Fishing. I like hunting fine, but most of my time and money go to fishing. I fish for anything that swims.

I have a backpack with a tarp, some fire starting stuff, a tomahawk, wire, knife, a collapsible spin fishing outfit with some small lures and basic first aid supplies. I keep this in the back of my truck.

Big amazon peacock bass on a fly, tarpon or rooster fish.

I usually bring a spinning, baitcasting and a fly rod.

Canoes are far more versatile and portable than jon boats (I like both of them, so I'm not biased). Canoes have been used for thousands of years for all types of purposes. They are easy to transport, store and take care of. Their only drawback is stability, but that can be easily solved with a small pair of outriggers.

Flint, steel and a dry bag of tinder.

Really anything that swims around here. i like hitting waters where I can fish multiple species in one day. Ten years ago i was a trout only guy, but now i go after them all.

Panther Martins- yellow body with red dots and silver blade Origional Rapalas- silver with black back or rainbow trout Tasmanian Devil- red/yellow/green or pink Flatfish- silver Rooster tail- yellow body, silver blade, black skirt Kastmaster- silver If you are trolling: Beer can pop- gear followed by a Mack's Double Whammy in ppink and silver witha piece of nightcrawler on the first hook. Those are some of my favorites for the bows.

Crumble them into some scrambled eggs with some salsa verde and melt cheddar cheese over the top. Best breakfast ever.

Books are great because they occupy the mind, but let the ears work. i just look up every page or so and scan the visual field.

Charley- honest truth!

Night crawlers, chicken liver and cut shad.

Night crawlers and wax works for live bait. It is hard to beat the original rapala.

I like both, but fishing is my passion. I spend too much money on fishing to do a lot of hunting.

Thompson Center is a better designed, built and shooting gun over CVA.

I have long been a Thompson Center fan and customer. They put a lot of attention to detail in their products, build great guns, and are friendly and helpful with any problems. They stand behind their guns, even the kit guns. Every year they send me info to use for teaching the muzzle loader rifle merit badge and hunter's safety.

The Surefire E2L defender- bright light and the crenelated strike bezel protects the lense if it is dropped.

I'm an emergency and trauma RN. With any injury you want to focus on the ABC's- Airway, Breathing and Circulation. A problem with any of these means imminent death. No use worrying about transporting out if you are dead. Once the ABC's are stabilized, then pull out your SPOT.

Jerky and Salami. Both are easy to make and there are recipes all over the internet for both. Who doesn't like jerky?

Count down rapala. I have caught trout from creeks to big reservoirs with them. Toss it downstream and bring it slowly up through a pool. Cast it from the bank on a lake or troll it behind. I also love Panther Martins, and rooster tails. I also like small black curly tails for trout. Wooly bugger. You don't need a fly rod, just put it 3 feet behind a bubble.

Corn is totally illegal in my state for the reason that it kills fish who eat it. It kills them because the hull cannot break down and blocks the bowel, causing it and the fish to die.

I work in an ER as a trauma RN. I see too many idiots using explosives as fire starter. either they get burned or get impaled by flying wood. Learning the basics of fire building will teach you how to do it correctly without explosives.

You can't go wrong with RCBS. Tney are the best.

To those that are vegetarian/ vegan, I say that you cannot truly understand your place in nature until you have engaged in the life/ death struggle that happens to every other species in our world. Hunting, and taking life, puts you right in the struggle.

The MRE's are packed with calories- better choice if you get stranded- you can stretch it a couple of days, and you don't need to add water or cook it.

I like dark colors or chartreuse for stained water. clear water gets white.

Savage tactical .308 would be a great gun from large varmints to elk.

Depends on the size of the steel head and the size of the fly. usually big fish= big flies. If it is a big fish that I am after, sometimes I don't use a leader and tippet, i just use 6 lb. fluorocarbon.

The best way to get started is to find someone to go with. See what they are using, then bust the bank buying your own. Wait until mid- Feb to March when all of the ice inventory goes on sale.

Lead, or arrow tips- just kidding. Deer around here line up for alfa alfa and apples.

It is almost impossible to find a cougar, let alone pin it somewhere without dogs. They find the cat and get it treed, or on a rock, and you take a good humane shot.

2-3, sometimes more if I can't sleep. I like going back through all of the fishing articles that are archived.

Never heard of bream until I started reading F&S.

Quantum reels are great reels. I have not used the accurist, but based on my extensive use of other Quantum reels, I can safely bet that you would be happy with the accurist.

DT for calm waters, WF for windy or long casts.

Taurus Judge

I'm still out on the ice, but catching a lot of kokanee, perch, trout, bluegill, bass, crappie and the occasional tiger muskie.

Rapala, yo- zuri L minnow.

I use a traditional T/C Hawken .50. Some states, like Idaho only allow traditional.

