Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2025 i Game & Fish East

I’ll just come right out and say it: August makes me anxious. Some of the blame goes to the godforsaken heat that comes with it. I grew up in the Northeast, where the end of summer was typically far more temperate than it is in my adopted home state of Kansas. If you know anything about late summer in the southern Great Plains, you know that the heat and humidity will conspire to make any time spent outside in the daylight hours fairly miserable. That doesn’t mean folks here don’t get out on the water or scout for deer. It just means we need to bring a lot of extra water and a change of clothes for when we sweat through the first. The other reason August makes me anxious…

Randy Ferguson describes deer hunting as a social service. He’s not talking about hunters’mutually beneficial relationship with farmers in his native Pennsylvania, or the social and economic fabric that’s knit by hunters and their traditions in rural communities around the country. Instead, he’s talking about the million pounds of venison that Pennsylvania hunters have donated to public food banks in the Keystone State over the last 5 years. “We’ve been breaking records every year with the donated portion of the deer harvest,” says Ferguson, executive director of Pennsylvania’s chapter of Hunters Sharing the Harvest (HSH) program, now in its 34th year. “Last season, hunters donated 262,000 pounds from about 6,900 deer. That’s an all-time record for us, topping the 235,000 pounds from the year before. When you compound the wild-game…

The theme from Jaws was first and foremost on my mind. Five or six kids had lined up along the dock, each with hook, worm and bobber awaiting the invasion that occurred every summer evening. As the sun set, in they came—a marauding group of bullheads—and one after another, the fish hit the dock. Most were less than a pound, but occasionally someone would tangle with a stud (you’d know it by the shouting). And so it went for hours until most of the kids were too tired to continue, their bedtime long since past. There are generally three types of bullheads present in the Northeast (there are seven altogether). Black bullheads are the most prevalent, with brown and yellow bullheads also available in many waters. Although many fishermen lump…

Before I became a dedicated musky angler, I made repeated, futile attempts to catch the infamous “fish of 10,000 casts.” I bought musky tackle, lures and even an oversized net in preparation for some big fish. Like most novices, however, I did almost everything wrong. But learning is a huge part of the musky fishing game, and no one does it right at the start. One summer day just before dusk on a small New Jersey musky water, everything finally came together for me. Fishing from my friend’s canoe (a watercraft that I absolutely do not recommend for musky fishing), I cast a large topwater toward a weed line and began to “walk the dog” back to the boat. Within seconds, all hell broke loose. What was most likely…

Dawn came over the vineyards, the air fresh and crisp and carrying just a faint hint of the distant Pacific Coast. I checked the chamber of my rifle and set it in guide Ryan Newkirk’s pickup. In every direction stretched vast fields of verdant green vines loaded with grapes. Perfectly ordered rows roller-coasted over the undulating hills. I felt like I was hunting in Paradise—a far different experience than the hardcore backcountry territory I usually hunt. Full morning light was upon us as we climbed into the truck, dropped it into gear and slowly motored away from Steinbeck Vineyards’ headquarters. Turning into a lane bordered on either side by grapes, we eased up the road, looking carefully down the length of each row of vines. I was astonished at…

For a long time, low-power variable optics, or LPVOs, were usually 1–4X riflescopes. But time and technology march on, and the magnification range of LPVOs increased to 1–6X and then 1–8X. LPVOs typically have an eyepiece and a straight tube at the objective end instead of an objective bell, keeping them more compact but also limiting the size of the objective lens. As such, these sometimes stubby looking telescopic sights are great on rifles used for closerange hunting, AR-15s, lever-action rifles and even shotguns. This brings us to the latest addition to the Trijicon Credo HX lineup, a 1–10x28 riflescope in the LPVO configuration. This newest Credo HX is a little powerhouse of a scope, giving shooters a functionally true 1X at the low end, a sizable mid-range and 10X…

FOR THE RECORD BOOKS What’s the heaviest crappie or bass caught in your state? See the latest updates on records for fresh water and saltwater fish under the “Fishing” section. RANGE REPORT: MARLIN MODEL 1895 Get the full report on Marlin’s reintroduced Model 1895 lever-action rifle. Find the rundown on the rifle under the “Gear” section. WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NEWS Check out the latest in conservation efforts and issues, including voter initiatives, fair-chase ethics and best practices for using public-land resources under the “Hunting” section. GO HOG WILD WITH BURRIS THERMAL OPTICS As boars become more nocturnal during the hotter months, Burris’ economically priced thermal units provide hunters the ability to control pig populations. AROUND THE OUTDOORS If you’re looking for the latest in hunting, shooting and fishing content, you can…

