Hunting and Fishing News Blog Articles

Major League Fishing’s Ish Monroe is the man when it comes to catching big bass with a frog. With nine majors and 51 top 10s, his career earnings total over $2.2 million. So we sat down with Monroe to find out the best ways to catch more monster largemoughs with this lure. Here is what he had to say.

Ish Monroe shows off a 5.1-pounder caught in the grassmats at Lake Fork in Texas. (Major League Fishing/)

1. Outdoor Life: What time of year/day is best for fishing with frogs?

Ish Monroe: The best season to fish with frogs is post spawn anywhere in the country. Right after spawning, fish are guarding their fry (offspring) and frogs offer lots of nutrients for their fry. The best opportunity is first thing in the morning or late in the day, but you will catch the biggest fish midday (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) fishing in super thick, heavy cover, and high sun.

2. OL: I keep missing fish while frog fishing. What am I doing wrong?

IM: Having the right equipment is number one. First, make sure you’re using a fishing braid, 50- to 60-pound class braid. Your rod needs to be an extra heavy rod; it needs to have a little tip so you don’t pull the frog out of the fish’s mouth. I designed the Ish Monroe Signature Frog Series by Daiwa for this very reason and it’s what I use on the Bass Pro Tour.

An afternoon Alberta puddle duck shoot. (Andrew Klatt/)

Waterfowl is one of the smallest, most niche communities you can find in hunting. There’s only about 1 million of us waterfowl hunters, but we see more of each other than those who pursue whitetails, mule deer, elk, and other big-game species, namely because our quarry inhabits condensed areas for short periods on their annual fall migration. In many places, you will have to share wetlands with your fellow hunters and compete for birds. Sometimes you’re going to be hunting next to veteran waterfowlers who know what they’re doing—or think they do—and aren’t afraid to tell newbies to scram.

Don’t let those folks, or the unknown, stop you from chasing ducks and geese. Some of the best days of my life have been spent waist-deep in a marsh holding a shotgun and blowing a duck call. Those days are waiting for you as well—if you stick with it. This sport, like so many others, rewards patience and hard work. The more you go, the more you learn. So, let’s get started.

Learn the Basic Game Laws

Following game laws is an essential part of ethical waterfowl hunting. (Toe Tags, Inc./)

If you haven’t already, the first thing you will need to do is take a hunter’s safety course. Some states don’t require hunter education to buy a hunting license if you’re of a certain age, but it’s smart to take the class and get certified regardless. Because 1) you’re eventually going to travel to another state to hunt where hunters of every age are required to possess a hunter’s safety card, and 2) you’ll learn how to handle a gun properly and hunt in a safe manner.

You must also purchase a hunting license, state duck stamp, and federal duck stamp prior to hunting. Ninety-eight percent of all federal duck stamp money goes directly to help acquire and protect wetland habitat, and to purchase conservation easements for the National Wildlife Refuge system. It’s one of the most successful conservation programs in North America, so you can be proud that your dollars are helping to protect waterfowl habitat.

The bow and arrow have been utilized by hunters and warriors for thousands of years. A simple yet elegant weapon, it’s provided meat and aided in defending civilizations for centuries. Today, bows have gone high-tech, like compounds, crossbows, and carbon-fiber arrow shafts affixed to razor-sharp broadheads. But we shouldn’t forget the traditional bows and arrows of our ancestors. They can provide us with a bounty of wild game or defense from predators in a primitive survival situation.

If you find yourself alone in a perilous backcountry situation, here are the items you can use to build a traditional bow and arrows.

1. Choose The Right Materials

Flexible, but strong, wood makes for the best bow. (Tim MacWelch/)

Choosing the right materials is the first place to start when constructing bows, arrows, and other archery tackle. For the bow, you’ll want a strong yet flexible wood that wants to snap back into its former shape after bending. When it comes to arrows, you’ll need to select woody coppice growth, shoots, and saplings that are sturdy and close to the final diameter you want for your arrows. Drawknives, rasps, cabinet scrapers and sandpaper (and power tools) will allow you to make great bows at home, but in the wild, a good knife should be enough to carve the stave.

For same day shooting, pick a bow stave that is dead and dry, but not rotten. For future bow making endeavors, cut some live wood and dry it for a few months for best results. Choose hardwood species like Osage orange, black locust and hickory for bows (though many other hardwoods can work). Choose a bow stave that is relatively straight and generally free of knots, side branches, and twists, roughly 2 inches in diameter. Cut it to a length about 5 or 6 feet long, but err on the side of length. The longer the bow, the less it has to bend to reach your draw length, and the less likely it is to break.

