORT WHITETAILS 365: AND TRUE FISHING TACTICS YOU SHOULD ALWAYS FALL BACK ON 28 PLANTING SMALL FOOD PLOTS 56 TRIED By Nick Johnson
By Ryan Graden
By Brad Durick
By Joel Johnson
By Earl Taylor
By Nick Johnson
By Tom Peplinski
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By Todd Reed
DEPARTMENTS 60 GUNDOG CORNER 6 PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT THE SPORTSMAN SPORTSMAN INTERACTIVE 64 ASK 8 IOWA IOWA COOKBOOK MOON PHASES/ 66 SUNRISE-SUNSET 9 68 FISHING IOWA 31 AROUND THE STATE 42 TROPHY ROOM By Patrick McKinney
By Ryan Eder
Turkey Recipes By Bob Jensen
Photos Submitted by Readers
ON THE COVER Welcome to the April issue of The Iowa Sportsman Magazine! On the cover this month is Travis Haney and his monster Iowa Whitetail he harvested during the second shotgun season. To read more about the hunt and the Haney Buck go to page 12.
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April 2018
PUBLISHER STATEMENT
SPRING IS ON MY MIND! In a few weeks’ time….hopefully, the temperatures will start to warm, the snow
cover will melt, the trees will start to bud, the grass will green, and the desolate Iowa
landscape will once again come alive. This all means that Spring is finally here!
Actually the Winter wasn’t all that bad in Iowa this year so I am not complaining too
TWIN RIVERS MEDIA, LLC.
much. We had a few stretches of cold that would make you think twice about stepping
1517 3rd Avenue NW Fort Dodge, Iowa 50501 877-424-4594
out until late December!
VOLUME 16 • NUMBER 4 • APRIL 2018
outside, but all in all the weather was fairly tolerable. Heck I didn’t get the snow blower No matter how mild the winter was it is always a blessing to see the warm
temperatures on the forecast this time of year. It seems to give everyone a little pep in their step and a cure to the cabin fever that has some of us chomping at the bit to get outside. For some sportsman though the thought of Spring is bitter sweet as they hate to see winter go. Winter sports and hobbies such as ice fishing, coyote hunting,
snowmobiling, and ATV riding have really flourished the last several years. Since
these are sports that really only have a shelf life of four months the thought of waiting another eight months doesn’t sit well with winter lovers.
Nevertheless, change is a part of life, especially when talking about the seasons
here in Iowa. With the Spring coming we will once again welcome the new life that
will come along with it. I say it pretty much every year this time, so I will do so once again. While the New Year is technically marked by January 1st, for sportsmen and
outdoor enthusiasts I think the New Year is really the beginning of Spring. The change in weather brings a new set of hunting sesasons, new life, brighter landscapes, and for
the most part happier people. Hey if nothing else if you already shot your first New Year’s resolution to shreds, go ahead and make a new resolution for the Sportsman’s New Year.
Gale W. McKinney II, President & CEO Patrick McKinney, Publisher Audra McKinney, VP of Finance Dustin Hector, VP of Sales Aaron McKinney, Field Editor Brandon Peterson, Art Director/Graphic Designer Dawn Busse, Office Manager Shawna Nelson, Circulation Manager
OUTDOOR MARKETING SPECIALISTS
Joyce Kenney - joyce@twinriversmedia.com Ed Juncker - ed@twinriversmedia.com Kristen Adams - kristen@twinriversmedia.com Kendra Sassman - kendra@twinriversmedia.com
SUBSCRIPTION SALES
Shawna Nelson - shawna@twinriversmedia.com Falon Geis - info@twinriversmedia.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Tom Peplinski, Nick Johnson, Brad Durick, Todd Reed, Joel Johnson, Ryan Graden, Earl Taylor, and Bob Jensen.
I can’t talk about Spring without mentioning what really has hunters and anglers
excited…turkey hunting and open water fishing! Starting in April and running through
mid-May Iowa’s turkey hunting seasons will be occurring. Soon thunderous gobbles will sound off in the mornings, bringing life to a new day in the Iowa timbers, and thousands of camo clad hunters won’t be far behind trying to put a tag on the elusive bird.
Open water anglers are chomping at the bit too this time of year as the melting ice
and runoff brings new life…and food to hungry fish.
The grass is greening, the fish are spawning, and the turkeys are gobbling….Spring
is in the air!
The information and advertising set forth herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable and compiled with great care. Twin Rivers Media, LLC. however, does not warrant complete accuracy of such information and assumes no responsibility for any consequences arising from the use thereof or reliance thereon. Our advertisers are solely responsible for the content of their respective advertisements appearing in this publication, and Publisher shall not be responsible or liable in any manner for inaccuracies, false statements or any material in such advertisement infringing upon the intellectual rights of others. Publisher reserves the right to reject or cancel any advertisement or space reservation at any time without notice. Publisher shall not be liable for any costs or damages if for any reason it fails to publish an advertisement. This publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Copyright © 2018 All rights reserved.
Patrick McKinney
@TheIowaSportsmanMagazine
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The Iowa Sportsman was awarded the Niche Magazine Award for best consumer magazine in the nation!
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INTERACTIVE PAGE
WHAT AM I
IOWA SPORTSMAN ONLINE POLL ARE YOU PRIMARILY A HUNTER, A FISHERMAN, BOTH, OR NEITHER ONE? Hunter Angler Both hunt and fish I Neither fish or hunt 2.42%
21.77% 26.61%
49.19% 124 votes
CAN YOU GUESS THE OBJECT IN THE PHOTO?
Please send your guesses to The Iowa Sportsman at 1597 3rd Ave. NW Fort Dodge, IA 50501 or email to info@twinriversmedia.com. Answer will be given in the following month on the interactive page.
WHAT AM I WINNER
The winner of last month’s “What Am I” was Mark Trenton. The answer was: a snowblower blade.
Like us on Facebook! @ theiowasportsmanmagazine
FIND THE MISSING ANTLER We need your help readers! The antler in The Iowa Sportsman logo has come off and we need your help to bring it back! This antler could be anywhere, but most likely it will be hiding in a photo, so it will not be easily found. If you find the missing antler in this month’s The Iowa Sportsman magazine, send in your guesses via email to info@twinriversmedia. com or by mail with the page number and a brief description of where the antler is found. A reader with the first correct answer will be listed in next month’s magazine. Good luck! The antler last month was located on page 18.
THE WINNER OF THE MARCH ISSUE WAS KYLE LAWSON
PHOTO HUNT: CAN YOU FIND THE 12 DIFFERENCES ON THIS PHOTO?
Answers: Top left corner a rock has a piece added, top right a rock is turned around, white rock has a hole in it, green rock is red, bottom a rock is missing, bottom left of the red rock is lighter colored, top right orange rock is missing a piece, a toy soldier in bottom left corner, necklace in top right, bottom silver black rock is bigger, green gem in top right, gray rock is darker on one end,.
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I FIRST MET TRAVIS HANEY about seven years ago while I was working for The Iowa Sportsman Magazine and filming hunts. We were searching for a prostaffer to film with and Travis was one of the applicants whose video interviews came across my desk. I immediately saw that he had a deep knowledge of deer and deer behavior and an absolute passion for the sport, that of which he carried in a respectful manner. Qualities that make a truly great hunter. After spending time filming with Travis and meeting his father, Bob, it was obvious to me that deer hunting is a way of life for the Haney family and they take every aspect of it very seriously. The Haney’s have a beautiful property in Southern Iowa and have developed Bee and C farms which they meticulously manage in efforts to grow and support healthy, mature deer. Bob and his 12
The Iowa Sportsman
wife Brenda bring a slice of southern charm to Iowa and have always welcomed me in with open arms, to which I am grateful. Just downright good people. The Haney property definitely has the right ingredients to grow and support trophy bucks but since they first purchased the initial chunk of it back in 1995, a giant pushing 200 inches has eluded them. They have seen
bucks of this caliber on various occasions and a handful have been taken by neighbors over the years but giant deer like this are elusive. The mold finally broke this Winter while I was out duck hunting the final leg of our Iowa south zone season, a picture from Travis came across my phone and when I opened the image I was left speechless. An absolute monster buck with Travis sitting proudly behind it.
