The Flush Podcast - Stories from the field

Scott Rall from Nobles County Pheasants Forever in southwest Minnesota joins the show to celebrate the acquisition of Pheasant Run #50.  Scott explains how his chapter has been able to purchase thousands of acres of farmland and convert it into public hunting land.  Scott and Travis also talk about drinking water and water quality in his county, public relations with farmers, small efforts lead to...

Josh Tatman is a dedicated upland bird hunter, angler, storyteller, adventure seeker, and, most importantly, he’s a father.  Josh and Travis share stories about raising future hunters and anglers while trying to also help others learn “how to introduce kids to hunting.”  We break down Josh’s recent article on the topic and discuss when and how to set kids up for success, slowing down, introducing...

Ron Leathers is the Chief Conservation Officer at Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever.  On this episode, we discuss in depth pheasant biology with Ron from mating season to laying eggs, when pheasants will re-nest, and when they won’t.  We talk about the average life span of a pheasant, the percentage of chicks that hatch, and the ones that don’t.  Ron explains why the number one predator during...

Joe Lesmeister shares stories from a life spent in pursuit of upland birds.  The conversation breaks down his upland bird hunting journal and discusses trends from hunts across the upper Midwest for the past 20+ years, moments that stand out, hunting from a “man van”, forgetting his dog at home, getting stuck in the mud, hunting nostalgic plastic, documenting daily adventures on social media, goin...

We are giving away a GAIM Virtual Shooting Simulator!  Phillip Jones from GAIM joins the show to discuss their virtual reality hunting and shooting simulator.  The conversation begins with Phillip’s journey beginning as a hunter in the U.K, serving in the Royal Navy, moving to America & working in the firearm industry, falling in love with bird dogs and bird hunting, launching GAIM, how the sy...

Jacob Perry operates Superior Upland in the U.P of Michigan.  Jacob shares his journey in the outfitting business, hunting for ruffed grouse & woodcock behind his Gordon Setters.  We discuss Michigan’s strong bird numbers, ideal spring hatch conditions, summer dog training, leaving a teaching career to operate his business full-time, making the most of our time, sharing wild experiences, and s...

Travis Frank reads a letter from a listener and then discusses the recent news about public land sales in Nevada & Utah before asking the obvious question, what can we do about it?   Presented by: Walton’s (waltons.com/) OnX Maps (onxmaps.com/) Aluma Trailers (alumaklm.com) Hoksey Native Seeds (hokseynativeseeds.com) GAIM Hunting & Shooting Simulator (gaim.com/) Aberdeen (HuntFishSD.com) &...

Bailey Petersen is a wildlife biologist for the Minnesota DNR and a passionate upland bird hunter.  Bailey explains what’s happening right now with the North Shore wild fires in Minnesota, then we discuss current work projects in our forests that include her ruffed grouse drumming counts, woodcock banding projects, grouse and woodcock numbers heading into the hatch, weather factors that can help o...

Nicolas Lirio & Kent Boucher from Hoksey Native Seeds are in studio to discuss their unique view of prairie farm life, growing seeds for habitat, most commonly asked grass and pollinator questions, quality of life, simple pollinator projects, hands on habitat, going back in time, our footprint on this earth, making healthy choices, being difference makers, using chemicals on our landscape, a l...

In Part 3 of our bird dog training course with Sonny Piekarz, Jordan Wells and George Lyall, we discuss in the field bird dog field training.  The step-by-step conversation begins with transitioning “The Method” course work into field work, transitioning the point of contact from a command lead to E-collar, using a flank collar to apply breaks and whoa training steadiness.  We also discuss finding...

In Part 2 of our bird dog training course with Sonny Piekarz, Jordan Wells and George Lyall, we discuss bird dog foundation & obedience training.  We begin at the kennel and work dogs through an obstacle course to help them overcome challenges and gain confidence in themselves and their owners. We discuss how to properly use a lead, developing a point of contact, introducing the E-collar &...

Puppy Development training is the foundation for every bird dog. We walk step by step through “The Method” training process with puppies from the moment you start looking for a bird dog to the day you introduce them to birds and gun fire for the first time.  We bring two dogs into the show with three highly qualified dog trainers, Sonny Piekarz, Jordan Wells, & George Lyall, to discuss why it’...