The author's father after a successful hunt, with "The Magic Bus" in the background. (Tyler Free/)

A few days ago, the Alaska National Guard used a Chinook helicopter to lift and carry out “The Bus.” If you’re not familiar, this is the bus that the wandering Chris McCandless perished in after a short stint of trying to live off the land in 1992. The local perspective on McCandless’ story is that he was an ill-prepared squatter who tragically lost his life due to poor decision making. And this story might have faded into history if it were not immortalized by the book, (and then movie) Into The Wild. Since the book was published, scores of people have been drawn to that old Fairbanks City Transit bus No. 142 (commonly referred to as “the magic bus”) on the far side of the Teklanika River on the edge of Denali National Park. Many of these folks admired McCandless and wanted to see the site where he tried to survive in the wilderness.

Practically speaking, removing the bus was a good thing. There is nothing magic about that bus, and one unfortunate fellow’s poor decisions paved the way for lots more folks to get themselves into trouble by trying to follow in his footsteps. For decades, emergency rescuers had to save stranded and endangered tourists each season. Some have even died on their pilgrimage to visit “the bus.” Remove the bus, and the site will be swallowed up into the expansive wilderness. Its significance will be lost forever. After all, what’s the loss in removing what is essentially litter, a junked old bus that has become nothing but a literal tourist trap?

On the flip side, the bus does mean something to some of us who live here in interior Alaska. Turns out that hunters and outdoorsmen had been using that bus long before McCandless’ story made it famous.

“I’ve spent a lot of nights in that bus,” my dad would tell me, as it was their family’s hunting camp for several years in the 1960s. My uncle has pictures with moose and caribou by bus No.142. Those are fond memories from days when it was just a hunting camp. It seems that those memories will be taken back by the wilderness as well, and some Alaskans hold a little bitterness for McCandless and the unwanted attention he brought to that bus.

In the end, I think it was probably time to move the bus. If ever there were an effigy of unpreparedness and poor decision making in the Alaska wilderness, that bus was it. After McCandless, it lured only more ill-prepared people into danger. I know my feelings that oppose moving the bus are illogical. It is no longer what it once was, and it could never again be just a hunting camp. That bus was haunted by the story of a wanderer who never should have ventured into the wilderness alone, never should have taken up residence there, and never should have died there. So yes, the bus needed to go. Its plot of ground will be swallowed back into the wild—this time, for good.

The 6.5 Creedmoor has proven itself many times over on deer, pronghorns, feral hogs, sheep, and even big red stags (like this New Zealand specimen) and elk. Anything the Creed can do, the .260 Rem. can do slightly better. (Ron Spomer/)

Why does the 6.5 Creedmoor outsell the .260 Remington when the latter throws the same bullets from the same short-action rifles, but about 100 fps (feet per second) faster?

The answer is in the twist rates of the 6.5 and .260.

To appreciate traditional rifling twist rates, we should perhaps revisit what rifling is and does.

Although the .260 Rem. fits the same action-length rifles as the 6.5 Creedmoor and pushes bullets about 100 fps faster, it languishes in the Creedmoor’s shadow. Credit a slightly slower twist rate as well as a rather limpid PR campaign for the .260’s poor showing. (Ron Spomer/)

Historically, all guns had smooth bores. They could be loaded with heaps of small pellets (birdshot or the larger buckshot) or a single ball (slug or bullet.) Beyond 50 yards or so, slugs hit harder and were deadlier than pellets because their mass retained energy better than did the smaller, individual shot pellets. But slugs weren’t accurate because surface imperfections—dings, grooves, flat spots and such—led to inconsistent planing in the wind. Even on a dead calm day, a slug stepping out at 1,000 fps faces a headwind of at least 1,000 fps. That’s 686 miles per hour! If that atmospheric pressure is even slightly more significant on one part of the ball than another, the flight path will be altered. This is why bird shot scatters ever farther as it progresses downrange. And it’s why single balls fired through smooth bores rarely go exactly where aimed.

Fixing this inaccuracy began in the late 1400s when German or Austrian gunmakers tumbled to the concept of cutting shallow grooves in bores, probably to offset carbon fouling. The grooves provided space in which the soot could lodge. Paper or linen patches around the ball would squeeze into the grooves to seal expanding gases. Soon enough someone familiar with curved arrow fletching added a turn to the rifling grooves and voila! Accuracy improved. This is because an object in motion tends to maintain that motion until acted upon by an outside force. Like a spinning top, a spun bullet resists air pressures pushing counter to this axial motion, helping the bullet stay nose forward on its original line of motion toward the target.

If you want a pistol that can take down a mountain lion but is also easier to carry than a .357 hand cannon for self-defense, the 10mm is the perfect option. Now, this handgun will likely never be an everyday carry gun in an urban setting (it’s not exactly a dainty pistol). But when you’re headed into the backcountry (or live there), the 10mm is ideal for a variety of hunting pursuits and to defend yourself from both animal and human predators.