MANAGING VIRGIL
The Haney property is nestled in the hill country of south central Iowa, one of the meccas for big Whitetails. Large chunks of timber coat the ridges, valleys and bottomland open up to reveal food plots, grassland and small to medium planted fields in strategic placement. The whole design To Subscribe CALL 877-424-4594
is centered around giving the deer food and cover throughout the year. Aside from planting, mowing trails, checking cameras, turkey hunting and general maintenance, their intrusion on the property is kept pretty minimal, especially leading into deer season to keep human pressure low. I’ve had many in-depth discussions with Travis about deer management and how they approach their ground and it always fascinates me to learn about the different techniques and practices they employ. Travis tells me that it may take 10-15 years to produce a giant buck. What he means by this is several factors repeated over time coupled with genetics & hard work to promote growth and development as that buck matures in ages 5 and 6. One thing they advocate is not focusing on shooting a Boone and Crocket deer April 2018
each season. If it happens, great, if not then nobody is going home crying about it. On the flip side, the mindset that you have to shoot a Booner every year can sometimes lead to “buck fever”. Their reasoning for this is nothing new, but it involves passing on large bucks that may not be fully mature and giving them a chance to reach their full potential. The star of this article, Virgil, is a prime example which we will discuss in a bit. One critical factor to the Haney’s management plan is food plots and making sure the deer have nourishment throughout the seasons. They focus heavily on planting corn and soybeans which are a staple winter diet for the deer on their ground. They use electric fences during the growing season and into early fall to avoid the deer destroying the crops too early. I got to witness two things in a year
where they had a poor growing season and heavy deer activity. Come late season a lot of the deer activity had moved onto neighboring properties which still had crops available. Or high mortality rates effected yearlings and older to mid-aged bucks. One thing Travis stresses in combination with the food plots is harvesting does. This not only helps to keep the deer herd in balance but also cuts down on competition during leaner times. Another major ingredient to this whole mix is effective cull management. When Travis talks about a “Cull” deer, to him this is any buck that does not have the potential growth to be a 170”+ deer. Some of these “Cull” deer could be main frame 8 at 3 years old or mature buck that has been observed to the age of 5 and has reached his potential at mid 150”s. The Haneys run multiple TheIowaSportsman.com
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THE LEGEND OF VIRGIL cameras across the property and put in the time to identify bucks using certain areas each season, watching them grow or fail to grow and deciding which animals make the hit list of cull or shooter. Almost always the number of cull bucks will outnumber the number of genetically superior deer, so relatives get a chance to help out in this effort. By culling bucks with less desirable traits they - hope to expand the voids within herd population in favor of trophy potential to then move in and fill that void.
HUNTING VIRGIL
The success of the Haney’s management strategy over the years has paid off with a few superb bucks being taken along with many mature does. What this management has also done is grow a giant, a buck affectionately named Virgil. Now I’d like to tell you that Travis crawled through mud for 6 miles uphill and fought this deer bare handed but that simply wasn’t the case. This buck had a pattern and they knew it well. Virgil first started showing up on their trail cameras about 4 years ago and he only gave slight indication that he would amount to a giant. He was a nice buck with potential so they kept their eye on him. Aside from the
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winter months, it was a complete mystery as to where Virgil lived. He was a ghost and even the neighbors who all hunt and run cameras had never seen him before. Over the next two years, Virgil would start showing up around Thanksgiving in a specific area and then stay for the winter to capitalize on the food and cover offered. He was a big deer by now but apparently loved to fight because when they would start seeing him, he would have numerous broken tines. Although he was big he still didn’t have much mass which could possibly attribute to the broken mess of a rack he displayed. Virgil was a very patternable deer and seemed very comfortable in his winter area. Come spring, Virgil would disappear again and not be seen until late fall. Fast forward to the 2017 deer season and Virgil once again graced the Haney’s property with his presence around Thanksgiving. This year was different though, Virgil had exploded into a massive 6x6 with tall tines and a few stickers to add character. When he showed up on the trail camera the Haneys excitement grew tenfold. The product of years of hard work and strict management was paying off. Travis now had him zoned in and hoped for the right wind. Travis hunted Virgil diligently and had
an encounter with him early on when bow hunting the field the buck was using. He placed a buck decoy about 30 yards away from the tower blind that he was sitting in that night, hoping that if Virgil came in the large 12-acre beanfield, this decoy would close the gap. - Before long a decent 5-yearold buck showed up and began sizing up the decoy. After a bit the buck’s attitude began to change and he lowered his ears and turned to leave the field. It was then that Travis saw the giant. Virgil had pushed this mature buck out of the field and stood where the 5-year -old buck had just been. Virgil did not care about the decoy and - was out of range. He never did present a shot but that only left Travis determined, for he knew Virgil would slip up before late season. The bow season passed and Travis and his Dad made plans to hunt this same field during second shotgun season with a muzzle loader. When opening day came, Travis and Bob slipped into the blind around early afternoon knowing the deer would begin to filter in soon. Around 2:30 pm the field began to load with deer and they both sat still, scanning patiently. 3:00 PM rolled around and both Travis and Bob knew that it was a special evening when they had 3 of their “Cull” shooter deer already in the field. They both knew that even these deer had to be passed on a night like this. All the signs were alluding to a true giant stepping out from the darkness. A half-hour passed when Travis looked over and saw a huge buck at the edge of the field staring out at the other deer. He quietly whispered to Bob, “Virgil is in the field”. They had to contain their excitement and work in slow motion since there were 40-50 does near their blind and that’s a lot of eyes and noses that could spoil the party. As Virgil approached out of the creek bed, Travis eased open a shooting window and tried his best to calm the nerves that were surging through him. By the time Travis and Bob had lowered the shooting window and got the gun into position, - - Travis ranged him at 141 yards, steadied the crosshairs behind the shoulder and let the muzzle loader do the work. Virgil fell where he stood and lay motionless on the ground. A buck of a lifetime lay before Travis and his Dad. Virgil marks a historic achievement for the Haneys. He is the largest deer they have taken to date from their property and a testament to their efforts in management. The buck is much more than just a trophy on the wall though. Virgil is a legend, a memory of countless hours and sweat, land management, family gatherings at the farm, hanging tree stands, years of effort and so much more. A true monarch of the woods. To Subscribe CALL 877-424-4594
April 2018
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CATFISHING IS EXPLODING IN THE UNITED STATES. In many circles it is considered the fastest growing segment of fishing. While some long time catfish experts deny this increase in anglers and insist it is just people coming out from the shadows and being seen like they never have before. One thing we cannot argue is catfishing is popular. It is obvious that catfishing is getting more press, and why wouldn’t it? Of course it would when pictures of huge fish show up on social media every day. It is actually becoming common April 2018
to see blue cats over 100 pounds caught somewhere in the United States. If you take a look at social media catfish groups you will see many people getting into catching catfish. You see
those who have always catfished but are now going all in and upping the game to reach the next level. You are seeing people who have fished for other things changing species to catfishing. Even with all the hype of catfishing growing, there still is not much new in terms of information on how to catch these great fish. Sure there are articles everywhere, most are very basic. Of course there is some new info coming in with new techniques and gear. As the catfish world catches up with TheIowaSportsman.com
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BECOMING A BETTER CATFISH ANGLER the likeness of say bass or walleyes there are some simple steps that can help you become a better and more efficient catfish angler. I use these steps on a daily basis and I know many other successful catfish anglers do too. • Understand the catfish – The best catfish anglers are students of the fish, knowing and understanding what makes them tick. The spawn, habitat, patterns and what triggers them to do what they do. These successful anglers understand seasonal migrations and what dictates their location throughout the season. They also know about baits and the best way to present them to have the best success. • Fish the Best Catfish Waters The best catfishermen fish the best destinations. Larry Myhre, retired outdoor writer for the Sioux City Journal in Iowa wrote “you should fish where the fish are.” This does not just mean the best places for catfish, but also the best times of year, time of day, and best locations. All while
prepared anglers around. They have to produce fish every day but when the fish don’t cooperate they have to find a way to put a positive spin on it to keep the clients entertained as they tweak the plan and adjust in hopes of finding success. They have an extremely positive attitude.
using the best baits and methods to catch more and bigger catfish. If budget won’t allow travel all over the United States, pick the best catfish water that you can find to stay in your budget. • Be Mentally Prepared – Successful cat anglers are some of the most mentally
The next catfish is just one anchor drop or cast away. They are able to focus on connecting the dots to find what will put fish in the boat, while ensuring the guests have a good time. The best anglers are already thinking two or three spots ahead of where they are actually fishing.
