Hunting and Fishing News Blog Articles

A Wyoming court is considering how the state will regulate tribal hunting on public lands. (NPS/)

The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Herrera vs. Wyoming in May poses more questions than answers in resolving a five-year legal battle. One thing (we think) is for sure: the result of this battle will affect how the state is able to regulate tribal hunting.

On one hand, the court’s 5-4 decision clearly affirmed that treaty rights negotiated between the United States and Native American tribes cannot be nullified by states.

On the other hand, the case was remanded back to Judge John Fenn of Wyoming’s 4th Judicial District to determine what “occupied lands” mean in the context of the 1868 Second Treaty of Fort Laramie, and how “conservation necessity” applies to Crow treaty hunters in Wyoming’s Elk Management Unit [EMU] 38 in Bighorn National Forest.

In case you missed the details of this case, here’s how the events unfolded…

Clayvin Herrera, a member of the Crow Tribe, was cited for violating hunting laws when he killed a bull elk out of season without a license in Wyoming’s EMU 38 in January 2014.

Big bass are hard to catch, but the following myths will make it even harder. (Gerry Bethge/)

No one ever brags about the small bass they catch. Whether you live up north where a 7-pounder is a wily, ancient giant, down south where double digits are the key metric, or in Southern California where largemouths of 14, 18, or even 20 pounds are not out of the question, everyone wants to one-up the local competition.

The dedication to catching the biggest bass that swims near you comes at a price. You generally have to forego grip-and-grins in exchange for the right bite. It requires a different mindset–one focused on current conditions and one that discards absolute falsehoods, old wives’ tales, and partial truths. The following myths are all too common and should be avoided if you truly want to land a lunker.

Myth 1: Big bass eat the same meals as little bass.

Bass are opportunistic eaters, and there are very few fisheries where they exclusively lock onto one type of forage. That said, they don’t grow big by expending lots of energy on small meals that don’t provide them with enough nutrition. Bass are engineered to pack on the most calories and protein with the least possible effort–all without leaving their comfort zone. So, on traditional reservoirs where shad make up most of the forage base, bass are locked into them from an early age.

Nevertheless, says Texas pro, Keith Combs (who’s seen over 70 double-digit fish come over the side of his boat in the course of his guiding and pro fishing career), at a certain point they change their focus. That often occurs when they reach the 5- to 7-pound range; when they switch from shad to bluegills, tilapia, crappie, barfish, or even from threadfin to larger gizzard shad.

Bowfishing may not quite be as American as baseball and apple pie—but it should be. From coast to coast, you'll find guys and gals spending summer days (and nights) shooting arrows at fish. It's fun and one of the most available and affordable forms of "hunting" you'll find. While it's possible to repurpose your old hunting gear, some specialized bowfishing archery tackle will make it a lot easier for you to get started. To help you let the air out of some fish, here is a gear primer with nods to some of the best equipment for your money and a few notes on how to use it. —Tony Hansen

Bowfishing Reels

October Mountain Products Fin Finder Bowfishing Reel (October Mountain Products/)

When I started bowfishing, I managed my line with a Fin Finder spool, which is nothing more than a plastic spool with a concave rim that holds line as you wrap it on while retrieving an arrow. It's simple and inexpensive, and it works for just about every type of bowfishing scenario you can conjure just as well as the most sophisticated setup.

It has a threaded anchor that fits into the same port you'd use to attach a stabilizer on the front of a bow's riser, so you can use whatever bow you've got on hand. However, if you plan to use your dedicated whitetail rig, that's fine, keep in mind that you're likely going to bang the bow around in the boat when the action gets fast and furious (and it almost certainly will), and you don't need substantial draw weight, so feel free to decrease the pressure on the limbs. If you have an old-school recurve around, use it. There is no better beginner's bowfishing bow than a recurve. They're easy to draw, aim, and shoot. —T.H.

