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FEATURES 10 SET A RUT AMBUSH 14 DECOYING IOWA WATERFOWL 18 LOCKED DOWN BUT NOT OUT 22 COLD WATER FISH TACTICS QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WHITETAIL RUT ANSWERED! 26 READER’S 25 HOT ICE FISHING ITEMS 30 FOR 2018/19 SHORT LINE VS LONG 34 LINE TRAPPING By Ben Leal
By Nick Johnson By Noel Gandy By Todd Reed
By Jason Smith
SEASON RUT, OR LATE SEASON 42 EARLY TROPHY WALLEYES IN THE FALL 46 TARGETING WHITETAILS 365: 50 IN SEASON QUESTIONS 54 THE RUT ARSENAL 2018 IOWA UPLAND ROADSIDE 58 SURVEY REPORT By Ryan Graden
By Steve Weisman
By Tom Peplinski By Billy Pryor
Provided by The Iowa Department of Natural Resources
By J.D. Rogge
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DEPARTMENTS 53 FISHING IOWA 6 PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT 8 IOWA SPORTSMAN INTERACTIVE 64 GUNDOG CORNER MOON PHASES/ IOWA COOKBOOK 9 SUNRISE-SUNSET 66 TROPHY ROOM AROUND 38 68 THE STATE By Patrick McKinney
By Bob Jensen
Rabbit Stew and Skillet Bread
Photos Submitted by Readers
ON THE COVER
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Welcome to The November Issue of The Iowa Sportsman Magazine! On the cover this month is a photo of a mature whitetail buck chasing a doe. November marks the whitetail breeding season, also known as the “rut”. This is arguably the best time to hunt mature bucks, as they are more interested in finding a partner and less interested in listening to their survival instincts.
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The Iowa Sportsman
November 2018
PUBLISHER STATEMENT
LEAVE IT ALL BEHIND There are many things that I enjoy about hunting, fishing, and being an Iowa
Sportsman. The thing I enjoy the most though is the peace of mind that it provides. No matter if you are on the water or in the timber, hunting and fishing provides a
TWIN RIVERS MEDIA, LLC.
sense of serenity. A place where sportsmen can go to escape the daily rigors of life.
1517 3rd Avenue NW Fort Dodge, Iowa 50501 877-424-4594
beautiful daughters, a dog, a mortgage, car payments, and a job. I get the kids
VOLUME 16 • NUMBER 11 • NOVEMBER 2018
I consider myself a normal average Joe type of person. I have a wife, two
ready for school or day care in the morning, put my time in at work during the
day, and spend time with the family at night…then press repeat five times until the weekend comes. Like I said pretty standard and probably within the norms of most
of you. What I left out was the trials and tribulations of dealing with daily life… you know those daily events that we all have to deal with as humans that we worry, stress, and get worn out about.
Don’t get me wrong the good far outweighs the bad in my life and I wouldn’t
trade it for anything in the world. However, there is no such thing as a Utopian world where everything is cupcakes and rainbows. As humans we will always have moments in life that are simply no fun and downright stressful. It is the way of life so to speak. We have to enjoy the good and deal with the bad.
What I love about being a sportsman is it gives me a break for a while from
those trials and tribulations of life. It allows me and Mother Nature to be alone for a few hours each day to clear my mind. That may sound corny, but I honestly believe there is nothing better for the human soul. When I am out hunting or
fishing I am not thinking about all the worries. Instead I am enjoying the moment
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 Teri Marsh, Graphic Designer Dawn Busse, Office Manager Robert Reedy, Controller Shawna Nelson, Circulation Manager
OUTDOOR MARKETING SPECIALISTS
Joyce Kenney - joyce@twinriversmedia.com Ed Juncker - ed@twinriversmedia.com Kendra Sassman - kendra@twinriversmedia.com
SUBSCRIPTION SALES
Shawna Nelson - shawna@twinriversmedia.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Nick Johnson, Billy Pryor, Noel Gandy, JD Rogge, Ryan Graden, Tom Peplinski, Todd Reed, Jason Smith, Steve Weisman, Ben Leal, Bob Jensen.
and soaking up all the good that the hunting and fishing way of life has to offer.
There is no worrying about navigating through all the stressors of life. It is simply me and nature, everything else gets left behind for a few hours.
I urge you to let Mother Nature do the same for you and when you are out in the
timber, field, or on the water leave it all behind. Trust me it will be there when you
get back so enjoy the moment and get some much deserved piece of mind while enjoying being an Iowa Sportsman.
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 IF YOU DEER HUNT ON AVERAGE HOW MANY DEER DO YOU HARVEST YEARLY IN IOWA? Zero 7% One Two Three 16% Four 4% Five or more - 2%
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 Verne Heckler. The answer was: Gun cleaning brush.
Like us on Facebook! @ theiowasportsmanmagazine
34% 37% 130 votes
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 36.
THE WINNER OF THE OCTOBER ISSUE WAS LEE FERRY
PHOTO HUNT: CAN YOU FIND THE 12 DIFFERENCES ON THIS PHOTO?
Answers: Third shotgun shell is upside down, shotgun shell is purple, shotgun shell brass is bigger, pellet missing from pile, no tip on slug, one of bullet is longer, wording on shotgun shell is missing, chunk is missing from a bullet, pile of pellets is greenish, green shotgun shells tilted, one of bullets tip is shorter, gold shotgun shell is a little longer.
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MOON PHASES
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WITH HUNTING SEASON well underway, deer hunters across the state have
Iowa resident, bow hunter, and author. “My hunting tactics and locations will vary depending on a number of factors.”
gotten their taste of the chase. November rolls in and we begin to see rutting bucks chase after hot does, while at the same time leaving their marks warning SCRAPES AND RUBS off potential competitors. Little do they know, they’re also leaving signs for If there were any obvious sign to a hunter that a buck or bucks are present they are hunters; telltale signs that there is an active buck in the area. We’re going to scrapes and rubs. These are clear indicators take a look at some strategies on what you can do to take advantage of these that an active buck is in the area. Primary scrapes are visited by bucks of all ages. signs as well as where to set up. Like me, hunters passionately wait for the rut. These scrapes tend to be larger than average But hunting during the rut requires some strategy, much of which is thought out and have a pungent musky odor to them. You should consider this an area worth long before it occurs. It’s all about timing and finding the best location to place looking at as a hot spot for active bucks. A rub occurs when a buck rubs the base treestands to give you your best shot at harvesting a buck.
THE RUT
Before we dive into stand locations we need to dissect the rut a bit. The “rut” really has three phases, pre-rut, peak-rut, and postrut. Here in Iowa the rut typically peaks around November 8 – 16. However, this is not the only time to focus all your efforts. Pre-rut, late October to early November you’ll see good activity. Bucks are looking for does that are starting to come into heat. Watch for funnel areas where deer are most active. These typically are routes in and out of bedding areas and close to a food source. Chances are you will see more buck activity during the pre-rut. Peak-rut, activity tends to slow down. These are some hunter observations, but there are more does in heat so bucks don’t have to move around a lot to find a doe, so you might not see a lot of movement. In Iowa, the doe to buck ratio is pretty even so you will see some competition. Switch November 2018
away from funnel areas and set stands in areas that doe groups are using such as feeding areas and bedding areas. Post-rut is similar to the early rut in October. As the rut wears on does that are in heat are harder to find so bucks will be
of his antlers against the lower portion of a tree or sapling and is readily identifiable by hunters and deer alike. If you find a rub, it may or may not be a prime location to set up a stand. Look around to see if you find a series of rubs in a line. These usually indicate a perimeter a buck is working. Find
“RATTLING AND GRUNTING ARE FINE WHEN USED PROPERLY”, SAID WENSEL. “TOO MANY HUNTERS GET OVER ANXIOUS WITH BOTH, DO IT TOO OFTEN AND IT DOESN’T USUALLY GIVE IT ENOUGH TIME TO WORK”. actively looking for those that are. The postrut, late November to early December can also yield some very large bucks. These mature animals have the stamina and will continue chasing does late into the season. “I can see where there are different phases/stages of the rut, but the timing can vary annually with a lot of different factors”, noted Barry Wensel, a long time
a cluster of rubs not in a line; it’s indicative of the center of a buck’s home turf. “Scrapes and rubs are just a couple pieces of the puzzle”, said Wensel. “The main thing I look for is structure. Especially areas that will restrict other options for movement into a precise funnel area, if these areas have rubs and scrapes…all the better”. Hanging a tree stand near a rub or scrape TheIowaSportsman.com
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SET A RUT AMBUSH can be an effective strategy in increasing your chances of harvesting an animal. “I’m a huge fan of pre-hanging stands”, continued Wensel. “Letting the deer get used to changes in their area, backing out until everything is perfect.” The first time or two you hunt any stand for the season will likely be your best chances for success, noted the author. Hanging a stand long before you hunt is critical to success is a subject that is talked about quite often in hunting circles. It certainly is beneficial to have them up for some time, but not crucial. I think we could all agree that either strategy can be successful. I’ve watched countless TV show’s where treestands are moved from one location to another simply to adjust to the wind, and once up are hunted that very afternoon. The key is to make wise and strategic decisions regarding treestand locations and hunting times.
CALLING BUCKS IN
We’ve talked about treestand strategies and some locations where a stand may be most effective during the rut cycle. One other strategy you can employ, and one that most hunters will use is calls; rattling horns, grunt calls and wheezing.
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The Iowa Sportsman
“Rattling and grunting are fine when used properly”, said Wensel. “Too many hunters get over anxious with both, do it too often and it doesn’t usually give it enough time to work”. For Wensel, rattling works best in the late stages of the pre-rut, early November. Cold crisp mornings work well since sound tends to travel better. Each buck will display a unique personality. Some will rush right in; some will rush in and stop short looking for some visual confirmation. Some bucks will use the wind, circling downwind before they commit. “I would instantly trade all my rattling, grunting, bleating, rolling can calls etc. for one wheeze call made from my mouth”, added Wensel. “It’s by far the deadliest call in the woods to bring a big buck in close during the rut.”
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
Weather, such as winds… both directional and velocity; temperatures (the morning of the year’s first hard frost is always great); moisture, rain/snow; foliage dropping, opening of canopies, frosts killing understory; harvesting crops (cutting standing corn previously available as cover), changes in natural food sources, and human pressure, are just some factors that Wensel notes in
making tactical decisions for hunting the rut. “I used to prefer the peak of the rut but in recent years I’ve been having more quality close encounters right at the end of October and the first week of November”, he added. “It’s important for a hunter to adjust his / her hunting strategies according to environmental factors and do not disturb an area until everything is right”.
DEER STAND LOCATIONS
So we’ve determined an approximate time frame when the rut occurs, what times might be better than others so now we need to choose stand locations. Choosing the right location as well as the timing is important to your success at harvesting that trophy buck. Prior to the rut, most mature bucks will be alone or in smaller bachelor groups. They will either be remote or tend to move only in low light or darkness or…hardly at all. “This is where it is vitally important to study your area after the last season or early spring to locate scrapes and rubs”, said Wensel. “They will remain active year after year for decades unless there were reasons for the deer to shift”. He also notes that if you’re going into an unfamiliar area your best bet is to look for old signs, especially if it appears to have been refreshed for multiple years. Check the thickest areas and or the edges of densities, especially on the downwind sides. “Do your homework, hang your stands and don’t step foot in there until everything is perfect”, he continued. “It’s important not to disturb their security multiple days before the prime hunt.” “Find the does…find the buck”. A pretty simple statement wouldn’t you say? Truth is, sometimes as hunters we get “buck fever”, or what I like to call buck tunnel vision. We focus solely on finding that big buck that we forget the reasons bucks are out anyway. As you prepare for the rutting season, take a good look at areas you’ve scouted and noticed large numbers of does. As the rutting season approaches, especially the peak you’ll see more and more bucks in an area that you thought might have been left alone. It’s old advice but it rings true; hunt the does during the peak of the rut to find the bucks. Timing, location, and scouting are all key strategies for putting together a successful hunt during the rut. Patience and time spent in treestands will increase your chances of hitting pay dirt. “However, nothing beats woodsmanship skills and time spent in the field”, noted Wensel…” nothing!” Good Hunting!
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ONE OF THE MOST exciting aspects of waterfowl hunting is undoubtedly the use of decoys in fooling your quarry. Some make it simple and hike in or use a canoe or sneak boat to deploy a dozen or so decoys. Others take it to the extreme and invest in enclosed trailers and big Jon boats with mud motors, both capable of hauling a stockpile of goose or duck decoys. Both extremes and anywhere in between work just fine in Iowa, what it comes down to is what best fits your style of hunting and budget. For those hunters that like to hunt on the simple side, Iowa is blessed with loads of opportunity to do so. Often, this style of hunting is perfectly suited for the smaller public tracts, smaller rivers, lakes and ponds. When I first started duck hunting on my own as a teenager this was how I hunted, a bag of decoys, gun, blind bag, camo and that was it. That was all I could afford! And I had some really good hunts after putting in the time to find birds and get their pattern figured out. I also had many skunk days but hey, that’s all part of hunting. Hunters that have the resources to run November 2018
dozens of decoys and the equipment to help deploy them get to experience a different side of waterfowling. Big spreads offer hunters an edge to decoying birds that have seen recent hunting pressure and birds that are flying by that were not originally headed for your location, also called “running traffic”. This style of hunting truly shines in late season, especially hunting geese and public waters.