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• Confidence in Catfishing – This could easily go into the category of mentally prepared but it is such an important piece of the puzzle that it should stand on its own. Confidence is demanding success. If you don’t believe you can catch catfish in every situation you probably won’t. If you are sure of yourself, your techniques, knowledge, electronics and gear you are prepared to succeed and won’t except anything else. Confidence is more important than many people think but it is a key to success. • Hard Work – The best catfish anglers work hard. They move and use efficiency in the boat or shore to cover more water and put more fish in the boat with the time allotted. They study the surroundings and utilize their equipment to find the fish in given locations and match the findings with the knowledge of the fish they have learned over the years of experience. On the water success is directly correlated with hard work off the water as well, such as preparing a game plan and reviewing catch records and notes to head off any situations that may arise.
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• Top-notch Equipment – The best catfish anglers don’t always use the most expensive equipment, but they always use the best equipment that can stand up to the constant abuse that it must endure. From their electronics to rods, reels, hooks, sinkers and nets. They also maintain said equipment to keep it in working order so there’s no surprises on the next outing. • Technology – For the advanced angler, technology is what sets them apart. Besides understanding what makes the fish do what they do they know how to utilize the best technology available to them. For Example, with the new Humminbird Helx G2N or Solix units, catfish anglers now have access to the best side image technology with MEGA imaging. They also have the newest weapon in catfishing on uncharted rivers and lakes with AutoChart Live. This goes back to hard work but one can now put in the work and time to create a custom map of the lake or river. They can also run side image while mapping to get a lay of the land. Once this is done they simply go back to the areas of the map that hold fish and look at the spot. Tie all of that in with new trolling motors like the Minn Kota Ulterra. A trolling motor with spot lock can be used as your anchor. With just a push of a button on the remote and you can make a move. This simply saves time with moving and allows you to be more efficient in the number of spots you can fish in a given day. This will directly increase catfishing efficiency. • Organization – The best catfish anglers have a plan. A plan of where to start fishing based on previous days April 2018
or weather conditions and time of year. The book Advanced Catfishing Made Easy can help with the planning of these starting points. The angler is also organized in that the gear is set up and ready to go. Bait is loaded and in an easy to get to Frabill bucket or Big Frig (for frozen baits). The boat is clean tidy for easy movement, and ability to find and quickly get to everything you need when you need it. • Attention to Details – Everything stated so far are details, but now that you are getting out on the water you need to pay attention to what is going on. How is the weather, how is the water. What are the fish reacting to and how are they biting. By paying attention to these small details you can make adjustments and fine tune the gear, pattern or baits to the situation you are being faced with. Sometimes these conditions change two or even three times in a given day and the attention to detail and ability to go with the flow can keep you more successful through it all. These are nine suggestions to make you a better catfish angler. They are steps that all great anglers in many species use. You probably will not be able to master all of the steps overnight but fishing is an ongoing adventure and over time you can learn and adapt to these steps eventually mastering them all making yourself a better angler day in and day out. There truly is no better teacher than time on the water and with these simple steps your time on the water will be a more effective and you will be a more successful catfish angler.
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I LOVE TURKEY HUNTING. It will be part of my Spring routine until I can’t walk and when my trigger finger is too weak to set off a shell. Turkey hunting is the one hunt that a kid or an octogenarian can hunt with success regularly; there is no magical formula; when it works, it works, and when it doesn’t, there are still great sights and sounds of spending a spring morning in the timber. There are three different aspects of the hunt which must come together consistently to score on the long beards. If you don’t understand and implement each part well, there will be a lack of consistency. Create a rhythm and philosophy about your style of hunting that works for you. Your philosophy supersedes your calling ability; your approach to turkey dictates the level of success. I have shot a turkey in the first ten minutes of the hunt, and I have hunted for four straight days without hearing a 20
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gobble. You might think you have all the right gear and your calls sound terrific, but turkeys don’t always react immediately or as you would expect. When they’re hot, they’re hot, but when they’re not, it easy to give up and go home too early. Don’t give up on a favorite spot just because of a silent day or two. Persevere through the dry days. When you have plenty of time, you can be more patient. When I try to hunt and work my day job, I rush and push the hunt too fast and too hard. It is tempting to try to seal the deal in the first two hours
instead of letting the hunt unfold more naturally. Be willing to roll over and take a nap for an hour or get up from your spot and look for mushrooms. The very first thing I do when I set up is to take every call out of my vest and have them laid near me. The last thing I want to do is rummage through my vest looking for the slate or my box full of mouth calls with a tom hollering nearby. I use my range finder and identify distances to different landmarks; I need to know where I can’t shoot; big toms look closer than they are when the excitement climaxes before the shot. Never approach a new set up casually; you must anticipate several scenarios playing out for you. Believe every set up has a turkey just over the ridge edge which could be on you silently before you have all equipment ready to shoot. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. Experiment with a different To Subscribe CALL 877-424-4594
set up as the day passes. Start with a set up deeper into the timber and close to a roosting area, but move along to field edges for the nine o’clock feeding. Turkeys have a routine that takes them from the timber to the fields and then back to the roosting area by evening. In my younger years, I liked the run and gun method for covering several different ravines during the afternoon; by standing at the head of a ravine and calling, I could arouse even the sleepiest gobbler to gobble back. In most cases of life and work, I promote hustle. With turkey hunting, I promote NOT being in a hurry to head to the timber in the dark. If I could remember the last 50 turkeys I have shot, I shot only two before 8 a.m. The other 48 I shot with the sun shining brightly, the grass is dry, and me having had a good breakfast before the hunt. I like to get to the timber by nine rather than 5:30 a.m. April 2018
And, if there is no action, after I make a few loud calls, I roll over and take a midmorning nap. Experiment with hunting at different times besides the early morning two hours. I have shot birds as late as 7 p.m. It is not enough to own equipment;
sound like a boss hen to young hens. Not all gobblers will react to a bossy old hen; sometimes a lighter pitched call will stimulate him. When I want a completely different quality of sound, my slate call fits the bill. Just as a child throwing a temper
WHEN YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME, YOU CAN BE MORE PATIENT. WHEN I TRY TO HUNT AND WORK MY DAY JOB, I RUSH AND PUSH THE HUNT TOO FAST AND TOO HARD. consistent successful hunters know which call to use in which situations. It is easy to go online and order a vast array of calls. There are more call manufacturers today than ever before. My six-dollar Burnham Brothers box call that I started with back in 1980 still works, but I would feel nearly naked just using a box call. I carry a variety of mouth calls that can
tantrum in Walmart gets a parent’s attention, so does my 10 minutes of nonstop calling. With only pausing to catch my breath, I have consistently forced a gobbler out of being quiet and reclusive. Armed with a mouth call, slate, and box calls, I carry on continuously with an attitude. It is loud, aggressive and in your face. I often use a mouth call, TheIowaSportsman.com
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TRAITS OF A CONSISTENT BEARD COLLECTOR and a Quaker Boy Boat Paddle box call simultaneously. This stereo-sounding fake hen can pierce even the most-windy of mornings with its high volume and henlike racket; sometimes three yelps and a cluck or purr is not enough. I am a big mouthed turkey hunter; I call loud. I set up along the edge of open fields where I can see 500 yards or more. I want my calls to penetrate the deep woods, but also boom across an open field. My loud calling fits my personality. Set up in places that fits your calling style. My brother’s style is soft and gentle; he prefers to set up on a timbered ridge right above a roosting tree. There is not much variance between today’s calls; we all have our preferences in brand names. Our loyalty to a certain brand is developed by how a call feels in our mouth, how long it will last, how much time does it take to maintain the call, and perhaps even initial cost of the call. Consistent hunters settle into just a few calls that they learn to trust. Decoys work. Period. However, don’t
get cheap and try to use a decoy that belonged to your dad; today’s decoys are vibrant and realistic. The hundred dollars it takes to purchase a high-quality decoy will give you a good return on your investment. The poorly painted decoys of yesterday should be the object of target practice. Keep it simple; don’t over accessorize your arsenal to the point of ridiculous. Your equipment doesn’t finalize the hunt; your equipment allows you to get into a position to harvest a tom. Persistence and drive will provide the needed mental edge to overcome mistakes and unfilled tags. When I first began hunting, I worked ten different birds over a two-year period and screwed up on harvesting a single bird. When I finally shot the eleventh bird that I had called in, I felt the curse lifted. Had I given up and picked up golf, I would not be turkey hunting today. Mistakes are part of learning to become a consistent turkey hunter. Regardless of your calling ability, your desire, or your philosophy of hunting, successful turkey hunters make sure their set up is near perfect. Turkeys will do their best
to surprise you; overlook a brush pile, and the turkey will work his way into you only to hang up behind a pile of shot-proof tree limbs. Set up too close to a ravine edge, and all you might see is a turkey eye-ball peeping over the edge looking for the location of the soon-tobe love of his life for the day. Most setups are done quickly after hearing a hot tom; we don’t have time to cut branches and create any temporary blind. My consistent success rate is due to my preparing several calling trees before the season. I know which tree I will set under before the actual hunt. I have cleaned out any underbrush and pulled over some downfall to break up my position. Good scouting is more than just knowing there are birds in the area. Iowa is a great state to turkey hunt. There are birds in every county. Our seasons allow a hunter to choose the number of days he can commit himself to be successful. I prefer hunting in May rather than April. Each season has its advantages; pick the one that fits your style and personality.
