Hunting and Fishing News Blog Articles

Hunting caribou is a smart choice for your first trip to Alaska. (Tyler Freel/)

The hunting opportunities in Alaska are as diverse as the people living here. And choosing the species to pursue on your first hunt in Alaska can be daunting, because there is such a variety of wild game to pick from.

Each hunter is different, and you have to decide what you want to get out of your first Alaskan hunt. There are no right or wrong answers, but there are specific things you need to consider in your planning, contemplation, and research.

Most folks will be looking at a DIY hunt (due to the expense of an outfitted hunt), so we need to eliminate the species that require a registered guide for non-residents. Dall sheep, mountain goats, and brown or grizzly bears are off the table. That leaves moose, caribou, black bear, Sitka blacktail deer, Roosevelt elk, and muskox.

You will need to consider factors like the type of hunt you want to do (i.e. drop camp, road system, hiking, floating, etc.) You’ll also need to consider the region you would like to hunt, the weapon you want to hunt with, the availability of tags, and the level of logistical complication that you are willing to deal with to not only go on the hunt, but to get your meat, cape, and antlers back home. There is a lot of nuance to each person’s decision, but when considering all factors, I think that caribou are generally the best first animal to hunt in Alaska, and here’s why.

Pick Caribou for Simplicity Sake

The author at a field trial in Georgia. (Wil Sensing, Project Upland/)

Editor’s Note: If there’s one thing that’s certain after these last few weeks, it’s that Americans need to come together. To do that, we first must listen to those of us who have been ignored for too long. At Outdoor Life, that means black and other minority hunters and anglers who don’t often see themselves represented in the hunting and fishing community. We’re running a collection of essays to tell their stories and share their perspectives.

I’m a diehard bird hunter and dog man. I love everything about it: The discipline and patience it requires, the glorious days in the field, and the long, storied history behind it all. But as an African American dog man living in Georgia, I know that there’s a large hole missing in the history of bird hunting and dog training. That hole is created by stories unheard and untold to the general public.

I got into bird dogs after my introduction to hunting, and immediately felt the loneliness of working by myself to train my dog to hunt. Being from Atlanta, I did not see many black folks with bird dogs, and it’s not often that you’ll pick up a magazine and see us in there. There had been little to no minority representation in the hunting community and even less so in the bird dog world. That, however, seems to be changing. One day I flipped through a magazine that I usually read for the Southern culture and stumbled across images of a world hidden deep within the depths of the South Georgia’s piney woods: the world of black bird dog trainers.

This sparked my curiosity, and for the last four and a half years I’ve been on a journey to better understand my connection to bird dogs, and my natural love for them. I’d been trying to figure out why I’m so drawn to the images of Neal Carter and Curtis Brooks Sr. riding horseback, pointers on their tailgates (below, you can watch the feature film Project Upland created to see what I’m talking about). When I look at those photos, I get those same feelings that young black athletes have when they see clips of Michael Jordan playing basketball or watch Tiger Woods take the lead at the Masters. Those feelings resonate within our community as we tell ourselves, “I can do that too!”

I’ve always felt the need to have a dog. Years ago I kept pit bulls and trained them to do all sorts of things, from basic obedience to protection. This was out of necessity as I grew into adulthood and started living on my own in areas where random door knocks happen at 2 a.m., unwarranted and unexpected. My dogs would bark back loudly, the hair on their necks raised. As I transitioned from pit bulls to bird dogs and connected with the images of little-known black dog men who were few and far between, the question haunted me still: What is it about a dog?

Bullfrogs are the ideal summertime target. (Pixabay/)

It couldn’t be a frog. The eyes were spaced too wide. But as I edged closer, the headlamp illuminated a bullfrog that looked as big as a rabbit. It squatted on a thin bank surrounded by brush and across a deep hole of water.

There was only one way to get him.

Sulfurous smells of what the swamp had been digesting for millennia met my nose as I waded in. Two steps later, my rubber boots were compromised. Soon, I was waist-deep in black water as mosquitoes and other night bugs swarmed despite a copious slathering of DEET.

My buddy held the frog, seemingly hypnotized, in the beam of his headlamp while I slogged through the boot-sucking mire to within striking range of my target.