SO WHAT DO YOU NEED?
As I mentioned before, the biggest thing to keep in mind is doing what fits your budget. If you are new to waterfowling, dip a few toes in
the water on decoys before diving straight for the deep end. If you like to field hunt geese, start with a half dozen to a dozen good quality fullbodies and then bulk up the spread with a dozen or so goose shells to help cut some of the cost. As time goes on you can add more if need be. It’s helpful to have friends in this case to divide up the expenses on decoys and if you are lucky, one person may have an enclosed trailer to help haul everything. If you prefer to duck hunt then starting out is even easier. Pick up a dozen good quality mallards and then mix in a half dozen or so of another species whether that’s wood ducks, gadwall or divers. Strap some weights on them and you should be good to go for many situations that Iowa can offer. One other type of decoy I will say helps is a motion decoy whether that’s a mojo, lucky duck, pulsator or others. Jerk rigs are also nice to have if the weather is calm or you are hunting in flooded timber.
FIND THE BIRDS
Your biggest asset in any waterfowl TheIowaSportsman.com
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DECOYING IOWA WATERFOWL situation is finding birds and where they are feeding or hanging out and at what time. Without finding birds you are taking a gamble which can sometimes still provide success but in most cases, it won’t. When you find where the birds want to be then your next objective is to determine where you wish to set up given the forecasted wind and position of the sun, creating a quality concealed hide and deploying the decoy spread. In a nut shell that is the basis for waterfowl hunting. Scout, prepare, set up. If you are hunting the “X” this can often greatly reduce the number of decoys you truly need, especially when hunting in the earlier seasons. Even hunting late season geese, if you are absolutely where they want to be then as long as you have a good concealed hide you really don’t need more than a couple dozen decoys to be successful. What gets tricky is when you find the birds but have no means of physically or legally accessing them. So often is the case later in the season when ducks and geese start to figure out where they are safe and which fields they won’t be bothered in. The objective here is to ideally get under the flight path of where they are leaving a roost to go feed, or if hunting water, getting as close to the birds as legally and safely as possible. If you can’t get under the birds in their flight path then try to get as close as possible and be as visible as possible with decoys and motion. By motion I’m talking about flags for geese and even grabbing the attention of a distant mallard flock in some cases. Run a big spread and make the footprint of that spread large by spacing out the decoys with 5-10 feet in between them. Be aggressive with the flags when geese or ducks are at a distance, standing up to flag if you must, to help increase their chances of seeing the flags motion. If you’ve never flagged before the concept is very simple, just wave the flag rod up and down in short bursts to simulate a flapping goose. Start high and end with it at the ground. As geese and ducks get close only flag if you feel they are losing interest and keep this flagging subtle. A flick of the flag wing or a single flap. One exception to the big spread little spread topic that I have found through my own excursions is hunting smaller rivers and large streams which Iowa has plenty of. The duck species often found here are wood ducks, mallards and occasionally a smattering of others. You will also find geese, especially later in the season when the ponds and small lakes begin to freeze up. If you find a group of birds using a section of river or stream then you struck gold and can have one of the best hunts of the season. More often is the case where you will catch singles, pairs and small 16
The Iowa Sportsman
groups trading up or down the river. In either case, it doesn’t take a tremendous number of decoys to be successful in these hunting situations.
BASIC SPREAD SHAPE AND SETUP
There are three basic variables that I consider when setting up a decoy spread. First is wind direction, second is where you are able to hide, and third being the position of the sun. In any situation, I like to try and avoid having the sun shining directly into my face. This makes the decoys visible but it also makes you and any movement more visible as well, not to mention trying to shoot at moving targets with the sun in your eyes. Sometimes this can’t be avoided due to wind direction which I consider to be most important when laying out a spread. Waterfowl will almost always land into the wind if they can so you want the spread to allow them a safe spot to set down. Spread shape goes along with wind direction and ties into where you can hide. Sometimes a location where the birds want to be offers no other option than to hunt with a crosswind. That is OK, just cater the spread to suit and offer everyone a safe and available shooting window. The shape of your spread is largely user preference but a few basic shapes which you can easily find with a quick Google search resemble the letters “U”, “W”, “O” and “J”. What all of these letter shapes have in common is a pocket or hole for birds to land in which is critical. The “U” and “W” are most common for field and water hunters with the “U” being a better shape for smaller spreads and a “W” better suited for large spreads. An “O” shape spread can also be used in water, especially when hunting a micro island type situation, or hunting small rivers and streams but generally this shape is best utilized in field hunting. The “J” comes into play when hunting a crosswind or point on the water. It can also be used in fields but that strategy is less common. If you like to Diver hunt then the “J” shape with an extralong tail on the J can be an awesome shape to employ. If there are two key takeaways from this article that I could give you it would be 1) Use decoys how your budget allows, and 2) do your best to be where the birds want to be. The latter having the biggest impact on success regardless of topic or strategy. If you are like me then eventually you will need to build a shed for all your decoys amassed over the years which I told my wife was for the “lawnmower” but that’s a topic for another discussion. Best of luck this season and stay safe!
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AS THE OLD saying goes: The only certainties in life are death, taxes, and locked down bucks come November. Well, most of that saying is well-known, but in the whitetail world losing tabs on a bruiser buck during November is almost always a certainty. Deer hunting can be very fickle. There are times from late October until the middle part of November that there seems to be a caravan of bucks, young and old, trailing past hunters as they long for the love of receptive does. Then there comes a few days in that midst where it seems as if you could not buy a buck. We often refer to this time of the hunting season as the “lock down” phase. The reasoning behind this phraseology is due to the nature of the whitetail who finds that receptive doe and neglects to leave her side until nature has taken its course and she has been bred. The short version of the science behind the physiology of the whitetail doe is something like this: she is only “breedable” for 12-24 hours during the month of peak rut. The peak of rut here in Iowa is likely the first half of November with a few exceptions. This is the reason that whitetail bucks go on a chasing rampage during these weeks. They are actively pursuing female friends who will be ready to breed during this short amount of time. Whitetail does let their counterparts know when this time comes by their scent. They begin emitting an “estrousy” scent about 24 hours prior to their peak and continue having that scent nearly 24 hours upon completion of their cycle. It is this three day period or so where a buck will secure a doe who is near ready and cut her away from the heard in order to have her all to himself. Said buck will not November 2018
leave the doe until the breeding period has been completed potentially breeding her multiple times in order to secure success. Often times, after a buck has found a receptive doe, he will sneak her off to a location where no other pressure will come to them by other deer. These are often secluded parts of timber, old overgrown homesteads, or any other area where there might be light deer traffic. The buck would rather not have to compete for the breeding rights of the doe he worked
run through our minds during the lockdown portion of the season. Here is the good news! There are ways to put your tag on a trophy whitetail during this phase of the deer season:
TIP 1: HUNT THE DOES!
My little boy and I were checking trail cameras recently and he made an observation: a couple of our cameras were showing only does and a couple of our cameras were only showing bachelor groups of bucks. Mind you this was late August. He made the comment that we should move our cameras to find more bucks but I declined the notion. Here’s why: I need to know which bucks are on the property and I need to know where the does like to hang out. By having two
SO, IF TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE AND YOU CAN GET A VISUAL ON A TARGET BUCK IT MIGHT BE WORTH GIVING IT A SHOT. ALWAYS, HOWEVER, BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS AND NEVER SACRIFICE THE SAFETY OF YOURSELF OR OTHERS WHILE MAKING A STALK. so diligently to secure. If there is food and water nearby then it is not uncommon for the doe and buck to remain in a very small home range for the length of the cycle. This can often make buck visibility very limited if not just down right non-existent. Here’s the problem: many of us hunters, average Joe’s if you will, do not have time or patience to wait for two or three days for the bucks to throw inhibitions in the wind and get back on the cruising circuit. Other times we might wonder if a buck that’s been showing up regularly on our scouting camera might have met his fate by another hunter because he has disappeared. Many negative thoughts can
separate sets of inventory I accomplished a couple of different things. I know that when the crops come out and the rutting activity picks up that the group of bucks we had been observing will disperse. They will challenge each other for breeding rights and will go ten different ways. On the other hand I know that those does likely call their area home and therefore won’t be venturing too far from their location. When the peak of the rut begins happening I can count on seeing multiple bucks cruise by on the downwind side of that doe bedding area. They will be checking the wind to see if any of the TheIowaSportsman.com
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LOCKED DOWN BUT NOT OUT ladies are nearing estrous. By setting a stand in a location near a doe bedding area I can count on any available bucks near that area to wander on by. If I hang in that spot long enough I will likely see every buck on the farm at some point in time. Even if a buck is locked down for a short period the chances are high that he will be by that location when he’s done.
TIP 2: WORK THE DECOYS!
When asked about decoying deer I find that people are usually in one of two camps: absolutely or absolutely not! I see pros and cons of both ideologies but I feel that desperate times might just call for desperate measures. While bucks are in the middle of the cruising stage I don’t personally prefer to use a decoy. Likely, if you’re patient, you will catch a glimpse of the buck you’re after and a well-placed stand location will get the job done. However, sometimes the perfect stand location is not available and we need something to help get that deer just a bit closer. Arguments have been made as to whether a buck or a doe decoy is the most useful during the lock-down phase. I prescribe that using BOTH varieties of
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decoy is the key! Last year while on an archery hunt in Kansas on November 11th I watched as my target buck trailed a doe into a nasty thicket. I could see him marching like a soldier back and forth as if he was patrolling the area. I had a very sinking feeling knowing that he could be there for a while and my time was running out. I learned a valuable lesson, however. Throughout the course of the hunt I observed no less than four different bucks cruise into that same thicket only to be escorted out by Mr. Big. I was actually able to get a shot at one of the inferior bucks, a messed up racked management deer, by using a grunt tube once he was free from the hot doe. While I did not use a decoy during that hunt I realized that during the rut a buck will cruise in and check a perceived hot doe even if there is a buck challenger. If time is running out I would highly recommend using a breeding pair in order to lure a dominant buck into your set.
His answer to the question, “How do you go about hunting bucks in the lock-down” surprised me. “Get aggressive!” said Danker. “A lot of times you can actually locate a locked down buck visually and put a stalk on him if the wind is good. As long as you don’t spook the doe it seems like you could just about walk up to the buck. He’s not leaving her. “ Danker noted, “It would surprise you where big bucks will take does. I’ve seen them in the middle of wide open fields. One of my best hunts came on a spot and stalk of a big buck in Kansas that had a doe bedded in the middle of a switchgrass field. We got position and spotted him and it was perfect for a stalk!” So, if time is of the essence and you can get a visual on a target buck it might be worth giving it a shot. Always, however, be aware of your surroundings and never sacrifice the safety of yourself or others while making a stalk.
TIP 3: GET AGGRESSIVE!
This might seem counterintuitive to tip number three but different circumstances call for different tactics. Tip number three only works under very specific conditions. Tip number four, however, is always prudent. I’ve made the comment in previous articles that hunting during the midday can be fruitful to harvesting a mature whitetail. I believe this is true and stand by that comment. During the rut there is never a good time to be out of the woods during legal hours. When a mature buck finishes his time with a doe there is no down time between completion and finding the next receptive mate. The frantic search will begin all over again so he will be susceptible to all of the tips and tactics that you would have used before lock down. Hunting a mature whitetail buck can be the most challenging, frustrating, and rewarding experience all at the same time. The “locked down” phase of the deer hunting rut can be one of the most frustrating due to the presumed lack of big buck activity. However, understanding the timing of what’s going on and putting together a solid game plan can often lead to a full freezer. (Noel Gandy is an avid whitetail deer hunter from Shenandoah, IA. Along with chasing trophy whitetails, Noel pastors Christ Point Baptist Church and maintains Pro Staff status with Buckventures Outdoors.)
While contemplating this topic I ran the idea of locked down bucks across the desk of my friend Jeff Danker of Buckventures.
TIP 4: BE PATIENT!
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COLD-MAN WINTER is knocking on the door here in Iowa, but don’t give up on the open water yet. Even though ice fishing, hunting and football are grappling with our time during November there are still opportunities to get out and catch a few more fish before you will need an auger to accomplish the same feat. Like any new season, we as anglers must make some adjustments to keep the fish interested in our baits, this month is no different. November is a tricky month to plan ahead for fishing trips because weather plays such an important role this time of year. I have always lived by “you can’t change the weather so don’t worry about it”, however in the month of November the weather patterns are critical. I guess my first tip for catching cold-water fish
fishing. Bait will get more active during these warm-ups and that will get your favorite species going as well. Weather also affects shallow lakes much quicker. The shallow waters will cool and warm much faster than deeper lakes that are in the same county. Choose wisely and watch the weather closely this time of year.
