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Spencer Neuharth
Spencer Neuharth
Spencer Neuharth is the senior hunting editor at MeatEater, producer of Wired to Hunt, and founder of Rut Fresh. His writing has been featured in over a dozen magazines, including Field & Stream, Petersen's Hunting, and Men's Journal. His work is a reflection of his roots as a whitetail hunter and training as a biologist.

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Environmental Issues

Fact Checker: Is ‘Red Sky at Night, Sailors’ Delight’ Accurate?
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
“Red sky at night, sailors’ delight. Red sky at morning, sailors, take warning.” This basic rhyme implies you can predict the...

Freshwater

Photos: The Worst Fish Hook Injuries to MeatEater Fans
Earlier this year, Pat Durkin enlightened us on the art of human catch and release. If you’re looking for poetics about how anglers so often get hooks in places they don’t belong, go read his article. But if your stomach can handle it, stick around here for 12 pictures from our fellow impaled MeatEaters. Be warned: You’re about to see some messed up stuff.
“First cast after shore lunch I hook into a 40-inch pike. As I...

Anthropology

4 Best Theories on Forrest Fenn’s Treasure Location
It’s been a month since Forrest Fenn announced his treasure was claimed, but the public is still not much closer to knowing the bounty’s location or finder. Despite photos surfacing of the chest and its contents, Fenn said he won’t reveal more details until the man from “back East” gives him the OK. Many speculate that Fenn is extending a courtesy to the finder for tax purposes, keeping the federal government in the dark—since they likely manage...

Freshwater

Video: Angler Catches and Releases New World Record Paddlefish
Earlier this summer, we wrote about Kari Gentry and how her first day of fly fishing was better than yours. Well, now we’re declaring James Lukehart’s first day of paddlefishing superior to yours, too.
Lukehart booked a fishing trip for his wife and himself to their home state of Oklahoma’s most famed spoonbill waters, Keystone Lake. The first fish of the day was an 88-pounder that Caitlin caught and released.
“We just really wanted some...

Public Lands & Waters

Photos: First Look at Forrest Fenn’s Treasure
Earlier this month, I wrote about how the greatest treasure hunt of the modern era came to an end. Forrest Fenn announced that the trunk he hid in the Rocky Mountains more than a decade ago was discovered by an unnamed man. While Fenn has been light on details so far, he did post three pictures of the chest and its contents.

Inside Edition had an antiquities appraiser look at the photos, who confirmed earlier guesses that the treasure is worth...

Whitetail Deer

The Dumbest Poacher of 2019
Earlier this month, Dugan Traversie entered a plea deal with prosecutors for his role in a poaching case that dates back to last fall. Traversie was ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution to Timber Lake Elk Ranch, one-year probation, and one year without hunting. Since the judgement by the U.S. magistrate seems light, I’m tacking one more punishment onto his crime: I’m declaring Traversie the dumbest poacher of 2019.
Traversie is a member of the...

Wildlife Management

Fact Checker: Will a Mother Bird Abandon Her Baby If You Touch It?
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
If you find a baby bird that has fallen from its nest, you shouldn’t put it back. Touching a baby bird will stain it with a...

Public Lands & Waters

Forrest Fenn’s Treasure Has Been Found
The greatest treasure hunt of the modern era is over.
According to Forrest Fenn, who hid a bronze trunk filled with gold and jewels somewhere on Western public lands, his treasure has been claimed. Fenn made the announcement on his blog last weekend, saying that an adventurer from “the East” found the chest.
“It was under a canopy of stars in the lush, forested vegetation of the Rocky Mountains and had not moved from the spot where I hid it more...

Endangered Species

Photos: Goliath, The World’s Biggest Tadpole
I visited the Chiricahua Mountains on the Arizona-Mexico border for a college research project in 2015. It’s considered one of the most biodiverse places in North America. After spending a week there wading the streams in search of hellgrammites, I’d also deem it as one of the coolest places on the continent.
The area is famous for the Chiricahua leopard frog—a federally threatened species that’s been on the decline due to...

Butchering & Processing

Video: Does Bleeding Out Walleye Work?

Video: Does Bleeding Out Walleye Work?

2m9s

How do you make a backstrap or morel taste better? Like most things that you shoot, catch, or harvest, there’s a direct link between how you care for your protein and how it tastes. Walleye, the backstrap or morel of the river, is no exception.
One thing that walleye anglers disagree on is whether to bleed fish. I’ve always been in the “not to bleed” and “not to kill” camp. In the past, walleye that I threw on ice never seemed to be...