Duck Season Somewhere

The decoy that revolutionized duck hunting is back and better than ever! Mojo's Terry Denmon gives the low-down on the New Mallard Mojo. There's been lots of spinning-winged decoy designs come down the pipe in the decades since their inception, but for those duck hunters that regularly use them - like me - the New Mojo Mallard is the cat daddy of them all. What proven features were modernized and...

Everything's BIG in Texas! Or so they say. But East Texas, duck hunting habitats are extremely narrow hardwood timber bottoms surrounded by an upland landscape predominated by pine and pecan plantations, cattle and pastures. Mallards are the name of the game. After hugging water oaks in shin-deep water for a couple mornings, hosts Brent Wood and Back Down South Clothing's Michael Simms describe th...

It's raining cats and dogs outside, but a lodge full of guests are beaming over the great duck hunts they've enjoyed the past few days. Following an amazing dinner and drinks, Ramsey visits with Harrison Banks about Arkansas duck hunting at Commander's Corner, covering of host of interesting topics.   Related Topics: Arkansas Duck Hunting at Commander's Corner https://www.getducks.com/ushunts/arka...

While the best steak in Dallas, Texas, might be fighting words, I'll stand by them. I knew this was going to be the case while walking up to Brandon Roy's patio, seeing a deep bed of hot coals glowing in his custom parilla. "You have to respect first contact," he later says about grilling steaks perfectly. But way more goes into it. See, for Brandon Roy, the entire process of grilling and smoking...

A big front was underway and this part of Kansas would be locked up solid up tight by sunrise the following morning. Before hunting fat greenheads in one of the last remaining holes, Cory Niccum and I met in front of a roaring fire, talking about his life's trajectory pursuant to duck calling. Having called competitively since childhood, he mostly calls to live ducks from Canada to Kansas and beyo...

Travel decoy carver Josh Hinson was my tour guide and duck hunting host smack in the middle of the modern-day Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma. Fascinating adventure. We got into the thick of things, regarding living and duck hunting on the reservation, his decoy carving style and cultural ancestry. Having driven through this part of Oklahoma many times while going elsewhere, visiting for a few days w...

"It's all about the show," explains Strait Lake Lodge owner Max Sharp about greenheads in the timber. Strait Lake is Sharp's build-it-and-they-will-come Arkansas duck camp, the culmination of a lifetime chasing ducks. We talk about his duck hunting origins to include old school outdoors, his vision for Strait Lake, what all goes into creating ideal habitat, and long-term conservation ideals. It re...

Chef John Fearrington knows his way around hunting camp kitchens, that's for danged sure. A powerful and articulate storyteller, he describes strong family ties and mom's home-cooking nourishing his body, mind, and soul, giving him a profound sense of community and sending him on a colorful life journey from the deep inner city to Strait Lake Lodge, Arkansas-- and beyond. Great conversation fodder...

Towards the end of an epic, old school duck hunt in historic Beaver Dam Lake's Clover Hole, Mississippi, Ramsey chats with hunting companions Mike and Lamar Boyd, Dale Bordelon and John Gordon. What's the historical significance of this lake and duck blind location?  What does hunting here mean to everyone and how'd they pay tribute to its storied past? And there's a first for everything, even whi...

Originally founded in 1883 as the Hennepin Duck Club, Willow Creek has a long-standing and storied history in the fabled Illinois River bottom. So does the camphouse. Preston Wagner, Pete Mangold and Adrian Erickson each describe their personal connections to this Illinois River duck hunting club. From habitat management to new and lifetime memories, their unique perspectives characterize a real s...

Following an action-packed Mississippi duck hunt and with black labs dozing contentedly at our feet, long-time friend and life-long waterfowler, Dr. Bill Sullivan, discusses the health and maintenance of our beloved duck dogs. Having practiced veterinarian medicine for decades covers a lot of need-to-know topics for ensuring our best friends' peak performance, long-term health and longevity while...

Located on the river about half-way between Chicago and St. Louis, Peoria is the oldest European settlement in Illinois. Preceding the Migratory Bird Treaty Act market hunting thrived. Its history is seeped in Mississippi Flyway waterfowl hunting history as expressed by some of the most collectible decoys on earth. Zac Zetterburg, Curator of Art and the Center for American Decoys, Peoria Riverfron...

