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Every year around the end of August into the first of September, hunters become anxious awaiting the upcoming deer season. During this time, hunters tend to all have the same attitude: they are over summer heat and ready for cool weather. When restless feelings arise, there is hope; the fall hunting season is upon them. Deer hunting seasons are beginning to open across the country; all the practice, preparation, and hard work put in through the summer are going to pay off. A couple of years ago

Chris Bush with The Speckled Truth provides tips for fishing for trophy speckled trout. Confidence is key when it comes to fishing for trophy trout. Moon phase, tide and time of year are key indicators of when trout will bite. The new and full moon are when you have the greatest solunar activity and that's when the trout will eat more. Tide correlates to the moon phase. The full and new moons typically have higher tides, but in estuaries where you don't have as much tide range, high solunar

When the mercury starts rising to the mid-90s and touching the 100s, it is easy to want to head to the pool or the beach instead of the lake to fish. However, bass are cold-blooded creatures and the warmer weather will make them feed more than when the water is cold in the winter. But, if you go out fishing unprepared to deal with Mother Nature, you are already destined to fail. I will go over a few tips to keep you cool and more comfortable on the water this summer to enjoy your time on the

Mossy Oak Fishing Team Leader Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, won the Major League Fishing (MLF) Championship at Tennessee’s Chickamauga Lake on June 9, 2021. The $100,000 VanDam won increased his career winnings to $6.9 million. We wanted to know not only how VanDam won this MLF Championship, but also what we could learn from how and where he fished that type of lake, as well as the lures and the patterns that will help all of us catch more bass this summer. To learn more about Kevin

Of all the dangers we face in the outdoors, there are few that instill more pure dread and abject fear than the limbless serpents. Fortunately, the odds of encountering one are as slim as the reptiles themselves, and the chances of being bitten are slimmer still. However, it’s always a good idea to hedge your bets by becoming more familiar with snakes, learning how to avoid them and what to do should the unthinkable happen. There are four groups of venomous snakes in the U.S.: rattlesnakes

For avid campers, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, learning how to identify poisonous snakes is a necessary skill. Knowing their habitats and visual markers can save you from sustaining bites and the nasty consequences of toxic snake venom. Recognizing and avoiding poisonous snakes before they strike is ideal, but sometimes a bite occurs before you have a chance to see the snake. If this happens, it is essential to learn how to tell if your snake bite is poisonous and what to do immediately after

Dana Rogers The “more the better,” or perhaps more aptly we’d like “more with higher quality” when it comes to cover, especially that all-important “edge cover.” That isn’t just for whitetails but many different species. Are you interested in increasing deer populations where you hunt? Deer populations rise and fall, and today, it seems we’re on the downward trend throughout parts of the country. If you’re in an area where the whitetails need a little help, or you simply want to increase the

Establishing a career as an adventure photographer is both exciting and terrifying. On the one hand, it opens up opportunities to explore and capture some of the most beautiful scenery the world has to offer. On the other, it requires you to cut loose from a “regular” occupation with no guarantee of success. However, with the right, business-minded approach, adventure photography is a perfectly viable career that can be fulfilling both personally and financially. While it’s essential to use your

Whether it’s on a long, extended adventure or a short hike, the last thing you want is to come home with a bad case of poison oak, poison sumac or poison ivy. The briefest contact with any of these plants can result in painful outcomes, like itchy rashes and welts. To keep you and your hiking mates safe from poison oak, poison ivy or poison sumac, you need to learn how to identify them quickly and correctly. There are some simple details to help you recognize these allergenic plants before using

WEEDS, DROUGHT, & BROWSE PRESSURE Gerald Almy Newcomers to growing forage for deer often picture summer as the best and easiest time for establishing thriving food plots. It’s sunny with mild weather and no frosts or heavy rains to worry about. What could go wrong? The short answer: plenty. Late summer and into fall is, in fact, usually a better time for achieving the ultimate success with food plots throughout much of the whitetails’ range. First, when planting forages during this time you have