Watching my first daughter catch her first fish. She was dancing all over the shore line.

I like to smoke t. Brine it a couple of days, then smoke it until golden. Another good recipe is to dab butter inside and out, sprinkle with montreal steak seasoning, wrap in foil and grill on medium heat 10 minutes on each side.

Fly shops. My local fly shop has all the patterns i need around here, plus expertise and someone to jaw fishing with.

I work in an ER as a Trauma RN. I have seen many people come in who tried to start a fire with gasoline. Bad idea!!!! Learn basic fire building skills and you will never ask about gasoline or other liquid fire starters again.

I haven't used anything but flint and steal to start a fire for years. I like teaching people to use it because they learn the essentials to "building" a fire, just not lighting one. If you know these essentials, then it makes a match fire even easier to light, even in bad conditions. Flint and steel always works, even wet.

I live in northern Utah where I can hang the deer 7- 10 days in cool weather. If it is warm, I will quarter and hang it in the cool room for a week. Remember, the best beef steaks are aged 21 days- that means hung for three weeks.

On conifer trees (pine, fir, etc.) you can reach in close to the trunk and find old, dead, dry branches still attached to the trunk. These are branches that got crowded out and died from lack of light. Anyways, they don't have a lot of bulk for a sustained fire, but they make great tinder. Bends in dry creek beds a lot of times have piles of dead branches that were washed down during spring floods. Brush the snow off of the top and pull dry branches from the interior of the pile. Also, old beaver lodges can serve the same purpose.

One of the best this I've learned is to put the char cloth on the top side of the flint. It catches the spark much faster. I also use a blow tube like a straw to concentrate airflow. Dry inner bark from a cottonwood is tje best tinder. Rub it into thin fibers and make a nest. Don't ever buy a striker unless you try it first and can get good sparks.

Do it myself- I've had someone else's mangled, bullet- ridden meat come back to me too many times. Plus it is a great survival skill to know- you're lost in the woods, shoot a deer for meat and you don't have any idea what to do with it.

After reading the blog, continue to scroll down the page. You will se a comment box. Type your response in the box, then click the "submit" button.

If live minnows work well, try minnow imitating lures or swimbaits. Just jigging a swimbait looks a lot like a live minnow wiggling on a hook.

About 1 lb. Caught on a wooly bugger.

Wax worm, or the Berkley Gulp wax worms on a tiny jig next to the bottom. I catch perch, bluegill, trout and bass and tiger muskie on them.

Like Alex, I like the European zander rods. Also a fast action ugly stick is hard to beat. Reel: I love the Quantum Energy PTI or the Daiwa Black Gold.

No, its not polite, but very appropriate!!!

Lever action 30-30. It is short to get through the brush and packs enough punch to get the job done.

A friend has one and it is great. Especially for setting up on uneven ground.

The BEST way to store them is in a sealed plastic bag with some worm oil, then in your tackle box or bag.

I like to make knife handles from them. You can find knife blade kits at places like pennstateind.com and other websites.

Leave them, they become organic matter that can help the overall health of the pond.

Better than a deep cycle battery is two. Set em up with a switch between the two.

Depends- long drifts, yes. I usually use it on the leader instead of an indicator.

THey seem to be a gimmick to me. I prefer to wrap a bit of line around my finger to detect light bites.

Yes. There is a lake here in Utah that stays warm year round and it was illegally stocked with tilapia. WE find the on sonar and drop small jigs tipped with pieces of minnow.

Nightcrawlers. Live minnows are illegal here, but dead ones do well.

Go to this web site- it is the best tutorial out there: http://www.fishing-tackle-repair.com/education/baitcaster-setup-101.html Then go and watch this video to learn the best way to clear a back lash: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDI5kwR5zjc

Tempura batter with montreal steak seasoning. Then fry until crispy.

Med- heavy 2 piece ugly stik.

Curly tails- you can fish them so many different ways to get the strike.

At the top of the web page are the buttons for "hunting", "fishing", etc. Click on those.

Same as above. A great gun that will last for years and years.

6.5 lb brown trout and 6.5 lb wiper

It seems to me that a lot of times fish will take a test bite to see if it is good food, other times they know what is presented is food. Are they stupid? They have a BB size brain.

Gimmick! But, I like red cajun line because it is so limp and rarely tangles.

Night crawlers or chicken livers- I have had the most luck on the lake by dropping the bait to the bottom and slow bouncing it as I drift along with the trolling motor.

Nightcrawlers- they love the meat. Wax worms can often get a strike on a small stream when nothing else will.

The carbine is shorter for easier handling. The Winchester 94 carbine was made to be easier to draw from a saddle boot. But, with the shorter barrel, I have still shot coyotes out to 200 yards with the 30-30.

