The MeatEater

In this episode, Clay leads the pack and teaches us about the wolf, we try to "gekk" that critter with Maggie, and Spencer leads another round of MeatEater Kids Trivia!

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A lot of deer hunting media includes B-roll footage of huge farm equipment creating massive food plots. It paints a cool story that supposedly shows the hard work that went into killing a certain big buck. However, that reality doesn’t relate to most hunters. If anything, it makes food plotting feel unattainable.

The truth is you don’t need large acreage or large equipment to create a small food plot for whitetails. With a few acres and some hand tools, you can plant a food plot in no time. Whether you’re making a small kill plot for your kids or beefing up your current property, here’s how you can cultivate a food plot with minimal land and equipment.

When I say that small acreage is suitable for food plotting, I mean small. My previous home property only consisted of one and a half acres but featured a few trees along a tiny creek. Luckily, I knew the neighbors and already had permission to track any deer that might run onto their property. With tracking rights on the neighbors’, I planted about 500 square feet in a food plot on my property, which attracted a few deer and turkeys.

Ideally, you’d have at least a three to five-acre property, unless you have cool neighbors like me who don’t mind you tracking a deer across their property. For hunters in residential areas, make sure you contact the appropriate officials to confirm that hunting is legal. Firearms are usually a no-go in most residential areas for good reason. However, you can often bowhunt in neighborhoods; just check your local regulations first.

Depending on where and what you plant, you’ll want to consider the amount of sunlight your food plot will get. Existing openings in the canopy create ideal situations if you’re working with wooded areas. On that home property I mentioned, it already had an opening in the canopy and saw direct sunlight from mid-morning until late afternoon. This spot required minimal clearing, and the direct exposure made it a suitable spot.

If your property doesn’t have an existing opening or sufficient sun exposure, you might have a little more work ahead of you. For small food plots (3/4-acre or less), consider using a chainsaw or a pole to get some sunlight on the ground. You won’t need to cut a ton, just enough to get three to four hours of direct sunlight.

No-till blends are typically the best option for small, minimal equipment food plots. Fall-annual blends such as Whitetail Institute’s Bow Stand, Secret Spot, or No-Plow only require seed-to-soil contact. Clover also does quite well in various sites and with minimal seedbed preparation. Unless you own a walk-behind-tiller, you’ll want to avoid seeds that require tilling. Even then, crops like corn and soybeans thrive in open field settings with maximum sun exposure.

You should also consider the crops on adjacent properties. If the neighbors have corn, soybeans, and alfalfa, plant something different. If deer can have food and cover on another property, they won’t need to venture over to yours. Instead of planting the same thing, give the deer something different. Just make sure you can prep the seedbed with the tools you have.

Tillers can create ideal seedbeds. But, even if you don’t have a tiller you can still accomplish a lot with a garden rake. Most seed bags suggest killing existing plants before prepping the soil. I’m not a fan of spraying toxic chemicals for health reasons, so I typically do this manually by pulling or weed-whacking. After mowing it down you can rake the plot over and remove any remaining debris.

If you want to take it a step further, you can perform a soil test to determine your soil’s acidity or alkalinity. If it needs it, you can apply some lime to the soil. Most seed blends also suggest fertilizer application. Again, I avoid this for health reasons, but if you’re comfortable with it, knock yourself out.

Once you’ve prepped the soil, you can seed it. You can do this the old-fashioned way by hand, but if you want even broadcasting, use a seed spreader. I’ve recently switched to a Solo spreader, which I’ve found works best, but a cheap one will do.

When you’re seeding a food plot, make sure you go by the suggested rate on the seed bag. In this case, less is more. Too much seed will yield stunted plants that die off. I know from personal experience. You’ll need to calculate how much seed you need based on the size of the plot.

Even small-scale habitat work can make a big difference. If you’re not convinced, hang a trail camera (if legal) immediately after you finish planting your food plot. Deer are drawn to freshly worked dirt, so don’t be surprised if you get trail cam pics within a few days. It might not look like the huge commercial farms down the road, but it’ll be more than enough to draw a few deer when fall hits.

Want to learn more about food plots? Check out these articles: Three Easy Ways to Improve Your Food Plot, How to Plant a Food Plot on a Budget, and 4 Eco-Friendly Ways to Manage Food Plot Weeds.

Hosts Janis Putelis, Brody Henderson, and Cory Calkins have one last dispatch before Janis' big race in the Crazy Mountain 100, chat with habitat manager Jared Van Hees about his work in Michigan, discuss the fitness it takes to be a hunter, talk with Ashley Morgan-Olvera of the Texas Invasive Species Institute about all things worms, and peruse the MeatEater Menu.

