As a barefoot little boy playing outside in the late-1930s that later duck hunted when rice predominated the coastal Texas landscape, 90-year-old Charles Stutzenbaker became the first full-time waterfowl biologist for the State of Texas. It was a different world. Plenty work to do. And work he did. Spending many years immersed afield, he became a foremost authority on coastal habitat, authoring definitive books on mottled ducks and wetlands vegetation. He influenced Gulf Coastal habitat conserva...
Oct 10, 2024•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 516
West of San Antonio, where the Chihuahua Desert and Brush County collide it's dry. Real dry. But there exist one of the most unique and best-kept secrets in North America waterfowl hunting. Renowned since forever for world-class muy grande white-tails on vast private ranches, the region also harbors ducks, speckle bellies and sandhill cranes that've long been disregarded by locals and remain relatively unpressured. Enter Speck Ops Waterfowl. Luke Bledsoe and wife, Jillian, describe moving to the...
Oct 07, 2024•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 515
Hunting western Nebraska is all about the right stuff--the right properties, the right locations, the right people. There's mallards and geese galore, for sure, but this corner of the Wild West is also crawling with huge mule deer and white-tailed bucks, pronghorn, Merriam's turkeys, and elk. Born and raised nearby, Powder Morning Hunting Company's Coy Fisher describes growing up there; what Sydney, Nebraska was like before, during and since Cabela's; how carbon sequestration is a billion dollar...
Oct 03, 2024•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 514
Getting a feel for who people really are is as simple as putting your feet under the right table. Or in the instance of Chef Jean-Paul Bourgeois, just talking food. Proud of his Louisiana duck hunting heritage, Chef Jean-Paul Bourgeois shares Sportsman's Paradise unique culture via Duck Camp Dinners, that's just completed its 3rd season. Gumbo variations around Louisiana is only the beginning and we're soon running through an international buffet of topics to include the Chesapeake Bay, Vietnam,...
Sep 30, 2024•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 513
Having used Benelli shotguns since the mid-90s because of their utter reliability and superior performance, their continued innovations continue to amaze. Benelli's Senior Product Manager, Brett Maffet, is a long-time waterfowl hunter and living his dream by working in the outdoor industry. We do a deep dive into Benelli shotguns past and present, cycling through need-to-know topics like various Benelli shotgun platforms, differences between Benelli shotgun models, sub-gauge popularity, new adva...
Sep 26, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 512
Grizzly bears, wild sheep, bison, elk, white-tailed bucks, waterfowl--we all have outdoor dreams. But South Carolina-based Outdoor Dream Foundation is making outdoor dreams reality for youths facing some of life's toughest challenges. "It gives them light at the end of the tunnel, something to live for," one of today's guests says. Disappointed that similar foundations were not granting firearms- and hunting-related wishes, they decided to do something about it. ODF members Leroy Martin, Richard...
Sep 23, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 511
Following a 2-week, 3-province, 5-lodge, waterfowl-and-upland-gamebirds South Africa duck hunting safari that'll be memorable for many reasons--it's like we saw and did everything--the adventure is recapped with hunters Mark Hagar and Seth Arbogast. One collected lots of game room trophies, the other did not, because it's mostly about experiences involving new lands, people, foods, all united around hunting ducks and geese. Whether considering such an adventure yourself or just wanting to hear w...
Sep 19, 2024•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 510
Fifth-generation Florida native Travis Thompson was born-and-raised Florida duck hunting. In the absence of mallards, their mainstays are blue-winged teal, Florida mottled ducks, whistling ducks, and--of course--ring-necked ducks, which are discussed in depth along with local hunting traditions, gators and cattle, where and how ducks are hunted. "But when you're not at the table, you're on the menu," says Thompson, pivoting to the rapid loss of wintering habitat and hunting rights in Florida. Be...
Sep 16, 2024•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 509
For Larry White, an interest in cooking began as simply as being around grandmother's kitchen, and while he learned a lot of techniques in the military it wasn't until afterwards that a passion for crafting wild game dishes emerged. His interesting takes on carpaccio, prosciutto, wild turkey, wild ham, fish and other favorite spins are discussed, but check out his The Wild Gourmet Blog for more. Related links: thewildgamegourmet.com https://www.thewildgamegourmet.com Visit MOJO’s Duck Season Som...
Sep 12, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 508
Raised a 4th-generation northeast Arkansas public land duck hunter, Maggie Williams says the first girl her daddy ever even saw in the woods was the 10 year-old daughter he'd brought along himself. Treated just like one of the boys, the rest was history. A genuine duck hunter--that just happened to be a girl--was born on the spot. Maggie Williams describes growing up hunting Arkansas public dirt, how beauty pageants enabled her insatiable high school duck hunting appetite while teaching valuable...