RPM Bowfishing M1-X Trigger Reel (RPM Bowfishing/)

A few years ago, the Ogden, Utah based bowfishing company RPM made its debut with a unique lineup of bowfishing accessories that not only had a different design, look, and feel compared to traditional bowfishing gear, it had a reputation for being some of the most well-built, durable equipment on the market. So when they unveiled their latest arrow retriever, the M1-X trigger reel, I wanted to take a test drive. Since then, I haven't used anything else. Because the reel is always in freespool mode, you don't have to worry about pushing a button before shooting like other spinning reels. When you want to wind line back on the spool and bring in your arrow, pull and hold the T-shaped handle with two fingers from your bow hand while activating the crank handle with your drawing hand. Able to hold 150 feet of the company's 200-pound-test Monkey Wire and geared to collect line at a lightning pace, the M1-X also has an unbelievably strong drag system, which is also never a bad thing. –Ben Romans

Bullet choice can make all the difference when deciding on a hunting caliber. (Brad Fitzpatrick/)

Want to see some fireworks? Just walk into a bar in rural America during hunting season and proclaim that the 6.5 Creedmoor is an unequivocally superior deer cartridge than either the .30-06 Springfield or .308 Winchester. If you manage to escape that situation without major injury to your person, you'll have learned a valuable lesson: Many hunters develop such a deep-seated allegiance to their preferred hunting round that any rebuff of their beloved cartridge elicits an intense emotional response.

These frenetic cartridge fanboys might lead you to believe that there is only one round in all rifledom capable of routinely dispatching game. Rarely, however, does a conversation about preferred hunting bullets create such a stir, and perhaps that means we’re missing the mark. While some cartridges do offer real, measurable advantages over the competition, it’s the bullet that actually dispatches the animal. I can’t tell you the last time I saw two hunters nearly come to blows over the superiority of their favorite hunting bullet, but the argument could be made that our choice of projectile is at least as important—and perhaps more so—than the cartridge that propels it.

Credit Where Credit is Due

One of my hunting mentors despised the .270 Winchester and thought it unfit for use on any game larger than coyotes. When I asked why, he told me that he had used the cartridge to harvest two deer in Virginia in the 1960s. On both occasions, he said, the .270 caused extensive meat damage, and he could scarcely salvage either front quarter from those two animals.

Before modern bullet designs, high velocities broke bullets apart on impact causing excessive damage. Now, bullets like this one will stay intact. (Brad Fitzpatrick/)

Like many other hunters, I’ve used the .270 to harvest deer, and my own experience with the cartridge has been very different. The .270, with the right bullet, will kill whitetails cleanly without excessive meat damage. The problem that my mentor encountered was not the result of the .270’s inherent failings; rather, it was an issue of poor bullet selection.

Land and Water Conservation Fund dollars helped support the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge in New England. (USFWS/)

Earlier this spring, President Trump signed a massive public lands bill which permanently reauthorized the Land and Water Conservation Fund. But passing that bill didn't actually secure any real money for LWCF, that battle would be fought later. Well, later is now.

Trump’s initial budget has no funding for land acquisition. Instead, it utilizes LWCF money to cover national park maintenance backlogs across the country.

Luckily, that plan is getting pushback from a bipartisan group in the House.

"To the extent we're siphoning off these funds for other entirely different purposes, that's really not appropriate," Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) told The Hill.

The House has countered with a bill (H.R. 3195) that would provide full funding of $900 million annually to the LWCF. The bipartisan bill was introduced by House representatives Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.). The Senate has a similar bill (S. 1081) that would provide full funding for the LWCF while nixing the requirement that funds must be appropriated. The bill is co-sponsored by four GOP senators who are up for reelection in 2020— two of whom are Sen. Cory Gardner (Colo.) and Steve Daines (Mont.), according to Politico

Success with nighttime trout revolves around understanding which types of water they feed in after dark. (Clint Ford/)

The kids might be off from school, but you’re still working like a dog during the dog days. Sure, you might hit a good trout or two on the weekends, but there’s a strong possibility you’re not alone on the river. Wild trout are incredibly susceptible to angling pressure, which is why some of the best-known trout fisheries in the country can get really slow by midsummer. The fish have seen it all, and they’ve gotten smarter and more selective during daylight hours. While the lucky guy who can be on the river while you slave away struggles, you’ve actually got the upper hand. Between that daytime pressure and the warmer water temperatures, many big browns hunker down until the sun goes away. And when that happens, fishermen go away. That’s when you show up and score the toad that’s finally ready to chow down. Here’s how.