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Brent took a trip back to college on this episode! After his Kansas coyote hunt with decoy dogs, he sat down with Kansas State University professor and Kansas Extension Service Wildlife Control Specialist, Dr. Drew Ricketts, to correct Brent on some coyote facts.

KSRE Wildlife Management on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoCUoT3Oi90S5zDnzgL34iA
Fins, Fur, and Feathers on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7HyaYenrLLztd5l9NseZ8h
KSRE Wildlife Management: https://www.wildlife.k-state.edu/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ksrewildlife
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ksre_wildlife/

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Much of the outdoor world is dominated by single-species pursuits. On the hunting side, this makes sense. After all, if you draw an antelope tag, you’re not super likely to quickly try to find another big game species to hunt out in the sagebrush.

When it comes to fishing, the single-species pursuit is alive and well, too. If muskies or tarpon are your thing, then again, it’s understandable. When it comes to a fishing trip with the family, the idea of tossing giant bucktails for three follows a day while the kids complain nonstop is a bad one.

Instead, the goal should be to catch not only a variety of fish, but also as many as possible. If you can mix in the potential to land some big ones, that’s even better. Where do these bodies of water exist that will offer up this kind of tight-line action for everyone in your fam?

All over, kind of.

I live in the heart of Minnesota, a state known for having 10,000 lakes. In reality, it’s something like 14,000, and there isn’t one that is dominated by a single kind of fish. But there are quite a few that are known for their keynote species.

This is as good of a start as any to begin a little research, but you should ask yourself what would make the family happiest to catch. If that’s crappies or walleyes or bluegills, which you hope are destined for a bath in 350-degree oil, then a meat mission it is. If you’re low on desire to eat fish, but high on a desire to watch them smash topwaters all day, then you might want to focus on lakes with mixed populations of smallies and largemouth, with some pike and muskies tossed in for added excitement.

In a couple of weeks, I’m heading over to Wisconsin to find some lakes that qualify for the latter category. I’m allergic to fish, so eating them is a one-and-done proposition for me. We like to catch the kind of fish that will gobble up a kermit in the lily pads, or chase down a buzzbait on the weedlines.

To figure out where best to go to get a chance at multiple species, with some that should be bigger than average, I used to scroll through creel survey data. Now I just turn on a couple of layers on the onX Fish app and start looking.

This shows me the fish species that are present, the abundance of each, and the average size we are likely to encounter. Since we are tight on time because we’ll be doing some deer setup work for our Wisconsin trip, I want to maximize the chances of my daughters tying into something really cool. To them, that’s a muskie, but I know they’ll need pike and bass to keep them engaged and on fish. I have four lakes marked that offerup all of those species, and boat ramps that can handle my bass rig.

Merely identifying a lake or river system that holds a variety of fish for the family to target is one thing. Catching a bunch of different fish is another thing altogether. Some species, like largemouth, bluegills, and northern pike, can be found by targeting weedbeds. I like to use the Recent Imagery feature on onX Fish to scroll to the exact week we’ll be fishing and then zoom in on bays, points, and other areas that might be chock-full of lily pads, pencil reeds, and cabbage beds.

Other fish, like perch, walleyes, muskies, and crappies, might not be so keen to fin away in the slop. This means you’ll want to focus on contour lines, rock piles, sand bars, and any structure in deeper water. A lot of lakes offer both, but not all.

Some lakes are just big bowls, while others feature tons of small bays and channels and other areas to hide away. This might not seem like a big deal when you’re planning your trip, but it can be an issue if the wind blows hard enough during your vacation. You don’t want to research a lake that is chock-full of a bunch of species that you want to target, only to find out you’ll be fighting four-foot rollers all day if the wind picks up.

Due diligence to identify fishable water that works for your crew is great, but consider scouting some backup locations, just in case.

There are some presentations that will limit your ability to catch a variety of fish, while others expand them. Since you want everyone to catch fish, the easiest way to start here is with live bait. Everything eats minnows, and most fish eat nightcrawlers. If nothing else, live bait is a good starting point.

You can also consider forage species in each of your target lakes, and try to match them. Again, that’ll likely be minnows, so swimbaits, swimming jigs, and crankbaits might be on the menu. Maybe the lake is known for healthy crayfish populations. Now we are talking jigs, crankbaits, and chatterbaits.

The key is to consider what food sources are likely present, then match them as best as possible because you know that if there are a bunch of little crayfish scooting butt first in the rocks by the landing, that rock bass, walleyes, perch, smallmouth, and about every game fish in the lake will eat them.

The thing about a family fishing trip is that it they are built on a simple foundation. If the fish are biting, the trip is good. If not, well… Because of this, pay attention as you’re learning the new water. Lean into whatever works, and try to expand on that.

