Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2025 i Game & Fish East

Is it just me, or does time seem to compress the older we get? Maybe it’s just a product of our modern lives, in which everyone (or at least everyone I know) seems to be going 100 miles per hour all the time. Or maybe there’s a biological explanation—something to do with a change in our brain’s chemistry as we age that affects our perception of the passage of time. Whatever it is, I can’t help but feel that the duration of the past 12 months was somehow shorter than that the previous 12 months and the 12 before that. At any rate, my goal between now and the end of the year is to try and slow things down as much as I am able. I’m going to make…

Every New Year’s Day, just before we tuck into bowls of traditional Hoppin’ John, a humble stew of black-eyed peas and smoked ham hock, my family passes around scraps of paper. We don’t say a word. Each member knows the routine—we write down two or three resolutions for the coming year, and after breakfast we take turns announcing our intentions. Then, my wife collects the paper scraps and puts them in a small heir-loom crock we keep on the kitchen counter. They’re handy to refer to in, say, February and March, to see how we’re tracking. But they’re even more interesting as archived documents, to see how our interests and purpose have changed over the years as our priorities have shifted. “Mind my own business,” my teenage daughter resolved in…

He was in his 30s, a father of two young children and engaged to be married. He was also an experienced and passionate ice-fisherman. His friends fought to save him with CPR for about 20 minutes before first responders arrived on the scene. His tragic death serves as a stark reminder of the potential dangers of ice-fishing. There are a few other heartbreaking details you can find in news reports about an Upstate New York fisherman who died after going through the ice on Great Sacandaga Lake last January, but here’s one that should stick with you: The victim ventured onto the lake with a group who’ve fished Great Sacandaga for more than 30 years—a group that would never have expected such a tragedy. “It can happen to anybody,” the…

December is a prime time to load up on one of saltwater’s tastiest fish, black sea bass, and we were eager to bring some home. Some 65 miles off the Jersey coast, the 85-foot party boat Gambler finally stopped and sounded its horn, signaling that fishing time had begun. And we wasted no time dropping our diamond jigs in the drink and letting them sink slowly toward the bottom 280 feet below. My jig was the first to hit the sea floor, and a scant three or four seconds had transpired when I felt my lure’s first bounce immediately followed by the punishing hit of a bottom dweller. With a rush of adrenaline kicking my whole being into high gear, I reeled with fervor, cranking as fast as I could…

A heavy, chocolate-racked buck materializes in the timber and slowly eases along the trail, carefully departing the swamp where it had bedded for the day. It’s heading for a distant soybean field, using a known travel route to get there. You’ll never see this deer in that big field during daylight, though. It’s too far away. The small pocket of red-oak acorns just outside the swamp is the place to hunt him. The buck stages there until dark, so it’s definitely an excellent place to intercept him. The late season is all about finding ways to create opportunities, and hunters can do that by focusing on areas that provide key bedding, food-source, and security advantages. 1. ESSENTIAL FOOD PLOTS Deer don’t just eat red-oak acorns, white-oak acorns and yellow corn.…

With big game seasons mostly in the rearview mirror, many hunters from coast to coast will shift their attention to water-fowl this month. Some will take to the marsh or the flooded timber in search of ducks. Others will gravitate to harvested crop fields, where they’ll hope to ambush geese keen to feed on waste grain. As many of us have spent the past couple months sitting alone 20 feet up a tree, the camaraderie of a waterfowl hunt serves as a means to transition to more communal pursuits. The tradition of gathering friends and family for a chilly morning in the blind is another way to celebrate the festive season—and maybe bring home a bird for the Christmas table. When dawn comes and the sky turns that winter pink,…

It was mid-November when Shane handed his Christmas wish list to his mother. It was ambitious, but in line with the wishes of a 16-year-old boy. Right at the top was a Remington Model 700 BDL in .308 with a 3–9x40mm scope. A few days later, when word spread to Shane’s father, he breached the topic with his only son. “Shane, I saw your Christmas list.” Shane ceased eating his breakfast and looked up at full attention. “That’s a great rifle, and you know I’d love to get you one,” started Shane’s dad. “But with the new roof and your mother’s car blowing the transmission this year, I’m afraid we just can’t swing it right now. I’m sorry, son, but don’t worry. We’ll still have a great Christmas, just like…

With the introduction of the .300 Blackout cartridge in 2010, hunters became more interested in shooting subsonic ammunition and hunting with suppressors. This might seem odd because since the introduction of the .30-30 Winchester cartridge in 1895, hunters have been gravitating toward ammunition that pushes bullets faster rather than slower. In other words, the trend with hunting cartridges and ammunition has always been for more as opposed to less speed. However, subsonic ammunition makes a lot less noise—especially when shooting suppressed—and it recoils more softly, too. Both make rifles more fun and easier to shoot. But is subsonic ammunition a good fit for hunting, and what cartridges and loads are best? SUB SCIENCE First, let’s define exactly what subsonic ammunition really is. Subsonic ammo leaves the muzzle of a firearm…

