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    Sam Lungren

    Sam Lungren is MeatEater's Fishing Editor and a former freelance writer/photographer, commercial fisherman, and editor of BHA's Backcountry Journal. Though originally from Whidbey Island, Washington, he's been in Montana for almost a decade and probably isn't leaving—except during steelhead season. Send him an email sam@themeateater.com or follow him @samlungrenmedia.

    Topics

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    Public Lands & Waters

    The Biggest Change to Public Lands in Our Lifetime

    Sam Lungren

    May 22, 2020

    MeatEater’s conservation director and host of the Cal’s Week in Review Podcast, Ryan Callaghan, is feeling optimistic today. When Congress reconvenes next month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says he will bring the Great American Outdoors Act to the floor for debate and likely a vote. Cal calls the GAOA, “the largest outdoor package we will likely see in our lifetime.” The legislative package allocates $9.5 billion over five...

    Fly

    Meat Hooks: Big-Ass Streamers Smoke Big-Ass Trout

    Sam Lungren

    May 11, 2020

    Hogs. Toads. Donkeys. Pigs. Whatever name you prefer, these are the fish you really want to catch. Quantity fills the freezer, but trophies earn the bragging rights. This series is dedicated to the pursuit of the true heavyweights across all species. The meat eaters. So, pull out the sink tips, 7-weights, and Sex Dungeons and rethink your approach if you want to see giant trout most anglers don’t even realize exist in their home waters.
    Ugly Stik...

    Policy & Legislation

    How the Supreme Court’s and EPA’s New Clean Water Act Guidelines Affect Hunters and Anglers

    Sam Lungren

    Apr 29, 2020

    Last week, the Supreme Court and the Environmental Protection Agency put out new and potentially conflicting guidelines regarding the interpretation and enforcement of the 1972 Clean Water Act.
    On Tuesday, April 21, the Trump Administration’s EPA redefined which wetlands and waterways qualify for protection under the Clean Water Act, drastically narrowing the criteria. Two days later, on Thursday, April 23, the Supreme Court ruled on a Hawaiian...

    Wild Turkey

    Ultra-Rare Color Phase Turkey Killed in Oregon

    Sam Lungren

    Apr 22, 2020

    Kyle Smith was simply thrilled that his calling worked, the turkeys responded, the 22-pound gobbler attacked his decoy, and he was coming home on April 22 with dinner. It wasn’t until he got back home that he realized his bird’s whole body was nearly jet black except for one tail feather.
    “The adrenaline was going so much this morning that I didn’t even know,” Smith told MeatEater. “I was by myself. It was raining, so I didn’t want to...

    All-Around Angler: How to Read Maps to Find Fishing Spots

    Sam Lungren

    Apr 22, 2020

    My introduction to the power of maps as divining rods for fishing spots came when I was 14 and my family roadtripped from Seattle to Homer, Alaska, and back. My parents would let me fish about once per day, so I spent hours upon hours in the back seat scouring the Milepost guidebook and the B.C. and Yukon atlases to pick the very best creek or lake for my precious few minutes.
    Digital scouting has become so ubiquitous among hunters that most of...

    Wild Turkey

    How to Kill a Tom Without Decoys or Calls

    Sam Lungren

    Apr 20, 2020

    The aspen-choked creek bottom was alive with the sounds of springtime; grouse drumming, bees pollinating, flickers drilling into trees. After three days of rain, the mountain was in full bloom. The only sound missing was that of the enigmatic thunder chicken.
    I’d set up before sunrise near the tree where the few turkeys in the area had roosted two nights before. Turns out they didn’t stay there last night. After calling into the abyss for two...

    Fact Checker: Is Fishing Better When it’s Raining?

    Sam Lungren

    Apr 13, 2020

    Myths, lies, and old wives’ tales loom large in the outdoor pursuits. Here at MeatEater, we’re dedicated to separating facts from bullsh*t, so we created this series to examine suspect yarns. If there’s a belief, rumor, or long-held assumption you’d like us to fact check, drop us a note at factchecker@themeateater.com
    Claim
    Fish are more likely to bite when it’s raining.
    Origin
    I’ve been asked whether this is true more times than I can count...

    Foraging

    Cast and Grasp: How to Find Morels While Fishing

    Sam Lungren

    Apr 6, 2020

    If there’s a higher pleasure than hunting while fishing (or fishing while hunting), I don’t know what it is. Whether it’s pass-shooting mallards during a fall trout float or breaking out the pack rod on a high mountain lake between bear glassing sessions, I feel somehow more engaged, excited, and satisfied than by those pursuits alone. I don’t know if Aristotle was a sportsman, but I’m sure this gets at what he meant when he wrote that the whole...

    Elk

    How to Read Topo Maps to Find Elk

    Sam Lungren

    Apr 2, 2020

    My buddies Todd and Ken came out from Washington to fill freezers with Montana’s highly available and affordable whitetail doe B tags. We’d punched a few of those permits before the guys found out that the next day, my last in camp, was also my last day to hunt elk for the season. They insisted we go into mountains the next morning.
    Unfamiliar with the surrounding high country, I sat up late in my teepee that night putting the screws to onX...

    Gear

    Outdoors Businesses Suffering and Adapting Amidst Pandemic

    Sam Lungren

    Mar 25, 2020

    Cancelled bookings. Non-essential business status. Halted manufacturing. Closed boat ramps. No customers coming in the door. With quarantines and shelter-in-place orders in effect throughout the country, many outdoors businesses—from guides to gear shops to booking agents—are hemorrhaging cash just to keep the lights on. Many fear going under.
    Businesses and individuals across the U.S. economy, from Wall Street to corner convenience stores, are...