ANOTHER KEY FACTOR TO CONTINUALLY HOOKING UP DURING THIS MONTH IS YOUR ROD SELECTION. BITES DURING THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER CAN BE EVER-SO SUBTLE. is to become a meteorologist. Study the weather and fronts coming in and out of your area. If there are several days of dropping temperatures and rain storms, then the following day or two will not be the best for your fishing trip. Just the opposite, if you see the weather warming for two or three days, then you better make a trip to your favorite fishing hole soon. When water temperatures are hanging around the 45 degree mark it is vital to look at those warming days to conduct your November 2018
Something I enjoy after a long fishing tournament season is the ability to sleep in during this month. Optimal fishing times are 10am-4pm during this month. During the day the water will warm during these times and be the best for any species. There is no need to get up early or fish late in the day; the fish do not use this time for feeding during the early winter. The water temperatures all across the state are crashing into the forties and we must change our bait tactics. With the TheIowaSportsman.com
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COLD WATER FISH TACTICS cooler temperatures occurring it will bring a time of very clear water, even in river situations. The microorganisms and algae are all but gone from the ecosystem, bringing on this sudden change of clear water. When this occurs it is important for all anglers to pay attention to their line choice. Angler should use the smallest diameter line that they can to chase down their favorite species. I typically chase bass up until the ice forms, when doing so I use six or eight pound test monofilament. Throughout the summer months I typically use ten-pound test all the way up to sixty-pound test line. This time of year that will not produce as well as the smaller diameter line. Fish can simply see better and know what we are up to. With the better water clarity we also must adjust our bait selection. Matching
good choices as the minnows and shad take over as the prey of most fish species.
NOVEMBER IS A MONTH WHERE WE NEED TO SLOW OURSELVES WHEN OUT ON THE WATER. I KEEP MY BAIT SELECTION VERY SIMPLE THIS TIME OF YEAR AND WORK THEM METHODICALLY. the natural colors of bait becomes very important also. With the dormancy of crawdads, shad color baits become very
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Another key factor to continually hooking up during this month is your rod selection. Bites during the month of November can be ever-
so subtle. The light line will help you detect more bites, but so will a well-balanced and sensitive rod. My selection for this is a 7’2” medium/heavy power QuantumPT rod with a fast action. This rod allows me to have the power to cast jigs, tubs and grubs long distances and still detect the smallest of bites. A rod with these specifics also allow me to set the hook and know that the fish will be coming my way shortly. A similar rod with a medium action is what a jerbait or crankbait would be best used for. Of course, when using small diameter line it is very important to use a reel that has the smoothest drag system possible. An excellent choice for this is the Quantum Throttle, with a smooth drag,11 bearings and a price tag that will surprise you, you can’t go wrong. As anglers we need to pay close attention to our rod/reel setups and especially during this time of the year when so many variables are colliding into catching fish or not. November is a month where we need to slow ourselves when out on the water. I keep my bait selection very simple this time of year and work them methodically. Live bait on jig heads works wonderfully for panfish and walleyes. If artificial baits are more your liking then a jerkbait, tube bait, or a jighead and grub can lead you to many fish during this month. Crankbaits reeled in slow or with a stop-n-go retrieve can do very well during those warming periods as well. Experiment and let the bass, or walleye, or gills tell you what they want. November is no doubt your last chance to enjoy some comfortable open-water fishing. It’s the time of year that if the weather creates a warming opportunity, you should take it. It might just be the best day of fishing you have had in a long time.
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THE EDITOR OF the magazine contacted me this year and asked if I would be interested in the task of answering readers’ questions about the whitetail rut. I jumped at the chance as I love to see what is on the minds of other hunters and help out if I can by offering some of my advice from personal experiences. Below are some of the most common, and a few not so common, questions we received. Hopefully my insight and thoughts to these questions can help out the person that sent in the question, along with other readers that might be experiencing the same issues. Question: Even when the rut comes around I still don’t get the chance to hunt as much as people say you should. I know my success ratio goes down with my limited time, but I can only play the hand I am dealt. Typically I get to choose a morning or evening hunt; occasionally I get out during the middle of the day. My question to you is of the three timeframes which would you suggest gives me the best chance of seeing more deer activity during the rut? More specifically buck sightings? Chance - Cedar Falls Response: Not pre-rut or post-rut, but right smack dab in the middle of full blown rut, there really isn’t a bad time to be in the woods. With that said, if I had to pick, due to cooler weather and overall heavier general activity, I would concentrate more on mornings and evenings than I would mid-day. When I was younger, I would have picked evenings over mornings, hands down, but now that it’s not as difficult for me to roll 26
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out of bed at 4ish in the AM, mornings vs. evenings is a complete toss-up. I let weather predictions determine which I hunt on any given day. If it’s cooler and calmer in the morning, I’ll hunt the morning, and likewise for the evening. I also hunt different locations and stands in the mornings vs. evenings. I tend to hunt higher elevation stands in the mornings to catch bucks using the thermals to scent does, and the lower elevation stands, such as in a creek bottom or low lying field edges, in the evenings. I’ve hunted these same areas in reverse order and they just don’t seem to produce the same overall numbers or buck sightings. Question: What are your beliefs in the moon phase theory triggering the rut? Evan - Shenandoah Response: During my first years of dabbling in bow hunting, I read and followed moon phase predictive models, with little to no success. I personally don’t put much stake in them today. What I’ve personally experienced is that deer will rut roughly the exact same time every year within a specific region/area, no matter what the weather is like or what phase the moon cycle is in. Rut is all based on the length of sunlight in the day,
not the phase of the moon. What I do find absolutely fascinating though is that two different properties, less than 60 miles apart, can differ a few days in their rutting activity. The only way I know this is through personal experience, and it may take you a few seasons of hunting an area to figure it out. Once you do, mark heavy activity for that specific area on your calendar, and I can almost guarantee it will be the same year after year, unless something catastrophic throws the rhythm out of whack. Question: How would you go about hunting a buck that is locked down on a doe? Shawn - Urbana Response: Personally, I tend to go after them, literally. I know there are guys out there that wait years to get a shot opportunity at a specific buck. Sometimes they’re blessed with an opportunity, and sometimes, they never see the buck again. I’m not one of those guys. I don’t have the patience for it. If I have eyes on a buck that’s locked down on a doe and they aren’t making their way to me, I’ll get feet on the ground and attempt a spot and stalk. Locked down bucks tend to focus 99.9% of their attention on one thing. The doe(s) they’re with. So, as long as I don’t spook her, I can usually get within shooting distance of him. Spot and stalk hunting is accompanied by great risk, but when it pays off, great risk can produce great reward. Harvesting a buck from a spot and stalk style ground hunt is the most exhilarating hunting experiences I’ve ever had. To Subscribe CALL 877-424-4594
Question: Is there any truth behind the weather or a full moon on a clear night having an effect on how intense the rut is? Marshall - West Bend Response: Weather, yes. Full Moon, maybe. With a full moon on a clear night the theory goes that deer will use the brightness of the moon to be up all night looking for does, instead of during the day. I put little trust into that theory. Bucks will be up and on the move at all times of the day, full moon or not. As for weather, if does are in estrus, it won’t matter if a tornado is barreling down, bucks will be out looking for them. With that said, it’s tough to hunt in 40 mph winds and driving rain / snow storms, and I can’t imagine deer caring for it all that much either, but they’re still more apt to be out in it doing their thing than hunters are. Now, as soon as there’s a break in the storm, I’d be calling in sick to work because the activity is going to get white hot. Cold snaps can bring on decent pre-rut activity as well. Question: Could you describe your hunting style and tactics during the rut? Todd - Adel Response: Personally, I like the pre-rut ‘Seeking’ phase more than the full blown rut. During this phase, I like to do a majority of my hunting from treestands. I will only rattle antlers and use calls if I hear them first, or have eyes on deer that I want to bring into me. Mid-rut, I will still sit stands in the mornings and evenings, and will rattle and call more aggressively. Mid days, I love to put boots on the ground and cover some terrain. November 2018
I play the wind as much as possible, when possible. It’s amazing how much you can get away with when bucks only have one thing on their minds and there are so many other big bodies in the woods making noise. Post-rut, well, personally I’m pretty burned out by the time post rut rolls around and I’m ready for shotgun season to begin. I will still sit a stand in the morning or evening every once in a while, but try to sneak up on locked down bucks every chance I get. Question: Is it worth hauling and setting up a decoy every day during the rut? Seems like a lot of work if they don’t really do all that much. Jacob - Dewitt Response: There’s no way around it. It is a lot of work. Is it worth it? I don’t think it is, but that’s me. Would it be cool to watch deer respond to a decoy, like I’ve seen them do on video? Sure it would. Would it help me shoot more bucks? Maybe. Would it be a “PITA” lugging a big extra piece of gear around with me and keeping it scent free, every time I wanted to hunt? I think so, but that’s really up for you to decide. I think rattling and calling can bring bucks in really well, but decoys can bring them in closer if you’ve got stubborn bucks that are staying just out of shooting range. If you’re experiencing bucks hanging outside of your shooting range, I’d recommend using a decoy a time or two and see what you think. Question: Do young bucks do any of the breeding during the rut (1 and 2 year olds)? Will - Johnston
Response: They’ll sure try if they’re given the chance. I’m not certain 1 year old bucks are capable of successfully breeding does, but I know 2 year olds are. If you have young bucks breeding does in the areas that you hunt, there is a good possibility that your doe to buck ratio is extremely high, and the mature bucks in the area are already tending to more does than they can handle. Question: What determines if bucks stay or leave the area during the rut? Jackson Davenport Response: Does in estrus can keep them in an area or pull them out of an area. More dominant bucks can chase them out of an area. Stress or hunting pressure can push them out of an area. Food, water and bedding, not so much, but they are factors, and if there’s no food, water or bedding, there’s probably not going to be many does. Question: Where do you specifically like to have stands during the rut? Tanner Lamoni Response: It depends. If I’m going in blind, to a new area, I’ll set my stand within shooting range of a well-used trail, along the edge of a timber. That way I’m not disturbing deer deep in the timber when I get into and out of my stand, and a well-used trail tells me they like to travel there. I just need to figure out when and be there when they do. If I know the area well, I’ve probably got a good idea on where to hang my stands and what time of the day to hunt them, based on previous observations within the area. TheIowaSportsman.com
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READERS’ QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WHITETAIL RUT ANSWERED! Question: Is there anything I can do to attract bucks to my property during the rut? Kit - Jefferson Response: Make your property attractive to does and the bucks will follow. Food, water, thick cover, low pressure, etc. Once you attract and get does to stay, they’re eventually going to go into estrus and lure in the bucks. Question: Since bucks are hard to pattern during the rut is it worth using a trail camera during the season? Kent - Perry Response: It depends on what you’re using it for. If you’re using it to pattern a specific spastic rutting buck, probably not. But, if you’re wanting to see when a majority of the action is occurring on a piece of property, or what other bucks are traveling through, running cameras during the rut can be rewarding. I wouldn’t make any unnecessary trips into the woods to pull your cards though, if at all avoidable. Question: To this date I have never had any success with a grunt tube luring in a deer. Humbling myself I do realize it could be operator error, do you have any tips on using a grunt tube? Noah - Harlan Response: YouTube. Personally, I don’t have much luck blind rattling or calling. If I see a buck and he’s making his way to
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me, I don’t make a sound. If I’ve got a buck traveling, and it’s pretty obvious he’s not going to make his way by me, I’ll throw out a grunt and watch his reaction. If he doesn’t react, I’ll throw out a louder one. Once I get some sort of response out of him, such as stopping and looking in my direction, I’ll be absolutely silent. If he starts making his way toward me, I’ll stay silent. If he continues on his way, I’ll grunt again. Sometimes it works awesome. Sometimes, they know something is up and continue on their way. And sometimes they REALLY know somethings not right and take off for the hills. Question: Since bucks are a bit more susceptible during the rut would it be wise to implement a more aggressive hunting style? If so what can I do to be more aggressive? Brayton - Marshalltown Response: Yes, absolutely. A majority of archery hunters out there think the only way to hunt is from a stationary position. I’m not knocking it, it works. But, there are deer that I’ve harvested that I wouldn’t have if I wouldn’t have ditched the stand and put on some miles. I’ve touched on spot and stalk hunting in one or two of my responses so far, so I won’t reiterate, but I totally recommend giving it a try. Question: Is there any rhyme or reason to
how a buck travels throughout the course of a day during the rut? Do they have a plan with their movement or do they find a trail and follow it? Bryce - Fort Dodge Response: They don’t lay out plans and follow them like people do. They do follow trails, but more out of convenience and because they’re following does that follow the trails. During the rut, bucks really follow their noses. If there’s a hot doe in the area, bucks can smell her and are frantic to find her. Bucks also tend to be more curious about rustling sounds, etc. during the rut. Sounds that may alert and make them turn tail and run any other time of the year, may actually peak their curiosity and draw them in for a look, because it could be that hot doe that they’re looking for. Question: A lot is discussed about bucks seeking does, do does ever seek out bucks when they come into estrous? Drew - Manson Response: I guess it’s possible, maybe in an area where there’s a BIG doe to buck ratio gap. It wouldn’t be anything nearly as aggressive as bucks seeking does though. Bucks are hardwired to pursue does in estrus. Does may feel ‘funny’ if they’re in estrus and no bucks are around, but they aren’t hardwired to find a buck when they are. My ex sister in-law had a cat that did some funky stuff when she went into heat and she REALLY wanted to get outside. I guess it would be something like that… Question: Whenever I rattle I seem to only call in smaller bucks. Is this normal, are larger bucks not as responsive to rattling or am I just doing something wrong? Tyler – Afton Response: It is possible that you’re doing something that mature bucks recognize as not being the real-deal, and younger bucks don’t. YouTube. It’s also possible that you may not have many big bucks on the property, or within earshot of your rattling. Personally, I haven’t had the best of luck with rattling. I seem to spook more bucks off than I lure in. I do believe success with rattling is mainly determined by how many aggressive bucks are in your area. If you’re spending a ton of time in the woods and you aren’t hearing any antlers crashing together, there’s a good chance the bucks in your area don’t feel it’s necessary to fight over the does. There’s plenty to go around, and everybody’s happy. In those areas, I’d personally hold off on rattling as much as possible. Now, if you’re in an area where the woods blowing up with antlers smashing together, I believe you’re going to have better luck rattling, and if there are big bucks in the area, they’ll come check you out, with a little practice. Thanks again for the questions folks! If you have any more questions about the rut or hunting whitetails in general please don’t hesitate to send them over to us. You can send questions to info@twinriversmedia.com. To Subscribe CALL 877-424-4594
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25 FOR 2018/19 HOT ICE FISHING ITEMS
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WHEN I WAS growing up in the late 70’s and early 80’s during a time of high fur prices known as the “Fur Boom,” it seemed that everyone was a trapper, with varying levels of participation. Coons were worth $20-$30, mink would bring you $40, and fox could bring you $50 plus, the road killed furbearers would begin to disappear from the roads by mid October. In 70’s and 80’s dollars prices like that paid a lot of bills, and a good trapper could make more money trapping than working. In those days competition was extremely high, “secrets” and methods were kept very close to the vest, and it was common to see trucks parked on bridges for hours on the 1st Saturday of November before the 8am opener to beat the competition to a favorite location. Then in 1987 came the fur market crash, and the same coon that brought you $20 the year before was worth about $6, and trapper participation dropped dramatically in the years that followed. Since those days the fur market has been a rollercoaster ride with some respectable years and lean years in between. Many trappers now can be considered short line or hobby trappers, these trappers run short lines, weekend lines, or possibly lines on their way to school/work. The short line trapper may be someone looking to save a few pheasants from predators, or just someone looking for a way to enjoy the outdoors, while putting a little spare cash in their pocket. There are other trappers that can be considered more full time trappers or long liners. November 2018
These are trappers who take a significant portion of vacation from work to trap, or work seasonally in the summer and trap in the winter. Long line trappers set lines for weeks or months at a time, and may make a significant portion of their yearly income from trapping. The long line trapper is usually more focused on pushing himself hard to make large catches and the hopefully large checks that come with them.
