It's snowing and blowing, temps plummeting North Dakota-style when I wheel into Jeff Pelayo's driveway during the 2020-2021 North American Tour. North Dakota duck hunting usually conjures mental imagery of mallards and Canadas pouring into dry fields, but I'm meeting Jeff to experience a lesser-seen-side of this cowboy state: diver ducks. Bluebills, canvasbacks, redheads, buffleheads, ring-necked ducks, occasional goldeneyes are Pelayo's obsession. The way he hunts them harkens a bygone era. I g...
Nov 11, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 66
In the final episode of Warren Coco series, Ramsey Russell and Coco shift gears and discuss Louisiana Gulf Coastal restoration. There have been significant habitat changes in Louisiana during time span that this 8-part series took place, not the least of which are the "sinking lands" in the Lower Mississippi River Delta, especially, and parts of the entire Gulf Coast. Disappearing at an estimated rate of a football size field of area per hour, advocacy groups have declared it a Vanishing Paradis...
Nov 09, 2020•51 min•Ep. 65
The North American Tour continue as Ramsey Russell wheels into Wisconsin during an October snow storm and shares a couple great Wisconsin honker hunts with "TJ Ten Yards." TJ describes his earliest goose hunting influences, why giant Canada geese are his favorite. TJ came by his nickname the old-fashioned way - he earned it. Like a talkative 9-pack of longnecks sailing towards the spread on locked wings, his proven game plan philosophy is worth paying close attention. Episode Sponsors: BOSS Shot...
Nov 06, 2020•51 min•Ep. 64
Throughout the United States a sub-gauge movement seems underway as more waterfowlers are shouldering 20- and 28-gauge small-bores instead of 12-gauge shotguns. Which is why I found it so surprising that legendary duck hunter Warren Coco oftentimes shoots the tried-and-true 10-gauge at ducks. How and why did Coco begin shooting a Big Ten? How have shotshells changed since the "good old days?" What are Coco"s thoughts on non-toxic shotshells versus lead? The episode packs a real punch as these an...
Nov 02, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 63
Years ago, Ramsey stopped by Joe Briscoe's backyard shop to visit very briefly and buy a couple blue-winged teal calls. The pair swapped stories, shared a quart jar of peach moonshine and pored over Joe's treasure trove of collectible waterfowl calls. Several hours later, they had become friends. And despite a round of caramel 'shine the following year, the two have since remained friends. How'd Briscoe get into call making and what were his earliest influences? How'd he stumble across the idea ...
Oct 29, 2020•57 min•Ep. 62
From his Go-Devil Manufacturing office near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Warren describes to Ramsey the origins of waterfowl mounts adorning the sunken cypress walls of his office to Ramsey. On the heels of an especially busy hurricane season - which has not yet ended - they talk about what is like to live in an area heavily impacted by hurricanes. The conversation turns to Coco's having recently squirrel hunting. Quicker than a cat squirrel scurrying up a loblolly pine, the conversation quickly pivo...
Oct 26, 2020•54 min•Ep. 61
Halfway across the world and 6,850 miles from central Mississippi, the small country of Azerbaijan is nestled between the Caspian Sea and Iran. Preceding release of Life's Short GetDucks Azerbaijan short film (scheduled for release on October 28), outdoor cameraman Jake Latendresse describes what struck him most about the unique duck hunting destination as seen through the camera lens. What lead Ramsey to this off-the-beaten-path duck hunting destination? What waterfowl species are hunted in thi...
Oct 22, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 60
In follow up to yesterday's special episode, Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument Board Member, Mike Rounsaville, and Ramsey briefly discuss the Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument that's recently been built near the crash site. The monument can be visited by exiting I-55 at Exit 8, driving 8 miles west towards Gillsburg on Highway 568. Follow the signs. Related Links: Hanging Out With Gene Odom (YouTube Channel) Gene Odom Entertainment (Gene's Facebook Page) Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument Facebook Page Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument...
Oct 20, 2020•15 min•Ep. 59
On October 19, 1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd was inarguably the greatest rock band touring the USA and played what was their final concert in Greenville, South Carolina. While enroute to Baton Rouge on October 20th, their plane crashed in the remote woodlands of southwest Mississippi, killing 6 passengers to include frontman Ronny Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backup vocalist Cassie Gaines. Forty-three years later, their classic southern rock ballads are remembered worldwide - everyone has a favo...
Oct 19, 2020•2 hr 51 min•Ep. 58
Seventy-three years young, Gene Campbell is a two-time Purple Heart recipient that has been hunting fabled Chambers County, Texas, since he was a precocious child armed only with a pellet rifle. He humbly describes a legendary half-century of waterfowl guiding - on some of the same coveted properties he's hunted since forever - as, "not a career, but a lifetime love." Among his most cherished possessions are the now-faded-by-time photos of clients that became life-long friends that adorn many ca...
