MOJO’S Duck Season Somewhere Podcast
Golden State Goldeneyes and More California Duck Hunting
Goldeneyes and bluebills streaking low over the decoys from all directions, so fast and furious as to neaarly be chaotic, but Arkansas buddy Ray Hathaway and myself, along with California hosts Corey Foskett and Guide Charlie Barberini of Golden State Guide Service paced ourselves, chipping away at drakes until reaching limits, heading in for breakfast burritos. After briefly visiting nearby San Francisco, we convened at Tanglefree Decoys HQ to talk about duck hunting in California, Tanglefree Decoys origins, Nigerian dwarf goats and much, much more! Fun Duck Season Somewhere podcast episode!
What Might Maryland’s HB 911 Say About the Future of Duck Hunting?
There’s a real storm brewing over the Susquehanna Flats near Havre de Grace, Maryland – and it ain’t clouds of blackheads and canvasbacks like the good ol’ days. It’s about how and where who can hunt in these fabled public fowling waters. Maryland HB 911 proposes limiting certain portions of the Flats to body booting only, and to exclude other regionally traditional duck hunting methods, such as layout boats (or any anchored boat for that matter). In today’s special episode of Duck Season Somewhere, we meet with local hunters and stakeholders from both sides of the fence, opponents and proponents, to discuss this highly controversial topic. How do opponents feel this could affect them? What were the proponents’ intentions? How might this affect you regardless of where you duck hunt? This Duck Season Somewhere podcast episode explores legislating personal hunting interests at the expense of others’.
Maryland HB 911: Establishing that a person may hunt wild waterfowl in the waters of the Susquehanna Flats while standing in water on the natural bottom only in areas designated by the Department of Natural Resources; and prohibiting a person from hunting wild waterfowl in the Susquehanna Flats from a boat that is drifting, being sculled, or anchored in areas designated for hunting wild waterfowl while standing in water on the natural bottom.
The Lost Flyway, Alabama Duck Hunt
Located “between the flyways,” an Alabama duck hunt may lack sheer waterfowl numbers, but cultural enthusiasm for duck hunting remains strong in Alabama. Today’s guests, James Michael Moyer, Jason Russell, and Alabama Migratory Game Bird Coordinator, Seth Maddox, are living proof. How’d these guys get into duck hunting? When did Jason Russell start carving decoys, why’s it important to him, and how has it become a family tradition? How are waterfowl hunting license sales doing in Alabama, and what’s Alabama’s new Adult Mentor Hunter Program all about? While migratory Canada geese have ceased overwintering in northern Alabama (the lost flyway), sandhill cranes have filled the void and their population has subsequently exploded. What exciting new hunting opportunities potentially exist? Tune in to this Duck Seas0n Somewhere podcast episode!
Georgia Duck Hunting and the Nut Duster from Hell Story
Situated in a landscape predominated by long-leaf pines, pecan orchards and peanut fields, everything sprouting from soils the color of rusted farm implements, southwestern Georgia isn’t the duck hunting universe’s proverbial epicenter. But it’s exactly where Ramsey Russell fell in with the right group of friendly folks to experience a real Georgia ring-necked duck hunt, deer hunting, and genuine Deep South hunting camp hospitality. Seated around the table after a monstrous breakfast, in a charmingly old farmhouse that for decades has been a family hunting camp, Chase Gibson and Caleb Jackson describe their duck hunting roots, how they hunt ducks in Georgia, and more. Shaun Harris then tells the story of one of their most illustrious long-time hunting guests, the infamous Nut Duster from Hell. Great hunting camp episode, proving once and for all that you’re always among great people while at hunting camp anywhere.
North Carolina Duck Hunting Stories, Allen and Julie Blivens
I’d stopped by to paw their new pintail and swan calls. Never mind that it was Sunday morning, or that a cold, wet rain was falling outside. Turning off the lights, we then had to lock Allen Bliven Call’s shop doors to stall customer traffic long enough to record uninterrupted. But it was worth it. How’d Allen and Julie Bliven begin duck hunting? And where’d 8 years-old Julie learn to kill her first duck that way? How’d they meet and why was it love at first sight – for Allen?! How’d they get into the waterfowl call making business, and how’d he develop his famous pintail whistle? What’s so unique about Hyde County, North Carolina, what’s its history? Y’all are going to enjoy this Duck Season Somewhere podcast episode.
