Duck Season Somewhere

Matt Piehl and Ramsey Russell catch up between North America waterfowl hunting seasons to discuss guided waterfowl hunts in general, exciting Dirty Bird Outfitter developments, and new important private property e-posting laws that all duck and goose hunters that plan on visiting North Dakota should be fully aware. What recent life changes make Piehl feel like he jumped from frying pan into the sk...

On June 6, 1944, Allied Forces launched an all-out naval, air and land assault on Nazi-occupied France. It was a decisive turning point in WW2. On that day in history, Mr. Jim Cleremont was aboard the USS Herndon, the first US Destroyer arriving to Normandy that was positioned off Omaha Beach during the invasion.  In today's special Duck Season Somewhere podcast episode, Mr. Cleremont recalls grow...

Brandon Cerecke breaks from his full-steam-ahead schedule managing waterfowl habitat and satisfying customer demands for the growing product-line of Boss copper-plated bismuth ammo. What's behind the global ammo shortage, how can you prepare, what's Boss Shotshells doing about it? After 3 decades of bigger-faster, steel shot-science hyper-marketing, why is Boss moving further in the opposite direc...

On the heels of the recently dropped short film Life's Short GetDucks - Mississippi, Home Is Who You Are, Jake Latendresse and Ramsey catch up. It's been an eventful 4 years since they first filmed together in Australia, especially the past 18 months. After globetrotting together worldwide, why'd they resume productions with the Mississippi project? Why's it hit home to each of them? How's Mississ...

It's a cold January night in the swamp. A roaring fire crackling, swamp dogs at our feet, their tails thumping, the smell of something good sizzling over hot charcoal wafts through the cabin. We are whetting our appetites with toddies and blues music. Known in some circles as the Swamp Warlock and Swamp Witch, Jim and Allison Crews always cast wicked spells of southern hospitality. The next mornin...

In this year's final episode of this special Duck Season Somewhere podcast habitat series, the summer sun is beating down, the water is off the site, and our mud flats are greening up with germinating moist-soil vegetation. Now what?  USDA NRCS Wildlife Biologist Kevin Nelms walks us through part-art-part-science solutions for producing desired moist-soil management results. What are suggested man...

Back in the early 1800s, the Mississippi Delta was a seething hardwood wilderness unrivaled by anything until you reached the redwoods. And it was in this environment that Robert Eager Bobo and company plied their skills, reputedly killing over 300 bears in a single year - plus a whole lot more. Who was Bobo, where'd he live? How'd they hunt bear back then? How famous were Bobo's hounds and what b...

Did you know that mallard diet on the wintering grounds consists predominately of annual seeds? In today's Duck Season Somewhere podcast episode, USDA-NRCS Wildlife Biologist, Kevin Nelms, and Ramsey dig deeper into the subject of wetland management for waterfowl. What are the 4 recognized wetland types, what different waterfowl life-cycle requirements do they satisfy, why will making these distin...

George Thompson, Director of Product Management, Benelli USA gives Ramsey an informative run-down of innovative Benelli shotgun developments.  Benelli pioneered the inertia recoil system in 1967, initially hitting US markets under H&K distribution, but they have certainly come a long way since. How has the Benelli Super Black Eagle shotgun evolved since the first ones arrived in the US and what fe...

Interested in wetland management for waterfowl (and I know from countless inbox requests for this topic that many of y'all are) then this 3-part series is right in your wheelhouse.  It's no accident that we're dropping this series right now, when it's time to start readying your wetlands for next season! Regardless of where you hunt, better understanding waterfowl habitat needs will make you a mor...

Mississippian Alex Littlejohn remembers "Tallahatchie tree line duck hunts" with family members as a youngster, after Canada geese ceased migrating to Mississippi. While in college, he guided duck hunts on South End Trails portion of Beaver Dam, the lake made famous by Nash Buckingham, and worked at Wild Rose Kennels.  What was it like hunting at Beaver Dam Lake, what are some of his favorite memo...

"She's probably banded more ducks than any non-biologist in North America," said the mutual friend that introduced us.  Liz Bourgeois grew up alongside 4 brothers, hunting the bayous of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. She was mentored by her father, who instilled in her a strong sense of conservation and unyielding independence. She now bands thousands of waterfowl annually, but finds purpose transfe...

Preceding the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act, duck hunting was not considered recreational. It was big business. Very big. Who was Florine "Pie" Champagne and how'd he start hunting ducks commercially? What was his daily quota, how'd he hunt and where'd all those ducks go? Where'd he get decoys and calls, and how big was his spread? What firearms did he favor and just how good were his shooting sk...