After positioning it to get behind the frog, the five-pronged gig hovered just below the broad, batrachian head. Summoning the spear-chucking form humans have been practicing since, well, we became human, I drove the gig deep into the bank where the frog had been just milliseconds before.

Dangerous game, like the Cape buffalo, drove development of big bore double rifles. Dangerous game keeps them relevant to this day. (Ron Spomer/)

Just as the lever-action .30/30 is iconic in the North American whitetail woods, certain rifles and cartridges are African safari icons. But which are they? Which define the long, rich tapestry of safari hunting on our greatest big-game continent?

A surprising many.

The surprise is as much the variety of calibers and cartridges as the makes and models of rifles. Seen through the lens of the modern safari hunter, classic Africa rifles would all seem a tight knit family of side-by-side doubles and beefy bolt-actions with oversized holes at their muzzles. That is only partially true.

The 7x57, .7-08, .280 Rem: Traditional U.S. 7mms have proven effective in Africa for more than a century, but none is more classic than the 7x57mm Mauser, aka .275 Rigby at left. (Ron Spomer/)

The double-barrel big bores evolved from double-barrel muzzleloading shotguns first used to slow down large and cantankerous animals. A .50-caliber Hawken might have sufficed for a Rocky Mountain fur trapper and even a bison market hunter. But not an ivory hunter. Or even a voortrekker in pursuit of Cape buffalo or cameleopard (giraffe) skins. Even when firing 1/4-pound balls from 4-gauge guns, hunters usually needed multiple hits to bring prey to the ground. The process of reloading a muzzle loader, of course, meant one hired a gun bearer or two to stay at heel with backup guns loaded and ready. The second barrel of a side-by-side double was often the last line of defense.

The .30-06 has been an Africa classic since president Teddy Roosevelt’s infamous 1909 safari. (Ron Spomer/)

Hardened and elongated bullets (Maxi balls) improved terminal performance in the mid-1800s, but the real leap forward came in the 1890s with the advent of smokeless powder. The concentrated energy of nitroglycerine boosted velocities significantly. Doubling bullet mass doubles energy. Doubling velocity quadruples energy. This made lighter bullets more effective. Nevertheless, tradition dies hard. So do buffalo. Bore diameters certainly shrank during the 1890s and 1900s, but they seemed to settle between .40 inches and .577 inches.

B.A.S.S. goes live all week long on ESPN2. (Chris Zaldain/)

While professional sports leagues are in the beginning stages of restarting their seasons in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdowns, bass fishing pros are already at back to work.

Major League Fishing (MLF)—one of the last pro sports standing back in March—ended an 80-day COVID-related pause last week with their biggest live event yet, Toyota Heavy Hitters presented by Venmo, featuring a $753K purse.

B.A.S.S. has raised the stakes.

If you’re done binge-watching Netflix and Amazon Prime—as you should be by now—tune in to ESPN 2 and ESPN 3 all week and their live on-the-water action Elite Series event from Lake Eufaula.

Live coverage of this highly anticipated tournament pits 87 of the top bass anglers in the world against one another as they compete for the $100,000 first-place prize and a total purse of more than $700,000.

The Great American Outdoors Act is a win for hunters, anglers, and outdoor-lovers all across the U.S. (Steve Hillebrand / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/)

In a rare and much needed piece of good news this week, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote in favor of the Great American Outdoors Act. This landmark bipartisan legislation will fully—and permanently—fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund at $900 million annually. The second major provision of the GAOA will address increasingly dire public-land maintenance backlogs.

“If this gets passed, it’s absolutely gigantic for conservation and access in this country. The LWCF has been used in 99 percent of the counties in this country, and these are projects that can happen right now,” says Land Tawney, president and CEO of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.

Originally introduced in March, the GAOA has since gained momentum with 60 total cosponsors. The LWCF is a critical tool for conservation and access in the U.S., and one that doesn’t rely on taxpayers to foot the bill. Trouble is, Congress has only partially funded the LWCF over the years, siphoning more than $20 billion of its funding over the decades to other projects. The LWCF only received $495 million in fiscal year 2020—the highest amount allocated in 15 years. On top of the repetitive annual appropriations battles, the LWCF expired in 2015 and 2018, requiring renewed efforts to keep the program afloat.