Brian Terry grew up plying his family's fourth-generation oyster trade around Hog Island Bay, Virginia. Anything but easy work, he somehow managed to duck hunt, too, and that eventually lead to a related product development in response to his family's tough-love company hiring policy. Describing how and why his great-great-grandfather founded H.M. Terry Company, he gives us a salty crash course in...

Charlie Pierce has been among hand-sawn woodpiles, sawdust, oil paints since the day he was born, and grew up sharing duck blinds with some of the region's most esteemed carvers. Naturally, it's in his blood. A colorful storyteller, Pierce describes growing up in this unique environment, telling how and what they hunted, the decoys used, and how those old school influences lead him to carrying on...

Ramsey meets with Chesapeake Bay waterfowling historian and preservationist, C. John Sullivan, at the Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland to larne about this region's fabled history. From market hunting tools-of-the-trade to legendary carvers, we gain insights into why the Chesapeake Bay's history is so well preserved and, in a sense, who we are as duck hunters.   Related Links: Waterfowl Festi...

He's an absolute living legend. Jim Pierce has been carving decoys and hunting ducks near Havre de Grace, Maryland for 75 years of his 88 years. In a candid then-versus-now conversation in his decoy painting room, he talks about his lifetime duck hunting the Chesapeake Bay, describing the legendary watermen that taught him to hunt and to carve, the "good old days," old shotguns, plastic versus woo...

Duck season is somewhere between hitting a fevered pitch to come and gone, depending on where you live in the US. But south of the equator, duck hunting season south is May through July. In today's episode, hear how avid US duck hunters--that are likely duck hunting right this very minute somewhere in North America-- describe their Argentina Duck hunting experiences. It's never to soon to start dr...

Through the door and out of the biting autumn wind I quickly follow Captain Reilly McCue's past mountainous decoy rigs with countless origins and configurations used for puddlers, divers, sea ducks; past a bench of ornate hand-tied streamers underneath dangling wildfowl, catalogued feathers and patterns; past chest-high stacks of colorful moth collections painstakingly labeled. Beyond the ginormou...

The North American Waterfowl Tour winds it's way through Vermont and Maine, where Ramsey finally scratches off duck hunting these 2 new-to-him states. Thanks to host Steve Caron and friends, it was a memorable visit despite warm, Indian Summer weather.  With their belts still stretching after a steamed lobsta' and mussels dinner, Ramsey and Caron talk about waterfowl hunting Maine and Vermont, rec...

The back of the green jacket hanging over the chair reads, "Goose Control." That jacket belongs to Rob Hall, who explains why the Toronto greater metropolitan area has long held tremendous numbers of Canada geese, and how goose control upbringings later lead him into recreational hunting. And plenty of it! Despite an incredible goose abundance--and no matter how much fecal matter each Canada goose...

It's a pretty big deal: Canada recently modernized its migratory birds regulations to include critical possession and transportation rules pertaining to waterfowl hunters. Jim Leafloor, Head of Aquatic Unit for Environment and Climate Change Canada, explains what important rules were changed--and why (link to updated Canada Migratory Birds Regulations provided below). He and Ramsey also discuss Ca...

While passing through during a road-trip, Ramsey meets with friends Brandon Cerecke and Zach Meyer at the new BOSS Shotshells HQ. A lot sure has happened during the past couple years since BOSS Shotshells turned the no-tox ammo industry completely on it's ear! What are the most popular BOSS loads, and how does shooters' load preferences usually evolve over time? What's driving the sub-gauge revolu...

Paddling quietly into an expansive marsh, setting longlines, hunting canvasbacks, and almost stepping back in time as winter approaches, Ramsey joins Scott Stephens, Ducks Unlimited Canada, for an immersive tour of iconic Delta Marsh. The long-time friends discuss the region's history and importance, wonder aloud how one of the long-standing traditions would apply in parts of the Lower 48, and oth...

Long before the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, a former market hunter named Jack Miner was the very first person in Canada--and likely anywhere in North America--to attach metal leg bands to migratory waterfowl. And the leg bands he attached to his "flying preachers" were very unique. Known as Wild Goose Jack, many famous American celebrities were among his closest associates. But who was Jack...

"The sounds of wild geese set me free," explains Ian Kilpatrick, who's spent most of his life hunting very near his home in Manitoba. From a cozy basement room adorned with bear, deer, antlers, furs, feathers and other sentimental reminders of their lifestyle, he and son, Cole, describe memorable times, special people, by-gone retrievers. While hunting styles and technologies have changed since th...