When dog owners struggle, that’s when they call trainers for help. On this episode, we sit down with dog owners that share their struggles and the trainers that helped them overcome them. Sonny Piekarz, Jordan Wells & George Lyall explain how to understand the mindset of dogs and the power that comes with it.  @haycreekkennel @jwellskennels   Presented by: Walton’s ( https://www.waltons.com/ )...

Bird hunters unite to get their hands dirty working on habitat.  John Wartman, president of the Carver County Pheasants Forever chapter explains why his chapter won the 2024 Forever award, why adding opportunities for chapter members to work together has given his chapter renewed life, the value and bond created by volunteering, Hands on Habitat day, stories introducing kids to hunting and wild pl...

*LISTENER DISCRETION IS ADVISED* Adam Thomas shares his horrifying story of a bird dog training drill that backfired and sent him on a helicopter to the closest ER. Adam relives the events leading up to the explosion, explains why it happened, how his body and mind reacted to it, his hope for a full recovery, lessons learned, and maintaining his goal of training his bird dog, Charlie, to compete i...

Listeners share their real-life stories while at the 2025 Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic in Kansas City, MO. This is an open mic episode where Travis Frank & Scott Fransen hear from guests sharing their own experiences in the field, from epic success to unexpected heartbreaks, this episode takes us on a wild journey with bird dogs, habitat heroes, laughs, tears, inspiration, and a whole lot...

Listeners share their real life stories while at the 2025 Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic in Kansas City, MO. This is an open mic episode where Travis Frank & Scott Fransen hear from guests sharing their own experiences in the field, from epic success to unexpected heartbreaks, this episode takes us on a wild journey with bird dogs, habitat heroes, laughs, tears, conservation, inspiration, a...

Join us for our 3rd annual Upland Trivia game hosted LIVE at Border Brewing Co. in Kansas City at Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic.  Will George Lyall continue his dominance?  Will Tyler Webster rebound from his disappointing finish last year?  Play along with a packed house of listeners that came to cheer on the crew, heckle the hosts, and take home prizes.  @western.wingshooter.podcast | @g.lya...

Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic is finally here! We count down the final hours before the show opens to preview our schedule of events in Kansas City.  Plus, we share a listener story that won’t soon be forgotten.  We’ll see you at the largest upland gathering in the world!   Presented by: Walton’s (https://www.waltons.com/) OnX Maps (https://www.onxmaps.com/) Aluma Trailers (https://www.alumakl...

Ben Brettingen from OnX Hunt & Hannah Petersen from Mud Lake Kennels join the show for a spring dog training episode that dives into the mindsight of raising bird dogs and honing their natural skills.  The episode begins with a brief game of upland trivia, followed by a Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic preview, then dives into Hannah’s journey into dog training, canine obedience training, int...

Ryan O'Shaughnessy, Executive Director of Rolling Plains Quail Research Foundation joins the show for an in-depth conversation on America’s wild quail. Ryan and Travis discuss the RPQRF mission, biology & behavior of quail, quail research projects, parasites in quail, eye worms & cecal worms, Quail Gaurd, quail mating and nesting, quail habitat and timely rains, grazing for quail, preservi...

Marilyn Vetter, Bob St. Pierre, & Ron Leathers of Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever join us for an in-depth “State of the Union” habitat conversation.  We discuss the health of the organization, conservation partnerships and what they mean for wildlife, internal strengths and opportunities, members are growing, Federal Farm Bill & DC happenings, habitat heroes & leaders, looking in...

Scott Fransen, Tyler Webster, Tim Brown & our loyal listeners join us to celebrate 250 episodes of The Flush podcast and help us answer the question, “what will you remember from this hunting season?” Join us as we relive incredible moments and unforgettable stories from the uplands. From skunk retrieves to porcupines, first hunts to last hunts, epic misses to perfect shots, amazing dog retrie...

Scott & Hannah Fransen join the show to provide an update to Hannah’s journey into hunting. Hannah shares the steps she took to finally harvest her first bird, the struggles she overcame, the mental game a first-time hunter must endure, missing birds, breaking through, learning how to read habitat, becoming one with her bird dog, appreciating wild places, and future goals as a hunter that’s ho...

Nick Martin is known as the Iowa Bird Chaser.  Nick is on a mission to harvest a wild pheasant on public land in every county in Iowa.  We discuss the goal Nick set for himself and the value of setting goals, the struggles that have come trying to find birds on some public properties, what he’s learned about himself, grading Iowa’s public lands, celebrating success, breaking down a property, the o...