Some chefs know their ingredients better than others.

Cue Austin Waiter, the chef partner at Houston’s The Marigold Club. He’s also a devoted hunter and fly fisherman, and that time in the field shapes the way he approaches the kitchen.

“When you hunt or fish, you gain an understanding of what you’re taking out of the wild, and you gain respect and appreciation for it,” Waiter says.

In last fall’s Field & Stream Journal, Waiter put that philosophy on the plate with his venison tartare: fresh venison, sauce gribiche, pickled mustard seeds, and kohlrabi vinaigrette. The recipe’s in the slides. Drop a “chef” comment & we’ll DM you the ingredients.

From Field & Stream Journal, Volume 130, No. 2: “Wild Chef” by Jonathan Miles, featuring Austin Waiter, with photography by Christopher Testani and styling by Roscoe Betsill. ...

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A tag that took 15 years to draw.

Austin Striefel had been applying for a North Dakota elk tag since he was 12. Now 27, he finally drew one with odds he says were less than 1 percent.

Striefel’s bull sported a perfectly symmetrical 6X6 frame. From tip to tip, the spread stretched 37 inches. Both main beams were well over 50 inches long. And he almost never got the chance to hunt it.

Full story by @travishallmedia ...

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It wasn’t pretty, but it worked.

Horace Kephart called his favorite knife “one of the homeliest things I ever saw” but wrote that it had done more work than all his other knives put together.

That meant something coming from the man who wrote “Camping and Woodcraft” and spent years studying the tools and skills required for life in the woods. Kephart favored a simple fixed blade built for the everyday work of camp over the heavier hunting knives of his era. The design became known as the Kephart knife.

More than a century later, knifemakers are still building versions of the woodsman’s blade he trusted. ...

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Where there’s a will, there’s probably a Goodwill.

One angler needed a landing net and found a $4 Wilson titanium tennis racket instead. This was apparently close enough. He sanded it, painted it, clear coated it, replaced the grip with waterproof heat shrink, and added a 15-inch Fishpond replacement net.

Total investment: $32 and whatever portion of an afternoon he was willing to sacrifice in the name of saving money.

He calls it the “Fishpond x Wilson” collaboration. Neither company appears to have been consulted.

And yes, it floats. ...

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The plan was to catch a king mackerel off Jennette’s Pier…

The tarpon, being a fish and therefore unwilling to respect plans, crushed the live jack on the pin rig instead. What followed was 30 to 40 minutes of screaming runs, violent breaches, and one growing problem: the beach was nearly three football fields away.

Once the tarpon tired, the plan changed. Get it to the beach. Get the hook out. Get it swimming again.

With the fish still on, the angler started the long walk down the pier. His buddy went, in his words, “full Baywatch mode,” hit the surf, and kept the tarpon clear of the pilings while they worked the hook free.

Then they revived their dinosaur in the wash and watched it swim off, leaving the fever dream behind in the surf. (Story via u/grackrite) ...

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Right place. Right time. For generations, Field & Stream’s First Shot has showcased unforgettable moments from the wild.

In the Fall 2024 Journal, Volume 129, Issue 2, longtime F&S contributor Donald M. Jones captured this battle between two bull elk, each defending his harem. Jones has been a full-time wildlife photographer since 1993, with more than 900 magazine covers and 13 books to his name.

The Montana-based photographer has built his career around one rule: his wildlife subjects are truly wild.

At the end of this particular battle, Jones knew he had something special. “I wore a smile all day,” he said.

Photograph by Donald M. Jones ...

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buddy caught a Yamaha 🎣

Matt, aka @nomadickayakfishing, hooked into a yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) aboard his Fisha 500 and quickly found himself along for a RIDE as the fish started towing his kayak across the water.

The species is a member of the jack family and goes by a few names depending on where you fish. In New Zealand, it’s commonly called a yellowtail kingfish, kingfish, or “KINGY.” Elsewhere, the same species is also known as yellowtail or yellowtail amberjack. Whatever you call it, this one had enough power to turn a kayak into a sleigh.

After bringing the fish alongside, Matt sent it back with a simple explanation: “Let the breeders go.” ...

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The legend of John Plute’s whopper bull.

Plute, a coal miner, took the bull near Crested Butte in 1899. He packed out the meat and initially left the antlers behind, returning for them after friends wanted proof of just how big the bull had been. What happened next is the kind of lore Old School Sunday was made for…

According to local legend, Plute eventually traded the antlers to a Crested Butte saloon owner to settle his tab. The rack stayed around town for decades before a Boone & Crockett measurer finally put a tape to it in 1961.

It scored 442 3/8 inches and was later recognized as the world-record typical elk, a title it held for more than three decades. Today, 127 years after Plute took the bull, the rack still ranks No. 2 all-time just 2/8 of an inch behind the current world record. ...

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The Manhattan Cup started with striped bass and conservation. After 9/11, it took on another purpose.

Capt. Frank Crescitelli co-founded the catch-and-release tournament in 1998 on the waters surrounding New York City. Three years later, he was running a fishing charter on September 11 when he eventually reached the lower Hudson and was directed to hold position outside Liberty Landing Marina as a massive evacuation unfolded on the water.

In the years that followed, the Manhattan Cup began welcoming first responders onto those same waters for a day of striped bass fishing. The tradition later expanded to veterans and service members.

More than 1,000 honored guests have since participated. This year marked the Manhattan Cup’s 25th running.
Twenty-five years after September 11, the tradition continues.

(Photos via @themanhattancup) ...

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When a last-minute super-tag opportunity turns into a potential world record.

Idaho hunter Shelly Sayer was on a sheep hunt in British Columbia when she learned she’d won an Idaho Super Hunt tag. She left a day early, made it back for the moose opener. The Boone and Crockett world record has stood since 1952 at 205 4/8 inches. After the mandatory 60-day drying period, Sayer’s bull could finally knock it off the top.

Full story by @travishallmedia featuring Deadline Outfitters @hobygartner ...

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Our predictions are in but what’s yours? Drop it + your state.

Find out which days you need to be in the deers woods in our 22nd annual Best Days of the rut by F&S contributor Adam Lewis powered by @moultrieproducts ...

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