The Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji girls soccer team ran into a buzzsaw Tuesday, April 4. The girls fell 10-0 to seventh-ranked (2A) Spencer in Spencer.

The first ever Bass Federation’s (TBF) Student Angler Federation (SAF) is scheduled for Saturday, May 20, on the Okoboji chain of lakes for the SAF Iowa State Championships.

“I am anticipating around 50 boats consisting of two-youth partners per boat for this year’s championships based on youth who are already members,” SAF Youth Director Bob Harris said. “There will be teams from all over the state of Iowa in attendance.”

Through the years, I’ve had the opportunity to fish with a lot of different anglers. Something that almost always caught my attention when I climbed into their boat was the number of fishing rods they had out. Some of the best anglers appeared to be some of the most basic anglers. They would only have a couple of rods out and rigged.  

Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji’s boys soccer team dropped its season opener to Sioux City West on Thursday, March 30. The boys squad fell 3-0 to the Wolverines at Okoboji High School in Milford.

Okoboji’s boys track team dominated its first outdoor meet of the season Thursday. The Pioneers won nine events and totaled 164 team points at the 2023 Wolverine Early Bird hosted by South O’Brien in Paullina.

“We were thankful to get the opportunity to compete outdoors,” Okoboji boys coach Brad Peter said. ”The weather was cool but certainly tolerable, and our kids took full advantage and competed extremely well.”

Okoboji’s girls track team ran away with the team title at the 2023 Wolverine Early Bird held Thursday, March 30 at South O’Brien High School in Paullina. The Pioneers earned 14 top-two finishes and totaled 169 points on the day.

Harris-Lake Park’s boys track team earned a sixth-place team finish at the 2023 Wolverine Early Bird hosted by South O’Brien on Thursday, March 30. The Wolves earned eight top-five finishes on the day and totaled 24 team points.

“The guys ran really well for the opening meet of the season on such a cold and windy night,” Harris-Lake Park boys coach Lane Gunderson said. “I was proud of the way we battled and competed.”

Harris-Lake Park’s Kendal Niemeier took first place in the high jump to highlight the Wolves’ trip to Paullina on Thursday, March 30. The Wolves totaled three top-five finishes and 15 team points at the 2023 Wolverine Early Bird hosted by South O’Brien.

Niemeier also earned a fifth-place finish in the 200-meter dash, finishing in 30.32 seconds. The sprint medley relay team of Rylee Reken, Lucy Nelson, Maddy Gilmore and Kaidance Pahl placed fifth in 2 minutes, 22.47 seconds.

Harris-Lake Park’s boys track team headed south to compete at a meet hosted by Sioux Central on Monday, April 3. The Wolves placed eighth overall and six top-six finishes on the night.

Ethan Harper led the way, winning the high jump after clearing 5 feet, 10 inches. He also placed sixth in the 200-meter dash in 25.56 seconds and, along with Travis Luitjens, Wyatt Jurva and Devin Meyer, helped the sprint medley relay team to a sixth-place time of 1 minute, 49.80 seconds.

Okoboji sent a large contingent of junior varsity runners and a few varsity athletes to the boys track meet held Monday, April 3 in Sioux Rapids. The Pioneers placed sixth overall and earned five top-three finishes on the night.

Ever since I moved to northwest Iowa in 1978, I’ve participated in the annual walleye opener on three lakes of the Iowa Great Lakes: Big Spirit, East Okoboji and West Okoboji. Each year, the walleye season closes on those lakes in mid-February and does not reopen until the first Saturday in May. These are the only waters in the state of Iowa with this regulation. Let’s take a further look at when and how this regulation came about.

There are techniques that anglers employ frequently in their fishing. Jigging and crankbaiting are common techniques when it comes to walleye fishing. Much of the time we can tie on a jig or a crankbait and start trolling or casting. But there are times when we can make little changes to our jigs and crankbaits regarding how we present them that will get more walleyes to eat our bait. Following is a sampling of those changes.

Six years ago, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever unveiled its most ambitious, strategic, science-based and visionary initiative ever: The Call of the Uplands® campaign. This was the organization’s promise to conserve the uplands – one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world – before it was too late. Today, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are proud to celebrate the completion of this record-breaking endeavor.