When they are biting! Really, you can catch the buggers all day, year round. If you know where they are at, then they can be caught at any time. Spring, I like to look in good spawning areas and hit them at dusk. Summer I look for half submerged shoreline brush and slowly work a curly tail on the bottom through the gaps. I usually devote fall to trout, but sometimes hit the crappies on deep structure. Winter, this year I have the gear to start hitting them through the ice.

Spinning reels are not built to fight heavy weight- the line twists and the drag isn't as strong. Baitcasting reels don't toss light lures easily- light tackle is handled better on a spinning reel.

Come to Utah- we can catch bucketfuls of them here.

I strongly agree with T's website. It was the most helpful of any advice that I found- and practice, practice, practice, and when you're done, practice some more. A guide once told me that the average hours of practice that it takes to master a baitcaster is around 60.

Doug Hannon has made a lure that looks like a snake swimming on the surface. You can buy it at bassprofessor.com. You can see a video of it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OstZvCdXrR4

As above, but I also like rigging an undersize tube behind a big jig head then adding a tail off of a minnow.

I have little use for them. They look cool, but really unbalance the rod. Few rods are designed for the added weight.

Line to line knots perform better, but the loop connectors sure are easier.

Wiggy bags. They absolutely cannot be beat, period!!!!

Small panther martin or mepps spinners or small rapalas or spoons.

Little Cleos, Krokodiles, Tasmanian Devils. Fish them up and across the current with just enough retrieve to keep the line taught. Or, tie on a spoon, remove the hook, add 18 inches of line, and a bait-holder with a nightcrawler on it. Fling that out into the lake and see what happens.

Shakespeare Excursion- it fishes as well as rods that are a lot more expensive.

Utah. Almost every fish and big game animal are available here. Plus, almost limitless public land.

The best way to know what you need to get started is to find someone in your area who is willing to take you with them- learn from them. If you can't find anybody, then go to the mom and pop tackle shop in your area. They are usually full of good info.

Get the book, "The Complete Book of Tackle Making" by C. Boyd Pfeiffer. It is an amazing text on how to make any kind of lure.

I'm finding them at about ten feet under the ice. I',m puting a half of a wax worm on a tiny jig.

Tasmanian Devils are hard to beat for mid- day action. My favorite time to fish for stocked trout is mid- day with the tasmanian devil, they chase it right into the shore line.

Yeah- I drift black curly tails. Sometimes I'll bounce a minnow plastic up through a pool for browns.

Red/white or fire tiger seem to be the biggest producers for me.

I have used Minn Kota and MotorGuide without problems.

First of all, you need to understand that you cannot fly fish as a hobby. It may start as one, but then will quickly devolve into full throttle obsession. With that in mind, go to your local fly shop and be ready to bleed out of the eyeballs as you give all of your lucre to them in trade for a stick, string and fake bugs. If you are willing to do this, then the wonderful world of fly fishing will open up to you and you will live a fulfilled life chasing little fish with your stick, string and fake bugs.

You can't go wrong with a Ross reel- they are the best for the money. I also like the Cabelas SLA reels. A nine foot is a good general rod length. Shorter rods work better on brushy streams.

My favorite spinning rod that I have ever used is the Shakespeare Excursion and it only costs $15.00 at Walmart.

Other than the twitching bar, a great reel. One of the best braking systems that I have used.

Springtime- when they are spawning- I like creeping a lizard toward a spawning bed, or a jig and trailer- slow and wiggly. Summer- I love putting a damsel fly next to top cover and watching the explosion.

Quagga muscles are getting all of the attention here- they showed up in the summer. They seem to be far more problematic.

What kind of hunting are you going to do? My suggestion would be to go with someone and see what you need. Or, talk to guides in your area and maybe do a guided hunt to see what gear you need. Different kinds of hunting require different gear. Different climates also require different gear.

Very good answer from Buckhunter, but if the fish are close to the surface, I will hand my hook under a bubble with a tiny split shot just above the hook to keep it from floating to the surface.

Teufelhunden got it right on that the fish may have a large head and stunted body if they are over stocked.

Zeppelin! Listened to "Kashmere" on the way to work today.

Smelly dough bait, nightcrawlers, spinners, rapalas, flies. I've seen carp hit all of these. A lot of people around here bow- hunt carp.

Berkley smooth cast mono.

I like a curly tail or tube jig rigged weedless and slow retrieve.

In my state not knowing the law is not a defense. By signing the license you acknowledge that you understand the laws, therefore you have no defense.

Garmin. I have never known anyone that has not loved their Garmin.

From experience, walleye are going to be hanging around the same structure that they were on in the fall. But, I checked my "Ulti,ate Guide to Freshwater Fishing" and it says that basically you will find the fish on structure that they like in summer and fall. Jigging rapalas (see the article in the new magazine issue), swedish pimple with minnow or lead head jig with minnow.

