Following a beautiful morning of Utah duck hunting on the south end of Utah’s Great Salt Lake, local historian Jack Ray describes to Ramsey Russell the history of the Rudy Duck Club and other venerable duck hunting camps in Utah’s Great Salt Lake basin. The sign above them reads, “So fowl and fair a day I have not seen.” Why were so many great duck camps established way back when and why do they still exist? Located in one of the driest states in the US, how are many of these properties managed and, importantly, what would likely happen if they ceased to exist? What’s so special about the boats used and how do camp amenities reflect the boats importance to hunting this these type properties? This interesting episode concludes the Utah duck hunting portion of Ramsey’s 2020 North American Waterfowl Tour.
Following a couple exciting days hunting swans and ducks together in Utah, Chad Yamane and Ramsey Russell share a couple cold beers before supper, talking about those memorable hunts. How are swans hunted in Utah, what gear is required and what pointers does Chad have for swan hunters? What was the weather like and why might the Utah swan season be abruptly closed within upcoming days, weeks? What distinctly Utah duck hunting technique was deployed to shoot ducks out on the Great Salt Lake and how’d this duck hunting method originate? What duck species did they shoot? What unique problem did they encounter? This episode is purely Utah, depicting a fun hunting you’ll not experience elsewhere!
Rich Hansen is a field biologist and State Banding Coordinator in Utah. He and Ramsey Russell discuss Utah swan hunting and the important of Great Salt Lake associated wetlands to swan conservation. Why is this region vital to North American swans and how many swans pass through Utah? How did swan hunting originate in the United States? Importantly, why is hunting swans vital to this iconic waterfowl species conservation? How many permits are issued to hunt swans in Utah, and how is species harvest regulated? Tundra swans or Trumpeter swan, and does it matter? This informative episode about hunting North America’s largest waterfowl species packs as big a wallop as a ol’ big white bird crashing belly up into the decoys.
Y’all better buckle up and hang on! Mississippi Delta historian and story-teller-of-epic-proportions, Hank Burdine is back, and this times going as fast and furious as an almost late-for-shooting-time hunter tearing down a gravel road! This colorful episode touches on memorable people, places and times throughout the Mississippi Delta like only Hank can tell it. What’s so special about the Mississippi Delta, how’d Hank get his start duck hunting and what’s changed since those glory days? Where or what is “Booger Den?” What inspired Hank to organize “The Old Duck Hunters Dinner,” who was there and what’d those folks’ represent? Who was The Duck Doctor, and what infamous Mississippian once described him as “the best duck hunter ever known”? Folks, this is one great episode y’all won’t want to end.
New England sea duck hunting is an obvious destination for hunters looking to travel beyond their own backyards because it offers a much different experience and diversity of unique species than most other places within the US. To long-time sea duck hunting guide and USHuntList outfitter, Captain Reilly McCue, connecting clients with dream species to include eiders, long-tailed ducks, black ducks, brant and red-breasted mergansers is like putting together an elaborate puzzle. He relishes the challenge. And usually delivers. Here’s why. How’d Capt. Reilly get into sea duck hunting and at what age did he know that he wanted to be a guide? What waterfowl species are available in New England? What’s it like hunting sea ducks in New England? What are reasonable client expectations? What factors determine where different waterfowl species cadres will be located, and when they can be hunted? How are sea ducks hunted in New England and what are some of the challenges? Like tank-sized eiders suddenly appearing low over the chop and hurtling towards the salt-soaked spread, this information-packed episode brings it! Big time!
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After a fun morning Utah duck hunting on public land, Kevin Booth and Ramsey Russell visit at the Out of Cache Custom Knives shop. Kevin grew up hunting in Utah with his dad, but it was his sons that drug him back into it. With a fervor. His Out of Cache knife hobby-business began as one of many do-it-yourself projects that kept he and his sons busy during the off season to include long-tail motors and much more. How’d his sons pull him back into duck hunting and why do they really spend so much time in the shop? Where’d the name “Out of Cache” originate and what is a duck zipper? What is the Canvasback Club, how do you join, what do members receive? Why does Kevin think that hand-crafted items such as his knives feel warm to the touch? This Duck Season Somewhere episode is about putting your heart into everything you do and spending t-i-m-e with those that matter most.
