hunting in southern Iowa (Indianola, Osceola: moving to, farmers, tree)

[spacegunray]

I will be moving to the Osceola or Indianola area in the near future,(from Oklahoma) I am an avid outdoorsman I love to hunt and fish. I am trying to get feedback on the hunting and fishing in southern Iowa. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[Luke9686]

It's great. Deer, pheasant, turkey abound in Iowa. Fishing is decent, depending on what for. Catfishing is good in the rivers, walleye can be caught many places, and bass fishing is decent. You have Lake Rathbun, Lake Red Rock, and Saylorville Lake close. Many rivers also. It has been years since I have fished in Iowa, so the locations have slipped my mind. I used to be able to tell you where to go for what.

[alycat2616]

Thanks for the reply

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by Sculptor

Dont bother coming here mr animal murderer, we don't need more of you!

Yes, we prefer to thin out the deer herd with our cars.

[leilay]

The deer are larger and more proliferate than those down south from what I've heard from family members and friends. A lot of hunting is on private land, though many farmers do wish to get rid of the deer - they just want to screen people to make sure they're going to be responsible and get to know them first. There are also a lot of park hunts, so that would be an option if you don't know someone with private land. Turkey and pheasant are plentiful (in areas), and it really is lovely terrain to walk through, even if you don't hunt.

I don't think duck hunting is a big thing up here, though there are some around. There are plenty of geese, but I don't know anything about hunting them either.

In Arkansas, at least, there was a lot of use of permanent tree stands that were heated through winter. Even though it's much colder, that isn't something very common in that area at all! I've heard to be very familiar with regulations and bring the manual with you - you want to be able to prove that you were shooting in shooting hours, and sometimes the DNR ranger may not have all those memorized.

The bass size isn't that great by comparison on the fishing front. It seems there are far less trophy size bass, so if that's what you're after, it might be an adjustment. Other than the lakes mentioned above, I know that there's fishing in Lake Red Haw too, which is a bit smaller and more tranquil. I don't know which kind of fishing, sorry.

[orthosophy]

Originally Posted by duster1979

Yes, we prefer to thin out the deer herd with our cars.

I use a .357 magnum that is actually cast from headlights. I haven't missed a deer yet-- when I shoot, they freeze until I hit them.