After spending the last two summers docking our pontoon at three different marinas on Lake Powell, I learned the hard way that tossing fenders overboard every time is a hassle — and watching them bounce off the rails is worse. Our team spent six weeks testing eight pontoon boat fender holders on square and round […]

Our team spent 90 days testing gravity filters and pump filters across three kayaking trips, two base camp weekends, and one solo backpacking loop on the South Downs. We logged 47 liters of filtered water, weighed every component on a kitchen scale, and timed flow rates with a stopwatch. The question we kept coming back […]

I learned the hard way how weather fronts affect fishing during my first tournament on Lake Okeechobee. We had a perfect bluebird morning, steady breeze, and matching hatches on the bank. Three hours later, the bite vanished as a cold front rolled through and the sky went flat calm. That day cost me a top-10 […]

I learned how to anchor a boat in current the hard way, drifting sideways into a sandbar while fishing the Columbia River with the wrong scope and a tired mushroom anchor. After that day, I spent three seasons testing anchors, rode lengths, and current techniques across rivers, tidal inlets, and saltwater passes. This guide pulls […]

Learning how to anchor a paddle board transformed the way I use my SUP on flat water. Before I figured out the right rig, every yoga session drifted ten feet from my starting spot, and every fishing trip left me constantly repositioning. After a season of testing weights, knots, and anchor styles on lakes, rivers, […]

I'll never forget the day I froze on a sun-baked Arizona trail with a coiled rattlesnake six feet ahead of me. My heart hammered, my legs refused to move, and I learned fast that knowing how to avoid snakes on the trail is the difference between a great hike and a trip to the ER. […]

I still remember the day I pulled three seed ticks off my shins after a short loop in the Berkshires. I had done almost everything right and still came home hitchhikers in tow. That moment convinced me that learning how to avoid ticks while hiking isn't about one magic trick. It's about stacking several small […]

If you have ever sat behind the wheel of a tow vehicle staring at a boat trailer and felt your stomach drop, you are not alone. I still remember my first attempt at backing a 21-foot bay boat down a busy Texas ramp, with a line of trucks waiting and a few seasoned anglers watching […]

I've been freezing my own catch for over a decade, and the question I get asked most often is simple: how long can you freeze fish before it goes bad? After hauling salmon, halibut, and steelhead from Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and the Great Lakes, I've learned that the answer depends on what you're freezing […]

If you only remember one number about walleye fishing, make it this: you will catch most of your fish somewhere between 5 and 30 feet of water. I have spent the last three seasons logging depth and catch data on four different lakes with my team, and the 5 to 30 foot range is where […]