Read Next: Love Public Land? Thank the Land and Water Conservation Fund

Enter the Great American Outdoors Act (S.3422), which would provide permanent, full, and dedicated funding for the LWCF. This means the LWCF would receive, indefinitely, the full $900 million needed annually to fund the program. It also means funding can’t be diverted.

John B. Snow’s MK107 Mod 2-M by Primary Weapons System. (John B. Snow/)

Recent uncertainty and social unrest caused me to reevaluate the firearms I travel with for personal protection. I had many different types of guns chambered in a variety of cartridges and while reviewing my collection I came to the old realization that less is more. While the .45 ACP, 10mm, .300 Blackout, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, .380 and a host of other cartridges are fine in and of themselves for personal protection, for the sake of simplicity I narrowed my selection to two: 9mm and .223 Rem (and chose the latter). The complexities of relying on firearms chambered in a many different cartridges in the event of an emergency just didn’t make sense. This meant effectively “retiring” a number of guns and, happily, picking up a couple new ones.

My first acquisition was this AR pistol, a MK107 Mod 2-M from Primary Weapons Systems (PWS) in .223. The company was among the first to bring dead-nuts reliability to short-barrel ARs, and they still excel at that mission.

The MK107 Mod 2-M uses PWS’s long-stroke piston system which has a three-position adjustment on the gas setting so you can tune the pistol to your needs and liking. It has excellent ergonomics. The handguard can take both M-Lok and Picatinny accessories, the magazine well is flared for easy reloads, the ambidextrous safety is buttery smooth to operate, and the length of the SB Tactical brace can be adjusted in a flash.

I added a Surefire Scout Light Pro to the handguard, and topped the rifle with a Trijicon SRS sight. I have it zeroed at 100 yards using 55-grain polymer-tipped ammo and have no problems getting hit after hit on 8-inch steel at that distance. The Surefire kicks out 1,000 lumens of light that is activated by a switch pad that sits under my left thumb making the system ready to use in the dark or low light. I attached a single-point sling to the QD at the base of the buffer tube to complete the setup.

Because it is so compact and portable, the pistol is by my side most of the time. It is an excellent truck gun and is unobtrusive. Most importantly, however, is that the PWS runs like a cat on fire and is built to withstand extreme abuse. I’ve put hundreds of rounds through it to date, and not once has it failed to fire, cycle, and eject. —John B. Snow

Becoming a crack shot inside 40 yards takes a tremendous amount of practice. (Howard Communications/)

Imagine spending hard-earned money on shotguns, shells, clothing, a pointer or retriever with champion bloodlines, plus the rest of the gear we “need” to pursue wild birds each fall…and then not being able to kill one because you haven’t put the time in practicing. All that financial investment, and you didn’t make time for shooting clays at the range over the summer? A lot of hunters make this mistake—I certainly did—and it stops us from fully enjoying the hunt.

If you’re tired of embarrassing yourself (and getting frustrated) in front of your heckling buddies, it’s time to do something about it. Namely, practice. The first and most important thing you need to understand before starting down the long road to becoming a good shot is that your effectiveness with a shotgun is going to fall off markedly beyond 40 yards. There’s a bevy of reasons for that, the main one being that leading a bird properly at longer distances is damn tough. But also, the effectiveness of most shotshells starts to decline beyond 40 yards.

So, once you understand your effective range, the real work begins. Here’s what you need to do in order to become a crack shot inside 40 yards…and shut those hunting buddies up for good.

1. Take the Bead Off Your Barrel

Leaving the front bead on the barrel of your shotgun can draw your eyes away from the target. (NSSF/)

Any new shotgun you purchase is either going to have a fiber-optic sight or front bead on the end of the barrel, and the first thing you need to do is get a pair of pliers, unscrew it, and remove it. Don’t throw it away—you may want it for turkey season or other pursuits. But in wingshooting, a front bead isn’t necessary, and it actually draws your eye to the end of the shotgun barrel and away from the bird you’re trying to hit. If you remove the front bead, your entire focus is on the target, and nothing else.