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Out of Cache Custom Knives (Facebook)
Seann Robinson, from Lufkin, Texas, describes himself as a late-start duck hunter of sorts. Deer hunting is the big thing in east Texas pineywoods, but he eventually found himself gravitating towards waterfowl. He hunts them primarily on public lands. He and his wife, Ira, enjoy the whole hunting camp aura. And led to them recently dipping into the American Dream with Ira’s Salsa. How’d Seann get started hunting and what’s the hunting like in eastern Texas? What are his and Ramsey’s thoughts on late-start duck hunters? How did Ira come up with her salsa recipe and how did it evolve into a business? What were some of the major challenges, and what kind of learning curve was involved? We duck hunters are eternal optimists. We go hunting regardless of what the weatherman says. We place our decoys, execute a good game plan, learn from past mistakes, give it our very best shot. That’s duck hunting. Chasing the American Dream as entrepreneurs is similar. This episode proves it. Enjoy.
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This episode begins with special guest, Joseph Richard, a 97 year-old US Navy Veteran briefly recalling the historical events of December 7, 1941. He was there. What does he remember from that infamous day in history? Does he consider himself a hero? Sobering thoughts. Then Bigwater and Ramsey Russell recount the first leg of the ongoing 2020 North American Waterfowl Hunting Tour, discussing some highlights. What inspired Ramsey to make such an undertaking? Where’s he hunted so far and who’d he hunt with? Any surprises? Where to next? How’s Char progressing, what all has she retrieved, has there been a learning curve? What’s up with the travel decoy – what’s the significance, where’d it come from and why did he choose that particular decoy? All of these questions and more in this episode of Duck Season Somewhere podcast.
Matt McCormick and Brady Davis invite Ramsey Russell into their wheelhouse of Gallatin River Valley Canada goose hunting near Bozeman, Montana. The local waterfowl culture is all about big honkers and ducks over local grain-fields, but pretty much takes a backseat to big game hunting, fly fishing and other plentiful outdoor activities. Following a pound-sized moose burgers supper and cold beer, they soon get to the heart of things. See, nobody comes to Bozeman by accident, and once there, few people ever want to leave. How’d Matt and Brady get started hunting and what lead them to Bozeman? What’s the Canada goose hunting really like in the Gallatin River Valley? Why can Bozeman, Montana be described as a perfect balance of hippies and cowboys? Is it more about making a living or making a life? You decide. Matt and Brady are highly entertaining and articulate, and the 3 buddies find serious common ground well beyond waterfowl. For those that listen closely, this fantastic episode even provides solid direction for pursuing career opportunities “in the hunting industry.”
While watching Canada geese trading along the Yellowstone River from his Montana back porch, innovator Bruce Kania tells Ramsey Russell about “the business of inventing.” Influenced by a grandmother that taught him to snare rabbits, he grew up archery hunting in Wisconsin, became a young muskie guide, and eventually moved to Montana to chase elk. His Biohaven Floating Island technology is distributed worldwide, cleans water, increases fishery productivity and is even a scalable solution for water quality problems in the Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and world oceans. The invention was inspired while duck hunting in what he refers to as the Red Dog Story. A close encounter with a mountain lion is also recalled. What are some of his other inventions and what key advice does Kania have for would-be inventors? How did duck hunting inspire this technology? Besides floating duck blinds, what are some of the ways the biohaven floating islands are being used worldwide? And if he uses this technology to form his own country, will there be ducks? Some great inventions have originated in the duck blind, but this one takes it to whole ‘nuther level.
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