TURKEY HUNTING TIPS • Sleep in. A rested body makes better decisions and can last longer in the field. • Mentally and physically prepare for the hunt by creating temporary natural blinds, by knowing yardages and by having all calls ready to use. • Turkeys move from timber to farm fields throughout the day; you must move also. • Purchase a high-quality decoy. • Don’t rush the hunt. Let it unfold naturally. • Try a turkey calling tantrum around midday to stir up the quiet woods. • Loud calling works, but learn to adjust the volume down once the tom responds to your loudness.
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April 2018
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WHEN FISHERMEN THINK of fish spawning in Iowa, a few key species come to WALLEYE
mind. Bluegill, crappie, white bass, largemouth, smallmouth, and arguably the most celebrated, walleye. These species in particular become susceptible to angling during these key spawning times and offer anglers a chance at a truly large specimen. White bass and Walleye for example make large runs in rivers and can congregate in numbers below natural and manmade obstacles en route upstream. Bluegill, crappie and bass often migrate to shallower water and construct beds where they vigorously guard their developing fry. Not all of these species spawn at the same time though so what makes them flip the switch and begin spawning?
PERCH AND PIKE
Some of the earliest spawners in Iowa are the Yellow Perch and Northern Pike. Pike sometimes spawn before all of the ice is off a given water body. The timing of this is dictated by photoperiod, water temperature and water levels. Typically, a female pike is accompanied by one or more males in very shallow water where she deposits her eggs amongst emergent vegetation. Reed beds are classic examples of this. Areas where creeks or snow runoff enters a body of water can congregate numerous pike looking to spawn. Pike can be caught pre-spawn and a common method for this is during late ice using tip-ups rigged with dead bait such as herring, tullibee or smelt or even live bait like shuckers and large shiners. Be wary of ice conditions though! Look for areas where water may flow into a shallow bay with a soft bottom. When pike begin to spawn and shortly post-spawn, they can be difficult if not impossible to catch. They simply shut down for a bit while April 2018
they recover. Perch are a bit later and generally spawn when water temps reach 4050 degrees, the upper 40’s being more common. Photoperiod plays a large factor in the timing of this. Perch are group spawners and the females will lay large ribbons of eggs on aquatic vegetation and especially submerged trees. Spawning generally occurs at night or in the early hours of morning in depths ranging from 2-10 feet for most Iowa lakes. Late ice perch fishing can be some of the best all season as these fish school up in droves. Once the ice goes out these fish can be caught using conventional methods and even trolling such as you would for walleye, just with downsized gear. The perch that spent the winter roaming deeper basin areas now congregate along breaks and contours that separate the deeper basin from shallow water. When spawning hits, perch move shallower and can be difficult to catch as their focus is on spawning rather than eating.
Walleye spawning comes at a similar timeframe to Perch and this generally occurs in late April or May depending on water temps. Photoperiod, moon phase and water levels are factors that play in. Water temperature is the biggest factor that dictates walleye spawning and this occurs around 43-47 degrees. A sudden cold snap that drops water temps may delay this activity and the walleyes play the cards to ensure their eggs have the best chance at survival. In lakes, walleyes spawn over shallow gravel substrate and this most often occurs at night or in very low light periods. Their transition to spawn in the Spring brings them out of deep water to stage along depth breaks and contours similar to perch. Slow trolling these breaks and finding areas of moving water are key locations for catching spring walleye. In rivers, the water temperature factor for spawning remains the same but the timing may be slightly different and is largely affected by water levels. If water levels get too high and blow a stream or river out, walleyes may forego spawning altogether. It is this key migration in Iowa that draws hordes of fisherman to the local dams to try their luck at the Spring walleye run. You will often see the smaller males arrive first, followed by the larger females. When the spawn is complete, a second wave of smaller males and sub-adult females will show up or still remain and actively feed. This action can go on for up to a few weeks depending on mother nature. TheIowaSportsman.com
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SPAWNING SEASON
WHITE BASS
For those river anglers who love to target walleye, stick around for a couple weeks after the walleye spawn and keep lines tight with some hard fighting and arguably decent tasting white bass. Some people won’t eat them but if you take the red meat out I think they make great table fare. White bass are also temperature driven spawners. However, in rivers or areas with flowing water they can also be triggered by rises in water levels. They ideally like to spawn when water temps hit 54 degrees and they often accompany the first rise in water levels after the walleye spawn, at least in my experience on the Des Moines River. In reservoirs, these fish begin to congregate along windswept shorelines and the mouths of creek arms. Target them using a multitude of conventional tackle such as twisters, rapalas and spoons. These fish are aggressive feeders and generally aren’t too picky about what they hunt down.
BASS
From a water temp standpoint, largemouth and smallmouth bass spawning has slightly less rhyme or reason than other species
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but that is only because I have seen bass guarding fry on beds from late-May all the way through mid-July. Generally speaking though, bass look to spawn when water temps reach into the low 60s. Some fish will spawn deeper, 6-10 feet but most will post up in shallower water. The parent fish clear sediment and debris from the bottom to create a “bed” and this is where eggs are deposited and fry are guarded until they are completely free-swimming and can readily feed on their own. Sometimes bass will select non-traditional spawning sites which may be the side of a rock, tree stump or even an old tire on the bottom. Just like other sunfish, the male bass of both smallmouth and largemouth are the ones responsible for guarding the fry. Bass sitting on their beds can be pretty susceptible to angling so if you catch one, handle them gently and return immediately if that is the intent. They can also be very tough to catch when locked on a bed, it just depends on their mood! Before spawning, bass will slowly start to transition out of deeper water when the ice comes off and when water starts to hit the 50s they begin to move shallow again. Pre-spawn bass are a blast to catch especially when they move shallow and are feeding aggressively, and this offers a chance
to catch some really big female fish.
CRAPPIE
Spawning behavior in crappies is very similar to bluegills and bass and they sometimes spawn in large congregations when conditions are ideal. Crappies typically spawn in shallow water amongst emergent vegetation such as pencil reeds but in places like Brushy Creek I have seen them spawn on the sides of fallen trees and alongside old stumps. The ideal temp for crappie spawning is around 6264 degrees give or take a couple. After the eggs are deposited and fertilized, the male remains with the brood until the fry are free-swimming and self-sufficient. Catching crappies pre-spawn can be as simple as locating the basin they posted up in during the Winter and fishing slow with light tackle. These fish after ice-out will often remain suspended in these basins in large schools and as the water warms they slowly begin to move towards shallower breaks and weed edges. Suspending a small minnow on a hair jig below a bobber is a deadly combo for early Spring crappie.
BLUEGILL
Many of us as kids came to love catching bluegills during their spawn. The sight of that honeycomb bottom of little pits with dark male bluegills darting and flashing about, angrily defending their brood is a comical sight. Bluegills spawn when water temperatures approach 70 degrees. They are notorious colony spawners and groups of 100 or more can sometimes be seen guarding their beds crammed into one small area. They select areas with a soft bottom that offers ease of ground clearing and adjacent cover and often return to the same spawning areas each year. Bluegills are incredibly susceptible to angling when they are on beds and are not difficult to catch so take care not to exploit them during this vulnerable time. This is often when I catch my biggest gills of the season and I like to return the big guys and if I’m in the mood for fish tacos, keep a few of the smaller fish for the table. Each fish species has its own unique way of carrying out the miracle of life, Mother nature is the governing hand that dictates when this occurs and we as anglers are responsible for respecting this mission. Capitalizing on certain species when they converge to spawn can be an absolute blast and some of the best fishing all season can be had during these times. Be safe and good luck on the water!
