Explaining that times were tough back then, Art LeJeune still remembers hunting south Louisiana rice fields with his grandfather, fetching ducks, filling seed sacks with them. He started working at Faulk's Calls 53 years ago. At age 73 still arrives at 6:30 each morning, turning calls in the dusty, memory-infused shop that's remained unchanged for a half-century except for recently installed air-conditioning. How'd LeJeune's family store ducks in the absence of refrigeration and what was the lim...
Aug 19, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 156
Ramsey Russell's arms are still tired from hauling in redfish and speckled trout when Orin Lonadier arrives, but they fly into a great conversation about real American Dream living. Where did Orin grow up, when did he know he wanted to be a guide, and how'd he get into the outfitting business? What's it like working year-round in parts of the world that are polar opposites? What's the most interesting leg band he's ever seen? Any favorite fish and crane recipes? Is guiding as easy as he makes it...
Aug 16, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 155
Way up near the Oregon border in northern California's Klamath Basin are 6 national wildlife refuges. The Lower Klamath NWR was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 as our nation's first waterfowl refuge--and in the 1950's, more pintails were counted at nearby Tule Lake Refuge than even exists in the world today! But for the most complex water system in the world, times have changed. "Policy drought" is being exacerbated by unprecedented natural drought conditions and as everyone ...
Aug 13, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 154
As one of the last functioning inland saltwater ecosystems in the United States, and certainly the largest, the Great Salt Lake's wildlife value as expressed in numbers is eye-popping: stages two-thirds of North America's swan population; yields 1/2 of North America's cinnamon teal; satisfies 40% the world's aquacultural brine shrimp demand; benefits 10 million birds comprising 338 species annually, to include 1/3 of phalaropes and 95% of eared grebes existing in the world. Hunters and society h...
Aug 11, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 153
The lonely Bell Chasse Highway runs down the Mississippi River's west bank, terminating at the end of the world in Venice, Louisiana. From there to the Gulf is nothing but the kind of marsh for which Louisiana is truly known as "Sportsman's Paradise." Jesse Morris got his first boat while 13 years old, plying local waters for shrimp, crabs, whatever he could catch, on his way to becoming a 5th-generation commercial fisherman. But the Lord works in mysterious ways. What was it like growing up 70 ...
Aug 09, 2021•57 min•Ep. 152
Ramsey Russell and Mark Wilson aka Bigwater huddle around a table in the A/C on a hot summer afternoon. Bigwater talks about a recent trip to Omaha. He then asks Ramsey questions from listeners and himself, anything from packing light to what goes on behind the scenes at GetDucks while not traveling to thoughts on hunting pressure. Got a question or topic you'd like to hear? Inbox Ramsey at @ramseyrussellgetducks , or email ramsey@getducks.com . Please s ubscribe, rate and review Duck Season Som...
Aug 06, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 151
It's a scorching 107° F in North Dakota when Delta Waterfowl VP John Devney calls to give Ramsey Russell an update on the most cursed words that exist to a duck hunter's ears: the Prairie Potholes Region is dry. Bad dry. Just how dry is it, and what drives drought cycle in the PPR? What's "the biology of drought"? How's this year compare to past droughts, and when did the lowest ever recorded pond counts occur? Why are there less Benellis afield killing half the number of mallards? We've not cou...
Aug 04, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 150
In the sedate Mississippi Delta hamlet of Greenwood, population 14 thousand, the Crystal Grill has served ever-growing menu selections of made-from-scratch family recipes since 1933. Owner Johnny Ballas has been working there for as long as he can remember. Long-time friend Mike Rozier remembers back in the good old days, when he was 8 years old, that every duck hunter in Leflore County gathered there for home-made pancakes and sausage. How has the Mississippi Delta and duck hunting changed sinc...
Aug 02, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 149
Having grown up duck hunting California's Bay Area and, later while in college, the Sacramento Valley, it was like a dream come true when Mike McVey graduated college, moved nearer to the Oregon border, and started hunting fabled Tule Lake. McVey has since been California Department Fish and Wildlife's Wildlife Habitat Supervisor for Shasta Valley Wildlife Area. He describes the worse drought observed in decades, its effect on both waterfowl and habitat management. How exactly is the drought imp...
Jul 29, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 148
Today's guest is a self-described super nerd that played college ball, knew he wanted to be a biologist since childhood, and remembers falling in love with ducks when a flock of wigeons pitched into an Oklahoma farm pond he was hunting. Dr. Heath Hagy is now US Fish and Wildlife Service Waterfowl Ecologist for the National Wildlife Refuge System in the Southeastern United States. Using broad research and applied habitat experiences, Hagy works with 131 Federal Refuges, states and other entities ...
