☕️ Good Morning. Daylight Saving Time hit this weekend, which means everyone collectively lost an hour of sleep and is pretending they’re handling it like adults. Coffee consumption is up, alarms felt way too early this morning, and half the country is still wondering why we’re doing this in the first place. The good news? Longer evenings are back, spring is creeping in, and it’s officially time to start thinking about the woods, the water, and getting outside again. Until then, here are a few things worth reading while your brain catches up with the clock.
— the Hook & Barrel Family
For the TL;DR crowd…
» Why TSS is so damn expensive
» Best turkey hunting vests
» Best turkey calls at NWTF
» Best bass fishing gear of 2026
» Pake South’s Bassmaster win
👇🏼 Tap the image below, purchase the Steve Harvey issue, and get a FREE Hook & Barrel sticker! (*This week only). Why is there a skeleton, you ask? Well, the artist behind the sticker viewed the outdoor lifestyle as something we take to the grave with us - the guns, the rods, the music, and the good times. If that’s you, grab Steve’s issue and get the sticker for your tumbler, Nalgene, or cooler! Cheers to that!
👇🏼 Keep scrolling, you don’t want to miss this week’s Trophy Room.
Now, here’s the latest from hookandbarrel.com:
HUNTING
Why spend so much on TSS?
Turkey hunters have always been a little obsessive about their loads. Pattern boards, choke tubes, range debates… it’s basically a science project with camo involved. But in recent years one thing has completely flipped the script: TSS (Tungsten Super Shot). With denser shot, tighter patterns, and lethal energy at longer distances, TSS has quickly become the load that’s redefining what turkey hunters expect from their setups.
GEAR
The best turkey vests of 2026
If you’ve turkey hunted long enough, you know the vest becomes your mobile command center. Calls, shells, snacks, water, maybe a lucky feather or two. The good ones keep everything organized and comfortable while you’re crawling through brush or sitting against a tree waiting for that gobble. The bad ones? They feel like a yard sale strapped to your back. Thankfully the newest turkey vests coming out for 2026 are lighter, smarter, and built with hunters in mind.
HUNTING
NWTF’s best turkey calls
Turkey hunters love to argue about calls almost as much as they love chasing gobblers. Box calls, diaphragms, pots… everyone swears theirs sounds the most like the real thing. The good news is the latest crop of calls unveiled at NWTF this year brings plenty of new toys to the woods. From beautifully crafted custom pieces to innovative designs pushing turkey talk even further, these are the calls hunters will be running to make the woods light up this spring.
FISHING
The bass fishing gear that matters this year
While turkey hunters are busy arguing about choke tubes and shotgun shells, bass fishermen know spring means one thing: the bite is about to turn on. Warmer water wakes everything up, fish start moving shallow, and suddenly that tackle box you ignored all winter matters again. From new rods and reels to baits designed to trigger those aggressive spring strikes, this year’s gear lineup is stacked with tools built for one thing… catching bass.
TOURNAMENTS
Pake South’s Bassmaster Big Win
Winning any bass tournament is tough. Winning one against a stacked field of seasoned anglers takes something extra. That’s exactly what happened at the Bassmaster Open on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell, where Pake South put together the kind of performance anglers dream about.
🏆 The Trophy Room
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LFG🔥
Ernest Hemingway once proved you can say a lot with just six words. So did the same for Hook & Barrel: “Challenge Everything. Then, do the unexpected.” Now it’s stitched into a hat built for the people who live it. Our flat-brimmed 5-panel lightweight cap is water-repellant, packable, moisture-wicking, and features UV protection. It’s perfect for chasing the sun, whether you’re on the trail or on the water.