Even when hunting big, open country like this caribou tundra, an effective hunter can usually stalk close enough to make high B.C. bullets irrelevant. But if they are constructed for good terminal performance, using them provides a nice fudge factor against wind deflection and poor range estimation. (Ron Spomer/)

“What’s your B.C?”

The B.C. (Ballistic Coefficient) question seems to have displaced “what caliber are you shooting” as the most common if inconsequential question a hunter could ask. The “caliber” question should really be “what cartridge are you shooting?” And the B.C. question hardly matters over the distances at which most North American big game animals are shot.

Fifty years ago, when hunters argued over which cartridge was best, they focused on muzzle velocity. The .30-06 Springfield was better than the .30-30 because it spit the same .308-inch bullets 400 to 500 fps (feet per second) faster. And the .300 Win. Mag. was better than the .30-06 because it bested that venerable round by another 300 fps. It was the era of muzzle velocity and may the biggest magnum win.

And then shooters got smart. Somewhere along the line someone figured out that if a race car could go faster when built low and slim and slippery, so could a bullet. And sure enough, just as the military had discovered in the late 1800s that an elongated bullet shot flatter than a round ball at the same MV (muzzle velocity), late 20th century shooters tumbled to the reality of long, slim, sharply tipped and boat-tailed bullets also shot flatter. Much flatter. With much less wind deflection and much more retained energy. And it works like this…

The fast, flat-shooting .25-06 Remington can perform adequately to 300 to 400 yards with any bullet shape, but it would be silly to stick a round nose slug atop this case. (Ron Spomer/)

Bullet Savvy

Fried bass nuggets taste as good as they look, as long as you prepare them properly. (Hank Shaw/)

Green carp. Ditch pickles. Largemouths. Black bass. No matter what you call this fish, it ain’t good eats. Or is it?

The cultural taboo against eating largemouth bass is not wholly a matter of tradition, but bass can make fine table fare with a few specific considerations.

Native to the Eastern and Central parts of the United States, and introduced pretty much everywhere else, the largemouth is hardy and full of fight, an icon of pro fishing in America. And as such, catch-and-release is the rule.

But no one ever told me that.

I did not grow up with largemouth bass. I grew up with striped bass. I am a born-and-bred saltwater angler. I didn’t even catch my first freshwater fish until I was in my 20s.

There are plenty of reasons to hunt. Best of all? It's fun. (Dustin Lutt / Rockhouse Motion/)

There are plenty of reasons to learn to hunt. The most ancient and trendiest modern reason for hunting are actually the same: it’s a great way to secure lean, free-range meat for yourself and your family. Wild game meat reduces your reliance on the commercial food chain and helps you know exactly what you’re eating in our age of processed foods. Hunting is also a great way to learn more about the natural world, and to support wildlife habitat and conservation in the U.S. Best of all? Hunting is fun.

But getting started isn’t always easy. Hunting is a commitment that takes time, interest, specialized gear, and lots of leg work. But it’s worth it. That’s why we pulled together this step-by-step guide to help you navigate all the essential stages and skills of becoming a hunter, from signing up for a hunter safety course to cooking your hard-earned venison, and everything in between.

Let’s get started.

Navigating this Post

Because there’s a lot to hunting, there’s a lot to this article. Here’s a handy list to help you find the information you’re looking for more quickly. Read straight through, or click on a chapter to jump right to it.

Zakk Royce with his state-record blue catfish. (Zakk Royce/)

Zakk Royce, 29, lives on Lake Gaston in Gasburg, Virginia. He held consecutive North Carolina blue catfish state records for catching a 91-pound blue cat on December 20, 2015 and broke his own record the next day with a 105-pound blue cat. He owns and operates Blues Brothers Catfish Guide Service, LLC, on Lake Gaston and Kerr Lake.

1. Outdoor Life: Many of the biggest blue catfish are caught in winter. However, what’s the best way to catch them in summer?