The most powerful factory-loaded handgun cartridge that still fits into a service pistol-sized semiauto is the 10mm. The “big 10” has a stout reputation among Alaskan bear guides and hunters for its stopping power. It’s also capable of taking down medium-sized game at reasonable distances (out to 100 yards) with the right load and a steady hand. I won’t pit revolvers against semiautos, just know, it does take much more of a time investment and skill to become accurate with a big bore wheel gun than a semiauto. And though semiautos are not easy to shoot accurately, you do have the added benefit of more ammo capacity for multiple follow up shots and faster reloads.

If you’re going to hunt with a 10mm, the 1911s have manageable recoil and are supremely accurate. The downside is they can be unreliable if you don’t keep them clean and well maintained, which can be difficult to do in the backcountry. They also don’t have the magazine capacity of double-stack, striker-fired pistols and are heavy, so it’s best to buy a chest holster for wilderness carry if you plan to buy one. Polymer-framed pistols are going to give you more durability and are less susceptible to the elements. They have a higher magazine capacity, are easier to manipulate in all conditions, and they’re lighter. If you can mount a red dot and white light on one, that will make for a fine sidearm.

If you’re in the market for a hunting/self-defense handgun, these are some of the best 10mms you can buy. Plus, why you need a red-dot sight, and the right ammo to feed your pistol, so you can get optimal performance from your next 10mm.

Glock Models 20, 29, and 40

The author with a mature spring black bear in Alaska. (Tyler Freel/)

With all that’s happening in the world lately, it seemed like I was already living in the Twilight Zone. Then, in an episode of déjà vu, another unbelievable headline appeared on my newsfeed. It declared: “Trump administration makes it easier for hunters to kill bear cubs and wolf pups in Alaska,” with the tagline, “A ban against luring mothers from their dens with doughnuts and other treats will be lifted.” I remembered seeing these same articles back in 2018, so it didn’t take long to figure out what all the hoopla was about.

The actual rule change—and how it will play out here in Alaska—is pretty mundane. But I’ll admit that it sounds pretty bad when told by national media outlets with more spin than a Sandy Koufax curve ball. One story had a photo of a compassionate-looking sow brown bear with her cubs of that year. Another used a photo of two men celebrating over a dead sow they had just dug out of a den and killed. This photo had nothing to do with the rule changes, but was captured by an ADF&G trail camera set to monitor the den. The two men were actually poachers who illegally killed the sow and cubs on camera, and are currently facing charges.

In a nutshell, this rule change does one thing. It brings national preserve lands, currently under control of the National Park Service, back into step with Alaska’s state wildlife management regulations. It does NOT legalize general hunting in the national parks. Rather, it simply returns the rules to what they were until late in the Obama administration, when the administration established more restrictive rules with the intention of stunting the state of Alaska’s predator control plans in certain areas.

Now, the Trump administration is scaling back the expanded federal regulations to match the state regs. And that last round of these sensational-sounding articles—in 2018—was published in response to USFWS doing the exact same thing on the federal refuge lands that they manage.

In other words, state and federal policy are aligning on bear hunting regulations, and the situation is not nearly as extreme as these news sources portray it to be. Things like killing hibernating bears, denned wolf pups, sows with cubs, and cubs themselves are sometimes legal, but in very limited and specific capacities. These national articles would have you believe that it opens a free-for-all killing of all bears in sight by any hunter. In reality, not much is changing, and this portrayal will only rouse anger and resentment among the general public in the Lower 48.

Alberto Knie with a surf-caught cow striper. (Alberto Knie/)

“Crazy” Alberto Knie is nothing short of a fishing legend. The founder and president of Tactical Anglers, Inc. (Creative Innovative Fishing Products), Knie is a surf fishing savant. He holds the International Game Fish Association 8-pound-test record for striped bass with a 45.5-pound surf-caught giant that he took in Shinnecock, N.Y. on May 15, 2004. But that’s not nearly his biggest surf-caught striper. He’s taken an astounding nine stripers weighing more than 50 pounds and two that weighed more than 60.

1. Outdoor Life: What’s the best way for beginning striper surf fishermen to size up new water?

Alberto Knie: Studying new waters begins with understanding the striped bass migration and how it relates to local grounds. The second key is to pay close attention to the available baitfish and then learn how to utilize the match-the-hatch theories in ways of artificial lure presentations. Another item that I find invaluable is to keep a log book which allows both beginning and seasoned anglers to sharpen their skills to the max. Logging specific intel such as time, tides, moon, and conditions in an extended period of time will help a fishermen set positive patterns and strategies. It’s like having a personal report card if you will.

