EDITOR’S NOTE An award-winning author, journalist and on-camera host, T. Edward Nickens is editor-at-large for Field & Stream and a contributing editor for Garden & Gun and Ducks Unlimited.
Fresh Takes
DUSAN SMETANA
W
hen you look through this issue of Hunt & Fish, one thing should be immediately clear: Hunters and anglers aren’t satisfied with the same old same old. They are constantly innovating and pushing the envelope with new gear and tactics to chase deer and ducks, bass and trout. From tree saddle hunting to submersible bags to pint-sized shotgun rounds goosed with enough punch to bring home a wild turkey, folks who are passionate
about the outdoors love to develop and try new and better ways to hunt and fish. For most of us, hunting and fishing is a reflection of who we are as people — how we relate to the natural world and how we relate to friends and family. When you’ve cashed in time off from work and honed your skills so you can thread a spinnerbait through the lily pads or make the tough shot when the teal come in like a streak of lightning, you simply want gear that matches the passion you have in the field. It all needs to come together.
This past hunting season, I found a goose swamp where the honkers piled up in a broad cove anchored by a beaver lodge in the bull’s-eye middle. There was exactly zero cover. And trying to fool dozens of pairs of goose eyeballs leaves little room for fudging. My standard canoe was too big to hide, so I pulled out a new hybrid canoe-kayak, with a super-low profile and just enough cargo capacity for me, my gun and a half-dozen decoys. I paddled in early and covered the boat with camo netting I’d stomped into the mud to dull any hint of sheen. I hugged that beaver lodge like it was a long-lost friend and didn’t move a muscle until the birds were at 25 yards with wings set and landing gear down. I’m convinced they wouldn’t have given my decoys a second look had I tried to hide a full-size canoe in the middle of their landing zone. I adapted my typical approach, and as a result I made my way back to the truck with geese piled so high in my lap I could hardly paddle. I bet you know that feeling: switching things up, making them work and ever grateful when it all comes together. That’s what this issue of Hunt & Fish is all about.
T. Edward Nickens, Guest editor
5