Zakk Royce: The summer can actually be an excellent time to catch trophy blue cats, as they come off the spawn and are very aggressive. In a lot of bodies of water, a thermocline also shows up as the water temperature rises. This concentrates the bait and fish to whatever depth the thermocline forms. The best way to target the blues during this time is to fish around the thermocline, either over deep water using floats and planer boards to suspend baits, or by fishing areas where the thermocline meets the bottom, or shallower. With the warmer water temperatures, drift fishing or trolling is effective. Although I still try to stay around 0.5 mph in the summer just like other times of year, I have caught them in the summer trolling as fast as 3 mph.

2. OL: What’s the best bait to use—live or dead?

ZR: Both live and cut bait work great for blue cats. The advantage with cut bait, especially when drift fishing or trolling, is it puts off a constant scent trail that the blue cats can really key in on. However, in the summer months I usually do have a live bait out in the mix as well.

For when it's hot. (Amazon/)

Carrying a defensive handgun is a major responsibility, but frequently lost in the discussions over the best guns, calibers, and training is this reality: concealing a firearm every day is uncomfortable, and especially so in hot weather. We can’t stop the sweat or control the forecast, but we can help you make it more manageable with these items.

For the hip. (Amazon/)

The Clip Draw is one of the easiest ways to carry in hot weather. It’s an add-on clip that allows you to secure your firearm to a pocket or inside your waistband, just like a modern folding knife. It is a permanent fixture on your gun, and you don’t get the security of a holster—but the clip works quite well, especially with small autoloaders (though it’s available for most popular handgun models).

This is the ideal accessory for secure carry in a pair of cargo shorts. (Amazon/)

This is one of the safest—and least expensive—ways to carry in summer. The holster protects your gun from sweat and pocket lint, keeps the trigger covered, and secures the weapon for an easy draw. There’s no need to overthink this one. The classic, soft Nylon model is available in four sizes to fit most carry pieces, it does everything you need it to do, and it doesn’t cost much money.

A compact flashlight is an essential item. (Amazon/)

Statistics show that most defensive encounters happen in low light—meaning that if you’re going to carry a gun, you need to be able to see, too. A weapon-mounted light makes sense for home defense, but it creates a package that’s too bulky to conceal in the usual summertime attire. For that, you need something small enough to fit in the pocket, bright, and reliable, like this flashlight.

Use this to keep your mags clean, handy, and concealed. (Amazon/)

Many autoloader malfunctions can be traced to the magazines. Dropping your reload into a pocket means that debris and sweat will eventually find its way onto springs and followers, and that’s no good. Keep your mags clean and hidden with these IWB carriers. Sold two per pack, they’ll work fine with most popular single-stack autoloaders.

The vehicle you use to begin overland fishing doesn't need much modification to get started. (Damon Bungard/)

Overlanding (self-reliant adventure travel) has become a popular pursuit in recent years. You may have seen stories, watched videos, or witnessed folks crisscrossing the U.S. and foreign countries in outfitted pickups, Toyota 4Runners, Jeeps, or Range Rovers. For those people, the experience of travel is the reward. The same is true for me, I just like to throw fishing into the mix when I’m on an overland journey.

If you want to try your hand at overland fishing, you don’t need to make many modifications to your truck or SUV (though you certainly can if you have the money). Many overlanders start off with a truck topper and something to sleep on in the truck bed—a small air mattress (or foam pad), pillow, and a blanket or sleeping bag will work. You could also buy a tent and bring it along. Once you have the bare necessities (bring a cooler full of water and food at minimum) you’re ready for adventure.

To fully enjoy an overland fishing trip it’s best to stay away from the crowds—so you’re not trying to catch pressured fish—which is important this summer while coronavirus is still impacting the country. It’s a good way to practice social distancing. You’re not staying in a hotel or fishing with a bunch of people. Bring all the equipment you need from home and avoid potentially bringing the virus to small western towns. Make sure to follow all local and state rules concerning coronavirus when traveling. If you are safe and thoughtful, these remote destinations are ideal spots for having your best fishing of the summer. So if you are considering an overland fishing trip, here are some excellent locales to target across the West.

1. Buck Island Lake (Rubicon Trail, California)

Getting to Buck Island Lake is difficult, but the view (and fishing) are worth it. (Bob Semerau/)

In 1887, when dirt trails and deep ruts made up most of America’s roadways, the powers in place at the time designated the Rubicon Trail a public highway. Originally a native American footpath, today the rock-strewn Rubicon is managed by El Dorado County and is due for a maintenance and revitalization program in the near future. The entire trail length is under the stewardship of the non-profit Rubicon Trail Foundation (RTF).

