Innehållsförteckning för April/May 2019 från Field & Stream

A COUPLE OF THINGS came to mind as I read Will Brantley’s feature in this issue, “The Turkey Truants” (p. 70). First, Brantley is a hell of a lot of fun to chase gobblers with. A few springs back, I traveled to his Kentucky home and enjoyed some of the most exciting turkey hunting of my life. I filled my first of two tags by fanning a gobbler that came to within 10 yards of flogging us. As thrilling as that hunt was, the next day was even better. After some early-morning running-and-gunning, Brantley and I doubled on a pair of Eastern longbeards. Years later, I can still hear their gobbles thundering in the hardwoods. And when we weren’t hunting, there was plenty of catfishing, cussing, fried food, and…

With 35 years on the spring ponds of Wisconsin under his belt, Jim Hauer, founder of Blue Sky Furled Leaders (blue sky fly.com), says to keep it simple when it comes to fly selection. “Don’t worry about matching the hatch, and remember that stealth is important.” Hauer’s go-to spring-pond flies are: a Royal Coachman wet, a Woolly Bugger, a Prince nymph, a Hare’s Ear nymph, and scuds. He carries a range of sizes, but 12s and 14s are his bread and butter. While Hauer still uses a canoe on occasion, he’s become a huge fan of the SuperCat inflatable pontoon (supercat.us). “The design is elegantly simple, and even with the rowing frame attached, it weighs less than 15 pounds.”…

THE FIRST TIME I ever fished a Drunk & Disorderly, I hated the fly. A friend had given the streamer to me in 2015, swearing it was a next-level ringer. All I knew about it was that the unique head, made of packed deer-body hair and shaved into a steep doorstop wedge, was modeled after the lip of an Original Rapala Floater. Armed with that minimal information, what I expected that wedge to do was make the fly dive and wobble like a lipped hard bait. All I saw was a mess of hair spinning and twisting on the surface. After a few casts, I put it back in my box and practically erased it from memory. What I didn’t learn until the following season was that the Drunk…

For blackpowder shooters who behold their smokeless compatriots stretching the horizons of what can be shot at and hit, and grind their teeth with envy, here’s the answer to your revenge fantasies—the CVA Paramount. There are so many radical features to this new bolt-action muzzleloader that I can’t begin to list them all here. Suffice it to say, I’ve shot one, and it’s an authentic 300-plus-yard gun. I’d say 400. No, that’s not a misprint. Real-world price is about $1,000 (cva.com).…

Want to earn a million as a bass pro? You’d better be ready to spend a lot of money. The path to seven figures requires a constant infusion of cash just to stay in the game, none of which even remotely guarantees you’ll come close to winning back a dollar. We asked our pros to open their ledgers to get an idea of what they spend in a year. Though costs will vary, here’s a rough tally based on an eight-event tour with $5,000 entry fees, plus the assumption the pro is using a free boat and putting 25,000 miles on his truck during 60 days on the road. TRUCK PAYMENT: $8,400 TRUCK FUEL: $3,600 TRUCK INSURANCE: $1,500 BOAT INSURANCE: $1,000 BOAT FUEL: $4,500 LODGING: $4,500 FOOD: $1,500 TACKLE:…

F&S: Given how much time you’ve spent with bass pros, have you started to think like one when you’re on the water? PR: I think that my overall skill set has improved, but I’m too mentally conservative to be a successful bass pro. I’ve always said that the ones who succeed are the ones who cannot get a single bite one day, let alone catch a fish, and they head out the next day expecting to catch a monster limit. It’s why so many of them are day traders, poker players, or former bull riders. They have no fear. Or it’ll be 38 degrees and blowing 40 mph on Lake Erie, kicking up 6- or 8-foot waves—when any sane person would head to the Waffle House and then back…

WHEN I PULLED UP TO THE end of the farm path by Dead Dog Field, I checked the map on my cellphone before turning toward Stillwater—and that’s when I realized this had gotten out of hand. I knew to turn left to get to my deer camp; I had driven out from Dead Dog a million times. But there it was, in my hand, my cellphone with the little blue blip that marked my location on a digitized satellite image. I had checked it without even thinking. This time of year finds me in the deer and duck woods almost as often as during deer and duck season, because it’s a great time to scout with the leaves still off the trees. I had spent the morning stomping up…