200 pocket sets, I’m going to have every trap on that line the same size, style, and brand. If I have three different sizes, styles, brands, each is a little different and my speed and efficiency will suffer as a result, and time is money on the long line. If I’m running a short line on a weekend that consists of three dozen traps and I’m using a couple different style of traps, it’s not going to be an issue because I don’t have to push as hard to make the line successful, and I can take my time. A short liner can also use a more expensive trap. If I’m running a short line and using an expensive trap, I’m not risking as much as I would be having a few hundred expensive traps out on a long line and getting hit hard by thieves. If I’m running a long coon/mink line I would opt for Duke 1 ½ as opposed to a
PRESEASON WORK FOR THE LONG LINER CAN REALLY BE A GRIND, WHERE AS A SHORT LINER CAN GENERALLY HAVE THEIR PRESEASON WORK ON EQUIPMENT DONE IN A WEEKEND, AT THE MOST. The short line trapper will find that similar equipment and line preparation is required of the long and short liner, the difference being the quantities and types. The short line trapper can have a bit more flexibility where traps/snares are concerned. Long liners tend to want consistency in their equipment to enhance speed and efficiency. If I’m setting a water line for coon, and I decide to set a line of
more expensive trap. Staking considerations between the short and long line is mostly a bulk weight issue. If the trapper is using rebar it is the bulkiest item the trapper will have to carry. A short liner can stake everything with rebar if they choose, because they simply will not have to haul the numbers of stakes. For a long liner staking with rebar becomes a serious weight issue. If TheIowaSportsman.com
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SHORT LINE VS LONG LINE TRAPPING
I’m running a water trapline or a dry land DP line I choose to use disposable cable stakes, not only are they considerably lighter than rebar but they hold better. When I’m running long snare lines I choose rebar, but I generally prestake so I don’t have to carry as many stakes at once. Trust me from experience it’s no fun to wonder if you’re going to make it home because your truck is grossly overloaded with equipment. Preseason work for the long liner can really be a grind, where as a short liner can generally have their preseason work on equipment done in a weekend, at most. The long liner must allow considerable
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time to complete their preseason work on equipment which many times will involve hundreds of traps and snares. One thing that most successful long liners are not is
short liner but is every bit as important for the short liner. Every trapline should be properly scouted prior to season. Your scouting doesn’t need to be extensive, but
SETS FOR THE LONG LINER NEED TO BE FAST, EFFICIENT, AND MOST OF ALL EFFECTIVE. AS I SAID BEFORE TIME IS MONEY, AND HOW YOU CHOOSE TO SPEND YOUR TIME IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR THAT YOU CAN CONTROL ON YOUR LINE. procrastinators. Preseason scouting is much, much more extensive for the long liner than the
you need to have locations scouted so you know where you’re going on the opener, and a plan B in case some of your locations
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don’t work out for whatever reason. Sets for the long liner need to be fast, efficient, and most of all effective. As I said before time is money, and how you choose to spend your time is the single most important factor that you can control on your line. Long liners know this and use simple effective sets that they can put in large numbers in a day. The short liner can be more creative with his sets, and spend more time making them quite simply because he doesn’t have to push as hard to make his line work. I would caution any trapper reading this to not make your sets overly complex though, simple effective sets catch fur, plain and simple. Pocket sets, smear sets, fish stick sets, dirt hole sets, flat sets, etc are all very simple sets that anyone can make quickly and will catch as much or more fur that the newest gimmicky set out there. I prefer a blend of the two types of line, I take vacation early season, then run
it running. The payoff of the long line if it’s managed correctly is large catches and hopefully large fur checks. Is one style of line better than the other? That is for the individual trapper to decide. What is important is to get out there and trap, and while you’re there take
a kid and show them the ropes. Kids are our future, and young trappers are few and far between anymore. Good Luck, and go get’em!
short lines throughout to feed my trapping addiction. Financially a short line takes less money to equip, and maintain, but also doesn’t produce as much fur. A long line is costly to equip and maintain, and there is a lot of pressure to push hard as a long line must produce in order to keep November 2018
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TROPHY ROOM
SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS!
TROPHYROOM D BRIXXON CONRA
JAXSEN TRAVER
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!
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Palo Outdoors
1204 1st Street Palo, IA 52324 319-851-5290 www.palo-outdoors.com
R & R Sports
3250 Fields Drive Bettendorf, IA 52722 563-243-4696 www.randrsportsinc.com
Southern Archery 325 11th St SW Spencer, IA 51301 712-262-7213
Fin & Feather
125 Hwy 1 W Iowa City, IA 52246 319-354-2200 www.finfeather.com
Sommerfeld Outfitters 330 N Main St Lidderdale, IA 51452 712-822-5780 www.shopsommerfeld.com
The Iowa Outdoors Store 1597 3rd Ave NW Fort Dodge, IA 50501 515-955-HUNT (4868) www.iowaoutdoorstore.com
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I’VE HAD THE privilege to meet a lot of deer hunters thus far in my life. I’ve met them through common acquaintances, church functions, my job, and simply noticing folks wearing camo clothing. There are quite a few of us out there that love to be in the timber during the hunting seasons pursuing those famous Midwest whitetails. However, when I meet these folks and get to talking to them, they all seem to have their personal preference as to when it’s best to be hunting here in Iowa. Usually, they have a darn good reason for it too!
I have had the chance to hunt the various seasons that Iowa has to offer and have personally settled on the two that I like. The rut and the late season. Whether I’m hunting with gun or bow, these two seasons have produced some great trophies for me over the years and because of that, I don’t think I will be making any changes to my habits anytime soon. So what’s the best time to be chasing the whitetails here in Iowa? Good question. I’m no expert on what is truly the best, but I will attempt to deliver to you reasons why each season might be a good or a not-so-good time to be out in the timber. It will then be up to you to make a decision that will fit preference and style of hunting. Figure out the equation that works best for you and November 2018
prepare accordingly. Let’s begin with the early season.
EARLY SEASON: THE GOOD
There are many good things about the early season that folks have shared with me over the years. Great reasons why they like to be out of the house and in the stand rather than waiting until later in the fall months. One of the greatest bonuses of hunting in the early season is the element of surprise. The population of whitetails in Iowa have not had any hunting pressure since the previous January. That’s right! It’s been just under 10 months since those deer have seen a hunter in the woods coming after them. I guess, in our thought pattern, we hope that they’ve forgotten about it and we now have
the advantage again. Realistically, deer keep no “schedule” of days and time. Therefore, until they feel the pressure of hunting, I’m sure they are pretty relaxed in their routine giving you the element of surprise. A second bonus of hunting the early season is the weather. Most likely, in early October, Iowa’s colder temperatures have not set in yet. For the hunter, that means a certain amount of comfort while they are out hunting. Cool, but not cold fall temperatures could be expected for your hunts. A third reason (kinda goes along with the first) is that the deer are still in a certain “late summer-early fall” routine. If you’ve done your scouting properly, you will know when deer are arriving in certain areas, what specific deer to expect, and where to position yourself for a good opportunity. Without experiencing any hunting pressure, the deer might still be in a very predictable pattern and you could use that to a great advantage in the early season.
THE BAD
With warmer temperatures, deer aren’t always feeling that much biological pressure to be feeding during earlier times of the day. If you plan on hunting food plots or food TheIowaSportsman.com
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EARLY SEASON, RUT, OR LATE SEASON sources that deer are frequenting, you might see them coming at a later time in the day to feed. Sometimes they aren’t coming until the shooting hours are over making it very hard to fill your tag. Unless we’ve had a good hard frost, you’re going to deal with some bugs. mosquitos, ticks, and maybe a few gnats are still going to be bothering you while you’re in the stand or blind. If you choose to use any sort of bug spray to handle the problem, you might as well stay home! Deer will smell you from miles away. Investing in a Thermocell unit will help, but still, it’s not a 100% solution to the problem. Just make sure you’re not swatting mosquitoes when the buck you’ve been after steps into your shooting lane. Big Bucks, typically, are still coming out after dark. Most of the trophy bucks that I’ve listed in the area that I hunt are rarely coming out to the food sources until way after dark. My trail cameras, most of the time, show these guys showing up no sooner than an hour after shooting hours are over. If you’re waiting for a certain “big guy” that you’ve had your eye on, you might as well stay home through the early season and wait until the rut or late season to get a shot at him.
ADVICE
I would say unless you have a deer well patterned to the point that you can predict his every movement, wait to hunt a little later in the season. You might get lucky and surprise a good one, but the chances are stacked against you.
THE RUT: THE GOOD
Ahh, the rut! It’s most hunters’ favorite time to be walking through the Iowa timbers looking for whitetails. When the drive to breed takes over with intensity, most of those big bucks turn absolutely stupid. They are making poor decisions left and right. All for the chance to breed a doe who is ready. I know. I’ve seen it happen right before my eyes. When a doe has come by my stand with a buck trailing her in the timber. I will gladly let that doe pass for a chance at her admirer. Over and over again I have seen a buck, who obviously knows or smells that something is not right, choose to follow the doe instead of obeying his internal “danger” alerts. In fact, I have a few deer on my wall that did just that! Increased deer activity is another reason folks like to hunt the rut. A boring day in the stand is just that, boring. If you are willing to put a good amount of hours into a stand, you
are going to have a much better chance at harvesting a deer. Your day will be a whole lot more entertaining. I’m sure any of us would like to be seeing a lot going on around us. During the rut, there is always activity happening for you to watch if you are in a populated area. Bucks are chasing does all through the daytime. Does will come running through the woods trying to find a restful place away from any inquiring bucks for a little peace and quiet. You will also see bucks cruising through the woods trying to catch the scent of a doe in estrous. Again, a day in the stand during the rut is never dull for very long. You’re bound to watch something unfold in front of your eyes if you keep them open. Another great advantage of hunting the rut is forgiveness. What do I mean by that? Hear me out. Because of the careless attitudes and behavior of deer, you will sometimes have a chance at a “makeup shot” if you ever miss or botch a shot. A miss or a disturbance that might come from you could cause a deer, in any other season, to completely change its pattern or even to vacate the area. During the rut, they will often times ignore that evidence and return to the area allowing you to have another chance.
