by Bob Marshall

Fish, wildlife and sportsmen got good news Friday when Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, announced recent and future sign-ups of 5.65 million acres in the Conservation Reserve Program, keeping that keystone conservation program close to its current authorized cap of 32 million acres.

But in an interview with Field & Stream, Vilsack also urged sportsmen to keep the momentum going by urging their congressmen - particularly House members - not to swing the budget axe on conservation funding in the new Farm Bill currently under consideration.

by Dave Hurteau

Is that the hum of a delivery truck you hear? Getting closer? Carrying a new Bowtech Insanity CPX just for you. Well, let’s see now…

The actual gross B&C scores of this contest’s four bucks are as follow:

by Kirk Deeter

You know what we don't see nearly enough of in fly fishing these days? Products that actually work better than advertised. We're promised everything from rods that will seemingly cast themselves to waders that wear like footie pajamas, and rarely does the performance really, truly live up to the billing.

SmithFly, an Ohio-based manufacturer of modular fishing gear, on the other hand, over-delivers. From waist packs and vests to boat bags, the best way to describe this stuff is to say it's born of a "tactical" influence: Super rugged and extremely functional. At first glance, they're perhaps not what the "fashionista" angler has in mind.

by Phil Bourjaily

I had never seen a Super Soaker shotgun before, but apparently turning Super Soakers into zip guns is a trend among criminals. As this news story points out, the Fresno police had been briefed on Super Soaker conversions, so when they spotted a 54 year old man with a Super Soaker slung around his neck they became suspicious. And they were right: the Super Soaker turned out to be a home-made 20 gauge.

by David Draper

Fried Anchovies and Sea Bass vs. Fried Mussels

You, and all my friends, are going to be sick of hearing this, but did I mention that I recently spent a couple of weeks in Turkey? This trip is going to make up my main conversational fodder for the rest of the summer, with much of it focusing on what I ate — some of which was good and some of which was not the best decision. Of the former, the seafood stands out as highlights of the trip. I’ll say this, Turkish people know their fish, which isn’t a surprise considering that waterways like the Bosphorus Strait define their country. Here are a couple of dishes I encountered.

by Joe Cermele

Here's a direct quote from resident vintage tackle expert Dr. Todd Larson of the The Whitefish Press and "Fishing For History" blog regarding this Soap-A-Lure scent remover entered into the vintage tackle contest by Steve Crismon: "This was the toughest nut to crack to date. But I did crack it eventually." Strong words coming from the man that knows all things old school fishing gear, but I must admit this was one of the oddest entries I ever recieved. Steve found it at a yard sale 10 years ago.

by David E. Petzal

Well, there I was sitting at the old Mac, trying to work instead of listening to bluegrass, when I got a press release announcing that Redfield now has a scope out called the “Revenge.” I thought this was a pretty odd name to give an optical sight, but then I remembered that last year, Winchester came out with an all-copper bullet called Power Core, which has no core, so I guess the rules about product names have been relaxed.

But then, just a moment ago, I received word of a new crossbow called the Barnett Vengeance. Vengeance on what? The last time a crossbow was used in an act of vengeance was on March 25, 1199 when Richard the Lionheart, King of England, was killed by crossbow bolt to the neck that was fired by a French boy who claimed that Richard had killed his father and brothers.