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Chesapeake Bay Duck Hunting, Capt. Todd Sauerwald
Captain Todd Sauerwald is a modern-day waterman. Year-long he plies his trades on the Chesapeake Bay as tugboat captain, crab fisherman and, as owner-operator of Black Duck Outfitters, a professional duck hunting guide. And on his days off? Yeah, he recreationally fishes those same waters. For those wanting to experience layout boat hunting the historic Chesapeake Bay, he’s your guy. What’re Sauerwald’s duck hunting roots and what lead him down this career path? What’re the similarities and differences hunting the Chesapeake Bay nowadays versus yesteryear? What’s layout boat hunting the Chesapeake Bay really like – hunting conditions, species, proper preparations and, importantly, how much ammo might you need?! And what about spring hunting for the greater snow goose subspecies? Like hunting long-tailed ducks over oyster reefs when weather conditions are perfectly miserable, this episode is action-packed with need-to-know-before-you-go info!
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Chesapeake Bay Duck Hunting, with Capt. Todd Sauerwald, Black Duck Outfitters
Havre de Grace Maryland Duck Hunting, Jobes Decoys
Stepping into the decoy shop is like walking into the past. Located about a 1/4-miles from the fabled Susquehanna River, it’s as much duck hunting museum as thriving decoy business. Smells of sawdust and fresh paint permeate the air; shelved decoys and pinned photos, a combination of yesteryear and present. Ramsey Russell meets with Captains Charles, Bobby and Joey Jobes, gaining insight into the halcyon days of Chesapeake Bay duck hunting and traditional decoy carving. How’d the Jobes brothers become decoy carvers and what were their influences? What was it like growing up in Havre de Grace, hunting Susquehanna Flats? How have things changed? What about the uniquely regional hunting body booting method developed here and still ardently practiced today? This podcast episode of Duck Season Somewhere is a fun introduction to duck hunting the Chesapeake Bay.
Real New Jersey Duck Hunting
Following a 4-day stretch of daily American Black Duck limits, plenty other ducks and Atlantic brant kicked in for good measure, Ramsey Russell sits with hosts John Daffin and Jim White to sip rounds of “apple pie” and recount the past week’s New Jersey duck hunting events. What were these 2 long-time buddies hunting origins, how’d they meet? They hunt similar habitats, targeting similar species, but how do their hunting styles differ? What’s duck hunting really like in New Jersey, what are some of the unique political obstacles to duck hunting? What about the food? Pull up a chair and join in a real New Jersey duck camp-style BS session in the podcast episode of Duck Season Somewhere.
New Jersey Barnegat Bay Traditions Endure
Ramsey Russell meets with Bob Keeney, a 5th-generation Barnegat Bay duck hunter from Tuckerton, New Jersey. It was supposedly here, in what was formerly one of America’s largest waterfowl market hubs, that the earliest incarnations of hand-carved waterfowl decoys originated. It was here, for sure, that the deadly Barnegat Bay sneakbox hunting tradition began. What is a Barnegat Bay sneakbox, how’s it used, and how’d Keeney learn to make them at a very young age? What’s the traditional Barnegat Bay decoy rig, how important are black ducks to local hunters, and why is practicing these traditions important to young Keeney? What ever became of the hundreds of famous old duck clubs once occupying a nearby 30-mile stretch? What kind of coat did Babe Ruth once wear duck hunting and what became of it? Like a black duck form emerging slowly out of dense marsh fog, the past comes clearly into the present in today’s episode of Duck Season Somewhere.
Floating Artforms: New Jersey Decoy Carver Mike Braun
New Jersey decoy carver Mike Braun tells ramsey Russell about learning duck hunting and decoy carving the old-fashioned way. He was taught by his dad at a very young age. A self-described contemporary artist, he competes at the highest levels but also builds one-of-a-kind traditional gunners distinctly reflecting his New Jersey heritage. How old was Braun when his dad starting taking him duck hunting and what was his first duck? What unique bird species at the World Show inspired him start carving, when did it become a full-time vocation, and how long does it take him to carve each decoy? What does duck hunting over his own decoys mean to him personally? Today’s Duck Season Somewhere episode takes place among saw dust piles, where wooden blocks and nail-scratched feathering become gunning rigs, meaningfully connecting people to past generations. And to waterfowl.
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