1. Top Lure for Tail-Outs: Rebel Jointed Minnow

Tail-outs that are 2 to 4 feet deep and have a moderate flow are prime haunts for nighttime browns. If bug activity was high that evening, assume the fish that pushed into this water to sip mayflies and caddis are still there at sundown, and most likely they’re still looking up. They’ve already had some appetizers, so now give them a steak dinner. Any thin-profile, shallow-diving plug can work here, but those with a strong swimming action during a steady retrieve, such as a Rebel Jointed Minnow, are particularly effective. Cast downstream at an angle across the current. With the rod tip held high, just start reeling very slowly. The goal is to let the current do all the work as the lure sweeps in an arc across the run. Don’t get aggressive with the retrieve; you want the plug to dig very slightly and wobble just barely under the surface as it swings. When your line straightens out, don’t zip the lure in; many times, a trout that follows from the middle of the zone will attack right before the lure comes out of the water.

2. Top Lure for Deep Holes: Basstrix Paddle Tail Swimbait

Rest assured that those deep, dark holes on your home river that you think hold monster trout do, in fact, hold monster trout. Problem is, everyone else knows about them too, which can make the fish that live in them finicky due to the constant bombardment. Even the most pressured community pool, however, can give up the goods at night. If those holes feature cover, such as downed trees or deep boulders, all the better, because it means the fish have a permanent home within them, and they’re more likely to leave it in the dark. A variety of lures can work here, but a soft-plastic swimbait that puts off a strong vibration is a great choice. Rigged on a jighead, it allows you to work in any part of the water column, which is key because while the fish may be more apt to feed late, they might not always be willing to come up shallow within very deep pools. Cast slightly up-current and let your swimbait sink to the desired depth. Reel just quickly enough to get the tail thumping as the bait swings. I’m a firm believer that dark lures get bit more often at night, so I’m a big fan of the Basstrix Paddle Tail Swimbait in Midnight Orange for this technique.

A whitetail buck in the early stages of antler growth. (brm1949/depositphotos.com/)

When you stop and think about it, antlers seem like the stuff of science fiction rather than real life. They're bones that grow extremely fast outside of a mammals body, and every year they fall off and grow back. For whitetails, at the peak of development, antlers will grow a ¼ inch per day; for bull elk it's more like an inch.

To put that in perspective, imagine that one spring morning, you woke up and had two bones growing out of your forehead. In about a week, they would be 7 inches long, and two weeks later, you’d be knocking into every door frame you tried to walk through. While there still is a lot to learn about antlers, here are some of the secrets behind how antlers grow and what it takes for them to get so big.

Why Do Deer Have Antlers?

Before diving into the nitty-gritty of antler growth, we should get one thing straight. Whitetails, mule deer, elk, moose, caribou, and many other antlered animals across the globe are part of the same deer family, known as Cervidae. Male "cervids" (as well as female caribou) evolved to have antlers, and unlike horns, antlers are made of bone and are shed and grown back every year in a continuous cycle. For a large part of the year, they are made up of living tissue whereas horns are made of dead, fingernail-like tissue called keratin and remain attached to the animal year after year.

Two whitetails sparring with their antlers during the rut. (EEI_Tony/depositphotos.com/)

That the reason cervids have antlers is for mating purposes. Because they live in competitive societies and mate like spring breakers, males need something to work out their differences with and attract the ladies. Big pointy antlers are just the ticket, and while it’s important to note that they aren’t trying to kill each other, deer, elk, moose, and other cervids spend their respective mating seasons using their headgear to duke it out for cows or does.

Returning to a follower during a moon event is a great way of getting that muskie to grab your lure says Lake St. Clair Charter Captain Spencer Berman. (Photo Courtesy of Spencer Berman/)

Two things were obvious: the muskie following my lure was a giant, and it was coming in hot—its focus completely on my bucktail spinner. I swung the bait into a wide turn at boatside and then hung it on the outside curve to create an easy target. The fish shortcut the corner and T-boned the lure going away. Its strike was so fast and vicious I didn’t need to set the hook, but instinct took over.

Minutes later, after photos were taken and I had watched the released muskie make its way back into the depths, I shook hands with my fishing partner and stopped to savor the moment.

“They should all be so easy,” he said. His words carried truth.

Muskies have the confounding habit of following anglers’ lures to the boat and not biting. We question our friends for answers and scrutinize our tactics, yet continue to lose sleep over giant muskies that were so close we could almost touch them — yet couldn’t. Ultimately we have to accept the fact that muskies make their own rules, and what works for on one fish usually won’t work for the next. But have faith.

With many hours on the water and even more time spent thinking about their sport, some of the top anglers in the country have devised ways to get muskies to bite. Following are seven ways to trigger a strike.