THE BAD
Lots of other folks hunt the rut! Although deer will often times ignore their common sense, if there’s too much pressure in a certain area, deer will catch on and make changes in their behaviors and patterns. If you have access to some acres of private land, you are in good shape as long as it’s not over hunted by others that have permission to be there. Iowa’s public lands can become a bit saturated with hunters who are trying to get in on the best days of the rut. You might be frustrated to discover somebody else’s “secret spot” was also yours! Another negative is time. If you truly want to feel the effect of the rut, it would be great to spend extended hours in the stand during the days that the rut is at its peak. However, that’s not always a possibility for many folks. Workdays will take up the time that you could be spending in the stand. In order to take advantage of hunting the rut, you have to have a good amount of time on your hands to feel and experience the benefit. If you don’t have the time, then the rut may not be an advantage to hunt. During the rut, bucks will often widen their home range causing them to move further and further from where you are used to seeing them. Studies have shown that mature bucks may venture five to ten miles from their home range! If you’ve done a lot of preparation for a certain buck 44
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and you chose to hunt him during the rut, depending on how many does are in your area, he might venture away to find one to breed. Keep your buck to doe ratio in good balance, and bucks should stay put. If you are low on the doe side, expect to have some of your bucks taking a brief vacation.
are looking for a particular size or type of deer, it might be too late. Again, if you’re hunting on private property, this many not be the case for you. If you’re hunting public or somebody else’s private property who’s had a lot of traffic, you can bet that most of the “choice” deer have been harvested and what’s left over are somebody’s second or third choices.
ADVICE
If you have good chunks of time to hunt, the rut can be a very productive time of the season to hunt. Be ready for some quick action and lots of entertainment. If you hunt the rut, take the moments you’re given for a shot. They may be back, but it may be a few days. Especially if they are tending a doe.
LATE SEASON: THE GOOD
One of the greatest benefits of hunting the late season is the deer movement. You can bet that if the temperatures are cold, deer will be quick to visit feeding areas in order to keep their calories up. December and the beginning of January are good months to start keying into the late winter food sources. Unlike early season and the rut, bucks will show up at these feeding areas around the same time as all the other deer that are in the area. They’ve slept most of the daytime and they will need the food to keep themselves warm. Visibility is another great benefit of the late season here in Iowa. Finding deer in the timber is usually a lot easier with the lack of foliage and snow on the ground. Even during the rut, many of Iowa’s hardwood trees are still hanging onto their leaves. By late season, the wind has blown quite a bit of that off the tree and you can see the deer coming from a ways off. It also provides a great visual for any spot-and-stalk situation that you might challenge yourself with. As with the early season, after the rut, deer will seem to get into some sort of regular routine again. That means using the same bedding area, food sources, and water sources. That also means that they will be likely to use the same trails that will take them between those resources. Finding these heavily traveled trails could be a huge advantage to your hunt. If there’s a lot of traffic, you can bet you will be seeing a deer that will be prime for a harvest.
ADVICE
bad, just hunker down and be ready to go when it does break. When that happens, you can bet deer will be making and appearance. Another “bad” about the late season is that most of the deer, if they’ve been hunted, have been “educated”. They know that hunters are out in the timber looking for them and their senses are alert to it! It will be harder to outsmart a wise old whitetail who has outwitted every other hunter throughout the season. Educated deer will need the time to forget about hunting seasons so you might as well wait till next season! A third bummer about hunting the late season is simply this; you’re getting that last choice or the left-overs of the season. If you
Hunting the late season can be great if you know a particular deer is still in the area. Key into food sources that they might be visiting. And if possible, get a good blind and a heater. If you play the wind right, you could have a very enjoyable and successful hunt. I guess, with all of this information to process, I will leave you with this wisdom. Find out what you like, what works for you, and what you have the time to do. Any season can be enjoyable as long as you are enjoying your time in the outdoors. A successful harvest does not determine which season is the best to hunt. A time that you will never forget, successful or not, is the key to a happy hunting season. Enjoy the memories and experience. They will last much longer than a trophy on your wall. Good luck!
THE BAD
Weather can be brutal! Even for the deer. It’s not unusual for Iowa to have a blizzard or a severe temperature drop that will halt deer movement for a few days. It also makes it very miserable for us to be out hunting in those conditions too. If the weather turns November 2018
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THERE IS AN OLD fishing adage that fall is prime time to catch trophy walleyes! For Shane Akin, full time guide in northwest Iowa and owner of Great Lakes Guide Service, that old adage is the truth. “There is no doubt that all gamefish put on the feedbag in the fall, and walleyes are no different. Over 30 years of guiding, I’ve found when the surface water temperatures drop into the 50-60 degree range, this is the perfect time to go after trophy walleyes.” As a guide, Akin finds northwest Iowa and southern Minnesota lakes to offer some great walleye fishing opportunities. “I will target West and East Okoboji, Big Spirit Lake, Silver Lake (Lake Park), Little Spirit, Storm Lake, Lost Island and Tuttle Lake in Iowa, along with lakes like November 2018
Loon, Sarah, Chetek, Huron and Clear Lake in southern Minnesota.” In this group of lakes, there is a wide range of depths and contours. Yet, they all have one thing in common: great fall fishing for trophy walleyes. “When I talk trophy walleyes, I’m looking for 25-inch fish for sure with
a shot of taking walleyes 28 inches or larger. For me, these are fish that I will release. To me, if I can return them safely to the water, I am giving another angler the chance to have the same experience. If a client wants to mount a big fish, I’m all for that, but I encourage catching and releasing these big females.” Before you tackle these fisheries, do your homework. Check out local baitshops to get a feel for how the walleyes have been biting. Go on area guides’ websites and see if they have been targeting walleyes and if they are biting. If you are lucky, you might know anglers that have been out and can share their success. The final option? Hire a local guide for a few hours. That can save TheIowaSportsman.com
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TARGETING TROPHY WALLEYES IN THE FALL a lot of time. Akin notes that this is the time of year when “you can troll crankbaits during the day and then turn around and wader fish casting stick baits at night. That’s what makes this such a great time of the year. Plus, the pleasure boaters and jet skiers are pretty much gone.” Here are some tips for tipping the scales your way as you look to catch a trophy walleye.
TROLLING CRANKBAITS
Akin says with a chuckle, “Trolling crankbaits is not rocket science, but at the same time there is a science to it. We all have to start somewhere, but it takes time to learn how these baits work, what speed does to them, how deep to run the baits. There is a learning curve, but it is fun to learn the process. Read up on how the presentation works, watch videos and then practice yourself. Give it a try and work at it. It won’t take long before you will feel comfortable with this type of fishing. It’s a great way to catch a trophy fish!” As fall weather begins, the weeds are declining, the schools of baitfish are moving out into the basin and the walleyes are right behind. This holds
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true whether it’s a shallow lake or deeper lake. “With the electronics we have today, before I begin fishing, I will motor around until I find schools of baitfish. This helps eliminate a lot of water. My Humminbird has side imaging so I can cover water more quickly.” Some anglers consider slowing down this time of year, but Akin likes to run 2.2 to 3 mph. “It becomes more of a reactionary
bite, and I will set the crankbaits to run 2-3 feet off the bottom.” Using linecounter reels helps Aikin know exactly how far back the crankbaits are from the boat and what depth they will be running. Utilizing Off Shore planer boards to get the lines away from the boat, Akin finds he can pull up to six crankbaits at once with two planer boards out each side of the boat and then two lines directly behind the boat. Akin’s favorite crankbaits include #5 and #6 Berkley Flicker Shads and Shad Raps, along with #11 Berkley Flicker Minnow or bigger profile baits like the Reef Runners. To begin the day, each line will have a different color. “You never know what color the walleyes might want. This can even change several times on-say-an eight-hour trip. My go to colors are hot steel, purple, flashy perch, chartreuse and darker crawdad color.” The next trick is how to know how much line to let out. Akin keeps his own diary, so after 30 years, he has his own trolling plan. However, for someone just starting out, choosing a good trolling chart or something like the Troller’s Bible will speed up the learning curve. “In addition to starting the day with different colors, I like to also let out the crankbaits at different lengths from the boat. This helps me cover the water column. Once a pattern emerges or I get a couple of hits on the same lure, the same color and the same depth, I will then adjust the other lines to put them into this strike zone.” Throughout the trolling run, it’s important to keep an eye on the electronics. Keep in touch with the baitfish, because if they move or drop down or come up the water column, the feeding walleyes will adjust to the baitfish movement. “Don’t stay fishing yesterday’s To Subscribe CALL 877-424-4594
memories if the walleyes aren’t biting. Most likely the baitfish moved and so will the walleyes. It might be just a hundred yards or it might be a half a mile. That’s why it is so important to stay alert and trust your electronics.” When a walleye hits a bait, you will definitely know it! A word of caution. Do not set the hook. The speed of the boat, the movement of the bait and the backbone of the rod will take care of the hookset. Setting the hook means you might pull the bait right out of the lip of the walleye. Just keep pressure, keep the rod up and keep the rod steady. If it’s a trophy fish, there
Look for current like bridges or where a stream is dumping into the lake. Current is a magnet for both baitfish and walleyes. Some truly huge walleyes come after dark right off of shore. Add a sandy, gravely bottom, and you have a great walleye spot.” A word of caution. Wader fishing can be dangerous. “I encourage anglers to fish with a float tube and a partner. You never know when you might stumble or trip over a rock or step into a dropoff. With a float tube, you can just sit down and you are safe. A partner can mean the difference between having a fun night and
AS FALL WEATHER BEGINS, THE WEEDS ARE DECLINING, THE SCHOOLS OF BAITFISH ARE MOVING OUT INTO THE BASIN AND THE WALLEYES ARE RIGHT BEHIND. will be a lot of head shaking and strong pulling. Let the rod work, and when the fish lets up, then reel. That’s the best way to increase your odds of catching that trophy. Sometimes, if a fish seems spent, Akin will already have his live well full and running and put the walleye in the livewell for a short time. “Sometimes after the fight and a picture, the fish becomes worn out and disoriented. This seems to help rejuvenate them and make it easier to safely release the fish.”
SHORE FISHING
After dark, shore or wader fishing can be outstanding. “At dark, the baitfish move in and so do the walleyes, often times as shallow as a foot or two of water.
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a disaster.” Although Akin has used plastics and swim baits, he prefers using stick baits like a #9 or #11 floating Rapala. “The new Berkley Cutter Jerkbait is a real game changer. It’s easy to accurately cast, and I like to bring it back with a twitch, a reel, a twitch and a pause.”
ALL THE WAY TO ICE UP
That’s what makes fall fishing so great. Whether it’s from a boat or in the waders, targeting trophy walleyes will last all the way to ice up. “Certainly, the later you go, the colder it gets, but that also eliminates a lot of the competition. With the chance of catching a 28 incher or even larger, I can take a little cold weather!”
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THIS MONTH I have a couple questions from hunters about in season tactics and I’ll weigh in trying to settle a dispute with one hunting group from NE Iowa.
WHERE ARE THE DEER GOING?