This is open-minded fishing, where you might have had your heart set on dragging leeches around dropoffs for walleyes, but for some reason, the smallies keep blowing up off the islands. Let the fish tell you what to do, and when they give you a clue, pay attention.

This is true for the kids, too. If you want to target crappies on diving docks, but the kids are having a blast catching pike on spoons or swimming jigs, pivot. After all, you planned a multi-species trip for a reason.

Cardio training is something that not every hunter necessarily wants to do, but needs to do. When addressing your aerobic capacity, you can utilize straightforward, traditional methods like long-distance running or biking, but at Mayhem Hunt, we prefer to incorporate high-intensity training to cater to the demands of hunting.

High-intensity training delivers measurable outcomes for hunters. This means we’ll be able to carry heavier loads for longer distances and recover faster in the field. We’ll also notice gains in the gym, along with those in things like heavier lifting numbers, faster workout times, and sustaining higher efforts for longer periods of time. This is the case not only for me but also for those following the Mayhem Hunt program. Many of the subscribers to that program act as real-life case studies that this stuff works.

Let’s dive into why high-intensity cardio is the ultimate preparation for hunting—and how you can make it work for you.

When most people hear cardio, they picture longer, relatively slow efforts performed in endurance activities like running, rowing, biking, etc. It’s the classic image of grinding out miles at a steady pace, building aerobic stamina over hours. For hunting, this approach has tons of benefits and absolutely must be incorporated. We like to say, “You can’t fake endurance.”

However, long, slow distance training doesn’t fully capture the dynamic, unpredictable demands of hunting. On the contrary, we’d argue that an overabundance of training in single modalities can steal from the athleticism the mountains demand. A marathoner trains for sustained effort (and rightly so, based on the demands of that sport). Hunting, however, often calls for explosive bursts within those long sustained efforts.

Think sprinting to a vantage point, climbing a steep ridge, or lugging a heavy pack through rough terrain. These moments demand more than just slow, sustained efforts, and this is why we believe a mix of power, speed, and endurance that traditional cardio doesn’t fully address will deliver more bang for your buck.

Additionally, we’ve found through our experience that gearing the majority of our training towards intervals of high-intensity training lends itself well to creating an aerobic base without stealing critical power, speed, and strength. One final additional benefit to high-intensity training is the time requirement needed to see results. Most of you reading this article are not full-time athletes. Your training needs to facilitate busy lives, jobs, and families.

At Mayhem, and in CrossFit, we use the term: Metabolic Conditioning (MetCon), a high-intensity, functional training approach that we’ve seen to be far more effective for hunters. MetCon combines anaerobic (short, explosive efforts) and aerobic (sustained stamina) pathways, creating a hybrid fitness that mirrors the demands of hunting (and the real world).

Compare a marathoner to a sprinter: a marathoner grinds through long distances, but a sprinter’s explosive power aligns more closely with the quick, intense efforts of hunting. That’s why we use both! Hunting requires both systems: anaerobic bursts for sudden action and aerobic capacity for long days in the field. High-intensity functional training outperforms endurance-only methods by getting exposure to both systems more efficiently.

High-intensity cardio offers a superior return on investment for hunters, delivering results in less time and with greater impact. The time efficiency is hard to refute; a 20- to 30-minute high-intensity session can deliver the same (or better) fitness gains as hours of steady-state cardio.

For busy hunters, this means more time for work, family, or scouting. The carryover to the field with movements like sandbag carries, farmer’s carries, burpees, and even a simple squat or lunge directly translates to hunting tasks. Things like dragging a deer, climbing steep terrain, or, in the best case, packing out our trophy buck or bull.

Unlike running, which solely focuses on conditioning the lower body and neglects the strength needed in times like these, MetCon offers a more full-body approach. Without focusing on every aspect of the body, you’re lacking in places you don’t want to be in the field. I’ve been subject to it myself, loose footing with an elk quarter on my back, I’ve fallen flat on my ass. Without some serious leg strength training (and some good pals), I'd still be sitting on the side of that hill like a turtle on its shell.

I always make sure to focus on upper body strength training throughout the year, even though it is easily overlooked in most hunting scenarios. In my mind, a strong upper body is, in some cases, just as important. I have found myself holding full draw on an elk for over five minutes in an intense stare-down. Had I been only running for months leading up, I would not have been able to do that after multiple long days.

My goal is always to have a well-balanced fitness regimen. Having more movements to use in my training keeps it fun and interesting, and most importantly, it helps prevent overuse injuries that can show up from doing only the same endurance exercises day in and day out.