Sep 09, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 507
Cutting his teeth in Oregon, Shawn Swearingen--that's spelled like the guy in Deadwood series, he says--migrated to the outskirts of DC, where the hunting is in some ways different but in many ways similar. Besides a legislative career, he makes duck calls and, like a ravenous honker in a plowed corn field, roots out interesting then-and-now hunting and fishing stories as an outdoor writer. Visit MOJO’s Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Sponsors: MOJO Outdoors Benelli Shotguns BOSS Shotshells Ducks ...
Sep 05, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 506
Launched last season, duckDNA is an immensely successful citizen-science initiate spear-headed by Ducks Unlimited and University of Texas at El Paso. waterfowl Scientists Dr. Mike Brasher, Dr. Jerad Hinson and Dr. Phil Lavretsky explain some of last season's fascinating findings to include hybrids, "blonde mallards," Florida Mottled ducks, America Black ducks, Brewer's ducks, game farm mallard abundance and distribution, and much more! Importantly, they describe how you, too, can participate in ...
Sep 02, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 505
Moving out west with "an anti-hunter from Toronto" to pursue an electrical career was one thing, but the sheer abundance of waterfowl hunting opportunities in Alberta changed Ben Commodore's life. He's now on Cloud 9. Literally. As part of the renowned Ranchland Outfitters team, Commodore delivers some of the most amazing waterfowl hunting experiences on the North American continent. We cover a variety of interesting topics to include current habitat conditions and landscape changes, hunting in ...
Aug 29, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 504
Father-son team, Jamey and Layne Roberts of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, spend quality time together duck hunting and scouting. It was duck hunting that sparked 14 year-old Layne's interest in waterfowl conservation and how his Eagle Scout project could make a difference near home. Good stuff! Visit MOJO’s Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Sponsors: MOJO Outdoors Benelli Shotguns BOSS Shotshells Ducks Unlimited Flash Back Decoys HuntProof Premium Waterfowl App Inukshuk Professional Dog Food Tetra Hearing To...
Aug 26, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 503
At the end of the day, adding ducks to the strap boils down to that final crucial moment---the trigger pull. And having poured ourselves into everything else leading up to it, we serious duck hunters want every advantage possible in making each shot count. Better patterns and superior shotgun performance increase our success. Sharing past experiences that lead him into the custom gun works world, Rob Roberts gets deep into shotgun pattern science, describes how simple adjustments may increase ou...
Aug 22, 2024•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 502
During Australia's duck season "circus," anti-hunters will flare your birds, paddle through your decoys and film your kids, reports Outdoor Life Executive Editor, Natalie Krebs. Having heard about the duck hunting battleground that is Australia, she went to see for herself. She was there during the most recent duck season opener. And while Kreb's first-hand accounts may seem otherworldly to us made-in-American duck hunters, she describes how it may not be nearly as far away as we'd like to think...
Aug 19, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 501
In a place where duck hunts are marketed using every superlative ever invented, "best Argentina duck hunt" may seem exaggerated. It's not. The proof is in a decade-and-a-half worth of happy clients. The 2024 season was crazy weather wise, too, going abruptly from record-high, mosquito-swatting weather to bone-chilling, ice-stomping temperatures. But the hits just kept on coming. Repeat and first-time guests from throughout the season tell what they'll remember most about their Las Flores Argenti...
Aug 15, 2024•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 500
Born and raised hunting and fishing in northeast Mississippi, John Blake Riddle has lived a charmed life. Avoiding "the real world" at all costs, he's been a quail guide, duck guide, bird dog trainer to the rich and famous, shooting instructor--for starts--and has a successful crappie jig company called the Little Riddle. He'd rather hunt big water divers or crappie fish from the world's fastest layout boat--and we're talking 102 mph--that he describes in great detail. But here came the real wor...
Aug 12, 2024•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 499
Typical of late-July Baton Rouge, between-thunderstorms humidity visibly hung in the air like a warm, wet blanket. Not that anyone cared. Because walking through the convention halls was as exciting as opening day at duck camp, the energy palpable, like walking into a big ol' happy reunion of birds-of-a-feather-flock-together new and old friends swapping stories and sorting their lockers with the latest-greatest gear--happy, smiling duck hunters and their families everywhere. Meet some of them, ...
Aug 08, 2024•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 498
"We raise weeds, most folks try to grow corn," says renowned wildlife biologist and Arkansas Waterfowler Hall of Fame, Jody Pagan, who among other things has so far laid hands on over a million acres private-lands waterfowl habitat during his career! Life-long Arkansa duck hunter Pagan talks about his background in hunting and habitat management before barreling full steam ahead into need-to-know advantages of natural habitat management. Building on previous waterfowl habitat management episode ...