I'm not a tat person, myself, but I think it's a cool way to advertise your passion.

My favorite muskies are the ones that hit when you are fishing for something else. Last spring I was tossing a jig from shore, looking for some bass. I tossed next to a submerged bush and bam! I had a 30" musky on. It took a while to land him because I wanted to lead him so the line did not get into his mouth- I only had mono on on, no steel leader.

Frogs, snakes and salamanders, where legal, make explosive strikes from bass and muskies.

If you go to your profile page you can see a link to point and star ratings. THere is another link on that page for the full rules- this will tell you how many points equal how many stars.

Catching perch, rainbows, bass, bluegill and tiger muskie through the ice.

I bought a pair of Cabelas waders a couple of years ago for about 65 bucks. They have worked great and held up well. THey are not breathable, but light and get the job done.

I fish jigs almost exclusively for bass. Football jigs and curly tails on a 1/4 oz. head are my favorites. One of my favorite things to do is put a bright yellow curly tail on a 1/16 oz. jig and tip it with a wax worm. I cast it out and if a crappie doesn't take it in the first few feet of sink then i let it go to the bottom and slow retrieve for bass, if they don't hit it then I jig it close to the shoreline for perch, then cast and repeat.

Cliff Lake and Wade Lake. Between West Yellowstone and Ennis. Drive across the Three Dollar Bridge and follow the road to the end. Very beautiful lakes full of cutthroat.

Daiwa build some of the best reels, in fact all of Cabelas brand reels are really Daiwa reels. I have a combo that I love.

Salmon eggs or salmon egg pattern flies or powerbait that looks like salmon eggs. I like to hang it 18 inches to two feet under a bobber, or let it bounce along the bottom with just enough weight to get it down.

They like cold water, but it seems they are most active between 45 and 60 degrees.

Match your lure to the main forage bait in the creek. Curly tails are a proven winner, but I also like swimbaits and crankbaits.

Madison River. It is very versatile with its standing platform, and it can carry huge amounts of gear. $900.00 at Cabelas.

The LMF II is a terrific knife, that is great for survival situations. It was featured in the mag a few issues ago in the Field Tests.

It's not too deep for a spoon. You will need a lot of flash because light does not penetrate well to that depth- and also a lot of motion. Look for spoons with a lot of flash and a lot of flutter.

I don't know about shooting out to 300 yards, but I've seen several mulies that have been brought down by a 25- 06. Like Petzal says, if you don't let the animal know what it getting shot with, then it doesn't know that it shouldn't fall over.

Makes me want to post hunting and fishing pics on vegan sites.

If you go to your profile page, you can pull up all of the questions that you have answered, or all of the answers that you have given. It is easily organized to find your stuff without having to weed through a lot of other junk.

Hands down the Vexilar is the best. Wherever you see the guys who are serious about ice fishing, they have a Vexilar.

THey stop your line from sliding through the bobber. It helps you fish at a desired depth.

I'm not a big ultralight fan, but i keep a nice uglystick around for hitting crappies from the shore. It's hard to beat the old uglystick.

I use a long fly rod with an underspin reel to get under public boat docks for big blue gill. It is illegal to fish from the dock. Parks the boat ten feet away and start fishing.

I like it. Shoots faster, farther and more accurate.

Collect christmas trees from your neighbors. Anchor them with some cinder blocks. The cinder blocks will also provide structure.

Same as buckeye. Potato chips do the same thing.

Everyone makes a 1911 variant. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The model has proved its self for almost a hundred years.

I personally like a saw and a tomahawk. I prefer the tomahawk over an axe because I can take it apart (remove the handle from the head) for better packing.

Find a friend or a guide in your area and go with them. THey can show you what you need for the fish that you are targeting. Before you get lures, etc., you need an auger. i have a hand auger that works great up to 20 inches of ice, past that I go fishing with someone who has a gas powered. Then, you can look for tackle depending on the species you are after.

I like small black curly tails on a size 4 baitholder. THen i put a small split hot or two 18 inches above. Cast up and across, and let it drift through the hole, giving just enough retrieve to make the tail twirl.

I like the Ugly Ice rod, and the Slick ice, but for muscling out big bass, my favorite rod is a Southbend that I bought for 3.99.

Same as above. I don't do a lot of salt fishing here in Utah, but a fishing buddy is always jetting to exotic fishing destinations. His go- to reel is and Abu Garcia Record every time.

Last summer I was shore fishing for crappie, walking the bank. I saw a huge bass hanging under a submerged log. I dropped a little crappie jig on his nose and he took it- fight on!! Unfotunately my ultralight outfit wasn't enough to muscle him out of the log and he broke off. I'm guessing 5-7 pounds.