First up, Aaron writes “It seems like every year I have some pictures of some pretty good bucks on the farm I can hunt, but as each year progresses they all seem to disappear. One by one I no longer get pictures of them and by mid-November of each year I typically no longer see them on my cameras anymore. I try not to put pressure on them as much as possible, but they are still gone. I hunt in the middle of farm country and I’m mostly surrounded by row crops like soybeans and corn. The farm I hunt has some timber on it and also consists of those same row crops. Any ideas of what I might be doing wrong or tips on how to 50
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take one of these good bucks would be helpful.” That was Aaron’s initial question. I was able to correspond with Aaron several additional times through email to better understand his situation and answer his question. This is a very typical scenario that many hunters deal with each year…so let’s take a closer look. Each year, pictures of nice bucks start showing up by the end of summer and mostly continue on until about mid-November. The timber on the farm Aaron hunts is mostly open hickories with an occasional shingle oak, cedar, or box elder mixed in. Very little bedding cover exists in the timber, especially after the leaves fall off the trees. As far as mast crops go, the few oaks on the property do
drop acorns but they are scavenged up pretty quickly each year. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to why the deer travel and eat where they do. After the fall harvest, which occurs each year starting in October and finishing by early November, there is very little food left on the farm. Deer can be seen feeding on the cut beans and corn shortly after harvest, but the numbers of them diminish each day. Aaron does a great job not putting pressure on the deer and rarely bumps deer going in or out of stand locations, as well as while on stand. I’ve seen this scenario many times before. I once hunted a farm that played out much like this one. The reasons are actually quite easy to identify, but a solution is not always as easy to implement. Without preferred bedding cover on the farm, the deer are simply picking the most convenient place to bed during the early season when hunting pressure is still To Subscribe CALL 877-424-4594
low, and some daytime browse exists in the timber before heavy frosts. Because there is so much food around, deer are spread out picking a cornfield, soybean field, an oak that’s dropping, on any given evening feeding pattern. This haphazard deer movement pattern makes it very difficult to harvest an early season mature buck. Early season whitetail hunting requires some amount of patterning of the deer…these deer are showing no pattern, or switching patterns every few days. After the fall harvest, the local food supply disappears and so the deer literally leave for other ground where food still exists or maybe even where other hunters have planted food plots that still remain. So, I had a few suggestions for Aaron that could make his hunting turn around. First, it turns out the farm he hunts he has sole hunting rights to. The landowner farms the tillable ground but has expressed willingness to allow habitat improvements and some food plots (although rent would have to be paid on any acreage taken out of production). Because it would be costlier to put in food plots, the number one thing that could be done to hold more deer throughout the season would be to create some bedding cover. This can easily be done by creating small pockets of hinge cut trees. Hinge cut 3-10 trees or so in a group trying to get them all to fall in one spot creating a circle of hinge cut tops. Deer will bed around the thick tops which will create horizontal screening cover…and the light that is allowed in will create more food and still more cover. There’s no need to go nuts doing this…just create two or three of these pockets close to food sources and then back off a couple hundred yards and create a few more pockets. The doe and fawn family groups will tend to use the cover closer to food, and the bucks will tend to use the pockets further away. Doing this alone will have positive lasting affects for Aaron’s hunting grounds. The next thing I suggested Aaron do is to create some interior transition plots to make
it easier to pattern and harvest deer early in the season. This is usually quite simple. Plan an area that deer would likely travel by when heading to the agriculture fields…and then plant an interior plot just inside the timber. This interior plot should “funnel” deer by when they are heading toward a larger ag field because they simply love these small green plots. Bucks will rub and scrape in these areas and does will stage there too before heading out to the larger ag fields. These plots are cheap to make too because they are small (no larger than ¼ acre) and don’t require renting normal crop ground. If you can plan it right, it works best to coordinate your interior plots with the pockets of timber you hinge cut. Plan the pockets of cover so that they are somewhat in line with your interior plots and the final ag fields. This will create an evening and morning pattern of travel…something Aaron hasn’t had. A final step Aaron can choose to implement would be to go ahead and either rent some tillable ground from the farmer so that he can put in some larger food plots of maybe soybeans or corn…something to hold deer on the farm after the fall harvest; or to just buy some standing beans or corn each year from the farmer so that they are not harvested. In either case, standing corn or beans after the fall harvest will continue to attract and hold deer on the farm. And, as the season progresses, those standing unharvested grain crops will attract more and more deer…something every whitetail hunter dreams of. To sum up my answers to Aaron, and to any hunter under similar conditions…1. Create bedding cover by hinge cutting small pockets of trees. 2. Create small interior plots between bedding areas and destination agriculture fields. 3. Plant or buy larger food sources of grains like soybeans and corn for lasting preferred food sources. Do all three and any hunter can have some great all-season hunting.
SANCTUARY OR NOT
Next, I’ve been asked to settle a dispute
After the fall harvest, deer can and will move on to other areas with better food sources available.
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WHITETAILS 365 between a group of hunting buddies that have been debating the necessity of creating a sanctuary on their property. Todd from Allamakee County asks “I’m part of a hunting group of five hunters. All five of us are seasoned archery hunters and have had varying success over the years. Each year, we sit down as a hunting group and plan out the year. We decide things like food plots, stand locations, harvest goals, and other stuff we like to all agree on. We have almost 300 acres to hunt and each year the topic of creating a sanctuary on our farm comes up. We can’t agree on anything. Two of us want a sanctuary, one hunter doesn’t want one at all, and the other two hunters want a sanctuary but still want to go in there to hunt? In other words, we don’t have a sanctuary but each year we argue over if we should have one or not and what the rules would be. We would like to know your opinion on if we should establish a sanctuary and if so, how big and what would be the rules around it? We’ve agreed to try any advice you give us for at least 3 years to see if it makes a difference.” Well, I don’t know that I’m the best person out there to decide this for you all, but I get that you want an outside voice to settle this debate. 300 acres is actually a
Small green interior plots can create a great transition area to hunt bucks. Placing them between preferred bedding and preferred feeding can funnel deer past your stand.
pretty nice chunk of ground for five hunters. I used to hunt a 400-acre farm with four other hunters and it sure felt like we had plenty of acreage to spread us all out…but when you factored in that half the acreage was open tillable ground, and we all took vacation for several weeks together, it was clear that by mid-November of each year hunting pressure was starting to take its toll. To help with matters, we made two ridge points off limits for hunting. These two
ridge points were preferred bedding areas. By doing this, it created a scenario where we could all hunt and hunt hard, and yet the deer still had two spots that they could rely on to not get disturbed. Total sanctuary acreage was about 80 acres which was almost half or our 200 acres that wasn’t tillable. The one problem we had was a couple of the hunters still hunted in stands that blew their scent right into those off-limits areas making them only fractionally as effective as they could have been. This is a long answer to your question but I am all in favor of creating deer sanctuaries, especially on private land when you control access. Specifically, on your 300 acres, I would find one or two spots that deer love to bed already that are very hard to hunt and just make those spots off limits to hunting. To make sanctuaries work however, you need to make stands and entry and exit routes that allow for your scent to blow into that sanctuary off limits as well (for those specific winds). In other words, if you have a west wind, any stands or routes within 200 yards to the west of your sanctuary is also off limits during that wind. Start doing the math and on any given day half of your ground could be off limits even if only two 20-acre official sanctuaries exist. So, to settle the dispute, I would recommend creating at least one sanctuary as long as you can also make stands and routes around it off limits during certain wind directions. Good luck! Next month I have a late season hunting question and a question concerning buying or leasing land. Make sure to send in any questions or ideas for an article you would like written for the Whitetails 365 column to tapeppy@ gmail.com. Thank you.
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FISHING IOWA
FALL FOR RIVER FISH By Bob Jensen
A good number of very successful anglers commit a lot of their fall fishing time to rivers, and for good reason. Most rivers are home to a wide variety of fish species. Those different species of fish will gather in the fall and they’ll be hungry. If you can find the fish in the fall, you can probably catch them. Following are some ideas for catching fish from rivers in the fall. There is one really good sign that Mother Nature provides that lets us know when the fall season has arrived. On a day when it’s drizzling, take a drive on a hard-surface road near a marsh or a swamp. If there are more salamanders, snakes, turtles or frogs than usual on the road, it’s time to start thinking about fishing on a river. The warmer surface of the road attracts these critters and gives us an indication that river fish (as well as lake fish) are going to be eating. If walleyes are your quarry, check out some wing-dams if the river you’re fishing has them. Don’t fish a wing-dam too long unless you’re getting action. 10 or 15 minutes is enough time to learn if a walleye wants to get caught on that particular wing-dam. If nothing happens, find another wing-dam. When water levels are low, concentrate on the deep end of the structure. If the water is higher than usual, be sure to make a few casts to the shallow part of the wing-dam and also to the downstream side. When water levels are normal, the most active fish will usually be on the upstream
November 2018
side of the wing-dam. If the river you’re fishing doesn’t have wing-dams, points or shallow rocks will concentrate the walleyes. It’s hard to beat a jig tipped with plastic for walleyes early in the fall. A Slurp! Jig in the appropriate size tipped with a three inch Impulse Swim’n Grub will be a very good walleye catcher. There will be days when the walleyes are color selective, so keep experimenting until they show you what they want. If the fish are fussy, tie on a FireBall jig and tip it with a minnow. River smallmouth and largemouth also go on a really good bite in September and October. Largemouth will spread out over shallow grassy flats that are close to deeper water, while the smallmouth will hold on rock piles and points that are just off the channel. When the largemouth are on the flats, crankbaits will be bass-catchers. The same baits will be productive on smallmouth. Again, don’t spend too much time on one particular area. If the fish are going to eat, you’ll know about it pretty quickly.
A fairly new style of crankbait, at least to me, are the square-bills. These are crankbaits that have square diving lips, and this design gives the bait a unique wobble. The KVD 2.5 and 4.0 Square Bills are outstanding around logs and over the tops of submerged weeds. Use the 2.5 in shallow water and the 4.0 deeper. In the rivers that I fish the most, you’ll usually be fishing water in the 3 to 8 foot range. Lure color can be an important consideration much of the time. I like crankbaits that have some chartreuse or red in them, but try different colors until the bass show their preference. When the fish are aggressive, they won’t be as color selective. Put your bait where they are and you’ll probably get bit. Rivers can produce fish when lakes won’t. Rivers aren’t as effected by negative weather conditions as lakes are, and river fish are constantly dealing with current: They’re expending more energy, so they eat more often, and easy-to-catch fish are a great reason to get on a river the next chance you get.
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THE WHITETAIL DEER can be illusive, stealthy, and undoubtedly a challenge. However, we have many products to make hunting deer a bit easier. Whether it is scent covers and attractants, realistic calls, or visually accurate decoys, we have an arsenal at our fingertips to bring whitetails straight to us. Knowing when and how to use these products is more than just reading their instruction manuals. Instinct will be your most useful tool in the field. Your instinct will become stronger throughout your years of hunting because you will have learned tips and tricks from these experiences. Experience is built by succeeding moments, failures, mishaps, and close calls. With each of these, your instinct will become honed over time. However, your instinct is not only limited to what you have experienced, education and common sense will play a large part of that “gut feeling”. There is an array of tools you can bring to the field, and the one I must have is scent control. I am a firm believer that attractants are useful but a quality scent eliminator is essential. If you have set your stand or blind in an area that is almost guaranteed to present an opportunity due to travel, food, or bedding then an attractant is not necessary. The elimination of your natural human odor is key. Deer have adapted their senses to accurately pinpoint human odor and will avoid it at all costs. If you do not have calls, attractants, or decoys make sure you have your natural scent covered. I use Hunters Specialties Scent-A-Way spray. I use the odorless option as opposed to the fresh earth scent. Both work great, but I feel more confident knowing that I smell nothing on my skin and clothing, rather than wondering if the earthy scent is just masking my human odor. November 2018
If you dig a little deeper into a sportsman’s pocket, you will find what I consider to be the most useful call... the grunt call. I prefer using a call with the ability to make a variety of tones. The different calls range from a fawn, to a
you will get a higher pitched fawn tone. If you slide it to the base of the reed, it will give you a much lower, throaty sound of a buck. The most important rule for any calling technique is - never over do it. Deer are not especially vocal animals (they are not silent but more or less conserved). If you are calling deer that you can see, make sure to watch their body language. If it is too loud or aggressive, it may scare them. Also, just because they do not come to you does not mean they do not hear you. After a call is presented, deer will usually circle around and come from downwind to smell for any threats. Calling in a whitetail is tricky because after you know how to work your call, then you need to know when to use it to make it seem like another live deer. Once the rut is in full swing the calls will become more effective as deer become more vocal. Grunts, rattling antlers, tending grunts, doe bleats, and
PRACTICE AND TIME IN THE FIELD WILL ALLOW YOU TO FACE MULTIPLE SITUATIONS THAT NEED A QUICK GUT RESPONSE. THESE EVENTS WILL SHARPEN YOUR INSTINCT OVER TIME. FROM SAFETY AND PATIENCE, TO SHOT AND STAND PLACEMENT. doe, all the way to a mature rutting buck. Inside the chamber of the call there is a notched shaft with a plastic reed attached to it. Around the reed is an o-ring. When the o-ring is slid to different notches on the shaft, it restricts the amount of vibration from the air that is passing through the chamber as you blow into it. If you slide the o-ring closer to the tip
snort wheezes are also great choices to bring in a lone buck or a doe with a buck trailing behind her. Grunting is used in and around the rut by both bucks and does to establish dominance, communicate locations, and to attract other deer to a group. I use a Primos Hardwood Grunter. This call is made from select hardwood and features TheIowaSportsman.com
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THE RUT ARSENAL a corrugated flex tube that gives your calls the throaty realistic sound. Early in the rut, I like using short, quiet grunts in the morning. Right after sunrise is the time the deer will group after bedding to scout for food. If I have been sitting with little to no activity, I will do a quick grunt 2 to 3 times every 20 to 30 minutes. If I am watching deer out in the field and attempting to call them in, I will grunt every 10 to 15 minutes with a slightly longer and more aggressive sound. Rattling antlers or a rattle bag will mock the sound of 2 bucks hitting their antlers together. This is called sparring and it happens for a variety of reasons. In the early season it can be a fun way for young bucks to practice fighting. They will lightly hit their antlers together and follow up with pushes and twists. Once in the rut, bucks of all sizes will spar to establish dominance and impress a doe in estrous. This can become brutal. Bucks will slam their antlers into each other, pushing and twisting until one submits. Whitetails use this impressive strength as a breeding right to pass on the strongest genes. If you want to re-create this sound, you can use real antlers, polymer imitations, or a bag of wooden dowels made to create a realistic rattle. Simply hit the antlers or bag together in a series of crashes, twists, and rubs for 7 to 10 seconds. Start slow and become progressively louder. Stay still and alert after this type of call because it seems to bring bucks from out of nowhere. Tending grunts are a sound you will hear from rutting bucks as they follow a doe in heat. This style of grunt call is a long drawn out series of grunts that will start out slow and become more aggressive. It will last roughly 3 to 5 seconds. When rut is in full swing a buck that is tending a doe will follow an estrous scent and most likely be making
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this call. The tending grunt is a very important call to understand during the peak rutting season because it is sure to bring in a territorial buck to steal a doe away from any intruding buck in hopes of taking the breeding rights for himself. A doe bleat, simply put is the common sound of a doe. Doe bleats are effective during the rut because bucks are looking for does to breed. When a buck hears a
Another useful item that is not as common among hunters is the decoy. Decoys will be more effective the more you understand how to use them. You can choose from bucks, does, or feeding deer. But what is the right choice? The time of season and what you know about the deer in your area will play a big role in this decision. I try to understand what is motivating the bucks behavior. If they
RATTLING ANTLERS OR A RATTLE BAG WILL MOCK THE SOUND OF 2 BUCKS HITTING THEIR ANTLERS TOGETHER. THIS IS CALLED SPARRING AND IT HAPPENS FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS. IN THE EARLY SEASON IT CAN BE A FUN WAY FOR YOUNG BUCKS TO PRACTICE FIGHTING. doe, he will usually head straight towards the call. With an adjustable call, simply slide your o-ring to the doe position and cup one hand over the end of call to baffle the tone. Cup the other hand over your first hand to adjust the distance and volume. Using tone variation is vital to making your calls sound natural. Last but not least in the arsenal of calls is a snort wheeze. The snort wheeze is the most threatening sound made by a male whitetail deer. Do not confuse the snort wheeze with the blowing alarm sound of a spooked whitetail. The alarming blow is a single, loud blow through the nostrils. It will make a single “TFFF” sound. The snort wheeze will be a quick double “TFFF TFFF” followed by a long “TFFFFFF” dropping off at the end. Certain calls will have a special chamber for this unique sound, while making it with your own mouth is also a popular choice. The snort wheeze call seems to work on more mature bucks that are not necessarily seeking to fight for dominance but are set on finding a hot doe in the area. This is my go to call when all others are failing.
