Remember the old saying, “a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work?”

If you’re reading this, it’s because you’re like me. You’d rather sink your teeth into a hastily packed, slightly squished PB&J while fishing in the middle of a rain storm than attend another Zoom call.

You’d rather spend a few hours looking for deer sign than spend the morning following another construction detour sign on your commute into the office.

You’d rather spend an entire afternoon putting endless worms on hooks and fixing impossible snags for your kids than reading another doomsday article about how AI is taking over the world.

This is what it’s like for people who hunt and fish. It’s not about the trophies, or even the chase. It’s about investing in moments that make us happy, bring us peace, and force us to slow down.

I’d like to thank you for reading the inaugural issue of OUTFIT, a publication for people who fish and hunt.

Every week, we’ll deliver rich stories, commentary, tips, and resources carefully crafted for you and people like you.

My goal with this publication is to give readers the motivation, education, and inspiration they need to cast another line, plan another trip, and keep the traditions we’ve come to know and love alive.

— Rob Wormley, Publisher

They called the town "the End of the Road,” because there was nothing beyond it.

For Gordon and his wife Eleanor, it was more like a pristine oasis that appears suddenly after you’ve walked hours through the harsh desert.

Only this oasis wasn’t surrounded by sand. It was surrounded by thick forests.

In the fall of 1945, WWII was over, and Gordon, having completed his service overseas, returned home desperate for quiet solitude.

With the money he’d sent back, he and his wife boarded a train that took them to The End of the Road, a little town in northern Minnesota called Ely.

The responsible husband’s first stop probably should have been directly to the local motel to secure lodging for the night for himself and his wife. But not Gordon. His first stop was to the local watering hole, a small place called Dee’s Bar, founded in 1937 by Slovenian immigrant John Dee.

After a few pints and a happenstance conversation with a local at that bar, Gordon learned about a cabin for sale. It was nestled on the edge of a lake beyond town, down a winding, hilly road referred to locals simply as The Fernberg.

Gordon and Eleanor traveled down The Fernberg that weekend, and fell in love with what they found.

A single room cabin, built atop a hill overlooking Objiway Lake, a largely untouched body of water, approximately 184 acres in size, with roughly three miles of shoreline.

By spring of 1946, they purchased the property for $4,000. And for the next few decades, the couple spent their summers traveling to The End of the Road. They taught their children to fish and canoe. They made improvements to the property. And they built more structures to accommodate their growing family and growing interests: a boathouse, a sauna, a guest cabin, and a workshop.

When they weren’t working on the property, they spent their free time doing what they loved: fishing, camping, portaging, canoeing, and welcoming friends and families to make their own outdoor memories at the cabin in the woods.

Today, both the lake and cabin itself have remained largely unchanged, frozen in a time capsule.

And while Gordon and Eleanor have been gone for decades, their passion for the outdoors and their desire for solitude remains intact, a legacy carried now by their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

A few things worth knowing before you head out this week.

Every week we pull back the pages and feature the legends whose stories, skills, and discoveries still echo in the field and on the water today.

This week’s legend is Lothar Louis, a German angler who still holds the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) record for the biggest northern pike ever caught.

According to their records, Lothar caught this monster hog in 1986 on a spoon after a fight that lasted 40 minutes.

The fish was a legend in its own right: northern pike rarely grow to exceed 50 pounds, and Lothar’s monster weighed in at 55 pounds, 1 ounce!

Looking to beat Lothar’s long-standing record? Spoons are still the recommended lure of choice for most people fishing for pike. Try a Dardevle or the Johnson Silver Minnow.

Ahead of every issue we send, we dig through forums, threads, and comment sections so you don't have to, and surface one piece of gear hunters and anglers are actually standing behind.

It’s rainy season in Minnesota, so we wanted to find a full kit that other anglers liked to throw on when the weather gets nasty.

On the r/bassfishing subreddit, a few commenters called out Grundens as their brand of choice. Here’s what they had to say:

“The tourney set is super comfortable and durable.”

