The Case for Gar and Bowfin, North America’s Oldest Gamefish

Two of the most maligned fish in American freshwater are quietly building a following. The alligator gar and the bowfin have spent generations on the wrong end of a reputation, blamed for wrecking bass and crappie fisheries, shocked with electricity, hacked with machetes, and left to rot on river...

By James Chen •

POTD: Union Fire Arms Model 24 – Toledo’s Two-Trigger Pump

Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a slide action shotgun from a company most people have never heard of. This is a factory engraved Union Fire Arms Model 24 in 12 gauge, built in Toledo, Ohio, in the early 1900s. The backstory starts with Sears. Sears wanted its own cheap pu...

By Sam.S •

Where Big Bass Actually Go When Fall Arrives

The oldest advice in bass fishing tells you to run to the backs of creeks when the leaves turn. A tracking study from Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists dismantled that idea. They followed bass at Lake Fork and Toledo Bend Reservoir, and none of the tracked fish moved into the back of a creek on...

By James Chen •

The Truth About Alligator Gar, Ryan’s Dinosaur Fish

For much of the last century, the alligator gar carried a reputation that got it killed on sight. Anglers across its range treated the armor-plated, toothy giant as a nuisance that ate bass, crappie, and every other fish worth catching. That view has flipped. The species now has a cult following ...

By James Chen •