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April 2018
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THIS MONTH’S QUESTION comes from Al in eastern Iowa. His question is “I’ve planted some food plots in the past but have never attempted a grain plot like soybeans. I have a tractor and disc, a hand seeder, and a backpack sprayer. I have about two acres to work with and would like to plant soybeans in hopes they last until December. Can you give me a step by step of how to get this accomplished with the equipment I have? Is two acres enough for soybeans? Thank you for your help.” I’d like to start with the step by step on how to plant soybeans with the equipment Al has to work with.
PLANTING SOYBEANS
First, you need to till the ground enough so that when the seed is spread you are able to go back over with the disc and work them into the ground. This can 28
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be hard with just a disc if you’re going into fallow ground or tall grasses for example. A good way to clear grasses from a firsttime plot is by burning…but I’m always a little worried about burning simply because of the risk of the fire getting away from me. If burning is an option, that is a great way to clear away dead and matted weeds. If not, discing over and over will
usually break up the ground enough to get some soil over the soybean seeds at planting. You would be surprised at how little soil soybean seeds need over it to germinate. So, step one is to simply disc the ground to expose the soil. Second, if you are planting a field into soybeans for the first time, you’ll want to inoculate the seeds. Inoculating seeds is essential for legumes (which soybeans are) so that they can produce their own nitrogen. Your seed supplier should be able to supply you with the inoculant. Follow the directions on the inoculant bag/container and try to make sure the inoculant is spread into the seeds so that all seeds are covered. Next, you spread seed and fertilizer over the tilled ground all at the same time. I would recommend a category 2.7To Subscribe CALL 877-424-4594
3.5 Roundup ready seed for eastern Iowa planted around the end of April to the beginning of May. For two acres, I would use three bags of seed. With normal planting, a good seeding rate is 140,000 seeds per acre (one bag is 140,000 seeds). But when discing in soybean seeds, I recommend going a little heavier. Because soybeans are legumes and produce their own nitrogen when inoculated, you only need to fertilize with a low nitrogen/ high potash fertilizer. I have access to pre-mixed fertilizer of 5-14-42, I use this blend at about two 50-pound bags per acre. For Al’s two acres, he would want to spread out three bags of seed and 200 pounds of a low nitrogen/high potash fertilizer. You can literally throw the seed and fertilizer out by hand, or you can use your hand seeder…do whatever you find more efficient! The next step is to work in the seed and fertilizer using your disc. Soybean seed germinates best when planted at a depth of ½ to 1 ½ inches…but don’t worry too much if some is a little deeper and some seed is still on top the ground. Remember we planted a little heavy anticipating less than perfect germination. Once you see most of the seed in the ground (some will always be on top using this method) after
April 2018
you are finished planting. Cultipacking the field is a good next step but entirely not necessary. You have now finished with planting your soybean plot. The last step in this process is spraying to kill weeds. If done correctly and at the right time, you only need to do this once per year. I like to wait until about 4-6 weeks after planting to go back and spray. This is all dependent on the weather, how much rain you get, and what growth you have on your soybeans and weeds. Ideally, the soybeans will be up to about
four or five inches and the weeds right there with them…maybe the weeds are slightly taller. If you spray right at this time, you’ll get good control of the weeds and hopefully the soybeans will canopy over before new weeds start to grow again. A typical backpack sprayer will hold two gallons of solution. To spray two acres of food plot, you’ll most likely need to refill a two-gallon sprayer 6-10 times. You can either mix a solution of 1.5-2% glyphosate (the active chemical in Roundup), or figure out an application
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WHITETAILS 365
rate of .5 to 1 quart per acre. For small sprayers like Al’s backpack sprayer, it is usually easier to just keep mixing a 1.52% solution and keep spraying until your plot is covered. Glyphosate is rain-fast in an hour (four hours or more is ideal) and you need the plants to be growing for it to work effectively. Spray on a warm day just after any dew has burned off from the morning. Follow all label instructions for the chemical you are using…mix a solution…and spray until your plot is covered. Using a hand held or backpack sprayer on larger food plots isn’t the most efficient method of spraying, but I’ve used a hand-held sprayer in the past for as much as five acres when my boom sprayer was broke. Planting soybean food plots with minimal equipment isn’t really that hard. Soybeans are actually very easy to grow for a food plot. Usually the more difficult issue with growing soybeans is will they be able to withstand browsing pressure by the local deer herd, or withstand severe weather. These are sometimes the bigger reasons many people can’t grow soybeans. I’ve had soybean plots as small as one acre be a total success, and had larger plots as big as three acres fail. Drought and severe browsing by deer are the two biggest reasons for plot failure. If drought occurs, there is little you can do but watch your plot burn up…replanting with a fall plot. Deer pressure is in our control…at least somewhat. If weather conditions are normal, and deer densities are “normal” (that’s subjective) there should be no reason two acres of soybeans won’t grow and thrive giving you a great fall plot to hunt over. Obviously, higher deer densities, poor surrounding habitat, or overall lack of summer forage will put a tremendous 30
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amount of pressure on a soybean food plot. To counter these issues, you can try to locate your soybean plot near agricultural soybeans so that less pressure is put on yours. Another thing to consider is doing what you can to increase the quality of surrounding habitat (keep reading this column for those ideas). Under normal conditions, it is my opinion two acres or more of soybeans should be able to withstand deer browsing. Each hunter/landowner must assess their own situation…but if your soybeans are getting browsed off on two, three, or even five acres or more you might have a problem with an over-populated deer herd. I’ve seen this before dozens of times. My initial suggestion if this happens to you is to harvest more does…not for the sake of being able to plant a soybean plot… but because a ravaged larger soybean plot is simply a symptom of too many deer. Many hunters get emotional about this topic, and I realize it’s not a particularly popular concept with many…but it is directly relevant to Al’s question of “is two acres enough for soybeans?”. The short answer is two acres should be enough to plant a soybean plot. The great thing about a soybean plot is if you get around to August and you are realizing that your soybeans aren’t going to make it because of drought or over browsing, you can always till under the remaining soybeans with your disc and plant a green fall plot. It’s for this reason that soybeans are such a great choice for the food plotter. Al, I hope this helps you plant your first soybean plot. Make sure to send any questions or ideas about what you’d like me to write about to tapeppy@gmail.com. Give me as much information and details about your scenario as you can! To Subscribe CALL 877-424-4594
AROUND THE STATE
FATAL DEER DISEASE CONFIRMED IN WAYNE COUNTY FIRST CASE IN WILD DEER OUTSIDE NORTHEAST IOWA
A hunter-harvested adult doe taken in southeast Wayne County during the first shotgun deer season has tested positive for the presence of chronic wasting disease (CWD). This is the first hunter-harvested wild deer outside of northeast Iowa to test positive for the always fatal disease.The deer was shot on Dec. 5. “We contacted the hunter once it was confirmed,” said Terry Haindfield, wildlife biologist, and coordinator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources chronic wasting disease monitoring effort. “The test results are disappointing but not surprising. We are seeing an increasing number of CWD positive deer in northeast Iowa and from our neighboring states.” Haindfield said there have been seven additional CWD positive tests so far from deer in northeast Iowa that came from the 2017 seasons – six in Allamakee County and one in Clayton County. The Iowa DNR is awaiting the final set of test results from the special collection in Allamakee and Clayton counties in January. “We will set up a meeting in Wayne County to discuss what this means for local hunters and landowners and listen to their
concerns and together we will form a plan to try to prevent or contain this from getting a solid foothold,” he said. Chronic wasting disease is a neurologic disease of deer and elk, belonging to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases. Though it shares certain features with other TSEs like bovine spongiform encephalopathy (“Mad Cow Disease”) or scrapie in sheep, it is a distinct disease apparently affecting only deer, moose, and elk. It is always fatal. The disease first appeared in the wild deer herd in 2013 and each year since, the Iowa DNR has placed extra emphasis on tracking the movement and attempting to stop or slow the disease with the cooperation of successful hunters.
