Field & Stream: Hunting, Fishing, and Outdoor Expertise Since 1871

The Department of Interior has released a strategic plan that could guide the agency for the next four years, and it includes the proposed sale of federally managed public lands to states, local municipalities, and tribes.

The plan to offload public lands—or “shrink the federal estate”, as the DOI’s 2026-2030 Strategic Plan puts it—comes roughly 500 days after Utah Sen. Mike Lee sparked a major national backlash with his failed plan to sell some 3.2 million acres of public lands throughout the western U.S. in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025.

“The Department will work to decrease the size of the federal estate by offering to states, localities and Tribes the opportunity to purchase federal lands,” reads a paragraph on page 16 of the 28-page plan. “Through these sales, the Department will be able to focus its resources on primary federal responsibilities and nationally significant federal lands.”

Drop a “data” comment & we’ll DM you the full story by @travishallmedia ...

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Let the chirping begin 😉

If you’re familiar with Bone Collector deer camp, you know there’s no statute of limitations on missing a good buck. Especially when Blake Shelton ends up tagging him.

Shelton was hosting Michael Waddell and the Bone Collector crew at his Oklahoma property for their annual 10 Pistols deer camp when the country star reportedly got a crack at the same giant whitetail Waddell had missed days earlier. Shelton made his shot count and dropped the same buck with a Hoyt compound bow.

Not that Waddell needed much sympathy. After several days of warm, wet weather, a cold front finally put the bucks on their feet. He took a heavy-bodied, mature eight-pointer and added another buck on the final day.
By week’s end, the crew had some exceptional Oklahoma whitetails, a steady supply of country-fried steak and turducken, and enough group chat ammo for a year’s worth of unsolicited chirping to carry into next season.

Shelton got the buck Waddell missed. Waddell got two of his own. Everybody won, though Waddell may hear about that first one until he’s too old to draw a bow. Check out the @officialbonecollector YT channel for the full camp recap and congrats @blakeshelton! ...

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Wisconsin’s smallmouth bass record had stood for 76 years. Then Austin Schiefer hooked into a fish that would finally break it.

Schiefer was fishing Green Bay with his friend Ted Johnson when the two decided to switch from tubes to a 5-inch soft jerkbait rigged to a minnow-head jig. After an 80-foot cast, Schiefer watched through his live scope as a giant fish followed the bait for 30 or 40 feet before swallowing it.

At first, he thought he’d hooked a big drum. But as the fish got closer, the head shakes and powerful runs told a different story.

The fish circled the boat before Johnson netted it on his first try. The scale inside the boat read 9.7 pounds. A certified scale later confirmed its weight at 9 pounds, 11.5 ounces.

On November 3, the Wisconsin DNR officially certified Schiefer’s catch as the new state record, breaking the previous mark set by Leon Stefonek in 1950 by more than 10 ounces.

After 76 years, Wisconsin has a new smallmouth bass state record.

Story by @travishallmedia ...

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Before he fished in 140 countries, Al McClane fought his way across Europe.

In 1944, he landed at Normandy with the U.S. Army, serving in mechanized infantry and fighting his way to Czechoslovakia.

Three years later, he became Field & Stream’s fishing editor. Known as A.J. to readers and simply Al to his friends, McClane held the position from 1947 to 1975. He would go on to author 15 books, including McClane’s Standard Fishing Encyclopedia, earn a place in the Fishing Hall of Fame, and teach millions of Americans how to fish.

A casting innovator, tackle expert, and accomplished photographer, McClane counted Dan Bailey, Harry Darbee, Ted Trueblood, and Charles Ritz among his fishing companions. He spent a lifetime learning the sport and passing that knowledge along.

But there was another part of his life that fellow Field & Stream writer and Army veteran David E. Petzal wanted to understand.

In his essay “Appreciating Veterans,” Petzal recalled asking McClane how he and his fellow soldiers felt about the war.

McClane told him they knew they were making history. And they knew that what they were doing had to be done. If called upon, they would do it again.

Petzal ended his tribute with two words: “Well done.”
This Veterans Day, we extend that gratitude to all who have served.

From the Field & Stream archives: “Appreciating Veterans,” by David E. Petzal. ...

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Five years of history got him close, but knowing when to change the plan got him Joey B, a buck with a habit of disappearing.

Iowa bowhunter Mike Reed had the trail-cam photos, shed antlers, and an estimated 15 to 20 encounters to prove he’d done his homework. Then Joey B vanished. Again. No fresh pictures. EHD in the area. Other hunters on his trail. Reed wasn’t even sure the old buck was still alive. But he had one good lead: a 10-acre willow patch across the river. Five years in the making, the 6½-year-old giant reportedly measured 187 inches.