2. OL: What are your recommendations on rods and reels?

AK: The key to this question has everything to do with balancing the proper tackle with proper presentations. What I mean is it’s critical to understand the difference between chasing back-bay schoolies and chasing trophy cows under extreme jetty and ocean-front conditions. I use an array of St. Croix Rods from the light tackle Triumph to serious Avid rods, and up to the Legend Surf for demanding performance and power. It’s easy to promote those rods because they have the best rod warranty in the industry. As for the reel recommendation, I use an assortment of Penn and Abu reels. I use conventional reels for live bait or chunks, and spinning reels when casting artificial lures. Overall, it all depends on distance casting, positive line placement and leverage. Most importantly, these reels are easy to maintain with less downtime. I especially like new Spinfishers, Slammer and the new Torques for their ability to withstand extreme abuse and provide strength in performance.

An over head photo of a well-designed, isolated food plot. (The Whitetail Institute/)

Jon Cooner is the Director of Special Projects for renowned food plot seed company Whitetail Institute. Outdoor Life recently interviewed Cooner to provide his 10 keys to growing more successful food plots. Here is what he had to say.

1. Don’t Procrastinate

While food-plotting isn’t difficult, the steps to a successful food plot should be followed in order and in a timely manner for the best results. Some processes start months in advance of the season to ensure optimum growing conditions and maximum plant yield once opening day rolls around.

2. Select The Best Location

Long, skinny plots are excellent for attracting deer during daylight hours. (The Whitetail Institute/)

If space and equipment are limited, then locate your food plots where you can or in existing openings. The best locations for plots include adjacent cover for deer traveling to the food plot and for escape cover (a thicket or sanctuary, or perceived cover such as a few rows of a tall screening crop) and low human traffic. Plots should never be visible to roads and neighbors.

Adam Weatherby’s Montana black bear was the first game animal ever taken with the new Weatherby 6.5 RPM cartridge. (Weatherby/)

Recent years have seen the introduction of a stunning number of new factory rifle cartridges, with each being heralded as the “The Next Big Thing” for hunting or competitive shooting. This explosion in new-cartridge development was fueled by the phenomenal success of the 6.5 Creedmoor, which led ammomakers to focus on cartridges built around long, heavy-for-caliber, high-B.C. bullets delivering better long-range performance. There was also a demand for better-performing cartridges for AR rifles, again with longer, sleeker bullets. These trends came in response to, and coincided with, a big spike in interest in long-range shooting, creating a perfect storm in new-cartridge development that continues. In fact, several more new factory cartridge designs are on the way.

The last time the shooting world saw so many new cartridges introduced in a relatively short span of time was in the early 2000s, when the short-magnum craze arrived. Since then, with the exception of the .300 WSM, which was arguably the most successful of the short-magnum batch, many of those cartridges proved to be a flash in the pan.

The 6mm Creedmoor shares many of the attributes of its more famous 6.5mm sibling and is wonderfully accurate. (Hornady Ammunition/)

Will today’s newest cartridges follow the same sad market trajectory, or will some of them duplicate the success of the 6.5 Creedmoor? The odds are against it—the 6.5 is likely a once-in-a-generation cartridge that has become a global standard—but some of the newcomers may be poised to do very well. Of course, new cartridges come and go, and only time will tell, but here’s a look at some of the newer cartridges to keep an eye on in the years ahead.

1. .224 Valkyrie

With its heavier bullets, the .224 Valkyrie is a viable deer cartridge, as demonstrated on this Texas whitetail by Federal Ammunition’s JJ Reich. (Federal Ammunition/)

The long-range shortcomings of the .223 Rem./5.56 NATO cartridge have long left AR rifle fans wishing for something better in .22 caliber centerfire. Nosler took a swing at a solution in 2017 with its .22 Nosler, which improved upon .223 Rem. performance by sending bullets of similar weight, initially topping out at 77 grains, downrange faster. In 2018, Federal unveiled its own offering, the .224 Valkyrie, which was essentially built around a long, sleek, high-B.C. 90-grain bullet zipping along at 2,700 fps, and typically fired from rifle barrels with a fast 1:7 twist rate to better stabilize such bullets. That particular load, with a HPBT MatchKing bullet, remains supersonic to about 1,300 yards.

Soak it in. (Lilly Rum via Unsplash/)

No matter how good you are at fishing, chances are you can still learn more. And if you’re just beginning, or thinking about beginning, or somewhere in the middle of the life progression from beginner to pro, books will help take you to the next level. But in a world of a seemingly endless supply of fishing books, which one should you choose? We’re here to help. We broke it down to four books to get you started and give you tips and tricks and also a couple that will educate, inspire and simply entertain for nights around the campfire or lounging on your couch.

Great way to learn about new and familiar species and have fun while you’re doing it. (Amazon/)

You may never try to microfish for shiners or cast into agricultural canals, but that’s fine. Author Matthew Miller will take you with him while he tries. This book is exactly what any modern angler needs to read right now. It’s a realistic take on the state of fish and fishing in the U.S., but also offers readers a reason to be hopeful. When you’re done, you might just want to see what you can catch that’s different from your norm.

