Carson Odegard sits down with Jeff Smith to break down December’s numbers across California Waterfowl properties—what got better, what got buried under water, and how long tule fog and rolling storms shifted bird behavior. From Staten Island’s goose grind to surprise surges at Potrero Hills and Goose Lake, this is your clear, no-spin field report.

By the numbers (December):

• Staten Island — 3.44 birds/hunter in Dec; season avg 4.3 (leaders: Aleutians, specks)
• Potrero Hills (Suisun) — 3.4 (up from 1.3 in Nov); spoons, GWT, with wigeon coming on
• Goose Lake (Tulare Basin) — 3.35; road-closure cancellations, but big success when open (spoons, ring-necks)
• Grizzly Ranch (Suisun) — 2.24; steady two-bird days (GWT, spoonies)
• Quimby Island (Delta) — 2.16; mallards + wigeon; slight dip from Nov
• Butte Creek Island Ranch (Butte Sink) — 1.83; GWT + ring-necks
• Denverton (Suisun) — 1.8; spoonies + GWT
• Sanborn Slough (Butte Sink) — 1.74; wigeon + ring-necks; flood closures and deep water
• Pope Ranch (Dixon) — 0.71 for ducks (mallards); still a strong wild pheasant option

What shaped the hunt:

• Flooding & safety — county road closures and moving water shut some days down; expect a lag before birds re-concentrate after high water.
• Prolonged tule fog — helped rice country, hurt island visibility/pull at times.
• Migration pops — late-month pushes showed up in the Grasslands and south valley units.

January outlook: Watch for wigeon and pintail to build in Suisun, mallard trickles where floodwaters recede, and more mixed bags at Staten as weather swings churn the Delta.

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Merry Christmas! This episode drops right before the holiday—here’s to safe hunts, full straps, and time with your crew and family.

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard dig into listener questions—from “what time do you pack it in?” to the weather that really moves birds, why consistency (choke + ammo) beats tinkering, and how to tweak spreads when wind, fog, or pressure make ducks stubborn. They also hit species quirks (why wood ducks and late-season mallards can be maddening, and why specks act different in Suisun), plus the do’s/don’ts of hiding in tules vs. under trees. Want your question on the show? Drop it via the form at calwaterfowl.org → Save It for the Blind.

Episode highlights

• When to call it — why most hunts wrap by about 10:30 and how to read a dead morning versus a late bite
• Best weather — clear, cold, and a 5–12 mph breeze is better than big gale days; avoid full-moon lulls
• Calling smarter — practice outside (15 min/day), read wing tips and butts, and remember that whistle work wins in California
• Chokes & shells — pick one choke and one velocity… and stop switching mid-season
• Hide choices — tules give 360-degree cover; trees can block shots and make ducks wary
• Spreads that finish birds — go lighter with more motion as pressure builds; pull spinners in fog or overcast if birds hang at 40
• Refuge tactics — scout the pond line, move early if birds are setting elsewhere, keep the sun at your back, and leave a landing hole

🦆 Merry Christmas and thank you for riding with us this season. If this helped your game, hit Follow, drop a quick review, and share it with your blind crew—your support keeps these conversations rolling and the flyway thriving.

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Alex Keil, president of DEMERBOX, to unpack how a garage-built, Pelican-case speaker turned into a made-in-USA workhorse for hunters and outdoor crews. From Zac Brown’s early buy-in to today’s South Florida build shop, Alex walks through durability tests (yes, trucks and shotguns), smart features like USB-C/A charging, true ported sound with a waterproof plug, 40-hour battery life, and why the team still repairs your unit years down the road.

What you’ll learn

• Origin story, built for abuse — TV-set audio tech meets Pelican cases; Zac Brown helps scale; U.S. assembly keeps it tough and fixable.
• Real features that matter — ported audio you can plug for water, floats, doubles as a dry box, and charges your phone inside the case.
• Specs & models — DV2 (dual-driver stereo) vs. the smaller 1150 case; pair up to six; $249 and $399 price points.
• Beat-it-up testing — ladder drops, truck tires, even 12-gauge at 70 yards—and it keeps playing.
• Use cases — from camp music to call box duty, first-aid storage to poolside sound; why outdoor folks are the natural audience.
• What’s next — cleaner one-button pairing, accessories, and more rugged gear on the roadmap.