Aug 05, 2024•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 497
Ducks, doves, decoying pigeons, perdiz, and optional golden dorado fishing--what's not to love about this Argentina duck hunting combo if you're an ardent, trigger-pulling hunter? On top of all that, an amazingly immersive, oftentimes belt-stretching, cultural experience starting in big-city Buenos Aires and going deep into rural Argentina. But is it really a fun vacation for non-hunting spouses? Following an action-packed week, hear what the hunters, non-hunters and hosts had to say about it. (...
Aug 01, 2024•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 496
Public Service Announcement: Guides, outfitters, freelancers--everyone--traveling to hunt outside the United States need to be aware that new Center for Disease Control (CDC) rules change the requirements for importing your retriever back into the United States! Canada's the biggie. If you are bringing a dog to the U.S., starting on August 1, 2024, there are new steps you need to take. These steps depend on where your dog has been in the past 6 months. Ira McCauley explains requirements (as of J...
Jul 29, 2024•54 min•Ep. 495
Late July in the Deep South, it's hotter than hades and teal season is right around the corner. Where better to spend a fun weekend in the among your kind of people--duck hunters--than in the air conditioned halls of Baton Rouge's Raising Cane's River Event Center? The 3rd annual Delta Waterfowl Expo will be there this weekend and everybody that's anybody in the duck hunting world will be there, too. Hear Delta Waterfowl's Brad Heidel and I talk about happenings past and present and why the Delt...
Jul 25, 2024•59 min
A since-forever duck hunter himself, Casey Stemler is a hook-and-bullet biologist that spent decades working coast-to-coast throughout the upper echelons of US Fish and Wildlife Service, making tremendous contributions to wildlife conservation and habitat management via applied research and policy. Stemler paints a big picture perspective of North American wildlife conservation, describing accomplishments and challenges for hunting and fishing, anti-hunting hurdles, the importance of science-bas...
Jul 22, 2024•1 hr 32 min
Once upon a time, Stuttgart, Arkansas was the Rice and Duck Capital of the world, and--for sure--duck hunting traditions remain interwoven into Arkansas's cultural identity. Especially green headed ducks. Mallards. But continental mallard populations have declined 50% during the last decade or so. What now? Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Wildlife Management Division Chief, Luke Naylor explains the then versus now of Arkansas duck hunting. The numbers are sobering. We discuss habitat, mallar...
Jul 18, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 492
A hunter since way back when, Ronnie Richardson explains that it's not about killing, so much as it's about experiencing places. National Land Realty's CEO, Richardson's wealth of knowledge in recreational and investment properties was derived the old-fashioned way--by spending decades doing it well. And it's been these two things--hunting and land--that've kept us in touch since high school. We catch up today, talking about people, places, and hunting land. Good stuff. Visit MOJO’s Duck Season ...
Jul 15, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 491
"I want the biggest pile of dead ducks over the longest period of time," implies the maximum sustained yield model by which North America's waterfowl populations are managed. North America likely harvests more waterfowl than the rest of the world combined. But is it really what hunters want? To hear a few grumbling internet malcontents, you'd think maybe not--but what does the data say? Former Migratory Bird Chief Brad Border is back, discussing North American Waterfowl Management Goals and chan...
Jul 11, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 490
"Her hips are beautiful and knees look great, but at her age one of the biggest risk is blowing out her ACL like aging athletes do," said veterinarian Dr. Bill Sullivan during Char Dawg's recent visit. She's only 6 years old. In today's highly informative conversation, we cover need-to-know, aging-retriever topics quicker than a hard-charging lab through sheet water. Topics include retriever aging, conditioning, expectations versus reality, avian influenza, dietary needs, training versus hunting...
Jul 08, 2024•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 489
For Chef David Crews, growing up in Mississippi's Delta was inspiration enough. He describes how home-cooked meals and a his first part-time job while a teenager got him started. We talk about the unique Mississippi delta culture, the many iconic resturants located throughout this relatively remote area where folks don't blink at an hour-plus drives down dusty turnrows to enjoy dinner, how hot tamales became a staple, the Delta Supper Club that attracted renowned chefs and out-of-state member pa...
Jul 03, 2024•1 hr 7 min
Mallards may be the so-called rockstars of the duck hunting universe, but not if you were born and raised on Long Point, Ontario, where massive diver rafts on Lake Erie form ravenous swarms that strafe your ice-encased layout rigs when the weather's just right. And especially not if you're a third-generation diver hunter and boat builder like Jayden Bankes, who excitedly describes bluebills, redheads, and king cans starved for lush wild celery beds so thick they bog outboards! Jayden takes us de...
Jul 01, 2024•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 487