Go ahead, read for fun. (Amazon/)

The first in a budding series by novelist and acclaimed outdoor writer Keith McCafferty, The Royal Wulff Murders introduces readers to Sean Stranahan. He is a fly fisher, painter, and “has-been detective,” who of course becomes looped into a strange murder where the deceased has a fly in his lip. Read this one then get hooked on the series, you won’t regret it.

Trust us, you need to read this. (Amazon/)

The book’s description basically says it all: “The mission of The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing is to demystify and uncomplicate the tricks and tips that make a great trout fisher.” That’s not an exaggeration. The authors are lifelong fly fishermen who have lived and breathed the sport. It’s full of tips like how to place and drift your fly and how to cast straighter, more accurately and longer. The book came out in 2010 and has become a staple for novices and experts alike.

Read a classic. (Amazon/)

On its surface, this is a fishing story. It’s about a Cuban fisherman and his relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin. But like so much of Hemingway’s work, it’s about so much more. It’s a story about courage and personal triumph. It’s about persistence. It’s the book every angler, and really most people, should read in their lifetime.

DISH Outdoor Satellite for camping. (DISH/)

Over the years, outdoorsmen have benefitted from a slew of technological achievements designed to make their time in the field and on the water more enjoyable and productive. These days many rifles come straight from the factory able to shoot tight groups that once could be achieved only by an expensive custom product; hunters have access to GPS waypoint guidance on their cell phones that can easily and safely guide them to and from their deer stands; and bass fisherman can take advantage of 3D HD fish finders that help them quickly locate productive areas to fish. Technology has also enhanced another important area of the outdoor experience—relaxing at the end of day with friends and family. Thanks to DISH Outdoors, you can now catch that big game live and entertain your kids with their favorite movies, no matter where you make camp.

What It Is

The DISH Outdoors system consists of a DISH portable satellite antenna (I tested the DISH Playmaker from Winegard, but multiple models at different price points are available) and a Wally portable HD receiver that connects to your TV. The system is lightweight, rugged, and easy-to-pack equipment, ideal for use with RVs, cabins, and campers. Set up is simple, and no Wi-Fi or cell signal is needed. If you’ll be roughing it without access to power outlets, just bring along a portable power pack.

Easy to travel DISH Outdoor Satellite (DISH/)

Set Up

Place the antenna so it faces south in an open area where it can receive unobstructed signals, then link the antenna to the receiver with the supplied 25-foot-long coaxial cable. Connect the receiver to the TV. When powered up, the antenna will automatically find DISH satellite orbital satellite locations. Once the signal finder acquires the satellite signal, a pop-up menu appears on your TV. Use the remote to navigate through a series of set-up steps that sync the antenna to the receiver and the receiver to the monitor. Any connectivity issues are quickly resolved via an easy-to-use diagnostics panel.First time set-up may take a while as you acquaint yourself with the system’s operating and programming capabilities. Remember to place the antenna as high as you can, free of obstructions. Also keep in mind that if you move the antenna while it’s on, you’ll disconnect the signal.When I first set up the antenna, I couldn’t get a signal. I soon realized the problem: a broad-leafed tree was blocking reception. So, I moved the antenna a few feet to the side. Problem solved (the long cable is a real asset here). Because the reflector can grab only one satellite at a time, depending on the channel you want you may have to wait while it acquires another signal.

There's plenty of opportunity to catch trophy walleyes in the Great Lakes this summer. (Steve Quinn/)

The size and diversity of the waters we call “The Great Lakes” boggles the mind. This system contains 21 percent of the world’s fresh water supply and has 160 native species of fish, supplemented by many imports, arriving via stocking trucks and otherwise. Though they’re connected hydrologically, each basin is unique. In fact, a biologist recently told me the only thing that Lake Superior and Lake Michigan have in common is they both contain water.

Since anglers began to wrestle its bounty from commercial fishers in the early 20th century, its popularity as a sporting destination has grown, now estimated at over $1.2 billion in direct annual angler expenditures. Its economic impacts are far greater, not to mention historical significance and sociological attributes. But it’s not been an easy journey.

With many international ports, the Great Lakes have been a dumping ground for exotic creatures that crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the ballast water of freighters. The latest count lists 25 fish imports, 59 plant species, 24 algae, and 14 invasive mollusks. A few have been benign or possibly even beneficial. Others have threatened the entire ecosystem, most notably zebra and quagga mussels. Yet in the face of these assaults, the Great Lakes still deserve their name.