Oct 15, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 57
Thinking Texas during the mid- to late-1800s more likely conjures images of tough cowboys, fierce comanches, and dusty cattle drives than epic turn-of-the-century waterfowl hunting. Today's guest forever changes that. Rob Sawyer has authored 3 incredible books on the Lone Star State's colorful waterfowling history. Even in the halcyon days of waterfowling, sport hunters began emerging as conservationists. Saying "everything's bigger in Texas," Sawyer describes events that are truly hard to fatho...
Oct 12, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 56
Houston Havens, Waterfowl Program Coordinator for Mississippi, has learned lots of very interesting things about wood ducks pursuant to ongoing banding programs in Mississippi. He and Ramsey discuss a variety of related topics pertaining to this ubiquitous species. How do they band wood ducks, what valuable information is gained, and how important is this to management? How widely do Mississippi's wood ducks disperse and what's the furtherest away one has been reported? How important are wood du...
Oct 08, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 55
Gaining proper cultural insight anywhere worldwide is as simple as putting your feet under a table at the right restaurant. Doe's Eat Place is the most iconic restaurant in the State of Mississippi, is among countless Top-10 lists nationwide, has served countless luminaries and celebrities right alongside duck hunters fresh off the river for decades. It even received the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award. But don't ask for a menu because they've never had one. From across a red checkered ...
Oct 05, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 54
Kicking off this season's North American Waterfowl Tour, Ramsey Russell stops in central Iowa to goose hunt Trent Sinclair. While the two hunters are rolling Canada goose poppers and snacking on andouille and cheese, they discuss hunting in Iowa and some favorite recipes. About mid-way through the recording, Sinclair makes a move that Ramsey later wishes he'd photographed! Episode Sponsors: BOSS Shotshells Benelli Shotguns Kanati Waterfowl Taxidermy GunDog Outdoors GetDucks USHuntList It's duck ...
Oct 04, 2020•31 min•Ep. 53
Steve Biggers of Rocky Creek Retrievers runs the best blue-winged teal hunts in Texas, maybe even on earth. But it doesn't happen by accident. Far from it. Biggers explains professional retriever training and duck guiding, often using baseball concepts to effectively get his points across home plate. Straightforward and deliberate, his approach to both are similar - he wants to produce the best potential results and to maximize customers' enjoyment. How'd Biggers get started down the path of bec...
Oct 01, 2020•51 min•Ep. 52
Warren Coco is a fury of boundless can-do energy. Large and in charge, with nearly a half-century of personal and professional achievements roiling in his wake, fellow hunt camp members affectionately refer to him as "The General." It even says so on the gold-starred military helmet they hung above the entrance to his camp house room. The conversation begins with Coco explaining Go Devil's customer service, demonstrating his buck-stops-here philosophy. It then shifts to habitat management. A com...
Sep 28, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 51
Ramsey Russell connects with Ira McCauley to discuss September happenings. Ira tells about the September blue-winged teal opener in Missouri's north zone, which has become a long-standing family tradition. They hunt, for sure, but they eat right and even have fun in a variety of ways. He describes his youngest son making an important connection with hunting last weekend. Beyond blue-wingeds, Ira traditionally chases what he calls the September Quadfecta. Besides mourning doves and blue-winged te...
Sep 24, 2020•54 min•Ep. 50
In this episode of Duck Season Somewhere, waterfowl hunting legend, Warren Coco, and Ramsey Russell continue visiting at the confluence of the Red and Black rivers in central Louisiana, but their conversation turns from feathered fowl to the big lizards for which is state is famous. Coco describes hunting alligators and collecting their eggs in great detail, and then talks about traditional gar fishing. The episode ends dramatically with the tale of 14-feet worth of mad, muddy gator being hand-g...
Sep 21, 2020•40 min•Ep. 49
Great duck habitat doesn't happen by accident. Terry Denmon and Ramsey Russell assessed habitat conditions on a central Louisiana property about a decade ago. Waterfowl utilization left something to be desired. Management was sorely needed. Denmon has since tirelessly implemented moist-soil management practices, transforming the property, and rolling out the red carpet for overwintering ducks. What is moist-soil management and why does Denmon prefer this to row crop agricultural crops? What are ...
Sep 17, 2020•57 min•Ep. 48
Warren Coco's epic story resumes with his first telling about his Avoyelles Parish ancestry stretching clear back to a Revolutionary War veteran from whom the Coco name was derived. And speaking of origins, before going back to Hackberry, we briefly revisit Go Devil. How'd the company name come about? How have their product line has since evolved? Why are there size limitations? Returning to the once-in-a-million lifetimes opportunity that soon became marsh camp, Coco describes what makes the la...