The .22 Long Rifle cartridge has been training new shooters and satisfying everyone else for well over a century. But as prolific and perfect as the .22 Long Rifle cartridge might seem, it has a design flaw—one that, in the world of modern cartridges, limits its performance. Winchester designed the .21 Sharp to correct that flaw, and you could argue it’s also partly the product of government regulations. But is the .21 Sharp a cartridge you need, and should you ditch your favorite .22 Long Rifle for one? Let’s take a closer look. AN UNFORTUNATE FLAW Have you ever looked at a .22 Long Rifle cartridge beside a .22 Magnum or .17 HMR cartridge? There’s a distinct difference. The bullets on the .22 Magnum and .17 HMR cartridges are…

With my hand behind my back, motioning for my pal Joe to stop, I whispered hoarsely at a barely audible volume. “Don’t move.” Joe likely thought I had momentarily gone insane since we were walking slowly in total darkness, and seeing anything ahead to stop abruptly for was questionable indeed. If that was his thought, he was wrong. By nature’s design, my eyes were dilated and the photoreceptor cells in my retinas were already working overtime to pierce the darkness. What they detected were the two tan forms standing out in the otherwise complete black of the Wyoming backcountry. I lifted my binocular to my eyes in slow motion and whispered my next insight to Joe. “Bulls.” I had spied the bulls while summiting a small rise ahead of…

To those who haven’t embarked on the food plotting journey, just getting started can seem intimidating. After all, if you’re not a farmer, who are you to be growing plants with any sort of success? Here’s the secret, though: While farming is most certainly difficult, planting food plots for deer is not. Sure, there’s a learning curve. And there will absolutely be failures. But these aren’t reasons to forgo the noble effort of providing better habitat and hunting opportunities. Turn some soil and get your hands dirty with one or more of the following crops. ALFALFA A common agricultural crop, alfalfa is a hot option for whitetails. Deer love this legume and often choose it over other popular options. Furthermore, the perennial comes loaded with upwards of 25-to 30-percent protein.…

Perhaps no fish is as feared by anglers and baitfish alike as the bluefish. Its knife-wielding maw, combined with a notoriously bad attitude, is equipped to slice, dice and puree any baitfish or destroy any lure cast in its general vicinity. Its tenacious fighting ability pushes tackle to its limits. And the careless handling of a flopping blue has sent many anglers to emergency rooms with hooks embedded in hands. Summertime bluefish are well fed, fat and ornery. The size of the fish that will be predominant in any given year varies, but blues from 3 to 20 pounds can be in the offing anywhere on the East coast, and you need to prepare accordingly to tackle the yellow-eyed demons. CHOP CHOP In spring, bluefish schools migrate from the Carolinas…

Making his home in Cooperstown, N.Y., Kyle Patrick knows a thing or two about baseball. When water temperatures begin to cool at night, he knows his best shot at home-run bites will come from a topwater bait. Indeed, from rivers to lakes, natural motivators bring surface action to the forefront. While certainly not the only way to catch a late-summer bass, topwater lures can deliver some of your most memorable engagements. “The feed bag is on. Largemouths, especially, are ready to eat, and when they can get a larger profile bait on top of the water, it’s hard for them to ignore it,” Patrick says. “It’s just a fun way to fish. You get to watch a fish come up and eat the bait.” New Jersey pro Greg DiPalma also…

To hunt in California, you are required to use ammo loaded with a lead-free projectile. That’s okay; there are plenty of good copper/alloy options available. Time was short, but a bit of shopping turned up exactly what I wanted: three boxes of 150-grain .308 Winchester Copper Impact ammo. With a muzzle velocity of 2,810 fps, these loads hit hard, penetrate deeply and expand aggressively—qualities ideal for these vineyard deer. The rifle I chose for this hunt was a compact and handy Mossberg Patriot chambered in .308 Win. For stalking through vines and crawling along the rows, this choice proved excellent. Most shot opportunities were expected to be 200 yards or less, so I zeroed the rifle two inches high at 100. After smacking a vitalsized steel plate several times at…