“It's about 8 years old now and I've worn it over 150 times.”

“For steady down pours I use Grundens Neptune rain gear.”

A complete Grundéns Tourney set (jacket + bibs) will cost you around $290 before tax, but well worth it knowing that gear from this brand seems to hold up for a long time.

If that’s not enough to convince you, spend some time reading through the reviews for each product - each has well over 100 reviews from people who’ve purchased already.

A bit out of your price range? Grundéns does have a few options that are less expensive, including the Neptune, which one Reddit user mentioned above.

The traditions that survive are the ones that get handed to someone else. Hunting and fishing have always moved that way, person to person, generation to generation, one early morning at a time. Most of what gets written about the outdoors assumes you're out there alone. We've never believed that.

The best moments in hunting and fishing are the ones you get to share with a child, a spouse, a father, a mother, or a friend.

This week, we’re sharing a few tips for readers trying to get their children into low-stakes fishing for the first time:

Check your city's fishing days.
Most cities and counties run free or low-cost fishing days in the summer, often stocked ponds, loaner gear, and someone on hand to help. It's one of the easiest first experiences you can give a kid or a spouse who's never held a rod.

Search your city's parks and recreation calendar or your state's DNR site and you'll usually find something within a short drive. No gear required, no expertise required, just showing up.

Start with panfish.
Bluegill and crappie are about as forgiving as fishing gets. They're aggressive, they bite reliably, and they're almost everywhere. For someone just learning to read a float or feel a bite, that matters more than you'd think. A slow day chasing bass or walleye can kill momentum fast for a beginner.

A morning on a dock catching bluegill or crappie every few minutes builds the kind of confidence that brings people back for a second trip. Start simple, let the fish do the convincing.

Buy them something of their own.
A hat they picked out, a lure in their favorite color, a small tackle box with their name on it. It doesn't have to be expensive and it doesn't have to be practical. What it has to be is theirs.

There's something about having your own gear, even a single item, that shifts the relationship from passenger to participant. They stop watching you fish and start thinking about their next trip. That's the moment you're after.

Skip the double-header Office episode this week and watch this documentary-style video of one fisherman’s experience spending four days fishing for wild trout in Colorado.

We like these videos from Flicky Flies because they’re the opposite of everything you see in your Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn feeds. There’s no quick clips or instant gratification. You’re there for the entire trip, from camp set-up to trout landings.

It’s largemouth bass season. Here’s everything you need to know:

Largemouth bass are one of the most widely distributed freshwater fish in North America, which is part of what makes them the entry point for so many anglers. They're in farm ponds, reservoirs, river backwaters, and suburban lakes. If there's warm, shallow water with structure nearby, there's a good chance a largemouth has claimed it.

Where to find them.
Largemouth are ambush predators. They want cover, shade, and a clear line of sight to whatever swims past.

In summer, focus on weed edges, submerged timber, dock pilings, and lily pad fields in the early morning and late evening. Once the sun is high and the water warms, they push deeper or tuck tight into the heaviest cover they can find.

A fish finder helps, but so does reading the bank. Wherever the structure changes, the fish tend to be.

What they want.
The largemouth's reputation as an aggressive fish is well earned, but they get selective in warm water and high pressure conditions.

Soft plastics are the most versatile starting point: a Texas-rigged worm or creature bait worked slowly through heavy cover will produce fish when nothing else will.

Topwater lures in low light conditions are hard to beat for pure excitement, and a well-placed popper or frog over a weed mat will draw strikes that are difficult to forget.

Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits work well when fish are active and moving, especially in stained water where vibration and flash do more work than color.

One thing worth knowing.
Water temperature is the single biggest factor in largemouth behavior. At 65 to 75 degrees they're most active and most aggressive. Push above 80 and they slow down, move deep, and become far more selective.

Knowing the water temp before you rig up will tell you more about where the fish are and what they want than almost anything else.

That's it for this week. Get out there when you can. We'll see you next time.

— OUTFIT