I credit their resiliency to the cohesion of aquatic systems and the leveling power of nature, coupled with the impressive efforts of state biologists and management agencies to help fishing thrive. They’ve learned to deal with fluctuating nutrient dynamics, which lie at the heart of aquatic ecosystems. While salmon fishing will never return to what it was in the 1980s, and perch have suffered an overall decline, steelhead, bass, walleyes, and muskies have never been better. And several exciting gamefish species have come onto the scene. The future fishing outlook for the Great Lakes is indeed bright.

Along the shores of the Great Lakes lie 32 cities with many tens of millions of potential anglers living within a short drive of its waters. And scattered along its shoreline, in communities large and small, are thousands of fishing guides who can dial in the bite at any time of year. No matter which species you’re after, you won’t be disappointed.

The author after a successful Dall sheep hunt, where confidence and a positive attitude made all the difference. (Tyler Free/)

There are discussions in every hunting camp about what gear actually gives us an advantage. Just the other day, I found myself in a debate with a buddy over which type of bear baiting lure was best. Each hunter has their own personal recipe for what they like to bait bears with. And over time, our opinions deepen to an almost superstitious level. Every hunter swears by what they use, because it’s worked before. But the truth is that a wide variety of lures and baits work, and there’s much more to a successful bear hunt than what lure is used.

This basic premise is applicable to almost all hunting and fishing gear. When I was a kid, I was also a chronic lure changer. A few casts with no action, and it was time to change up. My dad would grumble “You can’t catch them if your line isn’t in the water.” I probably would have caught more fish if I’d spent more time casting and reeling rather than tying knots.

People tend to use (and spend money on) the gear that gives them confidence—whether that confidence is rightly earned, or comes from something like the placebo effect (having faith in a piece of gear even though there is no real evidence that it works). And debates over gear are only amplified by the new flavors of gear and technology offered from the hunting industry each year. Some hunters and anglers embrace everything and anything new, looking for any advantage they can get. Old-school guys scoff at the unnecessary new junk that is shoved in their faces each season. The rest of us are somewhere in the middle.

The outdoor gear we have available today is far beyond what hunters used throughout history, and in general, it helps make us more effective. We have rifles and bows that weigh less and shoot more accurately, tents and clothing that can withstand the worst weather, lightweight, comfortable treestands, and a million other gizmos and doodads. Many of the things we use present a true game-changing advantage, but how much of the equation is really just a boost in our confidence that makes us more effective?

One of the most valuable assets a hunter can have is an unrelenting persistence. It’s an attribute that all successful hunters have, and it’s also an attribute you cannot buy. But, you will stay persistent when you have confidence. So if a new product gives you a little more confidence, and that leads you to be more persistent in your hunting, I could argue that product is effective (whether it’s actually doing the the thing it’s advertised to do or not). When you are confident in a hunt you will work harder, glass more carefully, and stay alert longer. That little bit of extra effort is the real key to more punched tags.

Gotta catch 'em all. (Colman Byrne via Unsplash/)

Walleye fishing isn’t easy. But what it lacks in ease it makes up for in entertainment. And fortunately, there are some lures that will help you along the way. Not sue where to get started? We broke down four perfect lures for four situations. Go ahead, catch fish.

A hole in one. (Amazon/)

You may think a jig is a jig, but walleye don’t. These Lindy Slick jigs, which come in a variety of colors, should be a go-to in your tackle box. They’re made to imitate natural bugs and have a unique weight-forward design. Slip on a worm or a minnow and reel those walleye in.

Don’t lose your minnow. (Amazon/)

This complicated series of hooks and line will be the ticket in waters where it’s legal to fish with live bait. Each lure has two hooks with three inches between the hooks. It comes in three blade styles and is tied with #17 monofilament line. Choose a few colors to maximize your chances of success.

Go deep. (Amazon/)

Why mess with perfection? The Wally Diver Lure has a perfectly designed nose to let you keep your bait exactly where you need it. It comes with two treble hooks for maximum effectiveness. And it also has nearly a dozen color and pattern options giving you plenty of choices if nothing bites the first time.

Fish for success. (Amazon/)

This jigging lure might look a little gnarly—with a hook at the nose and tail and treble hook hanging below—but to a walleye it likely spells doom. It’s flashy enough to attract attention and has plenty of hooks to hang bait and catch a lip. The lure’s environmental zinc is weighted and it has a balanced design.

Lures for when your trout and about. (Taylor Grote via Unsplash/)

An angler could spend his or her entire life trying to perfect trout fishing and still not quite arrive. For many, that’s the beauty in the sport. Fortunately, you don’t need to be perfect to catch fish, but the right lures sure help. We’ve narrowed it down to four good options whether you’re a beginner or one of those career anglers.