Jul 26, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 147
While shooting barnacle geese and greylag geese together in the Netherlands decade ago, Ramsey Russell and Brian Lynn could never have imagined the ferocious battles with embittered anti-hunting crazies awaiting their respective futures. As VP Marketing and Communications for Sportsmen's Alliance, Lynn now daily fights anti-hunters tooth-and-nail, wielding facts and advocating policy like a modern day dragon slayer. Who knew Dutch anti-hunters read American hunting magazines, and what lead to Ra...
Jul 22, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 146
Michael Brasher grew up hunting with his dad, plying Mississippi's Skuna River bottoms with a 4hp outboard. He now remembers a first mallard propelled his life towards eventually becoming Waterfowl Scientist at Ducks Unlimited HQ. What is DU's role in North American waterfowl conservation, and why does Brasher say "conservation without funding is just conversation"? How'd Brasher get from there to here? What are some of the interesting socio-biological observations made while researching paired ...
Jul 19, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 145
The United States' Federal Duck Stamp is singularly the most amazing waterfowl conservation tool in the world, generating over a billion dollars since its inception. Growing up in southwest Kansas, Rebekah Knight won the Federal Junior Duck Stamp at age 15, competing ever since. How did Knight become an artist and why did she start competing in the Federal Duck Stamp contest? How does she decide which species, how does she prepare and how much time goes into it? Why does Knight describe the rela...
Jul 15, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 144
Before John Gordon was Senior Communication Specialist for Ducks Unlimited, he hunted waterfowl and was even a snow goose guide way back in the real, good old Katy, Texas Prairie days. Following a Memphis BBQ lunch, Gordon and Ramsey talk then-versus-now across several topics. What does Gordon do at Ducks Unlimited, what are his waterfowling origins? How'd they hunt snow geese way back when, what were the limits and how have things since changed? Who was "Dex the Wonder Dog," why was running hun...
Jul 12, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 143
Scott Stephens and Ramsey Russell went to Mississippi State University together way back when. Stephens is now Ducks Unlimited Canada's Director of Regional Operations for Prairies and Boreal Forest, where he directs waterfowl conservation efforts over an almost unimaginably huge portion of North America--way, way bigger than the narrow 100-mile corridor bordering Yellowhead Highway that Ramsey Russell thinks of as Manitoba! Why does Stephens facetiously tell people that he "doesn't really do an...
Jul 01, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 142
Jim Crews has been hunting amid ancient Mississippi cypress for 5 decades, forgetting neither his first hunt nor his first duck. Having recently published his must-read duck hunting memoir Amid the Cypress , that describes memorable ducks hunts in Mississippi and far beyond, Crews and Ramsey recall times shared in cypress-studded north Mississippi Delta oxbows. What compelled Crews to write a duck hunting book? Why was Bobo Brake the apropos setting for duck hunting with Ramsey's heirloom Colt h...
Jun 30, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 141
Having shared duck blinds in many places worldwide with Chris Gouras, I can tell y'all for fact that there's never been a lack of good things to talk about between volleys. The descendant of Greek immigrants, he's been around the restaurant industry since forever, and started duck hunting among true South Delta legends soon after moving to Mississippi. How'd Big John end up facing the wrong way in a Netherlands goose blind? Who were some of the colorful characters Gouras hunted with back in the ...
Jun 28, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 140
Leading up to Father's Day, Ramsey met with his Uncle James to talk about his grandfather Russell, the one that introduced him to hunting. In addition to some of the stories he heard around the dinner table growing up, he learned a few more. S ubscribe, rate and review Duck Season Somewhere podcast. Share your favorite episodes with friends! Business inquiries and comments contact Ramsey Russell ramsey@getducks.com Podcast Sponsors: BOSS Shotshells Benelli Shotguns Kanati Waterfowl Taxidermy Gun...
Jun 24, 2021•49 min•Ep. 139
Preceding Father's Day, Ramsey Russell meets with his 75 year-old Uncle James Russell who shares some stories about growing up in the Mississippi Delta. It's been decades since the grandfather that introduced Ramsey to hunting passed. As the two of them recount family stories shared around the dinner table, Ramsey learns the origins of his grandfather's shotgun and a lot more. S ubscribe, rate and review Duck Season Somewhere podcast. Share your favorite episodes with friends! Business inquiries...
Jun 21, 2021•55 min•Ep. 138
During a recent visit to Mississippi, Delta Waterfowl John Devney and Ramsey Russell discussed need-to-know duck topics. How dry is the Prairie Pothole Region, what will ducks do, how exactly might it affect waterfowl reproduction, and why isn't Plan B Alaska nesting as productive? What's the backstory on North Dakota's new e-posting rulings, what prompted it, and how'd Delta Waterfowl bring common sense to the table? What ever became of Maryland's HB 0911 that would have marginalized boat hunte...
