Bradley Hoene with a 200-plus-inch buck killed during the 2007 opening week in Missouri. Nate MatthewsEight-year-old Brandon Pelton with his first bonefish, caught on a flat in the Bahamas just this March. Nate MatthewsMichael Prentice traveled all the way from Alexandria, VA, to Alaska to try his hand at shooting a grizzly. The trip was clearly a great success. Nate MatthewsLaura Bell’s patience and practice with a diaphragm call paid off when she coaxed in this 19-pound bird while hunting near Garrettsville, OH. Field & Stream Online EditorsGame Faces regular Beverly C. Smith of Browns, AL, certainly kills her share of big game, but she enjoys rabbit hunting just as much. Field & Stream Online EditorsAndy Schultz of McFarland, WI, got a lucky shot as this musky took to the air during the spring spawn on Lake Wingra. Field & Stream Online EditorsThe rest of these photos might not have made it into our picks of the week, but check them out, because they’re still pretty cool. Here are the runners up. Field & Stream Online EditorsElene Hess steals a celebratory kiss from her husband who just shot his first red stagg in the mountains of New Zealand. Field & Stream Online EditorsCurtis Nissen may have been targeting stripers on this gloomy day in Oklahoma, but he said he had no problems with hooking this 7-pound largemouth. It was the biggest bass he had ever caught. Field & Stream Online Editors“I call this photo ‘Buck in the Truck’,” says Danny Mendez of San Clemente, CA. “I believe this deer may have been the biggest buck taken during the 2007 California season.” Field & Stream Online EditorsSalvador Cornejo of La Joya, TX, caught and released this 7-pound largemouth at Falcon Lake during a family fishing trip. But… Field & Stream Online Editors…unfortunately for Cornejo, his wife Stephanie trumped his catch when she landed this 8-pounder on the same trip. However… Field & Stream Online Editors…there is no doubt Cornejo’s first bow-killed alligator gar could have eaten the 8-pound bass in one bite. He shot this 120-pound fish in the Trinity River. Field & Stream Online EditorsStacie Hodgdon-Contreras of Shawnee, KS, chased this turkey for a month before getting the best of this 24-pound bird. Field & Stream Online EditorsJ.J. Kapuchuck poses with his dad and one serious cow striper caught on the troll off Virginia Beach. Field & Stream Online EditorsWhen Brandon Yoney landed this 9-pound pike off the dock of his cabin in Minnesota, he decided to get the whole family involved in the celebration. Field & Stream Online EditorsDavid Vernon with a 17-pound gobbler taken in Mississippi. Deaf since birth, Vernon taught himself to use slate and box calls by feeling the vibrations in his hand. Field & Stream Online EditorsWhen not studying hard at Florida State, Jessica Partain likes to get after monster largemouth. She caught this fine fish near Zephyrhills, FL. Field & Stream Online EditorsJoel Elliot got this 32-inch bluefish to smack a Super Spook while fishing the shallows near Cape Lookout, NC. Field & Stream Online EditorsAccording to Robert Hatchey of New Brunswick, Canada, the coyotes take a toll on the deer population. So Hatchey decided to tip the scale in the deers’ favor. These are two of 12 coyotes he shot last winter. Field & Stream Online EditorsKyle Tirpak with his first turkey kill. He shot the bird while hunting with his dad Erik on Mother’s Day this year. Mom slept in that morning. Field & Stream Online EditorsGregory Laird of Felton, PA, with a 3-pound Susquehanna River smallmouth. Field & Stream Online EditorsPaul Martin took this bird in West Virginia just this spring. He got his shot just a few minutes before the 1 p.m. hunting time limit set by the state. Field & Stream Online EditorsPaul Martin (previous photo) isn’t just a turkey guy. Here he proves that his whitetail skills are also up to par. He shot this buck on his grandparent’s farm in Monroe County, WV. Field & Stream Online EditorsTracy Chrisley with a gobbler taken just this spring on a hunt outside of Abbeville, SC. Field & Stream Online EditorsShane Callahan fooled this 20-pound striped bass on Kentucky’s Lake Cumberland. Field & Stream Online EditorsPhil Bonnel of Fulton, MD, used a yellow and white feather jig to dupe this 14-inch crappy in a local pond. Field & Stream Online EditorsDon Brown of Littleton, CO, took a shot at this red fox during a dove hunt in Argentina. Field & Stream Online EditorsMark Reilly of Tigard, OR, with an elk he shot in New Mexico. Field & Stream Online EditorsSean Coombs of Knoxville, TN, says, “People might not consider this fish a monster, but it’s a good sized smallmouth considering the tiny creek I was on.” Field & Stream Online EditorsSteven Parcha of Newnan, GA, captured this photo of some does passing through during a bow hunt. Field & Stream Online EditorsAdam Leitschuh used a Rooster Tail spinner to hook this big rainbow trout on Silver Lake, CA, in the central Sierra Nevada. Field & Stream Online EditorsMark S. Williams of Alta Loma, CA, displays on of the heavy cutthroat trout he landed while fly fishing on Pyramid Lake in Nevada. Field & Stream Online EditorsLonnie Michaud of Saco, ME, with a 23-pound tom. This was only the second bird Michaud had taken since he started turkey hunting in 2005. Field & Stream Online EditorsChris Krawczyk shot his first gobbler – a 22-pounder – during a hunt this season near Rockville, MO. Field & Stream Online EditorsWhile casting from shore, Todd Barnes of Canandaigua, NY, landed this 10-pound Lake Ontario steelhead. Field & Stream Online EditorsRyan Clements with the bounty from his first steelhead trip. He fished out of Lewiston, ID, for five hours to bag these two brutes. Field & Stream Online EditorsDarin White of Lawrence, KS, got this big bass to crush a white spinnerbait in a private pond. Field & Stream Online EditorsMark Evans and his Uncle Earl show off their first striped bass. They pulled them from Lake Cumberland in Kentucky. Field & Stream Online EditorsCharles Parr got a real surprise when this 37-inch pike slammed his walleye jig on 6-pound line while ice fishing in Michigan. Field & Stream Online EditorsEric Castellano with his first buck taken near Clinton, MO. Field & Stream Online EditorsKen Anderson shot this 25-pound turkey last season in Missouri. Field & Stream Online EditorsBarry Masin sent in this photo of his brother enjoying the view from a ridge in Canada while deciding where to fish. Field & Stream Online EditorsJim Krepp of Greenville, PA, hand-tied the prince nymph that caught this nice steelhead in a Lake Erie tributary. Field & Stream Online EditorsChris Cole with a gobbler shot this season near his home town of Levant, ME. Field & Stream Online EditorsDavid Sandana fought through icy rain and freezing temps to connect with this steelhead on the Humptulips River. Field & Stream Online EditorsYoung Logan Shuk proudly holds his first unassisted trout catch – a nice rainbow caught in southern Utah. Field & Stream Online EditorsGary L. White of Wytheville, VA, couldn’t help but wonder if he was being stalked when he saw this coyote peaking through his porch door. Field & Stream Online EditorsJack Kline of Superior, WI, with his trophy Coho salmon that he bested during a trip to Alaska. Field & Stream Online EditorsDennis Fike of Hermitage, PA, shot this antelope with his bow at 35 yards during a hunt in Colorado. Field & Stream Online EditorsSteve Mullen chased this bird up and down two ridges near Jonesboro, AR, before he finally got a shot. Field & Stream Online Editors