UPCOMING FAMILY FISHING EVENTS: Ottumwa Park Pond
March 24
11:00 am
Ottumwa Parks & Rec
Terry Trueblood, Iowa City
March 24
11:00 am
Iowa City Parks & Rec 319-356-5100
641-682-7873
Prairie Park (Cedar Bend), Cedar Rapids
March 31
11:00 am
Cedar Rapids Parks & Rec
319-286-5799
Banner Lake (South), Indianola at Summerset State Park
April 7
11:00 am
Warren County Isaac Walton League
515-229-7418
Heritage Pond, Dubuque
April 14
10:00 am
Dubuque CCB
563-556-6745
North Prairie, Cedar Falls
April 14
11:00 am
Dan Kirby, Iowa DNR Fisheries
563-927-3276
Sand Lake, Marshalltown
April 21
11:00 am
Marshall CCB
641-752-5490
UPCOMING URBAN TROUT STOCKING Discovery Park, Muscatine March 23, 10:00 am Lake of the Hills, Davenport March 23, 10:30 am Wilson Lake, Fort Madison March 23, 12:00 pm Ottumwa Park Pond, Wapello County March 24, 11:00 am Terry Trueblood Lake, Iowa City March 24, 11:00 am Prairie Park (Cedar Bend), Cedar Rapids, March 31, 10:00 am Banner Lake (South), Indianola at Summerset State Park April 7, 11:00 am Heritage Pond, Dubuque April 14, 10:00 am North Prairie, Cedar Falls April 14, 11:00 am Sand Lake, Marshalltown Marshall County April 21 11:00 am
• courtesy of the Iowa DNR
April 2018
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THERE IS NOTHING LIKE a cool crisp morning in the Spring. A gentle blanket of
a mouth diaphragm along with a slate or box call at the same time. You need to convince those roosted toms that there is a pile of ladies waiting for him to come. With luck, your setup will offer a shot.
dew, or possibly frost, on the ground, the sun slowly warming up the sky, and the silence that is shattered by a tom turkey sounding off from his roost. A gobble will get a hunters heart a-pumping, his adrenaline running, and his senses focused. Hearing that call is just the SEASON 1 (APRIL 16-19, 2018) beginning of the hunt. The rest is the hard part. The real question is, are you up to it? If you’re planning on purchasing a turkey tag for one of the 2018 turkey seasons, read through some of the following tips and tricks that will hopefully allow you to carry a “jelly head” out of the timber and back to your home!
YOUTH SEASON (APRIL 7-15, 2018)
The Iowa youth season is one of the greatest opportunities for a youngster to harvest a large Iowa turkey. The added bonus of purchasing a youth tag is that if a harvest is not made during the youth season, the tag will carry through the remaining four seasons for use. Toms and Jakes are both valid harvests during the seasons as well as bearded hens. Make sure that you know how to identify which bird is which. We need to teach our youth to do things the right way! The early weeks of the Spring find the flocks just coming out of their Winter routines and responding to the natural feeling to breed. Toms, for a few weeks now, have already been in the fields amongst their hens strutting and showing off. However, the hens haven’t been quite ready to breed until now and Iowa youth get the first chance to take advantage of that. Hunters will also have an advantage of pursuing birds who have not been pressured by hunters since the previous year. We hope, that birds who are over a year old have forgotten about last season’s April 2018
hunters and they are ready to respond with less caution that they might a few weeks later. Calling and decoying are going to be keys to success during the youth season. I would encourage a good blind set when you are hunting with youth. It will certainly help with the “hiding” from the turkeys you are pursuing. Kids can move and fidget if needed without being busted by the keen eye of a turkey. Find an area on the edge of a field or in some timber that you know (from scouting!) that turkeys often feed in. Make sure there are good shooting lanes and that your child is comfortable in the setup. In the Winter, turkeys are often in flock formations. There is safety in numbers and during the Winter months, predators are a turkey’s number one concern. Since they are just coming from this natural way of life, you might take advantage of this in a decoy setup by a spread that resembles a flock of turkeys. Most hunters don’t have a “flock” of decoys at their disposal. Talk to family member, friends, or others who might loan you some extra hen decoys. Setup a feeding flock within shooting range of your blind. When a lone tom comes looking, seeing a number of hens will excite him and add comfort to his visit. Until you disrupt that! I would also take advantage of early morning hunting and calling off the roost. Call hard and aggressively. Maybe use
Iowa’s First Season is not too convenient for the “working person” unless you have some time-off days burning a hole in your pocket. The season runs from a Monday to a Thursday. However, if you can make it happen, it is a good time to hunt for a couple of reasons! Personally I hunt this season every year. It has proved to be productive and I enjoy finally having an excuse to be in the timber again! One of the greatest benefits is the “surprise” to the birds. Now, I know that the youth season has come and gone and as a result some flocks are probably savvy to hunters in the woods again. However, where I hunt, the pressure has not yet begun and I always experience “fresh” birds who have not wised up to what is out there yet. A second benefit of hunting the first season is the lack of hunters in the woods. Because the season happens during the week, as I mentioned earlier, it’s not always the ideal time for a working man or woman to hunt. With limited vacation days, turkey hunting isn’t always a good excuse to use them. (Depending on the person!) This is a huge advantage when hunting public properties that others might be hunting too. By this time, toms have usually discovered a flock of hens that they will tend to and protect from any other intruding males. They have probably established some sort of routine as to roosting and feeding so, when it comes to a dominant tom, you might be stuck with a challenge on your hands. TheIowaSportsman.com
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THE TURKEY SEASON DILEMMA There are also those lone toms who have not gathered a flock for breeding yet. They are in search and ready to challenge a dominant tom if they think they can take on the challenge. Calling to and setting up for these situations are unique so take time to prepare for both. Through some preseasons scouting (I suggest a week or two prior to your hunt), you should know where the flocks are showing up and where that might put you. Again, early morning calling is an advantage here. Roost them the night before with some “shock” calls. Use an owl, coyote, or crow call to get a roosted tom to gobble. Pick a setup spot and get there at least a half hour before legal shooting light. A few hen decoys and some soft clucks should bring those toms or the entire flock down to your setup. If the flock chooses to go another way, stay put! You might encounter those lone toms or jakes that are trying to become part of a flock or are trying to create one of their own. It’s worth sitting there for a while to make sure all of your chances are tried. If you make a harvest, be prepared for a heavy bird! Typically a mature tom has not burned off his weight with a few weeks of displaying and strutting. The last two years, my first season harvests have weighed twentyseven and twenty-five pounds respectively!
SECOND SEASON (APRIL 20-24, 2018)
By these dates, breeding is well underway. Usually the older hens will be ready to breed earlier than younger hens. Regardless, your calling and strategy have to be key to fooling and ol’ tom into range. This is a season that is usually heavily hunted across the state of Iowa. Again, for the individual who works during the week, having a weekend to hunt is a good deal. By this time in the Spring, most of the hens are flocked up and they are pretty well guarded by a tom. There might be a few jakes that are satellites of the flock, but for the most part a group of birds will have a routine and a flock to protect them. I would suggest your best move would be to do a little walking and scouting while you hunt. It’s going to be VERY hard to pull a tom away from a flock of hens. But, if in your walking you see some loners off in the distance, those are going to be your best targets to pursue for a harvest. If you’d like to use any sort of decoy setup, I would avoid making use of a strutting tom or a turkey fan on a lone turkey. These loners are by themselves for a reason. There’s a good chance that they’ve been pushed out of flocks by a dominant tom. Seeing a tom decoy would only cause them to avoid the setup. Setup a few hens and let out a few soft clucks. You’ll have a much better chance at 34
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coaxing him in. If you are only seeing toms with flocks of hens, this might be your best chance to use a “challenge” decoy to entice that tom to come closer to you for a “fight”. Maybe you’ve seen some of those newer decoys out there that you physically hold and walk towards toms in flocks with. Take a chance! It’s really a 50/50 situation. Hold this decoy, or simply an old turkey fan you might have, and let out a gobble call. The tom might hustle his hens away from you. On the other hand, he might engage in that challenge and you might have a very exciting situation on your hands that involves a charging tom!