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Few firearms in history have had the influence, panache, and favoritism commanded by lever-action rifles. They were the first truly effective, high-capacity, rapid-fire firearms, they fought through multiple conflicts, and remain one of America's favorite sporting rifles. In this video, we cover five of the finest.

The author with a 215-pound bigeye tuna caught from a headboat off New Jersey. (Jimmy Fee/)

Here’s the scenario: You’re going coastal with the family and want to tangle with a tuna. Thing is, you don’t have a boat that can make the long run. Nor do any of your friends, and a private charter is out of your price range. Fear not. Throughout the Northeast and into the Mid-Atlantic, many headboat fleets dedicate several weeks of the summer season to bringing boatless fishermen to the tuna grounds overnight at affordable prices. If you want tuna glory at the rail of one of these big vessels, here are some pointers.

Go for the Long Haul

Headboat tuna trips range from 18 to 48 hours in length. The standard 22-hour overnight trip, which departs in the evening and returns the following day, runs about $350—a couple hundred bucks less than a share of a private overnight charter. The price increases incrementally with the length of the trip, but if you can swing the fare (and the extra time out of cellphone range), jump on an extended trip. Longer trips have more time at the rail, and the captains usually add some variety to the fishing. This could include stopping at wrecks for cod and pollock, drifting for tilefish, or buoy-hopping for mahimahi.

Long trip or short, the main event remains the same. The captain seeks out favorable water temperatures and drifts (or sometimes anchors) at the edge of the canyons while the crew ladles out a pungent soup of sardines and butterfish. With any luck, a school of tuna will find the free food and hang with the boat until everyone on board has sore arms.

Sleep in on the Way Out

Upset a griz with only a handgun at your side, and you have problems in your future. (Keith Crowley/Images on the Wildside/)

Hunters love to sit around the fire and argue about guns. When there's no fire, there's still social media, where people also sometimes argue. When I saw Freel and Towsley engaged in a Facebook pissing match over bear-defense handguns, I invited them to bring it to the pages of Outdoor Life. Enjoy. —W.B.

Wheelguns by Bryce M. Towsley

I’ve been hunting bears for 40-some-odd years all over North America and in Russia. I have learned a couple of truths. First, bears are tough, both in construction and attitude. They have thick hides, strong muscles, and big bones. When wounded, they rarely give up quickly.

The idea of using a semi-auto handgun in a cartridge designed for self-defense against humans is ballistic folly. I know everybody thinks they are going to go John Wick on a bear and overwhelm him with a multitude of bullets, but that ignores the second bear truth: Bear attacks happen very fast. You may get one or two shots, if you are lucky, before he is chewing on your skull like an hors d’oeuvre.

Mine is a custom 5-inch Freedom Arms Model 83 .454 Casull ($2,421) that Ken Kelly at Mag-na-Port tricked out for me. I load 305-grain hard-cast bullets to 1,650 fps. The .454 Casull has killed everything I have shot with little drama, including a couple of bears. (Bryce M. Towsley/)

True bear-protection handguns use a big bullet with lots of horsepower behind it to get through the hide and muscle, and to break bones. Big-bore revolvers with heavy-for-caliber, flat-nosed, non-expanding bullets do that very well. Cartridges designed for defense against human predators do not.

When it comes to bear attacks, there are no certainties. (photowest/depositphotos.com/)

Much like politics or religion, bear defense is a subject that will quickly segregate people into strongly defended ideological camps. For the majority of folks, it’s purely for entertainment purposes—like guys in their living room debating whether or not they would have made that Super Bowl winning catch they saw on TV. However, for hunters and anglers who live in or frequently venture into grizzly country, bear defense is very important.

The only certain thing about dealing with bears is that there are no certainties, but if you look to the folks who spend the most time around bears, you can learn to have the best chance at surviving an encounter.

Be Bear Aware to Prevent Dangerous Encounters

The hard truth about bear defense is that the most important things you can do are boring. In our heated debates, we all imagine ourselves stopping the bear, but of course not before he gets just close enough to make it an exciting story. The fact of the matter is, if it comes down to that, things have gone terribly wrong.

When you're in bear country, stay alert and aware of your surroundings. (jeffbanke/depositphotos.com/)

The best way to deal with a dangerous encounter with a bear is to avoid it in the first place. We've all heard the phrase "be bear aware," and likely most of you are as annoyed with it as I am, but it is the best way of avoiding a dangerous situation altogether. How you conduct yourself in bear country and (think: proper food and meat storage), will almost always play a larger role in your safety than your ability to stop a charge with lethal or non-lethal force.

The Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. (USFWS Mountain-Prairie/)

On June 5th, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced a proposal for new or expanded hunting and fishing opportunities at 74 national wildlife refuges and 15 national fish hatcheries. This proposed legislation would give hunters and anglers access to over 1 million acres of public land and provide sportsmen and women with the chance to explore new areas.

At a time when access to good public hunting land is hard to find, outdoorsmen and women have something to look forward to with this new proposal. “Hunting and fishing are more than just traditional pastimes as they are also vital to the conservation of our lands and waters, our outdoor recreation economy, and our American way of life,” says Secretary Bernhardt.

This new public access for hunters and anglers is similar to a proposal we covered last year from former Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke. In May 2018 Zinke proposed to open or expand hunting and fishing on 30 national wildlife refuges. Many of the refuges in Zinke's former proposal are also in Secretary Bernhardt's current plan–as well as even more opportunities for sportsmen and women on national refuges and hatcheries.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will increase the number of refuges that allow hunting from 377 to 382 and increase the number of refuges that allow fishing from 312 to 316. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also plans to open hunting and fishing on 15 new hatcheries where it was previously prohibited.

Since the release of the proposal, many conservation organizations have stated their support for the new expansion of outdoor recreation.

Spring may be lunker time for bass anglers targeting shallow fish on spawning flats, but summer is the bread-and-butter season for most fishermen. With short-sleeve weather and balmy nights, more bass are caught by anglers during the heat of summer than all other seasons combined.

But summer bass can be fickle nomads–found shallow, deep, buried in weeds, living in flooded timber, prowling open water, hugging riprap and bridge structures, active at dawn, dusk, night, and even in the brilliant rays of mid-day heat.

For this reason, savvy anglers are well prepared with a wide variety of lures designed to fish every conceivable bass habitat, and at all depths. Here are the lure styles, types, and brands to carry to insure that no matter the time of day, depth of water, or fishing situation, you're prepared to catch summer bass wherever you go.

The Yo-Zuri 3D Popper (Yo-Zuri/)

Virtually everyone prefers catching bass on top-water lures because of the exhilarating surface strikes. Truth is, top-water lures are often the most productive way to fish for bass. Surface baits cover a wide range of lures, and at times, each produces more and bigger fish than other styles. So, a well-stocked tackle box holds them all.

Poppers and chuggers are all good choices, and classics like the Heddon Lucky 13, Rebel Pop-R, and Arbogast Hula Popper and Jitterbug can be deadly. Newcomers to the popper brigade are stalwarts such as the Strike King Splash Popper, Booyah Boss Pop, and Yo-Zuri 3D Popper.

School is out, summer is finally here, and camping season is upon us. Whether you enjoy pitching a tent in an assigned space on some roadside site, or hiking up and into the mountainous backcountry, you’ll need the toughest, most reliable gear you can get your hands on. To help you have all your bases covered, here is a short list of equipment you might want to add to your inventory of supplies. Before you pack up your rig and head out, take a look at some of the latest and greatest items that can help you make a night under the stars one of your most memorable.

Tenstile Trillium 3-Person Hammock (Tenstile/)

I'm a big fan of pack hammocks—they're easy to carry, great for bivy hunts, and the perfect tool for sneaking in a quick afternoon nap in the woods. But recently I've started to see new hammock designs, like the Trillium 3-person Hammock, that is both unique and useful. Made from a heavy duty webbing, the Trillium can support up to 880 pounds across 92 square-feet of space after anchoring the three hatchet straps to mature trees. This triangle-shaped hammock is great for relaxing near a river or under the shade of some dense trees and perfect for raising the "wow" factor when you're camping with your kids.

My Outdoors Lightweight Sleeping Pad with Pillow (My Outdoors/)

One of my favorite pieces of camping gear is my sleeping pad. It's lightweight, easy to inflate, and it feels terrific on my back and legs after a long day of hiking or hunting. Not only does a pad make it easier to get some Zs, but it also provides that critical barrier of insulation between you and the ground on those cold nights. The high-density nylon pad from My Outdoors is inexpensive, tough (puncture resistant), lightweight (one pound), thick (2 ½-inches), waterproof, and because it has an inflatable pillow attached, that means you have one less thing to pack. If you need even more reason to invest in a sleeping pad, remember you can use it as a floating lounger when you're camping near a lake, or make the wife mad by showing your kids how to ride one down the stairs like a sled.