Grab their attention. (Amazon/)

This Panther Martin boasts a unique shaft through the blade design that creates the “easiest and fastest spinning action in the world.” We can’t verify if, indeed, it’s the fastest in the world. But it is definitely fast. The heavy weighted bodies go deep and the super sharp hooks will ensure the fish stays on the end of your line.

Dive and rise. (Amazon/)

The original Rapala was carefully crafted to dive and rise when you need it to. The nose carries it down to depths where fish are hanging. The floating body means it also comes back up, allowing you to constantly cruise through a series of water levels. Two treble hooks, one on the belly and one on the tail, ensure when that big brown trout bites, it can’t let go.

Keep this one with you. (Amazon/)

Cast epic distances and create plenty of flash underwater with these solid brass lures. The company lists them as ideal for salmon, steelhead and other salt water species. We tend to agree. And better yet, they come in a wide variety of colors and patterns giving you plenty of options.

Bring them up from the deep. (Amazon/)

This miniature-sized fishing lure is the perfect size for ice fishing for big trout. It perfectly mimics a forage fish, especially when jigged aggressively through your hole. It flashes and it flutters, sure to bring trout from nearby expecting to find a wounded minnow. The strong treble hook at the bottom keeps the trout you catch on your line.

A male brown bear fishes for salmon at the mouth of a stream in the Tongass National Forest. (Bjorn Dihle/)

In the mid-1980s an old, dying bear hunter named Ralph Young sat in the back of a skiff, squinting through the rain at the ocean and mountains of Southeast Alaska. In the bow, huddled against the wind and rain, sat a teenager named Klas Stolpe. The two would be out for a month or two, until most of the salmon had spawned and the bears had left the streams for the high country. The old man didn’t especially enjoy the kid’s company but, due his to declining health and old age, he needed his help for basic things like getting in and out of the boat. They motored past once pristine bays, where years ago the old man guided legendary hunters like Warren Page and Jack O’Connor. Now, those lands were clear-cut logged. He pointed the skiff toward Admiralty Island, the heart of rainforest grizzly country, and opened the outboard’s throttle.

Young was making his last journey into the wilds of the Tongass National Forest. Established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907, the Tongass is nearly 26,500-square miles of temperate rainforest, mountains and glaciers. Roosevelt, during his first year of presidency, unsuccessfully campaigned for Admiralty, Chichagof, and Baranof Islands, which compose most of the northern third of the Tongass, to be turned into a brown bear preserve. The President loved hunting bears and, believing that America could have both economic development and wilderness, saw the incredible opportunity the Tongass offered for hunters and for preserving a piece of the nation’s wild heritage.

Young came to Alaska during the first half of the 20th century, when many of Alaska’s leaders and prominent citizens wanted the brown bear eradicated. In 1929, when a timber cruiser who was mapping a giant pulpwood sale on Admiralty Island shot a bear and then was killed by it, the anti-bear rhetoric reached a boiling point. The Forest Service’s designated bear expert, Jay Williams, recommended exterminating all Admiralty’s bears to make resource development easier. This sort of thinking was common across Alaska at the time. Then, in the spirit of Theodore Roosevelt, a burgeoning movement of hunters banned together in defense of the bear. Harry McGuire, the editor of Outdoor Life, penned an extensive editorial about the importance of conserving the brown bear. Other naturalist hunters wrote books, articles, and campaigned across the country. Young joined the fight in the 1960s, after seeing what happened when one of his favorite watersheds on Admiralty was clear cut—salmon streams had been destroyed and the bears and other wildlife had been displaced. These sort of detrimental logging practices were occurring all over the Tongass. Young devoted the last quarter of his life fighting tooth and nail to save Admiralty Island and its bears. In 1980, after a 50-year battle that was led by Young, Karl Lane, and other bear hunting guides, much of Admiralty was designated as wilderness. Today, in large part because of the conservation efforts of many hunting guides, there are more brown bears in Alaska than during any other time in the last 150 years.

Roadless Rule on the Chopping Block

But today, hunters and brown bears still face an uncertain future in the Tongass. There’s a huge push led by the government and timber interests to open up much of the remaining old-growth forest to be clear cut logged and crisscrossed with roads. In 2001, the Forest Service established the Roadless Rule. Under the Rule, inventoried roadless areas all across America are protected from old-growth logging, new road building and, to a limited extent, other resource development. In the Tongass National Forest, about 9 million acres were protected. The Rule does allow exceptions for hydroelectric projects, mines, and community interties—every project applied for has been permitted. What the Roadless Rule does not allow is more logging roads and clear-cut logging, which protects much of the Tongass’ remaining old growth forest. These old-growth forests are the most important habitat for brown bears, spawning salmon, and other wildlife.

Gear for your food plot. ( Peter Neumann via Unsplash/)

Right now, serious hunters everywhere are thinking about improving the wildlife habitat on their hunting properties with food plots. If you want to grow a field that’s green and good for deer, this is the list for you.