THIRD SEASON (APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2018)
Third season is much like second season, but with any luck, towards the end of this time you will begin to see a slight shift in the responsiveness of toms when it comes to calling. It’s a longer season and that can be to your advantage too. However, those turkeys will still make you work for a successful harvest. One thing that I think you could use to your advantage during this week of hunting is the fact that the hens are beginning to nest. You see, for the past two weeks, if the hen is physically ready, she will lay about one egg per day at a chosen nesting site. Usually clutches of eggs will number between nine and twelve eggs total. However, during the couple weeks that she is laying, she is not on the nest all the time. Most of that time is spent foraging, feeding, and roosting for the evening. Only when she is done laying her entire clutch of eggs will she begin to incubate them to hatch. If the hens breed most of second season and third season, the estimate would put the more mature hens on their nest towards the very end of third season and the beginning of fourth season. This can be a huge benefit to a dedicated turkey hunter. At this point in the season, I might suggest for you to go ahead and “sleep in” in the morning. Don’t worry about setting up for an early morning fly-down intercept. Get up, have breakfast, and get out to the timber by 9 a.m. You’ll be right in the prime time of turkey hunting during these dates. You see, hens, whether they are roosted or nested, will often times get up in the morning and go out to feed. Toms will be with them and it would be hard to pull them from a flock of ladies. By late morning, these hens have had their fill for the morning and will promptly return to their hidden nests somewhere on the ground. That will leave these poor fellas looking for love and that’s where you come in. By late morning, a tom without hens is To Subscribe CALL 877-424-4594
like a lost puppy. Quite often, a love-sick tom will come to any hen call that he hears. He’s hoping that there is still a lady or two out there who would like his attention and he will spend quite a bit of time and energy on the look. Find a good hiding spot and set out a few hen decoys in front of you. Field edges, old logging roads, pastures, and thin timbers offer a good setup to call in a lonely tom. One morning, my wife took two different shots in two different setups just 30 minutes apart on two mature toms. Now, her ability to connect when she was overly excited is another lesson (one I shared with my wife that morning) but nonetheless, she experienced a great “at its best” late morning hunt that day.
FOURTH SEASON (MAY 2 – 20, 2018)
In my experience, fourth season is one of my favorite seasons for a few reasons. First, it contains a good amount of time to hunt. The dates add up to almost three weeks of hunting. For a person who works during the week, this is a great option for a hunt. Second, the state of Iowa will allow Iowa residents to purchase up to two turkey tags in the spring. Your first purchase must be for one of the four existing seasons. If you wish to purchase a second tag for the spring, Iowa will allow a second purchase for the fourth
April 2018
season dates. Again, if you have limited time, an extended period to hunt would be to your advantage, you could purchase both of your spring turkey tags for fourth season. A third reason would be, in my opinion, it’s relatively easier to bag a turkey during the fourth season than it is during the first three. By May 2nd, and later, hens are spending more and more time on their nests. They might leave their clutch of eggs here are there to get a bite to eat, but for the most part they are sitting alone for quite a few hours in the day. Toms during this time are not quite “finished” with the idea of breeding. They are still on the search for that last hen that still is willing to breed and that’s where this season becomes an advantage to you and your skills. Again, this is a season that I don’t think you need to do too much early morning hunting. If you enjoy your sleep, go ahead and sleep in a bit. When you get out to the timber, I would suggest having your walking shoes on and begin a quiet, still, cautious, walk through some areas that you know contain some birds. Precede any walking you do in any direction with a few loud hen calls. Take a little time to wait for a response. If you hear one, come up with a quick game plan and put it into action. If you do not get an answer, again, take
a moment to look around before you move on. Trust me, I’ve had a few lucky harvests in these moments! Birds might come in quietly to investigate. Be ready! If you are more of a “sit and wait” type of hunter, this is a good time for you too. Put out a decoy setup of a few hens and maybe a jake. The best position would be to have a laying hen and a jake behind her as if he’s getting ready to breed. A lovesick tom, if he sees that, will charge in at full speed to try to push your jake decoy off this hen. Hopefully, you are ready for your shot.
IN THE END
Regardless of what I say, you’ll find other hunters with good reasons for why they hunt certain seasons here in Iowa and that’s just fine. It’s a brotherhood that likes to share advice, and if you’re wise, you’ll test some of these “theories” until you see what works best for you. For me, I’m a first and fourth season hunter. I’ve had great success with those dates over a good many years now and I don’t see any reason to change things up. I’d encourage you to figure out your own “equation of seasons” and enjoy what Iowa has to offer. When you do have a successful harvest, don’t forget to display that turkey tail proudly on your wall! Good luck!
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BEING A SPORTSMAN, or should I say a “good” sportsman isn’t something you can simply do. Much like any profession, hobby, or passion if you want to be good, or at least proficient at it, you have to be able to perform dozens and dozens, if not hundreds of small fundamental tasks. These tasks added together is what makes a good, average, or bad anything. The same is true for us sportsmen and women. If we want to be the best at it then we need to be able to check off those tasks. The more tasks you can check off the better you will be. So I thought it would be fun to compile a list of tasks that every sportsman should be able to do. While this isn’t even the tip of the iceberg it will give you a good read, (I wrote this with some seriousness and some humor thrown in), and hopefully thinking about other things that one should know how to do. • Tie more than one fishing knot Palomar, Trilene, cinch, improved cinch, loop, Rapala, etc. Some knots are easier to teach/learn, others have better strength, and some provide better action depending on different situations. • Select the right bobber You can use a slip bobber at almost any depth, but stationary bobbers are simpler and easier in 5’ of water or less. You don’t need a beach ball to float a minnow or night crawler! For panfish a stick, cigar, or small (golf ball or smaller) round will cover 99% of situations. • Fish on the bottom Cannon balls not required! Only use enough weight to get your bait to the bottom and keep a finger on the line to detect bites. • Select the right hook We don’t have sharks in Iowa! Match your April 2018
hook to the species and presentation, and you will catch more fish. • Back up a trailer with vehicle side mirrors only Some trailers and boats are too big to see over and learning to use your mirrors will save a lot of zig zagging and pulling up at the boat ramp. • Re-wire trailer lights If you own a trailer long enough, at some
home safe. • Change the oil in any vehicle Save yourself time and money by doing it yourself. • Put the plug in a boat To avoid wet feet or worse, make sure the plug is in the bilge drain, not the live well drain. • Select the proper fishing line Match your line to the species and presentation. Sounds pointless but it won’t take long for you to notice a difference. • Select the proper rod/reel Match to the species and presentation and you will detect strikes better and catch more fish.
BORE SIGHTING IS A GREAT START, BUT YOU SHOULD NEVER TAKE A GUN HUNTING UNTIL YOU HAVE PROVED ITS ZERO ON PAPER AT DISTANCES YOU EXPECT TO SHOOT. point you will need to replace a light or rewire the entire trailer. • Launch a boat If you want it to float, it has to be unhooked from the rear of the trailer. • Load a boat The point is to load on the trailer, not the tailgate. Take it easy when power loading! Also learn to steer your boat in the wind and save yourself the embarrassment of over or under shooting your trailer. • Wear a lifejacket! Find a comfortable model, wear it, and get
• Re-string a fishing reel Re-string your reels at least annually to take more big fish pictures and tell fewer big fish stories. • Repair a fishing rod guide or tip A quality rod can run $100 or more and have priceless sentimental value. • Pick up and maintain your own nightcrawlers Mixing your own bedding and picking your own worms ensures you have the liveliest and best possible bait and can save hundreds of dollars over a long fishing season. TheIowaSportsman.com
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“THINGS EVERY IOWAN SPORTSMAN SHOULD KNOW HOW TO DO” • Sein or cast a net for your own live bait Minnows, chubs, and crawdads are expensive and tough to keep fresh. Learning how to catch your own ensures you have lively bait and can save hundreds of dollars over a long fishing season. • Rig minnows, chubs, and crawdads Present minnows, chubs, and crawdads as naturally as possible to catch more fish. A jig through the nose or an Aberdeen under the dorsal fin will keep the bait alive longer and provide the best action • Tie off a boat anchor properly Before you throw an expensive anchor over the side, make sure the tag end is tied to a cleat and not your leg. • Warm up a 2-stroke outboard To avoid engine damage and optimize performance, learn how to use the fast-idle assist mechanism on your throttle or simply manage the choke on your tiller. • Hold a catfish or bullhead without getting horned Getting horned or sliced can be extremely painful and cause nasty infections.