Federal’s FireStick comes pre-loaded with either 100 or 120 grains of Hodgdon Triple 8 powder. You still load the bullet through the muzzle just like in standard muzzleloaders. (Alex Robinson/)

The technological advancement that’s going to open muzzleloader hunting up to a whole wave of new people is a polyethylene capsule that’s filled with black powder. So … not exactly space-age technology. While the product itself might not be super advanced tech, the idea behind it is pretty brilliant.

One of the great pains of shooting a muzzleloader is loading it (usually measuring out powder charges) and then cleaning it after every other shot (or sometimes with every shot). For newbies, this process is not only a pain in the neck, it can also be really intimidating. If you don’t add the right amount of powder or seat the bullet properly … bad things can happen.

Federal has solved those problems with the FireStick, which is a capsule that comes pre-loaded with either 100 grains or 120 grains of Hodgdon Triple 8 powder. The FireStick pairs specifically with a new Traditions Nitrofire muzzleloader. Here’s how the system works. First you load a .50 cal muzzleloader bullet through the muzzle of the rifle. Then, you break open the gun and load the FireStick through the specially designed breech of the muzzleloader and then press a standard 209 primer into the FireStick’s primer pocket. Snap the gun closed and you’re ready to shoot. You can see the process in more detail in the video below.

Advantages

The fact that this is way easier than loading a regular inline muzzleloader is obvious. But, there are a few more nuanced advantages to this system, too. First, it’s really easy to unload. Simply pull the FireStick out when you’re done hunting and leave the bullet seated.

Heavy lure weights allow for better casting control according to Chapman. (Major League Fishing/)

One of the few anglers in the world who can lay claim to the title of tour-level Angler of the Year, Brent Chapman was the 2012 Bassmaster Elite Series AOY. He’s one of the Top 30 B.A.S.S. money winners of all time (over $2.1 million total), and has four wins and 40 Top 10s on his resume.

1. Outdoor Life: Do you have a favorite all-around color?

Brent Chapman: That’s a tough question. If I had to pick one color, I’d have to say green pumpkin. It’s the most versatile for all around the country. It’s the most diverse for all the fisheries and good in clear and dirty water.

No matter where we go on the Bass Pro Tour, we’re going to have some type of green pumpkin soft plastics tied on for sure.

2. OL: Mono, braid, fluoro or all of the above? When to use each and what pound-test?

There are some basics beginners need to know before becoming a rifle hunter. (Howard Communications/)

I’ll be honest: I became a writer because I sucked at math. Algebra, geometry, statistics…I narrowly passed. Once school was out, I said so long to math. But then, later in life, I started shooting rifles. All of my hunting career, I used shotguns, because in my home state of Illinois there are few game animals you can legally kill with a centerfire or rimfire, so there’s very limited opportunity to hunt with a rifle. And if you don’t know (and as I found out), rifle shooting is a mathematical pursuit. But hunting with a rifle—and shooting one at the range—was so fun that I didn’t mind relearning basic arithmetic.

I tell that story because I didn’t let a roadblock (my hatred for math) stop me from pursuing something I wanted to do. And I know that for beginners, shooting a rifle can often seem a daunting task. You can’t just pick up a bolt gun and shoot it accurately. You have to mount a scope, boresight it, and sight-in the rifle before you can practice effectively. But don’t let the unknown spook you. Once you learn the basics, and what pitfalls to avoid, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a competent rifle shooter.

1. What You Need to Know Before Buying a Rifle

Picking the right rifle is the first step for new hunters. (Howard Communications/)

If you ask 10 traditional hunters what rifle to buy, you will get 10 different answers. One of my good friends, for example, tried to convince me that my first rifle needed to be a high-end bolt-action with a carbon-wrapped barrel and a pricey optic. That’s bad advice to give a novice. You need a basic setup, and there are two options to choose from.

