Hey folks,

Why do people hunt? I’m sure everyone’s got their own reason, but from my own experience, the motivation has changed over the years. I think most walk through a similar progression.

Today, we’re getting into:

Let’s get to it.

— Kyle Plunkett

When people ask me why I hunt, the honest answer is that it depends on when you’re asking.

My motives have changed over the years. If I had to put it simply, they've moved through four stages: the kill, the wall, the freezer, and the land.

Here’s what I mean by each.

I got started young, with my dad, my granddad, their buddies. And at the very onset of hunting, what I wanted was just the kill: deer, waterfowl, squirrel, whatever was in season.

I'm probably 8 years old, deer hunting, and my dad is talking about wanting to wait for a big one, a healthy one, a mature one. Even if it was a doe, he'd say, "Let's make sure it's a big old doe." Everything in me was like, "I don't care. Whatever steps out, it's go time."

It didn’t matter what it was or how big it was, as long as I got one.

Right or wrong, I think for a lot of kids, that’s where it starts. But it can’t stay there.

After I’d harvested my first deer, I graduated from just wanting the kill to wanting something for the wall.

Not ashamed to say that I wanted the ego boost of a mount I could show off. That's not completely a bad thing. On one hand, it made me far less trigger happy and I began to learn why waiting for mature animals was better for the deer population.

But deep down, I was still hunting mostly for pride. Biggest fish, biggest deer, biggest turkey,

Most hunters go through a season like that. It’s sort of a natural progression to what comes next.

After a while, it all became about the freezer.

Hunting is a great way to feed your family. Free-range, non-GMO, no antibiotics. You can't get better food than this. And over the years, I’ve developed some recipes for smoked venison backstrap, deer steaks, venison tacos, venison burgers, duck gumbo, duck sausage, wild turkey fried rice, and more.

Don’t get me wrong, I still wanted to harvest big animals. But now it was because big animals mean more meat. There’s still a since of pride in this stage, but its the good kind of pride. Finding pride in feeding your family and feeling connected to the land and animals you’re chasing.

In recent years, hunting has taken on new meaning for me after seeing how it plays a unique role in conservation.

Humans aren't removed from the wild. We like to think we're here in civilization and the wild happens out there. But we're all tied to the land that we belong to.

So I'm not harvesting a big deer for a big deer's sake anymore. I want an old buck because he's lived the longest and bred the most does, the most genetic output over his lifespan, and because I know that for most of those deer it's downhill from there. Same with a bear. Same with a big old tom.

It changes what I do the rest of the year, too.

I'm trying to make sure the trees that survive are the ones that feed the critters. I'm trying to make sure the grass that survives is the native stuff that houses them. I want the landscape to be the best it can possibly be so that it can grow really big animals, and I want those animals to have the happiest, healthiest life they can on it.

I'm not just a hunter who shows up to try to take something. I'm a hunter who actually tries to give back to what I'm harvesting more than I am trying to take.

Over time, I think our reason for hunting should be more holistic like that.

Those four don't sit in neat boxes, and in ways, I’ve never fully left one behind.

I'm not going to downplay wanting a nice buck on the wall, a nice set of antlers, a big black bear hide. I'm not going to downplay a sustainable harvest, filling your own freezer and not having to pay for beef. And something still happens in me when whatever I've been waiting on finally steps out.

From the kill to the wall to the freezer to the land has been my progression.

Now that I've got kiddos of my own, I'm excited to watch them move through each of those phases and discover their own reasons.

What’s been your journey?

— Kyle Plunkett

We joined Morgan Guss and Logan Huff of Diamond State Fly Co. in Cotter, Arkansas, for a full breakdown of what fall fly fishing on the White River actually looks like — lower flows, more user-friendly tactics, gorgeous foliage, and rainbows that are noticeably bigger thanks to the new regulations.

Whether you've never held a fly rod or you're ready to level up your streamer game, Morgan and Logan lay out exactly what to throw, where to find fish, and how to read the river when the water changes from 700 to 20,000 CFS in a single afternoon.

0:00 – Welcome from Ember Shoals in Cotter, Arkansas
4:00 – Diamond State Fly Co.: How They're Breaking the Fly Shop Stigma
13:00 – Fall Fly Fishing on the White River
17:00 – Nymphing, Hopper Dropper & Fall Streamer Tactics
22:00 – How to Read High Water on the White Like a Guide
34:00 – Flies That Actually Work
42:00 – Are the New White River Regs Working?
47:00 – Upcoming Events

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