are acting aggressive then I will try to get their attention with a young buck that may seem like an easy fight. If it is peak rut then I will try a doe decoy that has an estrous scent applied to it. If the deer are mainly focused on safe feeding groups then I will try a feeding doe decoy. The outcome of a decoy is all in presentation and visibility. If you have not tried a decoy, then you are missing out. Practice and time in the field will allow you to face multiple situations that need a quick gut response. These events will sharpen your instinct over time. From safety and patience, to shot and stand placement. Whether it is facing your stand away from the sunrise or the ability to make it to your hunting spot quietly, we will learn and grow with each of these experiences. It will become second nature to handle these choices without having to over think them. If we can understand our gut feelings then we will be able to utilize the best weapon ever - human instinct!
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R & R Sports 3250 Fields Drive • Bettendorf, IA 52722 563-243-4696 www.randrsportsinc.com Fin & Feather 125 Hwy 1 W • Iowa City, IA 52246 319-354-2200 www.finfeather.com Palo Outdoors 1204 1st Street • Palo, IA 52324 319-851-5290 www.palo-outdoors.com Bluff Creek Archery 117 Washington Ave E • Albia, IA 52531 641-932-2422 www.bcarcheryia.com No Limits Outdoors, LLC 212 11th St SW Plaza • Spencer, IA 51301 712-580-7000 www.nolimitsspencer.com Sommerfeld Outfitters 330 N Main St • Lidderdale, IA 51452 712-822-5780 www.shopsommerfeld.com The Iowa Outdoors Store 1597 3rd Ave NW • Fort Dodge, IA 50501 515-955-HUNT (4868) www.iowaoutdoorsstore.com November 2018
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EVERY AUGUST the Iowa DNR Enforcement and Wildlife Bureau conducts the Upland
SUMMARY
Statewide, Iowa saw an average winter and a drier and colder than normal spring in 2018. Iowa’s weather model predicted pheasant numbers would remain stable and perhaps increase. This prediction was confirmed by roadside counts which showed pheasant (39%) and quail (25%) both increased significantly compared to 2017. Good quail numbers are being reported across their range, while pheasant brood sightings are up statewide. Dew conditions were very good across most of the state this year, so some of the reported increase is likely due to improved counting conditions compared to the poor conditions last year. Both pheasant and quail numbers are expected to be similar to or better than 2017. Bird hunters reported good success last year and with 2018 pheasant and quail numbers 45% and 62% above their respective 10-year averages, hunters should enjoy good success this coming fall.
WEATHER SUMMARY
Iowa pheasant numbers increase with mild winters (less than 19 inches snowfall) followed by warm, dry springs (less than 6 inches rainfall), and decline with snowy winters (30+ inches snowfall) followed by cold, wet springs (8+ inches rainfall), and remain generally stable with average weather conditions, winters with 20–30 inches of snow and springs with 6–8 inches of rainfall. The 2017–18 winter statewide snowfall November 2018
Roadside Survey. The survey generates data from approximately 215, 30-mile routes on pheasants, quail, gray partridge, cottontail rabbits, and white-tailed jackrabbits. Counts are conducted on cool mornings with sunshine, heavy dew, and no wind. These conditions yield the most consistent and accurate results. 2017 and 2018 comparisons are based on routes that are directly comparable between years. Long-term trends are based on all routes completed. The two factors that determine the abundance and distribution of upland game population in Iowa are weather and habitat. was 27.2 inches, or 2 inches above the long term mean. Snowfall varied greatly across the state with NW, NC and EC regions reporting 30-40 inches, NE, WC, and Central regions reporting near average and southern regions reporting winter snowfall totals well below normal. Overwinter hen survival for pheasant and quail should have been average to above average in most central and southern regions and near to below normal in the NW, NC and EC regions. Reproductive potential coming into spring was likely good in most regions, but likely below normal in NW, NC and EC regions. The spring of 2018 was a roller-coaster for Iowa. It started cold with 10-20 inches of April snowfall in NW and NC Iowa and then switched to one of the warmest by the end of May. Rainfall was well below normal in April and normal in May. The state climatologist noted April was the coldest in state history, but also the 16th driest in 146 years of record, while May was one of the warmest in state history. The last time Iowa had a spring this dry was 18 years ago. In Southern regions lack of snow and dry conditions likely led to earlier nesting, while nesting in central and northern regions was average or delayed. Northern and Central regions also saw significant rainfall in June, while not included in Iowa’s weather model, particularly heavy rains in NW and NC Iowa likely flooded
some nests. First reports of pheasant broods in 2018 were May 16th in SE Iowa. In summary, the weather of 2017–18 was all over the board depending on your location. Winter conditions were favorable for good survival in central and southern regions, while nesting season conditions were less than favorable in the northern third of Iowa. The weather data suggested stable to declining population in NW and NC regions and stable to increasing populations in the remainder of the state. Input of statewide weather data into Iowa’s weather model suggested an overall increase in the statewide pheasant population this year compared to last.
UPLAND HABITAT TRENDS IN IOWA
Changes in habitat are more gradual and the influence of habitat changes on upland populations are only evident after looking at several years of surveys. Information from the USDA shows that between 1990 and 2015 Iowa lost 2,984 square miles of potential pheasant habitat. This habitat was a mix of small grains, hay land, and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres. To put this loss in perspective, 2,984 mi2 is a strip of habitat 10 miles wide that would stretch from Omaha to Davenport. CRP has become critical for Iowa pheasant populations with the loss of small grains and hay lands to corn and soybean production. TheIowaSportsman.com
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2018 IOWA UPLAND ROADSIDE SURVEY REPORT
SURVEY CONDITIONS
The August roadside survey yields the most consistent results when surveys are completed on mornings with heavy dew, no wind, and sunny skies. Research by Dr. Klonglan at Iowa State University in the 1950s showed the number of pheasants counted on mornings with medium dew averaged third less than when run on a morning with heavy dew. Heavy dew conditions require good soil moisture in late July and early August. Fortunately Iowa saw much better survey conditions this year with adequate soil moisture and timely rainfall. During this year’s survey 82% of routes were started with a heavy dew verses 71% in 2017. Staff reported more foggy mornings in 2018 and warmer start temperatures compared to 2017. The US drought monitor showed parts of SC and SE Iowa were experiencing persistent drought conditions thru most of the summer, but timely rains prior to and during the survey helped with dew conditions in those regions.
RING-NECKED PHEASANT
Statewide: This year the statewide index is 20.6 birds/route, and is significantly higher than the 2017 estimate of 14.9 birds/route. This year’s statewide pheasant population index is 45% above the 10-year trend, but remains below the long term average. All regions reported significantly higher pheasant populations, except the NW, NC and EC regions where counts were stable or up slightly, but were not statistically significant, meaning some routes increased, while others decreased in those regions. Iowa research indicates overwinter hen survival, brood survival, and nest success are the major factors influencing annual changes in pheasant numbers. Statewide, the total hens (29%) and roosters (34%) counted on routes this year were significantly higher than 2017, suggesting good overwinter survival in most regions. Statewide data on chicks/brood (measure of chick survival) and age ratios (chicks per adult hen – measure of overall hen success) increased 5% and 14% respectively and were statistically higher than last year, suggesting, from a statewide perspective, nest 60
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success and chick survival were improved over 2017. Last year the survey indicated pheasant (-30%) and quail (-23%) populations were down, but total pheasant harvest only declined 10%, while quail harvest increased 11%. Based on reported hunter harvest bird numbers were not down as much as the 2017 roadside survey indicated, suggesting poor dew conditions during last year’s drought did impact the count. So it’s likely some of the increases reported in 2018 are a bit inflated due to the error in 2017 counts. Given this year’s statewide index of 21 birds per route Iowa pheasant hunters should harvest approximately 250,000 to 300,000 roosters this fall. Northern Regions: Counts in the NW and NC regions were unchanged from last year, but increased significantly in the NE region. Counts in NW and NC were at their 10-year averages, while counts in the NE are well above the 10-year average. Total pheasants, hens, and chicks in NW and NC were unchanged from last year and likely reflect the late spring and above normal snowfall in those regions. The NE region had a normal winter and counts bounced up, but remain well below the historic average. The NW region averaged 26 birds per route the second highest of any region. Parts of NW and NC Iowa should offer good pheasant hunting, particularly around public and private lands with good winter habitat. Better counts in NW came from Clay, Dickinson, Palo Alto,
Pocahontas and Osceola counties, while Butler, Franklin, Humboldt and Kossuth reported better numbers in the NC region, and the NE reported fair counts in Fayette and Howard counties. Central Regions: The Central region had the highest counts of any region in the state in 2018 with 38.6 birds/route; counts are 85% above the 10-year average and right at the long term average. Both the WC and C regions reported significant increases in total pheasants, while EC region reported no change in numbers. Reproductive parameters increased significantly in the WC and C regions, but were unchanged in the EC region. Central regions should offer excellent hunting this fall where good quality pheasant habitat exists. The WC region reported better counts in Audubon, Calhoun, Green and Sac counties. The Central region reported good bird numbers in Boone, Hamilton, Hardin, Poweshiek, Story and Webster, while the EC region reported better numbers in Iowa and Johnson counties. Southern Regions: All three southern regions reported significantly higher total pheasant per route in 2018 compared to 2017. Reproductive parameters, hens with broods, hens and chicks, were significantly improved in the SC and SE regions suggesting a better reproductive season, counts were more variable in the SW region. Counts in all three regions were higher than the 10-year average and counts in the SE were very close to the long term average (Table 4). Some of the
2018 AUGUST ROADSIDE SURVEY
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2018 IOWA UPLAND ROADSIDE SURVEY REPORT
STATEWIDE PHEASANT TRENDS PHEASANTS COUNTED/30-MILES
STATEWIDE PHEASANT HARVEST
COTTONTAIL RABBIT
better counts in SW came from Adair and Adams counties, while SC reported good numbers in Ringgold, Union and Warren. Hunters in the SE region should have very good hunting in Henry, Jefferson, Keokuk, Mahaska and Washington counties.