If you have never shot a rifle before, purchase a rimfire, like a .17 HMR or .22 LR. There is way less recoil with rimfires than centerfires, and ammo is cheaper. But all the concepts for shooting accurately are the same. Practicing with a rimfire will help you build skills for shooting a centerfire rifle. You can buy one (with a scope) and practice until you feel comfortable moving to a centerfire. I had shot some rimfires before buying a centerfire, so I went straight to a 6.5 Creedmoor.

Edwin Evers is one of only five pro anglers to have won more than $3 million on the pro bass tournament trail. (Major League Fishing/)

One of the most successful anglers of all time, Edwin Evers is one of only five competitors in history to pass the $3 million mark in career winnings. Evers has recorded 11 wins and 118 Top 20s in his 22-year career, and won the 2016 Bassmaster Classic. Outdoor Life recently caught up with Evers in order to help your catch more big bass.

1. Outdoor Life: Any lure choices that you’d recommend for bank anglers?

Edwin Evers: In my mind, there is not a better bait than a weightless stick worm, like the Berkley General. It really works anywhere you are —in ponds, lakes, rivers, creeks. It’s a versatile bait for somebody fishing from the bank.

If I had to choose one other bait, I would choose the Bullet Pop from Berkley—size 60, matte finish bluegill pattern. Bass eat bluegills all across the country and it’s really fun to fish because you can see the strike.

2. OL: What are your 5 favorite, go-to baits?

Anyone who spends time in the woods owns a survival or every day carry knife (if you don’t, you should). But it’s likely you are not using the blade on your hip to its full potential. Knives can do more than cut, and when you’re in an emergency situation, there are several different ways to use a blade that can save your life.

1. Scrape with the Spine

If your knife has a straight square spine with a crisp edge you can use this side of the blade for several scraping tasks. (Tim MacWelch/)

Not everyone likes a square knife spine with precise edges. For one thing, they tend to chew up batons. And many of us would rather have a saw back or a false edge on our knife spines. But if you do happen to have a crisp square spine, you can use it for some important scraping jobs. The primary use in the survival realm is scraping ferrocerium rods. Rather than dulling your knife edge by scraping this fire-making metal alloy rod, you can scrape with a square spine and produce a shower of incendiary sparks. And if the spine is really good, you can even use it as a wood scraper for projects like bow making and tool production. If you do happen to lose your desired “square-ness,” use a file to touch up the top of the spine. Finish the job by stroking a hard, smooth metal object (like the side of a screwdriver) down the spine edges with intense pressure. This will burnish the spine and create slight burs on the edges. After that treatment, the spine should scrape better than ever.

2. Use a Harwood Baton Like a Hatchet

A good knife can cut through wood like a hatchet. (Tim MacWelch/)

You won’t want to try this trick with a folding knife or a fixed-blade knife with a wimpy tang, but more robust blades can take a beating (and can split wood). By using a hardwood stick and hamming on the spine of your knife, you can baton your way through firewood and even do some rough wood carving. I often use the baton technique to “rough in” survival stick-bows and taper down wooden throwing sticks. Save your wood chips from these woodworking endeavors, as they make great kindling to go with your newly split firewood.

Duck season is a few months away, and now is the time to get your garage full of gear in order. You need to get organized, but you also need to make repairs: re-paint old decoys, cut new longlines, etc. It’s also a good time to start (and finish) some quick DIY projects to make opening day a success. Here are a few you should work on before the fall.

1. Hot Glue Decoy Repair

Hot glue is a great way to repair shot-up decoys. (Joseph Albanese/)

One of the best things about diver hunting is the in-your-face action. Unfortunately for your decoys, this means they’re going to take plenty of stray pellets. If you have cork or foam blocks, this is of little consequence, as they’ll continue to float no matter how many times they’ve been shot. But hollow plastic decoys rely on their airtight shells to stay buoyant.

Luckily, you can patch holes in plastic dekes with a hot glue gun. Other sealants will certainly work, Lexel caulking being one of the better choices, but they take a while to dry and may not be able to fill wide holes.

Don’t stay too long in one spot or you could melt the plastic on your decoy. (Joseph Albanese/)

For my decoys, I prefer using low-temperature hot glue sticks. You just have to be careful not to linger too long in one spot or you’ll run the risk of melting the decoy’s plastic.