MOJO’S Duck Season Somewhere Podcast
Texas Blue-winged Teal Calls, More
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 duck call making and what were his earliest influences? How’d he stumble across the idea for his incredible blue-winged teal call? How’s calling for blue-winged teal different than for other ducks, such as mallards? What are Briscoe’s thoughts on competition calling for mallards versus specklebellies, and on calling for competition versus hunting? This episode is just a laid back yarn between a couple hunting buddies following a great teal hunt.
Related Links:
Instagram @jbcustomcalls
Warren Coco, Life Below I-10 and Camp Cooking
From his Go-Devil Manufacturing office near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Warren Coco describes to Ramsey Russell 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 pivots to duck camp cooking and favored recipes. What are some of Coco’s favorite waterfowl mounts? Where’d he find his “sunken cypress’? What’s it like dealing with hurricanes as a way of life, and how do they affect waterfowl habitat? How’d Coco evolve from canned stew to camp chef and what are his favorite duck recipes? It’s a great episode about life south if the I-10 corridor in southern Louisiana and many duck recipes.
Azerbaijan Duck Hunting, Life’s Short GetDucks
Halfway across the world and 6,850 miles from central Mississippi, the small country of Azerbaijan nestles between the Caspian Sea and Iran. Preceding release of Life’s Short GetDucks about Azerbaijan duck hunting (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 Russell to this off-the-beaten-path duck hunting destination? What waterfowl species are hunted in this part of the world? How does waterfowl hunting differ from the United States and elsewhere? What are the similarities? And do they really sell flying carpets?! This episode demonstrates that by Duck Season Somewhere we mean absolutely EVERYWHERE that real duck hunting adventures exist! Watch Life’s Short GetDucks: Azerbaijan.
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Bonus Episode: Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument
In follow up to yesterday’s special Lynyrd Skynyrd Remembered episode, Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument Board Member, Mike Rounsaville, and Ramsey briefly discuss the 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.
Lynyrd Skynyrd Remembered
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 favorite Skynyrd song! The episode begins with Lee Kjos describing why Skynyrd remains his all-time favorite band. We then visit personally with Ronnie Van Zant’s childhood friend and bodyguard, Gene Odom, and several Amite County, Mississippi locals who first responded to the crash. What was growing up in Jacksonville like for Ronnie Van Zant? How’d they develop their band name, what events inspired their lyrics, and what was it like touring with them? What kind of guy was Ronnie Van Zant and how would he likely have wanted to be remembered? What do first responders most remember about that day? What compelled them to privately fund and to recently construct a beautiful Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument nearby? Having met these guests and heard their stories, what’s Ramsey’s final take on it? All of these questions and more, to include some incredible never-before-told anecdotes, in today’s very special episode of Duck Season Somewhere.
Oyster Bayou Hunting Club
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 camp house walls. Most were lost during Hurricane Ike. What are some of Gene’s earliest recollections growing up in this part of Texas? What was the hunting like back then? How’d he get into the waterfowl guiding business, begin Oyster Bayou Hunting Club? What’s his secret for developing a reputation revered by most? How have the landscape, the birds and hunters themselves changed? From an experienced perspective, Gene Campbell speaks of past, present and future duck hunting in a region once considered foremost in Texas, and remains pretty darned good regardless.
100 Years Texas Waterfowl Hunting
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 fathom by today’s standard. What were the Canvasback Wars? Prize hunts? Ox hunts? What other migratory bird species were hunted for food and sport? What attracted so many sharks along Matagorda Island? What Texas town began when an out-of-state visitor shot 1000 ducks? When did snow geese begin using the Texas prairie? Many Texas listeners asked us to feature Rob Sawyer and for excellent reason. Sawyer’s anecdotes range from humorous to jaw dropping, all so extremely interesting that you’ll not want the episode to end. But we barely even scratched the surface!
Related Links:
A Hundred Years of Texas Waterfowling Book
Images of the Hunt: A Photographic History of Texas Waterfowling Book
Wood Ducks
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 woodies, 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 is this waterfowl species to Deep South hunters? All of this and more in today’s episode!
Related Links:
Waterfowl Program, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
Doe’s Eat Place
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 table cloth, Ramsey Russell joins 3rd-generation owner, Dominic “Baby Doe” Signa, plus life-long patron and Mississippi Delta hunter-historian, Hank Burdine, for a lively round-table discussion of this legendary restaurant’s colorful history. Of course, they end up talking Mississippi Delta duck hunting, too! How and when did this restaurant get started? What Doe’s Eat Place specialty was named Number 1 Must-Eat item in America? What’s the hot tamale connection to Mississippi? How many salads did Aunt Florence prepare during her 75-year career – and why’s that number only the half of it? How has the nearby Mississippi River influenced Doe’s and regional duck hunting? This is an absolutely delicious episode you’ll really sink your teeth into.
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Iowa Goose Poppers
Kicking off this season’s North American Tour, Ramsey goes Iowa goose hunting with 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!
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