• Fillet any fish Through the ribs or over the ribs? It’s up to you, and after a few thousand fish you will be a master and your guests will thank you for it. • Review/understand annual fishing and hunting regulations Don’t rely on message boards or your buddies when you have a question about the rules. “My bird dog ate the regs” isn’t going to stand up in court. • Contact a local conservation officer or TIP line Find your county conservation officer’s number in the regs and add it as well as the TIP line to your contacts. • Tag and report deer and turkeys via automated system It is the law and critical to population management. • Disassemble, clean, and maintain your firearms Guns are an investment, and with proper care they will remain reliable and maintain if not appreciate in value over time.
• Service your vehicle- fluids, filters, and grease points Many dealers charge $85-100 per hour for shop time and use scare tactics to get you to spend more money. “Look at this PCV valve!” “This air filter looks pretty dirty” “We recommend new shocks and struts every 50,000 miles”... • Change a vehicle or trailer tire Make sure you have a spare first, then be efficient in changing it out. You will save a ton of time and money if you can do it yourself. • Cross a barbed wire fence To avoid a tragedy, ALWAYS hand off to a buddy or set firearms and bows on the ground flat and pointed in a safe direction before going over or under a fence. • Drive a manual transmission Some say their days are numbered, but every Iowa Sportsman should know how to drive a stick. • Sharpen a knife with a steel rod or stone Quality knives are an investment, and there are few things more dangerous or useless than a dull blade. • Unload a gun safely Dad used to say, “…it’s the unloaded gun that kills…” Check and double check the magazine and breech before calling a gun safe. • Field dress, skin, and butcher your own deer Your local meat locker makes these tasks much easier, but I like to know where my meat comes from and how it was handled. • Dress and butcher all upland game species Don’t be the one that “doesn’t know how” to clean birds, rabbits, or squirrels at the end of the hunt. You may not get invited on the next go-round. • Swim well enough to get rescued If you are going to be around water, you need to know how to tread water at a minimum. This could be the difference between life and death. • Start a fire with flint and steel or ferro rod Knowing how to start a fire without a lighter or matches could prevent hypothermia, frostbite, or worse. Study this skill and practice it BEFORE you venture into the wild.
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• Identify poisonous/stinging plants, insects, and animals This will help you avoid a sticky/itchy situation. • Leave the trail better than you found it When you see trash pick it up. We are the ambassadors for our sports. • Be a hunting and fishing mentor Our children are the future of the sport and their time in the outdoors should always be fun! • Interpret a road map or atlas Electronics break down and batteries die. • Use a compass and follow a bearing Thousands of people get lost in well-known parks and wilderness areas every year. Don’t be the guy that gets lost in the woods and has to be rescued. • Ask for permission to hunt or fish Manners go a long way so remember to say sir, miss, please, and thank you whether permission is granted or not. • Proper first aid You don’t need to be an EMT, but having some knowledge in first aid can save your or someone else’s life. • Sight in a rifle scope Bore sighting is a great start, but you should never take a gun hunting until you have proved its zero on paper at distances you expect to shoot. • Get your vehicle unstuck There is actually an art and science to getting vehicles dislodged. Save yourself from a lot of stress and headaches by learning tricks to getting your truck out of the mud. • Thank and give back to spouse and loved ones after a long season Make sure you take care of those who sacrifice so much to support your outdoor lifestyle. • Lead waterfowl and upland game birds If you want to consistently have a full bag you had better learn the fundamentals of leading your target. • Hanging a treestand If you archery hunt for whitetails you had better know how to hang your shooting platform. • Sight in your own bow Not all archers are created equal, and neither are their fundamentals. Meaning the bow will perform differently for you if you are not the one sighting it in. You would be surprised how often I have witnessed this. • Pitch a Tent While most people eventually get it done, there are so many that struggle. Save yourself the viral videos of you struggling with a tent and learn to throw that tent up in no time.
April 2018
April 2018
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TROPHY ROOM
SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS!
TROPHYROOM TODD MEADOWS
CADEN SLOAN
Want to share a photo of your recent harvest or catch? Submit your hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoor photos to The Iowa Sportsman Trophy Room and you could be in an upcoming issue! To Submit: E-mail a high-resolution photo along with your name and where you are from to: patrick@twinriversmedia.com or directly mail them to: The Iowa Sportsman, Attn:Trophy Room, 1597 3rd Ave NW, Fort Dodge, IA 50501.
Show Off Your TROPHY!
FAITH STAMM
AUSTIN PHILLIPS
KEN JEFFERSON
TO SUBMIT, SEND TO: PATRICK@TWINRIVERSMEDIA.COM * Photos are placed in the order they are received
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April 2018
April 2018
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IOWANS HARVESTED 105,928 deer during the 2017/18 seasons, up 4.3% from last year’s numbers. Among that total 48,645 does, 47,993 bucks, 8,793 button bucks, and 497 shed antlered bucks were taken. Overall it was a pretty consistent year in regards to the past 3 years where harvests have checker boarded from 101,000+ totals to 105,000+ totals the next year. Not factoring in any major snow storms or other variables this is probably what Iowans can expect for harvest numbers in the foreseeable future. The last five years the totals haven’t went over 105,000 and 44
The Iowa Sportsman
seems to be the level that makes everyone happy (insurance, farmers, hunters, DNR, etc.). The only thing that will affect an increase in numbers is if the overall deer herd population increases back to numbers
in the early 2000’s and 1990’s. So we could see a spike in numbers a year here and a year there as the DNR tries to establish a happy medium for everyone. As far as county ranks go for total harvest it was the same old situation with Clayton outpacing every other county by far. Then came Allamakee at #2, Madison moved up a spot from last year to claim #3, Van Buren and Warren rounding out the Top 5. Take a look at the maps and charts provided and see how the harvest density population is around your area. • DNR collected data as of 1/31/18
91
98
79
325
124
239
84
91
239
380
69
93
537
219
76
345
149
759
268
990
99
119 82
74
46
397 81
88
1066
291
244
543
53
996
710
908
5
2849
2767
1487
1461
2148
998
1203
1722
1452
2009
2202
1800
2794
55
1128 37
1267 1202
4
19
788
39 33
1175
31
1330
27
38
1319
1253
1670 21
32
34
23
26
13
6
2486
1851
1868
36
8
1766
1366
17
44
2036
2146
1471
9
12
10
18
932
734
2106
20
873
1340
934
25
52
50
60
4478
1887
30
49
11
1921
29
24
66
14
35
1218
657
1088
1
738
125
40
16
59
65
432
3
45
1081
97
73
848 1390
51
629
699
1910
61
67
304
28
672
68
764
15
63
986
62
3315
41
981
80
2
2316
1007
48
444
56
454
289
47
285
71
42
542
191
136
43
660
72
7
759
64
503
84
58
797
70
268 94
96
242
330
86
344
54
78
233
77
86
89
95
58
252
75
285
92
87
Information courtesy of Iowa DNR
STATEWIDE TOTAL HARVEST NUMBERS FOR 2017
22
1687
BUCK HARVEST FOR 2017 83
89
86
217
334 60
360
95
85
98
171
= 1-9 = 10-19 = 20-29 = 30-39 = 40-49 = 50-59 = 60-69 = 70-79 = 80-89 = 90-99
April 2018
97
87
74
457
85
218
515
176
68
293
54
374 67
410
193
403
48
221
433
55
386
343
576
364
443
383
709
45
31
456
579
1196
919
14
9
38
513
808
923
65
23
27
16
8
616
796
966
13 11
911
747
882
34
58
39 36
5 530
1125
372
564
693 609
607
566
696
28
29
33
24
6
1060
757
25
35 21
593
759
22
550
851
12
19
423
56
30
20
49
46
1127
1889
799
59
481
1
15
62
650
10
1412
51
32
3
2
992
26
354
422 702
7
421
61
73
317 319
440
85
4
50
318
98
42
57
492 263
764
47
471
78
17
155
41
70
88
66
43
223
53
225
326
72
178
71
171 82
37
81
139
98
279
64
416
69
174 91
96
126
44
COUNTY RANK KEY
164
94
190
83
190
52
80
133
80
87
204
63
75
145
77
170
153
92
90
131
All harvest numbers are from Iowa DNR Harvest Reporting System.
204
93
99
77
759
509 40
499 19
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