Blue Creek Springtime Monarchs

05/17/2026

Ike’s Sportsman & JAKES Day 2026. It was a great day!

05/17/2026

What a fantastic Ike’s Sportsman & JAKES Day today! We had an enthusiastic group of kids and adults ready to learn. Many clay pigeons met their demise and the sounds of .22 bullets and bb’s plinking metal targets filled the air.

The weather was perfect! Everyone had the opportunity to participate in six stations: trap shooting, archery, camping (fire starting and s’mores), .22’s on the rifle range, trapping, and a station by Ducks Unlimited that showed a decoy spread, retrieving, and a BB gun range from a blind.

Thank you all our volunteers for the day, especially Izaak Walton League Red Cedar Chapter, Benton County Cattlemen's Association, Benton County Conservation, and the Benton County chapter of Ducks Unlimited.

At the end of the day, two lucky participants won guns donated by our chapter. One was a .22 R***r 10/22 and the other a .177 caliber Gammo air rifle. Needless to say they were excited!

If you missed it, we will schedule it again next year. It is one of the most special days for everyone involved!

05/11/2026

We received this exciting message this morning from a gentleman who attended our Turkey Class on March 21st:

Thank you all so much for the class you held at Ikes in Vinton.

I learned a lot, and your enthusiasm for turkey hunting helped me bag my first turkey yesterday! Having a turkey trot up hill at you gobbling his head off while my heart was racing was an absolute thrill! I'm looking forward to sharing this harvest with my family and friends. It certainly won’t be my last turkey hunt.

Best regards,

David Scheiding

05/06/2026

Get ready for an awesome day—join us June 27th for a fun-filled fundraiser supporting our chapter’s annual kids’ event, Ike’s Sportsman & JAKES Day, and local conservation efforts! 🎯🦃

04/20/2026

Sometimes you get a text that totally makes your day and weekend. In this case, it happened on Saturday morning. One of the attendees to the Adult Archery Class we conducted at the beginning of March and the Field To Fork Turkey class we taught on March 21 sent a picture of his first turkey.

In this case, Ryan was able to get out for the first time on Saturday (April 18) morning on a friend's property. He was able to experience the joys of the woods waking up with all the sounds. He called in a tom but it would not get closer than 50 yards, too far for a bow. A couple minutes later, a couple more came into the area to check things out. Ryan waited patiently for the right shot. When he let the arrow fly, it hit the tom perfectly and it walked off 15 yards before expiring.

So how about filling a tag within 90 minutes on your first day out with a bow? Congratulations Ryan on a great hunt and story!

If anyone else who attended any of our classes has any photos/stories to share, please do!

- Randy

04/17/2026

Does this remind you of anyone you know?

04/10/2026

It's turkey season for our youth hunters in Iowa! On Monday, Season #1 opens for the rest of us. Good luck to everyone! Please share pictures with us and we will re-post here.

03/23/2026

03/22/2026

Yesterday we hosted a New Turkey Hunter Class from 8:00 am - 2:00 pm at the Izaak Walton League Red Cedar Chapter. This class was set up through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources with the goal of introducing new hunters to the wonderful sport of turkey hunting. The class filled quickly with 15 people who were anxious to learn.

During the day we covered gun safety, rules/regulations, turkey anatomy/characteristics, calls, equipment, decoys, patterning the shot, setting up a tent, turkey prep, meal prep, and cooking. And then enjoyed the fruits of the labor! It’s hard to cover all details about these birds but we did our best. Between the three of us who conducted the class (Mike H., Darren H., Randy S.), we realized we had over 100 years of combined experience.

We appreciate each participant in the class! Everyone had great questions and feedback throughout the day. Thanks also to the Ike’s for allowing us to use the facility and range.

03/22/2026

Our chapter hosted one of the seven classes/locations in the state earlier today. We appreciate the Izaak Walton League Red Cedar Chapter for allowing us use of their facilities! 15 enthusiastic people joined us to learn more about turkey hunting. We will post pictures soon.

It can be a tricky process, which is in part why the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is offering a handful of learn-to-hunt workshops around the state in anticipation of the upcoming season. Read more: https://www.kcrg.com/2026/03/20/dnr-hosts-learn-hunt-workshops-ahead-spring-turkey-season/