THE RUT REPORT
Issue #3
A word before the woods
This one's going to start a little different than usual. Stick with me. It comes back around to hunting, I promise.
— Dwayne
Maybe you saw the news this week. An influencer with millions of followers, a fella named Perez Hilton, had a breakdown on a live stream. Covered in blood. Hurting himself, in front of the whole internet, while people watched and begged him to stop.
I don't know that man. We couldn't be more different. But I looked at that and my heart just broke.
Because that's a soul in trouble. And there's a lot of them out there right now, especially our young people, staring at these phones all day, following folks who are lost their own selves. If you don't think there's a battle going on for their hearts, you're not paying attention.
That's why I built this list. I can't say things like this on Facebook, you know that, you watched them take my page. So this right here is the one place I can talk to you straight and nobody can shut it off.
Here's what I keep coming back to.
The Bible says if you've got faith the size of a mustard seed, you can tell a mountain to move and it'll move. A seed. The smallest thing there is. You put it in the ground where nobody can see it, and you wait, and you tend it, and one day it's bigger than you ever thought it'd be.
I believe that. For this country. For our kids. For the people who've lost their way, and even the ones who'd call me crazy for saying so.
So this week, plant something good. Say the prayer. Call the kid. Be the one steady man in somebody's life. You may never see what comes of it. That's alright. You plant it anyway.
I've seen some hard things in my life. I've looked evil in the eye. And I've never been more sure the answer isn't more yelling. It's more sowing. Quiet, patient, do-good work. The kind nobody claps for.
Alright. Sermon's over.
Now let me tell you why I brought all that up.
If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988
THE RUT REPORT Fall Forecast
Because fall is harvest.
Everything you plant in the quiet, this is the season it comes back to you. And I can't believe it's already here. It'll be on us before you know it.
Let me give you the good news first, and there's a lot of it. I've been seeing good bucks all summer. Just running around everywhere, and they look healthy. We got a good bit of rain here in southern West Virginia this year, and that rain shows up in the deer — healthy does, heavy bucks, strong fawns.
And the mast crop is setting up to be a good one. I'm looking for a strong acorn year. White oak, hickory, and the fruit trees should really be putting out. When the woods are full of groceries like that, deer come into the rut healthy and the hunting can be something special if you know where the food is.
From what I've seen early, I believe this is going to be a great season.
Now here's where I've got to be straight with you.
If you haven't got your trail cameras out yet, you better get on it. And the reason I'm telling you that is because I haven't got mine out yet either.
I've been spending too much time on the river. Fishing's been biting way too good and I let it pull me off the hill. That's the honest truth. But that's no excuse, and it's not one I'd let you use. So this week I'm doing the very thing I'm telling you to do — prioritizing, and getting my cameras out.
That's the harvest lesson too, isn't it. You don't get the fall you want by wishing for it in November. You get it from the quiet work you do right now in August, when it's hot and buggy and nobody feels like it.
Plant it now. Cameras out. Watch your food sources. The season won't wait, and neither will the season of life you're in.
Let's do good work, and enjoy every minute of it.
ON THE WATER
And speaking of that river that's been keeping me off the hill —
The fishing's still on fire. Water's come down a little and cleaned up, and the smallmouth are eating. If you missed last week, go back and read it — nose-hooked fluke when it's clear and calm, Ned rig when the wind kicks up. Both are still working right now.
Get out there while summer's still holding. Fall'll have you in a treestand soon enough.
CARRY REPORT
Resting the Carry Report this week. It'll be back next Friday, and we'll pick right back up. Appreciate y'all.
BOOTS ON THE GROUND
This week we honor the men and women of the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
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
Full fall breakdown, cameras are out, and the Carry Report's back.
If this one hit home, hit reply and let me know. I read every single one.
See you Friday.
— Dwayne