Sep 14, 2020•50 min•Ep. 47
Long-time friends Mike Morgan and Ramsey Russell meet across the table to talk teal hunting. Spending a little time to talk about teal worldwide, they quickly transition to blue-winged teal hunting in the Deep South, a favorite of theirs. Mike then remembers an incredible Peruvian cinnamon teal hunt they filmed together for Mojo. What other teal species are there worldwide? What's the real relationship among blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal, green-winged teal and shovelers? What's so special abou...
Sep 10, 2020•39 min•Ep. 46
As described in last week's episode, Warren Coco spent over a decade hunting ducks in the enchanted Maurepas Swamp. Some years were better than others. Countless memorable times were spent with family and friends in the then-magical place - nights spent in floating camphouse in middle of swamp, mornings spent in tight, 30 yard-wide holes among towering, Spanish moss veiled cypress trees. The paradise vanished abruptly, because nature is always changing, and Coco found himself "on the outside loo...
Sep 07, 2020•49 min•Ep. 45
September is finally here. The thermometer still reads warm, especially down south, but already faint hints of fall are in the air. Or maybe that's just the smell of spent powder, musty waders, fresh feathers. Our time has finally arrived. Migratory bird hunting season is ushered in on the wings of resident Canadas, mourning doves and blue-winged teal. What's not to love about it?! In this episode of Duck Season Somewhere, Ramsey meets with Bigwater over hot biscuits and deer sausage following a...
Sep 04, 2020•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 43
Warren Coco is an American duck hunting icon. Conceived in his Baton Rouge, Louisiana shop over 4 decades ago, the legendary Go Devil longtail engine very literally transformed the face of duck hunting. But who is Warren Coco, and where'd he initially get the idea for the longtail motor design? What are his duck hunting origins? Many of us old salts were introduced to Coco and associates back in the late-80's via a VCR production simply entitled "Duckmen." Never before had we witnessed such kick...
Aug 31, 2020•55 min•Ep. 43
Today's special guest hails from Louisiana, where for decades he lurked in the shadows as a game warden. Extremely good at it, he wrote 365 violations one particular year - an average of one per day! Louisiana's unique cultural history involves hunting for certain migratory birds species other than ducks, too. What are gros becs and bec croches ? And did anyone really hunt American robins? Why was he once sent to "guard a bridge" during season opener, and why did he eventually choose to work for...
Aug 24, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 42
During their high school years, Rod Haydel and his brother joined their father, the iconic Eli Haydel, in the garage where they mixed sometimes imperfect compound resins to cast clear polymer duck calls that were marketed as "Blows When Wet." At the time, when only about 20 duck calls were being plied in hunting catalogs, it seemed like a great way for the boys to offset their upcoming college expenses. Looking back decades later, it transformed the duck call manufacturing industry, becoming a h...
Aug 17, 2020•56 min•Ep. 41
Dale Bordelon is a gifted storyteller from Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. In last week's episode (Episode 39, August 3, 2020), Dale described gathering various local raw materials from nearby swamps and hand-making his Louisiana cane calls and other tools-of-the-trade as tribute to Louisiana's traditional waterfowling culture. In today's episode, we crawl belly deep into tepid, tea-colored swampwater as he describes trapping dinosaur-like alligator snappers the size of chest freezers, catching mon...
Aug 10, 2020•55 min•Ep. 40
Brandon Cerecke and Lee Kjos of BOSS Shotshells join Ramsey for a fast-and-furious roundhouse, full-on old school discussion. Plowing like a meteor through a snowbank, the trio talk about shotguns, chokes, patterns, exciting new BOSS copper-plated bismuth shotshell developments, duck season expectations, and good ol' rock-n-roll! What're the boys readying for duck season? Is there really a sub-gauge revolution happening in America? Why are young hunters now shooting grandad's generations-old saf...
Aug 06, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 39
Louisiana's fabled waterfowling history stretches back centuries to the first French inhabitants, that thrived among its Spanish moss adorned swamplands like fish in water. Their tools of the trade were by necessity hand-crafted from locally abundant materials as a practical way of feeding families, but became in that sense a true art form. For Dale Bordelon, collecting natural materials from the Avoyelles Parish landscape near home then making his traditional cane calls, cypress dugouts and pad...
Aug 03, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 38
Matthew Piehl, Dirty Bird Outfitters, was born and raised in North Dakota. He tells Ramsey Russell about growing up hunting in the region and why waterfowling affected him differently than hunting upland gamebirds. They recount hunts together down in Mexico, talk about Matt's lucky horseshoe, and dive into ducks, honkers, snows and tundra swans. What are habitat conditions like in North Dakota this year and how might if effect hunting? How'd Matt get into the outfitting business? And why does Di...
Jul 30, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 37