Jun 17, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 137
From a 1900's-era commissary on the edge of a sprawling cotton field, about a half-hour north of where Delta bluesman Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil, Hank Burdine tells Ramsey Russell about the origins of the Mississippi Delta blues. The precursor to rock-n-roll, this music genre was also true inspiration of the recognized king himself, Elvis Presley. It's more the fascinating story of people, culture, time and place than of distinct, metal-stringed notes emanating from swe...
Jun 14, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 136
It's the question many American duck and goose hunters have been asking since last year: When will Canada borders reopen to non-Canadian waterfowl hunters? Ramsey Russell is joined today by USHuntList associate, Ryan Reynolds of Apex Waterfowling in Ontario to discuss pandemic effects in Canada. What's it look like in Canada right now, who's been hunting and where? How have successful Canadian waterfowl outfitters like Ryan Reynolds coped with the border closure - and how it might have affected ...
Jun 10, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 135
Matt Piehl and Ramsey Russell catch up between North America waterfowl hunting seasons to discuss guided waterfowl hunts in general, exciting Dirty Bird Outfitter developments, and new important private property e-posting laws that all duck and goose hunters that plan on visiting North Dakota should be fully aware. What recent life changes make Piehl feel like he jumped from frying pan into the skillet busy-wise? How was the Arkansas spring snow goose hunting? How's North Dakota habitat looking ...
Jun 07, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 134
On June 6, 1944, Allied Forces launched an all-out naval, air and land assault on Nazi-occupied France. It was a decisive turning point in WW2. On that day in history, Mr. Jim Cleremont was aboard the USS Herndon, the first US Destroyer arriving to Normandy that was positioned off Omaha Beach during the invasion. In today's special Duck Season Somewhere podcast episode, Mr. Cleremont recalls growing up in Minnesota, joining the Navy, and his time in service. He recalls what he remembers from the...
Jun 03, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 133
Brandon Cerecke breaks from his full-steam-ahead schedule managing waterfowl habitat and satisfying customer demands for the growing product-line of Boss copper-plated bismuth ammo. What's behind the global ammo shortage, how can you prepare, what's Boss Shotshells doing about it? After 3 decades of bigger-faster, steel shot-science hyper-marketing, why is Boss moving further in the opposite direction with their new "Stinger loads" - and why are the patterns even better? What's driving new fiber...
May 31, 2021•56 min•Ep. 132
On the heels of the recently dropped short film Life's Short GetDucks - Mississippi, Home Is Who You Are, Jake Latendresse and Ramsey catch up. It's been an eventful 4 years since they first filmed together in Australia, especially the past 18 months. After globetrotting together worldwide, why'd they resume productions with the Mississippi project? Why's it hit home to each of them? How's Mississippi relate to Azerbaijan duck hunting? What's the rest of the back story on the old hammer gun? And...
May 27, 2021•57 min•Ep. 131
It's a cold January night in the swamp. A roaring fire crackling, swamp dogs at our feet, their tails thumping, the smell of something good sizzling over hot charcoal wafts through the cabin. We are whetting our appetites with toddies and blues music. Known in some circles as the Swamp Warlock and Swamp Witch, Jim and Allison Crews always cast wicked spells of southern hospitality. The next morning we'll hunt among Bobo Brake's ancient, cathedral-like cypresses over traditional cork blocks, mayb...
May 24, 2021•51 min•Ep. 130
In this year's final episode of this special Duck Season Somewhere podcast habitat series, the summer sun is beating down, the water is off the site, and our mud flats are greening up with germinating moist-soil vegetation. Now what? USDA NRCS Wildlife Biologist Kevin Nelms walks us through part-art-part-science solutions for producing desired moist-soil management results. What are suggested management practices for controlling undesirable problem plants? What are early successional management ...
May 20, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 129
Back in the early 1800s, the Mississippi Delta was a seething hardwood wilderness unrivaled by anything until you reached the redwoods. And it was in this environment that Robert Eager Bobo and company plied their skills, reputedly killing over 300 bears in a single year - plus a whole lot more. Who was Bobo, where'd he live? How'd they hunt bear back then? How famous were Bobo's hounds and what became of them? What was the preferred weapon of choice in ancient canebrakes? Mississippi historian ...
May 17, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 128
Did you know that mallard diet on the wintering grounds consists predominately of annual seeds? In today's Duck Season Somewhere podcast episode, USDA-NRCS Wildlife Biologist, Kevin Nelms, and Ramsey dig deeper into the subject of wetland management for waterfowl. What are the 4 recognized wetland types, what different waterfowl life-cycle requirements do they satisfy, why will making these distinctions help you be a become a better waterfowl habitat manager and, importantly, a more successful d...
May 13, 2021•54 min•Ep. 127