Dale Bordelon carries on Louisiana's bayou traditions by making 100% hand-made cane calls and everything else. In today's episode, we talk more about why he prefers hunting over things he hand-makes the way his ancestors did and about him duck hunting this past season with a century-old shotgun. Preceding an upcoming episode about Louisiana's most famous market hunter, Bordelon describes old decoy...

In today's Duck Season Somewhere podcast episode, former modern-day Louisiana market hunter, Mr. Johnny Borrel, continues describing differences between today versus then. Why might there be fewer ducks in Louisiana?  How has the landscape changed? How have duck hunters and the way they now hunt changed? How important is hunter concealment? What are Mr. Johnny's thoughts on shooting flying birds?...

Obregon Mexico duck hunting has been a barrel-burner flagship GetDucks destination for nearly a decade, usually booking out over a year in advance. But why?  In today's Duck Season Somewhere podcast episode, Ramsey joins guests for frosty, post-hunt margaritas, listening to what they most enjoyed about waterfowl hunting where the Sea of Cortez meets the Sonora Desert.  Who are they and where are t...

Maybe the good old days were different. To hear today's guest tell it, it wasn't a hundred years ago but during my own lifetime that salt and pepper were the only real Louisiana seasons abided. Everything was eaten, by necessity in many cases. Everything. And local wildlife markets thrived. Mr. Johnny Borrel from Avoyelles Parish began hunting at a very young age. He started market hunting in high...

How did a small-town Tennessee girl end up in Sonora, Mexico and why does she still call it home 40 years later?  When did she and her late husband decide to start Sonora, Mexico's very first duck hunting operation? What was their hallmark menu item, and who were among their guests? How'd she end up in the record books for a game bird previously believed to be extinct for more than a century? And...

Like gleaming gold nuggets to '49 boomtown miners, waterfowl leg bands are precious commodities coveted by some duck hunters. But to folks like Dr. Doug Osborne, these data points are a bonanza of much needed information.  Who is Doug Osborne, and why'd he start The Osborne Lab at University of Arkansas at Monticello? Why is waterfowl banding on the wintering grounds important, and how does it dif...

Freshly returned from his first real "guided snow goose hunt" in Arkansas, Forrest Russell colorfully describes a school-of-hard-knocks lesson about choosing the right outfitter, and why rolling with good friends takes precedence over all else.  Bigwater then asks Ramsey "questions from the inbox" as Duck Season Somewhere turns a year old. What was happening a year ago? First duck, leg bands, plac...

Despite other-worldly sightings, things like swamp dwelling kangaroos, unique pink-eared ducks, and beet-topped hamburgers, Australia duck hunting is more readily familiar to US duck hunters than elsewhere hunted worldwide. But they're constantly fighting tooth-and-nail to preserve it, and this year proved an uphill battle. Absolute madness.  Who governs migratory bird management in Australia, and...

Originating in a North Dakota duck blind, where we were targeting divers instead of dry-field puddlers, this scaup discussion was a real eye-opener. Eric Smith cut his teeth on duck hunting while chasing scaup with his dad in northern Minnesota.  Later involved in graduate research and scaup banding studies, he's remained fascinated by them ever since. How'd Smith fall into the scaup rabbit hole?...

Never mind shooting 20-duck, spoonie-and-teal-trifecta limits, drinking pool-side foo-foo drinks, and eating seafood dinners together. Everyone's first international vacation since the pandemic, it had immediately "felt normal" since walking into the beautiful Mazatlán resort, our duck camp away from home.  But what's it really like down there? Ramsey Russell joins guests pool-side for candid conv...

After an epic final morning, with some beautiful cinnamon teal trophies icing down in the truck and a couple more carry-out world-class lunch burritos stretching their belts and weighing heavy on their eyelids, Ramsey meets with great friend-host Jon Wills at historic Stillbow Ranch lodge to recount the dozen days of hunting the Golden State. From San Francisco Bay and throughout the Sacramento Va...

Just imagine. At a time in history that wildlife resources and hunters need more not less, what could YOUR State Department of Natural Resources and Statewide Conservation Organizations do with FIFTY TO SIXTY MILLION DOLLARS?! OR MORE?! Acquire more public hunting land? Improve existing public-use properties for hunters (and non-hunters)?  Better wildlife habitat management? More and better places...