Story & full video by @midwestwhitetailofficial @hoytbowhunting - out now on their YT channels featuring @mikereed_41north 🫡 ...

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What would you add, and what would you leave at the truck?

An elk is a mighty big animal to bring home in a daypack but this 28-liter pack-it-all is on the checklist. Among the Mystery Ranch Pop Up 28, is an 11-pound custom 6.5 PRC, a homemade bino harness, tripod, game bags, field kit, extra clothing, and 11 rounds of ammunition. It’s a kit assembled for his particular circumstances.

His in-laws live about 30 minutes from the trailhead, allowing him to hunt during the day without carrying overnight camping equipment. His layering system keeps him comfortable well below freezing, according to the hunter, and he carries 2.5 liters of water with a Platypus filter for refilling where water is available. The tripod earns its place for glassing and doubling as a shooting rest. Should he fill an elk tag, his intended approach was to quarter the animal, hang the meat, return to unload his equipment, and make additional trips.

There are plenty of ways to pack for elk country, and no single list suits every hunter. Water availability, weather, terrain, distance from the trailhead, and the prospect of packing out meat all have a say in what belongs on your back. This is just one hunter’s approach, shared for a closer look at the decisions behind his gear.

Original photograph, gear list, and field notes: u/rybe390 ...

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Brad Box planned to spend three or four weeks teaching his friend Luke Bryan’s new chocolate Lab some basic obedience. That was back in the summer of 2017.

Choc picked up commands quickly, but his ability to mark birds was something else. Box would throw six or seven marks into heavy cover, make him wait 10 to 15 minutes, and watch him run straight to every one.

That winter, Choc joined his first duck hunt on a small lake at Bryan’s farm. Five gadwalls worked into the decoys. The hunters dropped all five, and Choc picked up every bird.

Nearly 10 years later, Box and Bryan have lost count of how many birds Choc has retrieved. The number is well over 1,000.

As Choc approaches 10, his pace may have slowed, but his drive to hunt hasn’t. For two friends, he’s become the hunting dog of a lifetime. Drop a “choc” comment & we’ll DM you the full story by @bradfordbox for Field & Stream ...

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Dollar for ducks in 1934.

Jay Norwood, aka J.N. “Ding” Darling, knew what he liked and where his talents were best placed: marshes and drawing boards. The two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist helped turn a federal hunting initiative into an enduring protection fund for waterfowl habitat. Among its first supporters was Field & Stream editor Ray P. Holland.

When the Federal Duck Stamp program became official in 1934, Darling supplied the artwork and was the first hunter to buy one on August 22nd of that year.

Roughly 635,000 stamps were sold during the program’s first season. Darling went on to design the Blue Goose emblem, which still marks America’s national wildlife refuges. More than 90 years later, on this Old School Sunday, the Duck Stamp lifecycle maintains: buy a stamp, protect the land, keep the birds coming back. ...

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Louisiana has roughly 3 million wild alligators, and hunters have helped keep it that way.

The American alligator is one of wildlife conservation’s great success stories. After populations declined, Louisiana closed its hunting season in 1962 and reinstated regulated hunting in 1972.

Today, wildlife biologists use population surveys, nesting data, and habitat assessments to establish sustainable hunting quotas. Hunters help manage the population, while landowners have an economic incentive to conserve critical wetland habitat.

During Field & Stream’s Louisiana Gator Camp, we saw this relationship between hunting, conservation, and habitat firsthand.

And when the hunting was done, we returned to camp for good company and a cold @twistedtea. Made with real brewed tea, 5% alcohol, and no carbonation, it was a refreshing way to finish the day.

#FSGatorCamp Presented by @twistedtea.
Enjoy responsibly. 21+ ...

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Nearly four decades after Ontario’s Georgian Bay produced a legendary 65-pound muskie, a first-time muskie angler put this giant in his net.

In 1988, Ken O’Brien landed a 58-inch muskie with a reported 30½-inch girth and a weight of 65 pounds, a catch that remains one of the most storied in Canadian muskie fishing.

A few weeks ago, Brenden Train joined his friend Mat Brown and longtime muskie angler Joe Bidinot on the same waters. With baitfish concentrated and an evening feeding window approaching, Train’s 8-inch Restless Rider swimbait drew a strike.

Fifty-seven inches on the bump board. Less than a minute to the net. Bidinot estimated the fish at roughly 50 pounds, though no weight or girth was recorded. After a few photographs, the crew released it.

Two exceptional fish, separated by decades, from a fishery with a long history of producing trophy-class muskies. For those who’ve spent time chasing them, what’s the biggest muskie you’ve ever put on a board?

Video and Muskie trip by @muskyfeverfishing ...

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