WORDS FAIL GUIDE Paul Jaeger when the grouse blasts off. “AAUGH!” he screams. I think he’s fallen into a hole until he adds “grouse!” and I glimpse a fleeting gray blur zipping through the woods. It’s day two of the Ruffed Grouse Society’s National Hunt near Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and Jaeger’s hard-working Gordon setters have finally found us a ruff. But like so many others, this one escapes without a single shot being fired. The ruffed grouse’s explosive flight unnerves even seasoned hunters like Jaeger. And, setting aside the fine doubles and pipe smoke for a moment, it is Everyman’s gamebird, found on land open to the public across the United States. That combination of excitement and accessibility makes the ruffed grouse a national treasure—but this treasure is in…

This turkey isn’t technically “corned,” or preserved, but a three-day steep in a pickling-spice-infused brine gives it the unmistakable tang of corned beef, that springtime staple. The ultra-gentle poaching technique—cooking the meat at less than a simmer—yields lush, juicy turkey breast, with just a blush of pink at the center. With a crispy, smoky finish, the charred vegetable amps up the springtime feel. Adapted from a recipe by the Sicilian-born chef Christian Puglisi, this slightly crazy method of cookery treats cabbage like a steak, producing a seared, flavorful edge and a tender center. Carrots with parsley or roasted potatoes would nicely round out this dish. INGREDIENTS For the Corned Turkey 1 boneless, skinned wild turkey breast half (2 to 3½ lb.)1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces3 cloves3 bay…

“I spent $75 on eBay for an old Bagley’s BB4 [crankbait]. It was the only way I could get my hands on one, and now it travels with me everywhere.”—Steve Kennedy “I spent $350 on a Roman Made Mother [Japanese swimbait]. It’s still sitting in the [expletive deleted] package.”—Skeet Reese “When I was guiding on Lake Amistad, the Reaction Innovations Vixen was crushing it. Then the company stopped making it. My wife bought me one on eBay for $70.”—Keith Combs “Everybody is infatuated with these custom Japanese swimbaits. I dropped a hundred bucks on one when I was in California one time. I never caught a bass on it.”—Kevin VanDam…

THE ALARM ON MY WRISTWATCH BUZZED, SIGNALING THE POINT OF NO RETURN. IT WAS 7:30, AND HAD MATT SEYMORE AND I STOOD UP AND LEFT THE WOODS RIGHT THEN, WE’D HAVE GOTTEN BACK TO SCHOOL JUST IN TIME FOR FIRST PERIOD. We’d left the same turkey gobbling on the same ridge the previous two mornings and beaten the tardy bell. But I didn’t learn anything in class on either day that was worth leaving a gobbling turkey for. My own tags were already filled that season, so I was trying to call in a first bird for my best buddy. It was almost as good as carrying a shotgun myself, but it wasn’t without its own problems. Seymore was top of our class, and damned if he wasn’t proud…

1914 Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated, kicking off WWI • Clyde Roberts turns 1 year old 1919 The 18th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, and Prohibition begins • Clyde starts elementary school at age 6 1925 The Scopes Monkey Trial is decided • Clyde finishes school at age 12 and gets his first gun, a gift from an older sister 1926 Henry Ford institutes a 40-hour workweek • Clyde gets his first full-time job, working 60 hours a week for 7.5 cents an hour 1928 Mickey Mouse debuts in Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie• Clyde meets his future wife, Nadine Hensley 1933 The Great Depression hits rock bottom, with 1 in 4 unemployed • Clyde starts work at his future father-in-law’s sawmill…

LIKE A LOT OF OTHER TURKEY HUNTERS, Brantley and I like to call ourselves minimalists. But, of course, that only goes so far. It makes me think of the classic Steve Martin comedy, The Jerk. To paraphrase: “I don’t need anything but a mouth call and a loaded gun. And David Halloran’s new custom ipe-and-black-limba-wood long box.” Like all the other “minimalists” out there, plus just about everyone else, we love checking out the latest gobbler gear, especially while we’re waiting for the spring season to start. So we did just that. We got our hands on all of the new-for-2019 turkey products we could, then we put them to use as much as possible throughout last fall and winter. Finally, we picked our favorites. Here they are. —D.H.…