This is made for breaking dirt with an ATV. (Amazon/)

A four-wheeler is never a substitute for a tractor and real farming implements, but not everyone has the budget for that. This compact disc (not to be confused with your favorite late-'90s soundtrack) attaches to a 2-inch receiver hitch on an ATV or UTV, and can be carried in a transport mode between spots. It uses the weight of the machine and the rider to cut, and it’s just about perfect for creating small hunting plots in those hard-to-reach areas.

This giant ladino variety is highly nutritious to whitetails. (Amazon/)

The original seed from the Whitetail Institute was one of the first commercial food plot plantings available, and it’s still among the best. Yes, it’s expensive but a well-made stand of this perennial forage will last for years with regular maintenance, and deer simply hammer it. Stock up on it now so that you’ll have plenty to plant later on.

Living up to its name, this stuff grows about anywhere. (Amazon/)

If you’re just looking to green up woodland trails and small openings with minimal equipment, this blend is about as easy as it gets. It’s heavy on the rye grass—stuff that will grow almost anywhere—but it includes some clover and brassicas, too. You can clear a quarter-acre spot with a rake, water it with a backpack sprayer, and expect to see deer activity on it within a month.

Create a natural food plot with a small-scale prescribed fire. (Amazon/)

The eco-friendliest way to manage land might be to clear away old leaf litter and duff with a controlled burn. Be smart, be careful, and ask for help—but don’t be afraid, because fire is good for the ground, and a steady rain following a burn will leave a flush of green growth that attracts wildlife of all sorts. No extra planting, fertilizer, or chemicals required.

A picturesque hunting plot of brassicas in the fall woods. (BioLogic/)

Bobby Cole is an expert at growing food plots and works at Mossy Oak BioLogic. He loves seeing people have success with their own plots. We recently caught up with Cole to ask him 11 critical questions about growing a successful whitetail food source.

1. Outdoor Life: What steps do I need to take to establish a new food plot and what’s best to plant in the first year?

Bobby Cole: When establishing a new food plot, after you clean the area out thoroughly, I would strongly suggest taking a soil sample. This will tell you exactly what’s needed to make the soil perform for you. It will provide your pH and fertility levels. Some of the best tests make available precise recommendations according to the plot you hope to plant. These tests are typically under $10 and a bargain. I try and clean my plots up as best I can and if it’s in a wooded area, I definitely want to open up the area as much as possible to allow sunlight in. New food plots are fun, they are full of promise and hope. But the soil generally needs some help in the form of lime and fertilizers.

2. OL: What’s the best way(s) to quickly increase the quality of my food plot soil?

BC: As I said, soil tests are critical in order to let you know how much lime and fertilizer you will need to raise the nutrient levels of your soil. There is also a product called Soil Solution from Deltag that I love to apply to new food plots which also helps soil health. I really believe in this product.

The more you get into overland hunting, the more gear you will likely buy, but you don't need much to get started. (Damon Bungard/)

Overlanding and hunting go together naturally. Many of us take trips each fall, staying in motels or renting a cabin, so we can have a warm home base at night after a long day of chasing roosters or sitting in a treestand. But for some, it’s smarter financially (and during these unprecedented times when social distancing is still a part of everyday life to remain healthy) to turn a truck or SUV into a mobile hunting home. And it doesn’t take loads of cash to make it happen. In fact, you will likely save money in the long run since you won’t have to pay for a room anymore.

Overlanding on its own is a pursuit that has grown in popularity. One of the most well-known events is the Overland Expo, which showcases all the new gear you can buy to outfit your rig each year. And if you don’t know much about overlanding it’s a great resource to get you started.

Overlanding is a niche industry (much like hunting), full of tricked out off-road vehicles that you can spend infinite amounts of money on. But you don’t need tens of thousands of dollars to overland. Hell, you can do it out of the back of your grandma’s station wagon, though that will limit how far off the beaten path you can travel. I have comfortably lived for a month in the back of a rented Chevrolet Traverse in Alaska, but know I can go more places in my Jeep Wrangler Rubicon back at home. It’s just a matter of picking the right vehicle for the destinations you will frequent most.

1. Choosing the Right Vehicle

The author’s overland vehicle of choice is the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (Damon Bungard/)

Overland travel tends to be off-pavement in remote, wild places (like the locations for good hunting), so having a capable four-wheel drive vehicle is essential to getting to and from those venues safely. Part of self-sufficiency means using the right tools for the job, and being prepared to tackle treacherous conditions. You need to choose a vehicle that is capable of handling the terrain you will be hunting in. Typically, that means a 4x4 truck or SUV. Jeeps are some of the most common vehicles used by overlanders. My personal vehicle is the Wrangler Rubicon, and I have found it to be a durable and capable machine.