Etekcity Ultralight Portable Backpacking Camping Stove (Etekcity/)

Accidents happen, and camping gear can sometimes fail, so it always pays to have a backup. I learned this the hard way on one trip when I forgot to put my camping stove back into my pack and had nothing (other than fire) to boil water. Since then, I've stashed a couple Etekcity camp stoves in places like my truck glove box, my hunting packs, and I even have one "on standby" in my storage closet should I happen to lose any of the others. I typically rely on a JetBoil to prepare my meals, but if it's ever not up to the job, I know I have a tiny stove that can attach to the same fuel tanks. Made from aluminum and stainless steel, it has a flame-control knob and push-button electric start, so no matches or lighter required.

JBL Charge 3 Waterproof Speaker (JBL/)

While most people go camping to get away from technology, there's nothing wrong with a little music. In the appropriate setting, the right playlist can accentuate the experience of being outside and keep the mood around camp light and fun. The JBL Charge 3 is perfectly suited for such an occasion. You can connect up to three smartphones or tablets at one time and take turns playing music and it can stay loud for up to 20 hours on a single charge. There is a built-in microphone if you want to answer phone calls, and you can charge smartphones or tablets using a USB cable. But the best part about this little unit is it has a waterproof rating of IPX7, which means it's completely waterproof, so you can also take it into the shower at home when you're cleaning off the dirt and dust from your camping trip.

An early-morning summer monster. (Brian Grossenbacher/)

One of the best things about northern pike is that they’re willing players practically 365 days a year. Drop a shiner through the ice and it’ll get nailed. Work a spinnerbait around a rocky point in fall and it’ll get crushed. It’s the summer months that can be the most challenging for the pike hunter. Hitting loads of little “hammer handles” isn’t difficult, but those aren’t what you want. You want a giant that breaks 40 inches. In spring, it’s not uncommon for those big girls to be posted up shallow all day, but that’s not often the case in summer. To score that goliath now, you need to understand how high-caliber northerns behave in summer. Whether you want to catch it on a big, meaty fly or a sexy custom glide bait, these tips will help you take a beast in heat.

Temperature Gauge

Northern pike survive and feed in a wide range of water temperatures, though they prefer 60 to 65 degrees. If you live in Canada or the northern half of the U.S., your local pike waters might maintain those temperatures throughout the summer. If that’s the case, finding big pike becomes less of the challenge. In much of their range, however, assume the heat of the summer will bring the surface temperature well above that optimal comfort zone. Little fish may still hold shallow all day, but the trophies are going to seek more pleasant temperatures, and that means they’ll go deep. In summer, a quality fish finder can be a very useful tool, not so much to mark fish, but to locate deep weed lines. Whether pike are deep or shallow, they stay with the salad. The ideal scenario is to find a weed line growing up a slope or ledge, starting in approximately 15 to 20 feet of water and continuing up to the bank. This gives larger pike a place to hang by day, lounging in the cooler water at the base of the slope, and also quick access to the shallows that host all the bluegills, shad, suckers, and smaller pike the jumbos eat.

Beef Up

Once a pike reaches that magical 40-inch mark, it doesn’t really behave like a pike anymore. In many regards, it’s now a muskie, and it will feed differently from the ravenous little guys. A big pike’s metabolism is slower than that of a 15- to 20-inch fish, so while you may have a favorite jerkbait, spinnerbait, or streamer for racking up numbers of pike, ask yourself: Is this the right offering to tempt that one giant? Much like a muskie, a trophy pike might eat once every few days, especially in the summer, when it’s less inclined to move around. With that in mind, it pays to ramp up lure and fly sizes. A big pike is more likely to hammer a big meal in one shot and retreat to its comfort zone than spend a feeding session trying to catch a handful of smaller forage items. Jumping lure and fly sizes also helps reduce the number of little pike you’ll catch.

