Duck Season Somewhere

California public-land duck hunting ain't for the faint of heart, but there are some that'd have it no other way. Sky Chief Waterfowl's Aaron Visger remembers Sutter and Gray Lodge days, learning ducks the hard way, the first spinning-winged decoy ever laid eyes on, and how pressure, technology and changing times transformed the game. From Brown Spoon Duck Club to Sky Chief, it's an old-school conversation about gains, losses, and whether today's public lands hunters are actually better--or just way more efficient.

Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

Alberta Professional Outfitters Society

Benelli Shotguns

Bow and Arrow Outdoors

Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

• Share this episode with a buddy who lives for duck season.

Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

Contact: Ramsey Russell [email protected]

What determines "trophy"--a number, an animal, or the hunt effort? Boone and Crockett Club's Tony Schooner and Mike Opitz join Ramsey to challenge modern trophy culture, unpack Fair Chase, technology and hunting ethics, and explore why records matter far beyond bragging rights. It's a candid conversation about accomplishment, conservation, and keeping the hunt bigger than the trophy.

Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

Alberta Professional Outfitters Society

Benelli Shotguns

Bow and Arrow Outdoors

Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

• Share this episode with a buddy who lives for duck season.

Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

Contact: Ramsey Russell [email protected]

The Land of Living Skies, tornadoing mallards, waves of white, brown and gray geese lapping into the spread--Saskatchewan Canada waterfowl hunting is the stuff dreams are mad of! Outfitter Joey D'Amico talks about incredible hunting experiences, sure, but also about building Tekton Saskatchewan Outfitters from the ground up, hard-earned lessons, and faith is reshaping his purpose in the field and beyond. Sometimes the best paths are built. They're followed.

Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

Alberta Professional Outfitters Society

Benelli Shotguns

Bow and Arrow Outdoors

Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

• Share this episode with a buddy who lives for duck season.

Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

Contact: Ramsey Russell [email protected]

Pulling the trigger is only half the experience. Outdoor Appetite's Romy Brant talks ducks, wild-game cooking, whole-bird use, alpha-gal, and turning hard-earned birds into unforgettable meals. Listen in--and make your next duck dinner one to remember.

Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

Alberta Professional Outfitters Society

Benelli Shotguns

Bow and Arrow Outdoors

Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

• Share this episode with a buddy who lives for duck season.

Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

Contact: Ramsey Russell [email protected]

(Part 2/2) More than a million acres of marginal Delta cropland were retired and planted in bottomland hardwoods. Thirty years later, those trees have grown and--if we want to ensure wildlife utilization and habitat quality--the next chapter is serious hardwood management. Wildlife biologist Kevin Nelms explains how changing soils and hydrology shape the new landscape, how timber stand improvement improves wildlife habitat, timber stand improvement techniques, how putting sunlight back onto the ground benefits ducks, deer, songbirds and more. Most importantly, how do landowners, agencies and NGOs accomplish this without a viable hardwood pulp market? A must-listen episode for bottomland hardwood habitat managers and hunters, but everyone will appreciate gaining insights into taking the extraordinary conservation achievement of a million-acre hardwood plantation to the next level. See related episodes and important resource links below!

IMPORTANT RESOURCES

Habitat Improvements in Hardwood Plantations on Wetland Reserve easements: Landowner Guide (PDF)

Tool for Assessment of Reforested Bottomland Hardwood Stands on Wetland Reserve Easements (PDF)

Wetland Management for Waterfowl: A Handbook

RELATED EPISODES

EP 679. Looking Past the Trees in Ark-La-Miss Delta

EP 691. A New Hardwood Plantation Landscape--Restored Benefits?

EP 694. Duck Habitat Then and Now

EP 696. Restored Hydrology in the Delta

EP 483. Waterfowl Habitat Management: Rethinking "Seed Mentality"

EP 485. Waterfowl Habitat Management: Emergent Marsh Wetlands Magic

isit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

Alberta Professional Outfitters Society

Benelli Shotguns

Bow and Arrow Outdoors

Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

• Share this episode with a buddy who lives for duck season.

Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

Contact: Ramsey Russell [email protected]

What happens when some of America's most important waterfowl habitats no longer have the people, equipment and resources needed to make them work? After a 33-year Service career spanning 7 states and 2 flyways, lifelong duck hunter and former refuge manager Gary Zahm (now a renowned outdoor photographer and writer) has watched the waterfowl landscape change from the ground up. From California's Grasslands and Kesterson to the larger continental habitat system, Zahm brings a lifetime of hard-earned perspective to what we've lost, what still works--and what--and who --it will take to rebuild. Because if we want abundant ducks, we need abundant habitat. And if we want abundant habitat, we're going to have to hold the fort--together!

(Part 1/2) More than a million acres of marginal Delta cropland were retired and planted in bottomland hardwoods. Thirty years later, those trees have grown and--if we want to ensure wildlife utilization and habitat quality--the next chapter is serious hardwood management. Wildlife biologist Kevin Nelms explains how changing soils and hydrology shape the new landscape, how timber stand improvement improves wildlife habitat, timber stand improvement techniques, how putting sunlight back onto the ground benefits ducks, deer, songbirds and more. Most importantly, how do landowners, agencies and NGOs accomplish this without a viable hardwood pulp market? A must-listen episode for bottomland hardwood habitat managers and hunters, but everyone will appreciate gaining insights into taking the extraordinary conservation achievement of a million-acre hardwood plantation to the next level. See related episodes and important resource links below!

IMPORTANT RESOURCES

Habitat Improvements in Hardwood Plantations on Wetland Reserve easements: Landowner Guide (PDF)

Tool for Assessment of Reforested Bottomland Hardwood Stands on Wetland Reserve Easements (PDF)

Wetland Management for Waterfowl: A Handbook

RELATED EPISODES

EP 679. Looking Past the Trees in Ark-La-Miss Delta

EP 691. A New Hardwood Plantation Landscape--Restored Benefits?

EP 694. Duck Habitat Then and Now

EP 696. Restored Hydrology in the Delta

EP 483. Waterfowl Habitat Management: Rethinking "Seed Mentality"

EP 485. Waterfowl Habitat Management: Emergent Marsh Wetlands Magic

isit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

Alberta Professional Outfitters Society

Benelli Shotguns

Bow and Arrow Outdoors

Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

• Share this episode with a buddy who lives for duck season.

Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

Contact: Ramsey Russell [email protected]

What if having everything you thought you wanted actually took you somewhere you never intended to go? Shane Allen grew up hunting, dove headlong into heavy metal and a hard-living lifestyle, then one day woke up a very lucky--and changed--man. Today, the wildlife biologist and Hedge Hailer Game Calls founder lives by three simple phrases: Love God. Love People, Hunt Ducks. But getting there required a reckoning. Today's story is about ducks, choices, consequences--and becoming a different man.

Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

Alberta Professional Outfitters Society

Benelli Shotguns

Bow and Arrow Outdoors

Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

• Share this episode with a buddy who lives for duck season.

Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

Contact: Ramsey Russell [email protected]

Everyone wants more ducks. But when ducks disappear, where do you go looking for answers? As duck numbers continued declining around their Mississippi hunting grounds, Pete Fulgham and friends asked a pointed question: "Where's our raft?" The search for answers le to a nearby refuge struggling with fewer employees, fewer resources, less habitat--and fewer ducks than anyone could remember, let alone during its heyday. Complaining was pointless. They decided to do something. Their efforts became Yazoo Waterfowl Partners--and has since inspired a much bigger idea about hunters putting more skin in the game to restore America's national wildlife refuges. And ducks. If your truly care about ducks and the places they depend on, hear what happens when duck hunters quit waiting on someone else to fix things. Then ask yourself: Where's your raft?

Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

Alberta Professional Outfitters Society

Benelli Shotguns

Bow and Arrow Outdoors

Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

• Share this episode with a buddy who lives for duck season.

Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

Contact: Ramsey Russell [email protected]

Life's storms leave scars. But sometimes those scars become lifelines for someone else. Ricky Matthews discusses the heart of his new book, Finding Hope: 25 Lifelines for Life's Storms, and hard-earned stories behind it. We explore suffering, faith, purpose and why the worse chapters of your life might be exactly what another person needs. Finding hope is one thing. Passing it forward is another.

Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

Alberta Professional Outfitters Society

Benelli Shotguns

Bow and Arrow Outdoors

Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

• Share this episode with a buddy who lives for duck season.

Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

Contact: Ramsey Russell [email protected]