There was a time not all that long ago when I had a plan. Once August rolled in, I’d start running trail cameras, scouting travel corridors and checking for fresh sign. I’d block off a couple weeks in November and dive into my favorite tracts of public ground like they were my own personal playgrounds. Public land was my go-to for many years. It was accessible and productive. It wasn’t always easy, but it was rewarding. It was mine—not in a legal sense, of course, but in the way every hunter who puts in the miles and hangs stands in the dark eventually claims a little piece of wild ground as his own. Now, those days are over. WHAT CHANGED? Somewhere along the way, the game shifted. Drawing tags has…

“Use enough gun.” Robert Ruark coined that phrase and used it as the title of a book on African hunting, but the sentiment holds true today whether hunting the Dark Continent or North American big game. It especially holds true when elk are your target. Elk are big and tough and live in some of the roughest terrain of any of the deer species. They are the second-largest member of the North American deer family, trailing only the moose. Cow elk can push 650 pounds, while bulls can exceed 800 and even 1,000 pounds in some regions. For the sake of clarification, a “large” caliber is any in the .30 group (or very close). Top contenders include the 7 mm Remington Magnum, 7 mm PRC, .308 Winchester, .300 Winchester Magnum,…

Invite some fishing buddies over for dinner and tell them that bluefish is on the menu, and you very well might be dining alone. Many folks want absolutely nothing to do with cooked bluefish. However, make this smoked bluefish appetizer and they’ll all ignore the main course. The best part is, it’s super simple. This recipe is unabashedly stolen from Ryan Lambert at Cajun Fishing Adventures in Buras, La. (cajunfishingadventures.com). He makes it with bull redfish, which can often be as strong-tasting as blues. NOTE: To get the best flavor out of bluefish, it’s important to bleed them out and cooler them as soon as they hit the deck. INGREDIENTS • Bluefish fillets• 1 onion• 1 stalk celery• 1 medium tomato• 1 jar pickled jalapeños• 1 jar mayonnaise• Tony Chachere’s…

Lake Erie’s walleyes prefer cool, deep waters in summer, and boat anglers relish bringing home coolers filled with flavorful fish caught while trolling those depths with planer boards and downriggers. A growing number of shoreline anglers, however, are casting from piers and breakwalls, especially after dark, and finding surprising success at catching walleyes. Many call it “the night bite.” Gifted with exceptional night vision and sharp teeth, walleyes are designed to be voracious predators in low-light conditions, and they head to the shorelines to feast on schools of shallow-water baitfish once the sun goes down. While boat anglers have a decided advantage for catching walleyes during the dog days, casting from shore becomes productive when Lake Erie’s waters begin to cool. Climate change has limited the ice cover of Lake…

Little about the SIG Sauer Cross bolt-action rifle is classic in form. Indeed, not a lick of wood or blued metal can be found on the gun. However, after extensive range testing and in-the-field use, I’m confident even my late grandfather would appreciate what the Cross offers hunters. While not a typical bolt-action hunting rifle, the Cross offers undeniable capability. If you enjoy lightweight rifles that get on target quickly, feature a sub-4-pound match trigger, a fully adjustable folding buttstock and a threaded barrel, and are chambered in a round that punches above its weight, you’d be wise to consider the SIG Cross. THE CHAMBERING With personal defense, law enforcement and military-centric products such an integral part of SIG’s business model, many were surprised when the bolt-action Cross, a blend…

With summer winding down and the baseball team eliminated from the tourney, Shane suddenly found himself with one last free week before school started. He planned to make the most of it. “Mark,” said Shane into the telephone, “losing might have been a blessing.” “What do you mean?” replied Mark. “Have you looked outside lately?” “It’s nice. Much cooler than usual.” “Exactly,” said Shane. “And it’s supposed to hold for the next few days.” “What are you getting at?” “The fish will be hammering. Plus, most of the other schools started back this week, so when we hit the river for a couple nights of camping, we might have it all to ourselves.” “You thinking Smith Fork?” “Yup,” said Shane. “You in?” “Yup,” said Mark. “I’ll bring my canoe, you…