MOJO’S Duck Season Somewhere Podcast
Retired Federal Game Warden Tales
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 the US Fish and Wildlife Service? While secretly observing duck hunters over the years, what encouraging behavioral change did he perceive? For reasons that’ll become plainly evident in listening to these interesting stories, he prefers speaking in strict anonymity. And that’s ok. He’s a great storyteller and we really hope to have him back in the near future.
Rod Haydel, Haydel’s Game Calls
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 hugely successful family-owned business. It also became the late Eli Haydel’s – and the Haydel family’s – endearing legacy. But how’d Eli Haydel get the idea for producing these calls and what’d his mother think when he quit a steady job to pursue the dream? What are some of Rod’s fondest memories growing up duck hunting among family? When did he realize that his father was different, maybe more famous in the duck hunting world, than other dads? How has Haydel’s Game Calls grown since the earlier days, what new product got Ramsey fired up, and why do they remain Made in America? It’s another great Duck Season Somewhere episode from deep in Louisiana.
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Bayou Country Traditions
Louisiana’s fabled waterfowl hunting 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 paddles, moss pirogue seats, and cypress root decoys completely by hand and without power tools is more about “connections to the old ways” than anything else. What were Dale’s earliest influences and how did he become interested in practicing this lost art? What’s the distinction between creole, cajun, and coonass? How is cane selected and made into duck calls? And why is it important to him that everything be made completely by hand? Dale is a gifted storyteller. He answers these questions and much more in the first of this 2-part series.
Dirty Bird Outfitters
Matthew Piehl, Dirty Bird Outfitters, was born and raised in North Dakota. He tells Ramsey about growing up hunting in the region and why waterfowl hunting affected him differently than hunting upland gamebirds. They recount Mexico duck hunting together, talk about Matt’s lucky horseshoe, and dive into hunting ducks, geese and swans in North Dakota. 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 DBO’s staff believe Ramsey’s yellow lab, Coop, possess magical powers? These answers and more in today’s episode of Duck Season Somewhere.
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Are Wintering White-fronted Geese Declining in Louisiana?
Paul Link is Louisiana Department Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks’s North American Waterfowl Management Plan Coordinator. Number of mid-continental white-fronted geese overwintering in southwestern Louisiana has declined drastically in recent years, and Link’s real-time telemetry studies has enabled a greater understanding of Louisiana specklebellies’ life habits and migrational patterns. What is the scope of this research and what does it entail? What factors could be contributing to decline of overwintering white-fronted geese in southwestern Louisiana? How are concerned hunter-conservationists becoming involved? Link shares a wealth of interesting information with Ramsey Russell about a fascinating topic.
Josh Raggio, Functional Art
From the Raggio Custom Calls studio in Raymond, Mississippi, Josh Raggio tells Ramsey about his getting into duck call making, about his walking away from a comfortable job in corporate America to chase his dreams. What is it about Raggio’s shop that seems more like an art studio than a typical shop? What are some of the most interesting materials he’s used to make duck calls? Why is each of his duck calls individually unique? And why doesn’t he yet sell CNC versions of his duck calls in catalogs?
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Duck Hunting Pop Quiz
Bigwater, Ramsey and mutual friend, Ryan Bianchini, share a few pearly pops one afternoon. Bigwater dodged the covid-19 bullet again, and describes why the upcoming Mississippi duck season leaves him with something to be desired. Biggie springs a pop quiz on Ramsey, a question-and-answer session that bounces through places, species, and past times like a smacked bluebill skipping across water.
Laird Hamberlin, Safari Club International or SCI
While at Mississippi hunting camp, Laird Hamberlin, Safari Club International CEO meets with Ramsey Russell. Laird describes his introductions to hunting, who and what he remembers most from his earlier days. He and Ramsey discuss SCI’s history, the pivotal role SCI plays as the largest pro-hunting and pro-wildlife organization on earth, how SCI benefits hunters and wildlife. It’s an informal and insightful discussion that all hunters will appreciate.
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Wren and Ivy
BC Rogers of Wren & Ivy retraces his origins to duck hunting among family and friends in cypress-studded, Mississippi Delta oxbows. How did those endearing influences effect him as a hunter, husband, and father? And what role did they eventually play in his development of a successful outdoor product line that embraces both classic styling and modern functionality? In today’s episode, we learn that beneath layers of leather and waxed cotton is an enduring tribute to family.
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Different Times, Bill Brewster
Bill Brewster, former Oklahoma Congressman and retired lobbyist, meets with Ramsey Russell at SCI Convention. They discuss wildlife topics ranging from quail hunting back in the good old days to the future of hunting. Bill tells about the time he went to the White House before dawn with shotguns and hip boots to take a US President duck hunting. Those were different times, for sure.
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