MOJO’S Duck Season Somewhere Podcast
EP 281. The Golden Age of Waterfowling
Dr. Wayne Capooth was “blooded into” small game hunting while a young Tennessee boy, remembers later gaining permission from swamp angels to duck hunt nearby haunts. His landmark book The Golden Age of Waterfowling is a historical account of Midsouth duck hunting culture emanating from the Chickasaw Bluffs in Memphis, Tennessee. It’s the story of bygone times, changing landscapes, emerging technologies, and especially people; of famous market hunters and wealthy sportsmen whose passionate conflicts resulted in fatal gun fights, biased local elections, and truth-stranger than-fiction political appointments near Big Lake, Arkansas; of legislated conservation edicts we modern duck hunters abide today. In discussing the profound duck hunting culture that exists more in the South than elsewhere in the United States, we can’t help but explore then-versus-now topics like hunting pressure. Has duck hunting changed since the mid-1800s? Have duck hunters? You decide.
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EP 280. Duck Hunting Beaverdam Lake, Mississippi
Immortalized in Nash Buckingham’s De’ Shootinest Gent’man and Other Stories, Mike and Lamar Boyd have lived and hunted Beaverdam Lake (what Nash referred to as the South Trails area) their entire lives. “When I was younger, I thought everyone had a Beaverdam,” says Lamar. Mike Boyd was mentored into duck hunting by a farmhand named “Coon,” describing what it was like back then. He then describes founding Beaver Dam Hunting Services, learning about the lake’s storied history and eventually evolving into a custodian of its duck hunting culture in delivering duck hunting experiences to clients from throughout the United States and beyond.
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EP 279. Mississippi Wildlife Heritage Museum a Collection of Old School Stories
In the sleepy Mississippi Delta hamlet of Leland, walking through the front door and onto the creaking, century-old hardwood floors of the Mississippi Wildlife Heritage Museum is like stepping back into time, into the good ol’ days: towering walls covered with ginormous fireplace-blackened deer heads, fishes, game animals big and small indigenous to the Great State of Mississippi; extensive displays of hunting gear, local duck and turkey calls, boats and outboards, clothing from back in Grandad’s day, and beyond. Photos. Lots of photos. “The culture that created all of those old Delta deer camps is mostly gone,” says Billy Johnson, explaining that museums mostly tell stories. Oftentimes pointing around the room, he then tells some of them in colorful detail. Mostly about people. Born-and-raised nearby myself, I’d not heard most of them before and made a mental note to soon return for second helpings. Enjoy.
EP 278. How’s La Paz Argentina Duck Hunting Combo Like a Box of Chocolates??
As if pre-dawn gaucho horseback rides into the duck hunting marsh, countless black clouds of doves flying back to roost, teal-sized picazuro pigeons charging into decoys, partridges flushing as hunters walk past rock-solid pointers isn’t enough, there’s the cultural immersion, hospitality, field asados, everything-but-the-moo cuts of delicious Argentine meats. But how do guests and staff describe the like-a-box-of-chocolates La Paz experience? What did they enjoy most, what’ll be forever remembered? Why’s it a great hunt for entire families, hunters and non-hunters alike? Whether you are considering a hunt south of the equator or just want to experience it vicariously, you’ll enjoy hearing the diverse perspectives of this great adventure.
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EP 277. Big Honker, The First Family of Waterfowling
Boom! And welcome to The Big Honker Podcast’s Jeff Stanfield and the World-famous Andy Shaver (who’s the side-kick is still open to debate). The pitfalls of becoming small time mayor, the thrilling storm chases, calling the shots, scaling Stanfield Outfitters when the cackler migration changed, how The Big Honker’s success has changed their lives, the future of hunting, The First Family of Waterfowl video series and lots more, we cover ground like a wide-open freight train running through west Texas. A long-time listener myself, learned a lot about them didn’t yet know, mostly that they’re a couple genuine, down-to-earth Texans that hold the people they see in the mirror fully accountable.
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The Big Honker Podcast, The First Family of Waterfowling https://youtu.be/UjfERC4oyTM
EP 276. Swamp Witch Attitude
It’s all about attitude. Whether galloping sidesaddle behind wailing foxhound packs or paddling quietly through cypress-studded swamps with he powerful labs, Mississippi born-and-raised Allison Crews is all in. A bonafide Swamp Witch, casting spells with her distinct sense of style, charm and contagious energy, Crews describes finding “gifts” while hunting, magic happening behind the levee, and gaining agency as a lady hunter. Ladies, dads, daughters, boyfriends, husbands: listen up!
EP 275. Hunting Between the Rivers, Argentina
Argentina’s Entres Rios Province lies between the Uruguay and Parana rivers, its flat topography covered with interspersed wetlands, woodlands, agriculture and shortgrass habitats, making it a rich location for hunting ducks, doves, wild pigeons, perdiz and more. While watching orange-capped hunters gleaning partridge behind rock-solid pointers, Ramsey does a deep dive into Argentina hunting culture with long-time Los Ceibos associate Patricio Geijo, covering past, present and future topics. Everything is on the table: small game hunting, bird dog traditions, exotic big game introductions, Cordoba dove declines, a burgeoning anti-hunting movement, historic estancias–and even ghosts! Whether you’ve been many times, considering a trip or just mildly interested, you’ll enjoy this fun and very informative episode.
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Los Ceibos Argentina Duck-Dove Combo https://www.getducks.com/hunts/argentina-duck-hunting-los-ceibos-combo/
EP 274. Smithgall’s 4 Life Rules
Really no telling what interesting characters you’ll meet in the middle of a remote swamp, the incredible stories you’ll hear before a cozy fireplace. Today’s episode proves it. From a highly profitable “side business” his freshman year at military academy to homesteading remote Canada, from earning a newspaper covershot in Pamplona, Spain, to sipping a Coca-Cola during a Vietnam airstrike, he was an integral member of Ted Turner’s staff before TBS was a household name. More recently he was an Uber driver–but only for a single day. Charles Smithgall’s storied life has been anything but dull. A gifted speaker, Smithgall shares 4 Life Rules, describing an unwavering persistence that guided him through life. Y’all will not want this entertaining episode to end!
EP 273. Old School Trader, Keeper of American Traditions
On the front porch of a rustic, swamp-encompassed, little red camphouse, hunters gathered around fedora-topped, pipe-smoking Destry Hoffard, admiring an older-than-most-people-in-camp Winchester Model 21 two-shooter he’d brought to duck hunt Argentina. In fact, everything he packed had the venerable patina of times past–especially his duck hunting mind-set. Born and raised in Illinois, Hoffard is a genuine American Picker (even though he hates that title). He tells a fascinating story about early influences, goose guiding near Cairo, Illinois, interesting finds, why that old gun is truly special, and why the good old days in America really were.
EP 272. From Behind the Boudin Curtain
Chef Jean Paul Bourgeois grew up behind the boudin curtain, south of I-10 in Lousiana, always only minutes from the marsh. He remembers killing his first duck with a crack-barrel 20-gauge, a rite of passage into a circle of giants that acted differently in a duck blind than elsewhere. He remembers, too, making “happy plates” of local home-made cuisines his parents cooked and taught him to cook. Realizing later in life why those giants acted differently in the blind and how the soulful influence of regional cuisine improves the human spirit, he merged the two into a “real world” lifestyle now shared with the world via social media and Duck Camp Dinners. Like a best-you-ever-had, meat-heavy gumbo you can stand a spoon up in, this delicious episode will stick to your ribs for a very long time. Dig in!
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