I’ve been asked if I’ve ever gone “max effort” on a hunt. The answer? More times than I can count! High-intensity conditioning shines in the field.

Picture this: you’ve glassed up a trophy bull one ridge over with plenty of daylight left to make the trip; however, the thought of a steep climb there and a steep climb back with a quarter loading you down is enough to make you second-guess it. This is the position we can easily find ourselves in, and I want for myself and all of you reading this to have that thought and turn it immediately into “Yeah, let’s go do it!” Hauling that meat tests your strength and endurance, which I firmly believe CrossFit’s approach prepares you for.

One hunt stands out to me when I think about this. We had spent five days hunting for cow elk while also holding a very coveted bear tag. Later on, one day after already filling two of our cow tags, we went back out with the goal of at least glassing up a cinnamon bear. Just like that, after multiple days looking for one, much to our disbelief, we picked one out across a valley! We quickly found a spot that set us up for a well-executed shot, and I took it.

One clean shot and the bear died right where it was! Now, the position we found ourselves in was less than ideal. However, we knew if we could get it field-dressed, we were confident that we’d have the strength and endurance to get it out. I can’t lie, this was no easy feat—dragging a bear that was somewhere around the 300 to 400 pound range out hundreds of yards—but I’m confident that without the mixed style of training we do, it could have never happened.

To prepare for hunting season, I split the bulk of my training each year into two 6-month blocks:

Here’s a sample of what one of these workouts may look like leading into hunting season. This is just one example that I use to blend the strength and fitness I need to have endurance in a way that directly translates to the field:

25-minute AMRAP (as many rounds/reps as possible)

Admittedly, I don’t train only specifically for hunting; it's just a byproduct of training for the sport of CrossFit for many years, and now for everyday life. But when I’m out in the woods, it’s not a secret that elite fitness pays off. Whether it’s fighting off fatigue, hauling gear, or holding a full draw while waiting for the exact right moment, high-intensity cardio makes it possible. Build your body for life, and you’ll crush your next hunt as a bonus. Get after it—your next adventure is waiting.

North Dakota appears to have completely lost one of its most iconic native species: the greater sage grouse. During this year’s annual spring breeding grounds survey, North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDGFD) staffers were unable to locate any active leks.

“This is the first time ever we were not able to find any male sage grouse at active leks in North Dakota,” NDGFD upland game management supervisor Jesse Kolar told E&E News. Male sage grouse famously pop their chests to attempt to attract mates, and because they do so in the open, scientists rely on them to gauge populations.

According to Kolar, North Dakota’s last pocket of sage grouse, which was in the southwest part of the state, have struggled in recent years because of habitat loss, energy development, and disease. Last year, NDGFD staffers counted only four male sage grouse, down from 23 in 2023.

“It’s not unusual for leks to blip out and reactivate when populations rebound,” said Kolar. “[But] with our state population completely drying up, I don’t expect we’ll experience those rebounds, unless [sage grouse disperse] from Montana or South Dakota.”

The greater sage grouse is one of the most imperiled native upland species in North America. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the species’ numbers “have likely declined since the settlement of the western United States.”

Since the 1950s, scientists have recorded “population declines and, in some areas, local extirpation. Primary causes of habitat loss and fragmentation include the altered wildfire cycle due to the establishment of non-native invasive plants, and human activities, like energy development, transmission lines, and rural subdivisions.”

In 2015, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which manages much existing greater sage grouse habitat, adopted management plans to conserve the species within its 11-state range. That range appears to be down to 10, now, despite some efforts to relocate birds from Wyoming into active leks in North Dakota to supplement the dwindling population.

The disheartening news comes amid political jostling over sage grouse management, which has been on the verge of being listed under the Endangered Species Act for years. In 2019, the Trump Administration sought to revise the BLM’s sage grouse management plan to facilitate energy and other forms of development over conservation. While a federal judge blocked that measure, Trump appears to be taking a similar tack in his second term.

On his first day as the Secretary of the Interior, former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum issued an executive order directing his department to “review and, as appropriate, revise all relevant draft and all finalized resource management plans,” including greater sage grouse management plans.

Chris Cabral is an accomplished lifelong elk hunter and hunting guide. This week Dirk picks Chris' brain on trail cams, locating bulls, calling bulls, and late season rifle elk hunting tactics.

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This week on the show we're joined by Land Tawney to discuss the recent attempt to sell of our nation's public lands, lessons to be learned, and what to watch for in the coming months and years.

Check out the new Wired to Hunt vintage hat!

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Steven Rinella talks with the Senior Skinner of Robin Hurt Safaris. 

Topics Discussed: Being in the skinning business for over 35 years; thick and thin hides; a highly skilled trade; and more. 

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