BOBWHITE QUAIL
Iowa’s statewide bobwhite quail index was 1.36 birds/route (Table 3, Figure 4); a significant increase over last year. The statewide quail index is 62% above the 10-year average and right at the long term average. Over the last four years Iowa’s quail index has been the highest seen in the last 20 years. Based on staff and landowners reports quail numbers are at modern era highs for Iowa. The SW and SC regions reported quail numbers similar to last year, while the SE region reported significantly more quail than 2017. Landowners and staff reported numerous calling males this spring, indicative of very good winter survival. The Wildlife Bureau submitted a new continuous CRP SAFE practice targeted to create early successful habitat for bobwhite quail. USDA awarded Iowa 40,000 acres for this new practice and all acres were enrolled in April and May of 2017. This new CP38 practice requires 25% of the CRP contract to provide early successful habitat for bobwhite quail. Many of these new CRP fields should provide excellent quail habitat and hunting this fall. The better quail counts in 2018 came from Adams, Appanoose, Cass, Davis, Jefferson, Lucas, Montgomery, Page, Taylor, Wapello, Wayne and Van Buren counties. Given modern agricultural practices and land use, it’s doubtful Iowa’s quail index can get much higher. Anyone who has ever had an interest in quail hunting or hasn’t hunted 62
and 42% below the long-mean. Gray partridge prefer the wide open agricultural lands of the northern two-thirds of the state. The NC and C regions reported the best densities in 2018. Typically partridge numbers increase following mild winters and when spring/summer precipitation is below normal. Snowier and wetter conditions in northern regions verses central regions likely explain the trends in partridge numbers this year. Better counts in 2018 came from Bremer, Butler, Carroll, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Franklin, Grundy, Kossuth, Sac, Webster and Worth counties.
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quail recently – this would be a good fall to go!
GRAY PARTRIDGE
The 2018 gray partridge count was 2.2 birds per 30 miles and unchanged from last year’s 2.1 birds/route. Counts showed downward trends in the Northern regions and upward trends in the Central regions, but trends were not statistically significant in any region, meaning some routes increased while others decreased in all regions and there was no consistent trend among routes. This year’s statewide estimate is 21% above the 10-year mean
Staff reported an average of 6.8 rabbits per route in 2018, which represents a statistically significant increase (26%) from 2017. Cottontails remain very abundant in Iowa. The cottontail index is 37% and 14% above the 10-year and long-term averages respectively. Regionally, rabbit numbers increased in all regions, but only the increase in the SC region was statistically significantly. Cottontails increase following mild winters with good moisture during spring and summer, thus statewide 2018 was a favorable year for cottontails. Cottontail hunters can expect excellent hunting across most of the state this fall. Highest cottontail densities can be found in the SW, SC, SE and EC regions.
2018 GAME DISTRIBUTION PHEASANT
GRAY PARTRIDGE
QUAIL
COTTONTAIL
EXCELLENT
GOOD
FAIR
POOR
Iowa small game distribution maps represent generalized game abundance. There can be areas of low game abundance in regions with” high” counts and vice versa.
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GUNDOG CORNER
COLD WEATHER CARE
Hunting season is finally here! The past offseason has been geared towards training dogs and hopefully keeping them in shape to prepare for the upcoming seasons. However a major difference is the fact that spring and summer temperatures are much warmer than what the late fall and winter bring…the majority of the time. Now it’s time to think about preparing for the brisk winter months ahead as we will most definitely be working our dogs in some very tough and cold conditions.
To start, sporting breeds were bred for some sort of hunting, and are very durable when it comes to weather tolerance. That being said here in Iowa we have some extremely cold and brutal weather and should really do our best to protect our dogs from it as much as possible. Dogs are not indestructible machines and react to harsh conditions just like all living things do. A few preparations that should be done are as follows:
KENNEL
If you keep your dog outside in a kennel, it is vital to make sure your dog has the very least a dog house of some sort that can completely block the wind and precipitation. It is also ideal to have a roof on the kennel that protects the dog from rain or snow when outside of his/her house. This can also aide with cleaning the kennel too. For winter months, they will also need some sort of bedding (straw, heat pads, dog bed, etc.) to give them a little help retaining heat inside the doghouse. Make sure your kennel is blocked from the strongest, coldest winds by placing the kennel on a certain side of your house, garage, or fixed structure. It is also wise to place a windproof tarp of some sort on the sides of the kennel to reduce wind from entering other sides. If push comes to shove you can crate dogs at night in the house or garage to keep them inside during the coldest parts of the day.
TRANSPORTATION
Remember that if you transport your dog
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in the back of a pickup truck, where they are not protected from the wind and outside temperature, it is imperative that you invest in a plastic crate as well as an insulated crate cover. These covers are reasonably priced and can really help keep you dogs kennel warmer for them while you drive to your hunting location. This is a much more reasonable alternative for many hunters who do not have a need for insulated dog transport boxes or trailers. If your dog travels with you inside your vehicle, a regular crate or wire cage is absolutely fine. Also make sure and tie down your kennel during transport. Injuries can happen if a kennel is sliding or tipping all over the place in the back of a truck. Not to mention it is just plain uncomfortable to a dog. The ride should be enjoyable and not feel like a roller coaster ride.
NUTRITION
During cold weather and harsh conditions your dog will burn more calories simply to heat their body. Compensation in their diet needs to happen and extra calories need to be provided. Don’t forget they will burn a lot of calories while in the field too. It is not a bad idea to add a cup or two of food to their daily intake. Dogs that hunt on a regular basis throughout the winter months may even require their food intake to be doubled. Hydration of course remains important as well. Just because the temps are low doesn’t mean a dog won’t get dehydrated. Some dogs will eat snow in the field to obtain water, which is fine, but make
sure they get plenty of water before and after a hunt. This is particularly important for kennel dogs that live outside because unless you have a heated water bowl, or an indoor portion of your kennel that does not freeze, feeding time may be the only time a dog can obtain water.
DOGS THAT HUNT OVER WATER
Anyone who waterfowl hunts in Iowa has seen a dog make retrieves in water this is freezing cold, literally. Neoprene dog vest are a must once we hit the time of year to help the dog maintain a warmer body temperature. Also make sure and bring plenty of dry towels with you to the blind to dry off the dog after a retrieve. Simply take the vest off and wipe off excess water once the dog does his own shaking, then reposition the vest. This prevents very cold water from getting between the dog’s skin and vest, and being held there by the vest causing the dog to get cold much quicker. Vests also provide upland dogs protection against poky weeds, ice, and in some cases barbed wire fences. It is highly encouraged no matter if you waterfowl hunt, upland hunt, or both to invest in a vest. If we are conscious of making sure our dogs are cared for properly in their kennel, during transportation, in their diet, and while a field we can maintain great performance in the field and have a happier companion. Best of luck to everyone and their dogs in the upcoming seasons.
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DOG BREEDERS
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IOWA SPORTSMAN COOKBOOK
HASENPFEFFER (RABBIT STEW) INGREDIENTS
• 2-3 pounds rabbit or squirrel (legs and back) • 1 ½ cups water • 1 ½ cups cider vinegar • 1 teaspoon whole cloves • 3 bay leaves
• 1 medium onion, sliced • 2 teaspoon salt • 2 teaspoon sugar • ¼ teaspoon pepper • 1/8 teaspoon allspice
• ½ cup flour • Cooking oil • 5 or 6 crushed gingerbread cookies.
DIRECTIONS • Combine the water, vinegar, cloves, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, and allspice to make the brine. • Place the meat in a food safe tub, pour over the brine and set a heavy plate on top of the meat to keep it submerged. Refrigerate for two or three days. • Remove the meat and pat it dry with paper towels. (Reserve the leftover brine). • Dust the pieces with flour, and start to brown them in a ¼” of cook-
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ing oil in a heavy, low-rimmed pot, set over medium-high heat. • Remove meat, pour off excess oil, and return meat to the pot arranging it in a single layer on the bottom. Add enough of the brine to just barely cover the meat then let it simmer over low heat for 1 ½ hours. • Remove the meat and thicken the remaining cooked brine in the pan with, crushed gingerbread cookies. • Lay the cooked meat over a bed of mashed potatoes and drown in thickened sauce.
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RECIPE FROM OUR READERS
SKILLET BREAD From Charlie Goddard
This is an old recipe I got from my Grandpa. It’s a hearty treat and a great recipe to have in any hunting or fishing camp as it goes great with a lot of different courses, especially with venison stew!
INGREDIENTS • Half a dozen strips of bacon • 2 cups flour • 1/2 tsp soda
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder • 1 tsp salt • 1 1/2 cups sour milk (regular milk or buttermilk will work)
DIRECTIONS • Put 6 or 8 short strips of bacon in your skillet arranged like the spokes of a wheel. • In a mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients well, stir in milk quickly. • Lay dough over bacon and spread it out evenly. • Put a lid on skillet and cook slowly for about 10 minutes. • Now pour off excess grease, turn bread over, and cook 10 minutes more. *I have put a handful of chopped green onions in the skillet with the bacon. You can actually add any other type of veggie you want with the bacon. It adds that much more flavor!
WE WANT YOUR RECIPES! We want to see what our readers are cooking up, more importantly we want to taste what you are cooking. Please send us some of your most tastiest wild game recipes and we will publish them in the Iowa Cookbook Section. You can send recipes to patrick@twinriversmedia.com or mail them to The Iowa Sportsman, 1517 3rd Ave NW, Fort Dodge, IA 50501.
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AROUND THE STATE
OKOBOJI BLUE WATER FESTIVAL: OH, WHAT A DAY By Steve Weisman
Saturday, August 12 was quite a celebration here in northwest Iowa as the third annual Okoboji Blue Water Festival took place at the Green Space in Arnolds Park, As I look back on the day, I can only smile and think: what an awesome and wonderful day it was. It had been a lot of work, especially for organizer Greg Drees and his crew of volunteers to pull off such a day. Plus, without the generosity of the sponsors and donors, none of this could ever have happened. After all, everything was free. The festival itself was a daylong celebration to raise public awareness of water quality issues in the Iowa Great Lakes and across the state. Event chairman Greg Drees said clean water was the theme of the gala. “It’s all about protecting and enhancing the water quality of our lakes, rivers and wetlands.” To me, this is the challenge for all of us in the state of Iowa. We all know the issues of clean water, and the varying thoughts of just how important it really is. Here is a review of the day.
THE MORNING
The weather made it the perfect midAugust day with sunny skies, mid-80 degree temperatures and a gentle 5-10 mph southerly breeze. The empty Green Space came to life with the white tents housing over 35 clean water exhibitors with a semicircle of tents just to the south filled with a wide range of clean water activities for kids and families. As the morning progressed, Chalk Stock artists turned the sidewalk in front of Exhibitor’s Row into colorful clean water themed murals. Throughout the day, thousands of people participated in these opportunities
NOON UNDER THE BIG TENT
At high noon, over 70 eager anglers took their seats to hear the words of Iowa native and highly acclaimed tournament angler Tommy Skarlis. As he began his seminar, he gave a little personal background, sharing just how lucky he is to even be around. During his seminar Skarlis not only shared fishing techniques, but also covered the importance of appreciating our natural resources and protecting our waters. Without a doubt, Skarlis feels we all need to “Clean, Drain and Dry our boats whenever we leave our waters. We need to protect the waters 68
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and slow the movement of exotics.” Skarlis brought out more details, but you can Google Tommy Skarlis trolling and watch an hour Skarlis presentation.
THE AFTERNOON
Then at 1:30, the much-anticipated panel discussion took place to discuss water quality and Natural Resources protection issues in Iowa. The panelists spent the better part of two hours in a spirited give and take over key environmental issues. Although several topics were covered, these are three of the hottest topics: Iowa’s voluntary nitrogen reduction plan, recent clean water legislation (File 512) and lack of funding for IWILL. Panelists included Cindy Lane, Water Program Director for the Iowa Environmental Council; Joe McGovern, president of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation; David Osterberg, professor emeritus of Environmental Health at University of Iowa and part of the Iowa Policy Project; Mary Skopec, director of the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory; Sean McMahon, executive director of Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance; Bill Stowe, general manager of Des Moines Water Works; Bruce Trautman, interim director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Each panelist gave a brief personal overview before the first topic was posed: how successful do you think the state’s voluntary nitrogen reduction plan has been? Answers varied with McMahon saying, “You know eight years ago there were only maybe about 10 thousand acres of cover crops that were cost shared in Iowa and then this last fall we had 760,000 acres in total. So is that enough cover crops? Absolutely not! But if you look at the entire state of Iowa’s row crops, 23 million acres, we’re
only at 3 percent of all those row crop acres. We’d actually like to see between 12 million and 17 million acres of cover crop.” When it came to the topic of IWILL, also known as the Natural Resource and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund, panelists in general agreed on its concept, and the audience applauded its support and belief in its importance to all Iowans. Approved by 63 percent of Iowa’s voters in 2010, with the next penny increase in the state sales tax, 3/8 of that penny will go to fund IWILL to the tune of at least $150 million. While all of this was going on, there was constant traffic as people walked along the sidewalk, stopping to talk to clean water experts and learn more about clean water and how on one hand we are all part of the problem, the good news is we are also all part of the answer. All the while, off to the north was a reminder of why we were here: West Okoboji. West Okoboji is the symbol of what we are fighting for. We are fighting to save our waters and ensure that we improve our waters across the entire state. It’s good to celebrate, but this Festival was also about doing much more to improve our water quality.
END OF A GREAT DAY
…as the sun slowly dipped on the horizon, the musical celebration began. The Green Space was full of people, and they kept coming for the concert of the summer. The Firm, Atlanta Rhythm Section and Michal McDonald-each brought something unique to the stage. McDonald with a music career that encompasses five Grammys, of course, was the headliner.
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