Fishing Gear

Where I’m from, you’re not really an angler until you have a decent pair of waders. In the Pacific Northwest and many other regions, you need to be able to get comfortable standing in chilly water if you’re going to catch anything outside of July and August. Whether that’s wading deep in glacial...

Walking down the dock on Day One of the 2014 Bassmaster Classic at Alabama’s Lake Guntersville, dodging fanboys, photographers, and jersey-laden anglers who looked like NASCAR drivers, I stopped at each boat. I didn’t need to talk to anyone, I just wanted to know what the fish were biting. Sure...

Captain Jamie L. Potter is one of three captains leading water rescue teams with Virginia’s Richmond Fire Department. The Richmond teams respond to more than 100 boating, wading, and driving accident calls a year, so her insights are hard-won. Capt. Potter tells us what we can do to avoid a rescue...

All nuances aside, there are really two distinct types of spearfishing out there. First, there’s spearfishing in Hawaii. Then, there’s spearfishing everywhere else. Don’t mistake one for the other: Do so and you might find yourself off the coast of Hawaii exhausted, cut up, and frustrated with the...

Sunglasses are to fishing what binoculars are to hunting: you’re not quite doing it right without a decent pair, and any serious participant always has a set glued to their face or hanging around their neck. Besides the rod and the reel, your shades are just about the most important tools in your...

While most consumer dealings are relatively frictionless, there’s something about buying and selling a boat that turns people into lunatics. I’ve sold six fiberglass boats in my lifetime, and one Coleman Crawdad jon boat. I’ve also been on the buying end of an equal number of transactions, and I can...

“Here’s a little song I wrote You might want to sing it note for note Don’t worry, be happy.” As 2020 careens toward its long-awaited end, lyrics from Bobby McFerrin’s 1980’s classic “Don’t Worry Be Happy” conjure a lightened mood and a mantra of hope. I mean, go ahead and try to read those lyrics...

Many a MeatEater reader and crew member has ventured into sporting goods and fishing stores this summer only to be met with empty rod racks and sparse shelves. Most leave without the gear and tackle they sought, wondering what gives. Did the pandemic break overseas supply chains? Is the industry...