Two more pins on the map.📍Field & Stream Lodge Co. is headed to Bend, Oregon, and Big Bear, California, with both new lodges set to open in 2028.

Bend puts us right on the Deschutes River in Oregon, with Mt. Bachelor and Smith Rock nearby. Big Bear lands us in the San Bernardino Mountains of California, just a short walk from Big Bear Lake.

They’ll join our first lodge in Bozeman, Montana bringing Field & Stream Lodge Co. to three outdoor towns across the West. Bozeman. Bend. Big Bear. See you out there. ...

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Good shooting, Ella 🏹 and congrats.

The internet is, however, finally getting caught up. Here’s how deer season got dragged into pop-chart wars…

Old photos of @ellalangleymusic hunting are suddenly making the rounds. But the pictures are only the latest chapter in a strange couple of weeks for the Alabama native, whose record-setting run with “Choosin’ Texas” has introduced her to a much bigger—and occasionally less friendly—corner of the internet.

X coverage surfaced via @whiskeyriff & Quinn Eaton👏 ...

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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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