I HAD A COYOTE AT 10 FEET last year, didn’t shoot, and the damn thing—with the lack of manners so widespread among wild animals—didn’t even thank me for sparing its life. I was in Pennsylvania during that state’s late flintlock season. It was a warm December day and I’d found a big hickory tree overlooking a draw. I kicked heel divots into the ground to keep myself from sliding downhill and took a seat. It felt like a good spot. This is a dangerous feeling, one I should by now have learned not to trust. I can’t tell you how many times a “good” spot has turned into a “didn’t see a thing” spot. And the reason I can’t is because I refuse to keep track. If I did,…

According to those obnoxious infomercials, you can fix a giant hole in your boat with the Flex Seal family of products. I doubt it. Don’t try it. If you tie foam flies, however, you may never find a better sealant than clear Flex Seal Liquid ($15; flex seal products.com). Just brush it on for a durable finish that stays soft and flexible when dry. But wait, there’s more! I’ve also not had any brand of marker or paint run or crack under a coating of this miracle goop…

YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW not to miss. The pages of F&S have detailed the mechanics of improved shooting through form, repetition, and practice so thoroughly that you really have no excuses for missing anything ever again. Thing is, I’ve not only read all of that myself but have also had a hand in writing some of it—and I still miss on occasion. I see other people miss too, including some very experienced hunters. So, maybe along with the advice on breathing and trigger control, what’s really needed is advice on how to deal with missing, and how to console a companion who’s melting down after a whiff. This is your guide. MISSING WITH BUDDIES Try to miss only when you’re alone. But you’ll be hunting with someone much of…

“After I won my first Megabucks tournament, I went out and bought a $1,200 set of Swarovski binoculars. They were tax deductible because I was using them to ‘look for schooling fish.’”—Larry Nixon “My kids know that if I do well, I get a check. After I won at Lake Dardanelle in 2017, we took a trip to Disney. When I won at Clear Lake, we went all the way up the Oregon coast.”—Steve Kennedy “After I won at Toledo Bend [in 2016], I bought a Bobcat. I use it to snow-blow my driveway and at our hunting property for clearing trails and moving trees, all kinds of things.”—Kevin VanDam “After I won my first Classic, we bought a new washer and dryer. It was probably around $1,200. I…

The fountain of youth for humans has yet to be discovered, but for firearms, it has been around since 1983, when an artist named Doug Turnbull began restoring old, classic guns for Creekside Gun Shop in Bloomfield, New York. Among the discerning, the words Turnbull Restoration make the blood stir as Ferrari does for a sports-car nut, Fabbri for a lover of shotguns, or Randall for someone who dotes on knives. Turnbull and his 15 talented cohorts take the old, the battered, the neglected, and turn them to as good as new, or maybe a tad better. Turnbull Restoration guns—I swear to you—seem to pulse with inner light. The prime candidates for restoration are elderly rifles, shotguns, and handguns that were fine to begin with—Parkers, L.C. Smiths, Winchester lever…

“Turkey fever.” This is the classic. It helps to have a crooked doctor write an excuse, but if not, always feign a stomach ailment, and don’t spare any graphic details. No one will ask for proof. “Missed my alarm.” Think of this one more as an omission of the truth. It’s technically not a lie at all if your alarm clock was set for 6:30 and you didn’t hear it because you left the house at 3:30 to get set up. “This isn’t a real-life skill.” I said this all the time about algebra and have never been proven wrong. On the other hand, being a good turkey hunter has helped my career multiple times over. “Truck got stuck.” If you’re hunting swamp gobblers, it’s…

SPECIAL BONUS SECTION I live in one of the most trout-rich states. Idaho is chock-full of blue-ribbon waters, and fly anglers descend upon them every spring. I like to target trout as much as the next guy, but I can only dodge drift boats and outrun wading anglers for so long. That’s why I love smallmouths. Because so many cold-water trout-fishing opportunities exist in the West, smallmouths are one of the most undervalued fly-rod gamefish here. This is ironic. If you look at the drainages of the largest Rocky Mountain trout rivers, the lower half is almost always prime bronzeback habitat, replete with a pebble rock and silt streambed, moderate water temperatures, and a big food supply. For the past few years, I’ve had some of the finest smallmouth…