Field Notes Archives - Page 29 of 47

May 1, 2026

Use “bow and arrow trick” to free snagged hook

October 19, 2017 Patrick Bonin

Nothing is more frustrating than getting your hook hung up — especially when the fish are biting. […]

Taking the time to accurately sight in your rifle goes a long way in preventing opening day disappointment, or worse yet wounding that trophy buck you’ve been having your eyes on.

Sight in your rifle — with just two shots

October 18, 2017 Andy Crawford

It never fails: The afternoon before rifle season opens, someone grabs a paper plate from the camp’s kitchen, rides his ATV out to the nearest 100-yard opening and takes a few shots with a rifle he hasn’t looked at since last season. […]

What’s in your deer pack?

October 17, 2017 Phillip Gentry

Deer hunting has not been immune from advances in technology and tactics. Hunters run the gamut from carrying nothing more than a weapon and a pair of boots to an organized pack that contains everything but the kitchen sink. […]

Florida’s Capt. Joshua Lim shows off a 25 ½-inch, 6-pound speckled trout caught this summer in Pensacola Bay with a Matrix Shad rigged as a shrimp imitation twitchbait.

Turn a Matrix Shad into a shrimp-imitation twitchbait

September 19, 2017 Patrick Bonin

Many coastal anglers are probably familiar with Matrix Shad soft-plastic paddletail lures and how deadly they are when jigging for speckled trout.

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When the bite slows around brush piles, Terry Blankenship will hold his jig motionless at the same depth crappie are holding, and he can usually trigger a strike.

Top 7 tips for catching slabs in brush

September 18, 2017 Andy Crawford

Terry Blankenship’s passion is finding and catching crappie year-round. And the fish don’t stand a chance when the summer heat pushes fish out to deep, flooded brush and standing timber. […]

Tommy Vidrine suggests using a 5- to 6-foot fluorocarbon leader to target big mangroves.

Mop up on monster mangrove snapper

September 15, 2017 Patrick Bonin

During the dog days of summer, Grand Isle, La.’s Trout Master sometimes turns his attention away from chasing specks just long enough to head offshore in pursuit of different prey. […]