The Field & Stream Tips Blog

Fillet Fish on a Clipboard

An inexpensive and portable fish-filleting table can be made from a clipboard. Just clip the tail and fillet as you normally would. The clip provides a secure grip for when you work the knife back toward the head.
Mick Smith, Miamisburg, Ohio

Tie a Better Glo-Ball

To tie a more natural-looking glo-bug, try soaking it in water before you trim them it into a ball. This makes the fly look more like a salmon egg.
Dillon O'Donnell, Lower Burrell, Pa.

Inject Some Life into Your Baits

I use a small syringe to inflate my grubs and other small baits with a bit of air. This keeps my baits off the stream bottom—and in the feeding path of big fish—and makes them look more natural. I’ve been using this trick for years, and the fish tear it up!
Jason Locke, Milton, Pa.

Remove Arrows With Rubber

Rubber shelf-liner material (found at most dollar stores) works to pull out arrows from 3-D or any other targets. Simply cut about an 8- to 12-inch sheet, and you're finished. It adds greater gripping power for those hard-to-remove arrows. What's more, it's inexpensive and easy to carry.
Nicholas Draghi, Elmira, N.Y.

Power-Spray Your Skull

When I'm cleaning a skull plate, after I boil it for 20 minutes, I go over it with a pressure washer. This does a great job of cleaning the skull in a short amount of time, plus I don't have to use bleach or peroxide.
John Baggett, Frisco City, Ala.

Fashion a Rifle Rest From Your Levi's

I recently came up with a way to get use out of an old pair of blue jeans. I cut one leg off and thoroughly stuffed it with plastic bags from the grocery store. Then I secured the ends with string. (Zip-ties will also work.) I now use it as a padded rest when I zero my rifle.
Paul VanLeuven, Ephrata, Pa.

Protect Your Reel (and Have a Drink)

If your post-fishing drink is a Crown and Coke, then I’ve discovered a use for the purple drawstring bag that come with a bottle of Crown Royal. I use the bags as covers for my reels. I cut a 1-inch hole in the bottom corner, which allows me to slide the butt of my rod through the bag, and completely enclose the reel. This works great for any type of reel.
Theodore Fulk, Overland Park, Kan.

Secure an Axe Head to the Handle

Awhile back, the head on my wooden-handled axe felt very loose, and I worried it would fly off whenever I split wood at camp. I fixed this potentially dangerous problem by soaking the axe head in a bucket of water overnight. The wood absorbed the water and expanded, tightening the head to the shaft.
Chad Sarty, via the Internet

Carry Candies to Hunt in Stealth Mode

When still-hunting for deer, I used to worry if I was walking too fast. So to make myself slow down, I started keeping a half-full Tic-Tac box in my pants pocket. This way if I can hear the candies jiggling, I know I need to slow down.
Tom Charlton, Muscatine, Iowa