Winter affects the entire swath of whitetail country, and when it hits with a hammer it can cause you to rethink your hunting strategy and your sanity for continuing the hunt. Foul winter weather may not last long in the southern half of the nation, but it does occur, especially with ice. In northern whitetail country, where I hail from, you can expect a battle with frigid Mother Nature just about every year. I’ve fought the good fight through almost every imaginable winter weather scenario. Some I have lost, but I have many in the win column due to persistence, planning and spontaneous adaptation to constantly changing conditions. GIMME SHELTER The Dilemma While traveling to Iowa one season, the weather forecast transitioned from threats of a major winter storm to…

For most fly fishers, fall, when trout try to fatten up for winter and are willing to chase big slabs of meat with abandon, is the peak time for fishing streamers. As cold weather rolls in, making the fish more sluggish, most anglers switch to drifting nymphs through deep holes, especially on tailwaters, which are warmer than freestones during the cold months. On rare occasions a hatch of midges or early black stoneflies might bring trout to the surface, but putting away your streamer box until spring is a big mistake. Despite being less aggressive in wintertime, trout are still on the lookout for baitfish and other big morsels that provide a welcome calorie boost. If you tailor your gear, fly choices and tactics to appeal to these opportunistic trout,…

Migratory woodcock might not all go to the dance together, but sometimes a bunch will wind up in the same place at the same time. That sort of timely convergence is the stuff of a woodcock hunter’s dreams. Some convergences are known as “flights,” when birds just show up in a covert unannounced and in real numbers. In Pennsylvania, I once encountered 68 woodcock in one hour in a diminutive five-acre stretch along a small creek. A flight like this is a rare thing and usually the result of some major and rapid change in the weather. More common is a convergence known as “staging,” and it happens where there’s a bottleneck—usually a place where some geographical feature causes the birds to pile up and wait for favorable weather before…

Christensen Arms built their legacy with the carbon fiber-wrapped barrel. In fact, they were the first company to offer one. However, Christensen’s newest rifle, the Evoke, does not have a carbon fiber-wrapped barrel, and it is the least expensive centerfire rifle in the gun maker’s catalog. While the Evoke was introduced in 2024, the rifle wasn’t available until early 2025. The Evoke is now shipping, though, and Christensen is offering it in four different versions. Here’s a look at all this rifle has to offer and how it performed during our testing. RIFLE DETAILS The Evoke uses a new proprietary action that’s built around a radially fluted, two-lug bolt with a 90-degree throw. This is a push-feed-style action, and the bolt is outfitted with the common plunger-style ejector, but it…

Late-season bowhunting is an entirely different game compared to early-season archery forays. The deer are jumpy after weeks of bullets zinging around them, cover is greatly reduced and the air is bitter. Everything is a touch more difficult for deer and bowhunters alike in the depths of winter. Most hunters reconsider their apparel choices and stand setups when the mercury drops. But few think about one of the most overlooked adjustments you can make for success when the snow flies: changing your bow setup for cold weather. The late season isn’t just about endurance, it’s about adaptation. And that starts with your gear. THE GRIP AND GLOVES The first thing to address is your grip. I wear thin, brown jersey gloves throughout most of October and November. When December and…

The level of a local lake had been dropping rapidly following several months heavy on pleasant weather and short on rain. In a couple of weeks, it would not be possible to launch a boat. Determined to get one more crack at the resident crappies, I eased the boat next to a submerged tree that hung on the original creek channel, in roughly 20 feet of water. Holding in place a short cast away from the sunken cover, my partner and I pitched light jigs toward it and almost instantly made contact with fish. A moment later, we both brought in plump crappies more than a foot long. And by day’s end, we’d boated around 50 fish, most of which were bona fide slabs, at least by northern standards. This…

What has two legs but can’t run, offers support in a time of need, can be ready at a moment’s notice, and asks for nothing in return? A bipod, of course. What did you think I was talking about? In certain situations, when it comes to supporting your rifle for a critical shot, there is nothing better than a bipod. Sure, you can shoot off a pack, bag or a tripod, but for getting into position, getting stable and getting the shot off, nothing else offers the same combination of quick deployment and support. There will be times when the terrain or vegetation doesn’t allow for shooting prone, or there isn’t something on which to set-up. But when you can, shooting prone from a bipod should always be your first…

How a shotgun fits a shooter and how it feels in the hands are almost as important as how well it shoots. OK, that sentence may be a bit flippant. A shotgun’s ability to produce a desired pattern downrange, with point of impact relatively near point of aim, is also very important. However, the interface between shooter and scattergun—how naturally it feels in the hands, rests against your cheek and points and swings—absolutely matters. And it can be a big factor in why we shoot one shotgun well and another poorly. This is no surprise to the folks at Franchi. Indeed, “Feels Right” is a prominent slogan for the Italian gunmaker and shows up in ads, social media posts and other marketing efforts, particularly those geared toward European customers. Of…