Good Friday morning!
Here’s something I’ve figured out after all these years. The things worth having in the outdoors all ask the same thing of you — time, patience, and a whole lot of showing up when nothing happens.
Big bucks. Big fish. They don’t come easy, and that’s the point. This week’s all about the long game: musky, getting your wife ready for her season, and the one gun I’d put by the bed.
Let’s go.
— Dwayne
ON THE WATER
Musky is just hunting with a rod
My fall go-tos for the fish of 10,000 casts
Let me tell you how I think about musky fishing. It’s just like hunting big bucks.
You’re going to put in a lot of time. A lot of effort. And you are not going to see it happen very often. But when it does? Man, there’s nothing like it. Same as sitting all season for one big deer. The rareness is what makes it worth it.
So here’s what I’m throwing this fall.
First go-to is an Alabama rig — but not your bass-fishing version. A guy local to me makes these a whole lot tougher than the normal ones, because musky will destroy regular gear. I’m fishing it in about 12 feet of water right now, letting it get down deep, and the musky like it more and more as the water temperature drops. Cold water, deep rig. That’s the fall pattern.
My other favorite is a glide bait — a Musky Buster, made by a buddy of mine. This one’s been through hell and back, you can see it in the paint, but it just glides through the water and they eat it.
Now I’ll be straight with you. I’m no musky expert yet. I’ve caught a few, and I’ve got a lot left to learn — but I will be an expert, you can count on that. And if you’ve got musky where you are like we do here in West Virginia, and you want something to chase all through the winter, give it a shot. It’s a blast.
Just know you’re fishing heavy. I run 80-pound braid with a 105 to 110-pound fluorocarbon leader, and it holds up. Check it out.
THE RUT REPORT
Getting Kelly ready
Why we practice from the stand, not the backyard
Season’s in full swing, but I want to take a minute on how we prep for archery — because I learned something teaching somebody else.
I’ve bow hunted for 40 years. At this point I’ve pretty much done all I can do to get myself ready. But Kelly’s fairly new to it, so she’s still building, and the way we’re doing it is worth sharing.
We put her up in her actual tree stand and have her shoot at a target from up there, in a real hunting setup. Not standing in the yard — up in the stand.
Here’s why that matters, and most people skip it.
Shooting from an elevated position is a different animal. You’ve got to bend at the waist to keep your form, the aiming changes, your whole body does something it doesn’t do on flat ground. If the first time you ever do that is with a live buck under you, heart pounding, you’re going to make a mistake. So we practice it cold, over and over, until it’s natural. It teaches her the mechanics, and just as important, it builds her confidence for the moment of truth.
Because that’s what this is all about. We do not want to wound a deer.
Everybody’s got something to say about hunters. And yeah — there are guys out there who shoot their bow for the first time the night before opening day. That’s no good, and that’s not us. Whatever you hunt with, be proficient with it. Put in the reps. Earn a clean, quick kill. That’s what makes you an ethical hunter, and it’s the only kind worth being.
Now let’s get Kelly shooting.
CARRY REPORT
The one gun for home defense
What I’d put by the bed, and why
I get this question more than almost any other — what do I recommend for home defense.
By far, the best thing you can have by your bed, or honestly in a few places around the house, is a shotgun.
Here’s my reasoning. If somebody breaks into your home, that is about as stressful a moment as exists. You don’t know how you’ll react until you’re in it, and panic is real. A handgun under that kind of stress takes skill you may not have in that half-second. A shotgun, you point and pull. Simple when simple is the only thing your hands can do.
Load it right. Skip the rock salt and the old wives’ tales — you want real defensive ammunition, hollow points, something that actually does the job. Because understand what this moment is: if someone has broken into your home, this is about stopping a deadly threat to you and your family. It’s you or them, and your job is to protect the people under your roof.
And know your state’s law cold. Here in West Virginia we’ve got the Castle Doctrine. Different everywhere, so learn yours before you ever need it, not after.
My motto, and I’ll leave you with it: live to fight another day. Everything I teach comes back to that. You carry, you prepare, you stay ready — so that whatever comes, you and your family are the ones who go home.
Know the laws in your state. This is about defending your life, within what the law allows where you live.
BOOTS ON THE GROUND
“The hunters who taught us” — the fathers, grandfathers, and old-timers who put us in our first stand and aren’t here anymore — would land.
We see you. Thank you.
THE LAST LAUGH
My wife asked me why I keep a loaded gun by the bed.
I told her, “In case of intruders.”
She said, “What about the twelve fishing rods in the garage?”
I said, “In case of intruders that fish.”
Wear the brand
Full Rut hats and shirts — $25 at fullrutnation.com
NEXT WEEK
The rut’s closing in fast. More from the woods and the water, and the Carry Report rolls on.
Chasing a big one this week — buck or musky? Hit reply and tell me. I read every one.
See you Friday.
— Dwayne