Asian lady beetles are lighter in color and more orange than ladybugs. (Ryan Hodnett (wikimedia commons)/)

When the news hit the internet, you could almost hear the collective: “awwwwwww, how sweet.” An 80x80-mile swarm of ladybugs, so vast that it showed up on National Weather Service radar, was about to hit the coast of Southern California. Thing is, there are more than 450 kinds of ladybugs in North America, and some aren’t quite as cute as those in children’s stories. Take the Asian lady beetle, for example (speculation is that the SoCal swarm consisted of Asian beetles). Whereas Ladybugs are non-biting, aphid-eating beneficial insects, lady beetles are invasives that bite, are foul-smelling when smashed, and enter your hunting camp and homes by the hundreds every fall. And so it is with the following list of bad bugs. Unlike ticks and mosquitoes, the ones listed here aren’t likely to make you sick or kill you. They are, however, the ones that make our outdoor lives the most miserable.

9. Stink Bugs

A brown marmorated stink bug. (dusan964/depositphotos.com/)

Depending on the species, stink bugs might be green, brown, or gray. Like Asian beetles, stink bugs reek when squished. The worst of the worst on the stink bug roster is the brown marmorated variety which was accidentally introduced in the U.S. in the late ’90s. According to the USDA, brown marmorated stink bugs have been found in 44 states and four Canadian provinces. They cause millions of dollars in crop damage and are masters at invading every nook and cranny of hunting camps, recreational vehicles, and campers as they seek winter refuge.

Eradication tactics abound from chemical traps to DIY homebrews, but many of those afflicted prefer to keep the nuclear option on the table.

8. Black Flies

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Lever-action rifles can be fast, accurate, and tons of fun to shoot—if you know how to handle one properly. These video tips will help you tap into your inner cowboy and learn how to run a lever-gun like Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, or Annie Oakley.

Keep your hunting dog safe by identifying and avoiding the following plants. (Alex Robinson/)

Man’s best friend has incredible instincts. We often rely on our dog’s sharp senses and ancient impulses during outdoor pursuits (including everything from bird hunting, to blood trailing deer, to search-and-rescue missions). But any bird hunter with a Labrador retriever can tell you that dogs also have a tendency to eat just about anything. Sometimes the wild plants and nuts they eat can make them sick. These are the 10 wild plants you should make sure your pup does not chow down.

1. Milkweed

This weed is a vital host plant and food for Monarch butterflies, but it’s not so friendly or beneficial to dogs. (Wikipedia/)

Scientific name: Asclepias syriaca

Where found: Common milkweed is one of a hundred milkweed species found in North America and this one has the widest distribution. Found from Oregon to the East Coast, common milkweed often grows in fallow farm fields and sunny roadsides.

How to identify the plant: Milkweed has oval opposite leaves and large teardrop-shaped seed pods. The plant grows up to 4 or 5 feet tall. If you break off a leaf, thick white sap will ooze from the wound.

Welcome to Disney. (ImageBroker/Alamy/)

Destination fishing trips can be hard to pull off when you have a family. Skipping town with the guys for even a few days is usually hung up by T‑ball games, soccer practice, and, of course, approval from your spouse. But that doesn’t mean you’re stuck fishing where you live. Headed to a theme park this summer with the whole clan in tow? If you can manage to sneak away from the long lines and $20 soft pretzels for just one day, many of the major ­destination parks have some incredible fishing opportunities close by. Here are our top picks for roller coasters and rod bending. Build in one day to leave your family at the pool and you’re golden.

1. Largemouths: Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida

This is the most popular theme park in the country, so chances are you’re going to wind up there at some point. Everyone knows the Sunshine State is a mecca for largemouth bass, and monster fish abound. Along with several other bodies of water, famed Lake Toho is minutes from Disney, and there’s no shortage of guides for hire. If you pack a travel rod and prefer the DIY approach, Florida is littered with tiny ponds and canals. All of them hold fish—yes, even the one that will probably be right in front of your hotel. You’ll catch largemouths galore and possibly hit some of Florida’s exotic species.

2. Blue Catfish: Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, Virginia

A big blue cat. (Keith Sutton/)

Busch Gardens is an easy drive from some heavily populated Eastern cities, which means it can be a zoo in the summer. If you’re stuck there and dying for a little space, a world-class blue cat fishery on the James River isn’t very far. Blues are active virtually year-round, and they feed extra hard in summer. The best part is that you’re almost guaranteed to catch fish, and most often a bunch of them. Cats over 20 pounds come frequently, and you have a legitimate shot at a 60-plus-pounder. Hunter Tucker (hawg hunterfishing.com) is a James expert and will get you on the bite.