If you want a speaker that survives the hunt truck, keeps your phone alive, and still thumps at 100%, this episode breaks down the kit—and the culture—that make DEMERBOX a legit piece of field gear.

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Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Mark Regalbuto, CEO of MIGRA Ammunition, for a straight-shooting talk on California waterfowling and the nuts and bolts of building precision shotshells. They cover why California is richer duck country than most folks realize—ocean to marsh to rice—and how public-land access shapes the hunt. They also dig into navigating California ammo regulations, COVID-era growth, sustainability trends like biodegradable components, and where MIGRA sees innovation and partnerships heading next.

What you’ll hear

• California, underrated and accessible — from salt to rice, there’s “a little bit of everything” on public ground.
• Regulatory reality — the extra hoops to sell and distribute ammo in-state, and why folks hope those rules don’t go national.
• Scaling through the surge — how COVID demand impacted MIGRA’s operations.
• Greener components — where biodegradable wads/cases are now and what could make them mainstream.
• Roadmap & relationships — waterfowl loads, crossover ideas, and how a boutique brand partners in a crowded market.
• CWA partnership — closing thanks and a welcome to MIGRA as a new corporate supporter of California Waterfowl.

🦆 Like the show? Hit Follow, leave a quick review, and share it with your blind crew—your support keeps these conversations rolling and the flyway thriving.

Carson Odegard (fresh off dad duty) and Jeff Smith run a quick, no-nonsense update on how November hunts went across CWA properties—and what’s opening up for December. From Staten Island’s lights-out start to new rice blinds coming online (including veteran blinds), this one’s your fast guide to where birds are working and how to grab a spot.

What you’ll hear

• Carson’s back and lining up winter hunts—then straight into a November conditions snapshot.
• New access coming online: Gatti is filled and running as a veteran blind; Whitman is up next—and it’s veteran access as well.
• O’Banion rice blind: still has open dates—good chance to slip in before the next weather bump.
• Potrero (rice) additions: new Sunday dates in December—reserve your blind at calwaterfowl.org.
• Hot start at Staten Island: first hunts were phenomenal—as good an opener as we’ve seen there.
• What’s next: final regular-season draw coming up with a “bunch of really good hunts” to apply for.

If you’re planning the next pull, this quick hit tells you what’s hunting, what’s about to, and where to jump on remaining dates.

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This week, Jeff sits down with Kevin Azzopardi and Jason Cline of Pardi Calls (Yuba City, CA) to trace how a family machine shop that built industrial turbocharger parts turned its precision tools toward duck and goose calls. Kevin and Jason break down the design choices that make their calls easy to run—and easy to maintain—plus what’s next from the shop.

What’s inside

• Machine-shop roots → call-making: from trains and tugboats to tone boards, why precision machining shaped their sound and reliability.
• Field-first design: threaded speck call guts and user-friendly assemblies you can take apart, clean, and reassemble to the same tune.
• Materials that matter: early aluminum bodies, today’s acrylic & wood (with anti-swelling sleeves), and a whistle designed to cover teal-to-pintail notes.
• New gear coming: a snow call in testing, composite/brass options, and limited custom engraving runs.
• Family operation: the move from the Bay Area to Yuba City (1998), in-house machining, and local anodizing that keeps tolerances tight.
• Where to find them: online and at the Bridge Street showroom—pick up a call, run it in person, and choose the look you like.
• Hunting talk: Gray Lodge stories, public-land realities, and why today’s “adult-onset” hunters are raising the calling bar.

If you’re chasing a call that’s easy to blow, tough enough for rice country, and built by folks who hunt, this conversation gets you under the hood at Pardi Calls.

🦆 Like the show? Hit Follow, leave a quick review, and share the episode with your blind crew—your support keeps these conversations rolling and the flyway thriving.

Jeff sits down with Mike Cole—CWA Gold Benefactor, rice grower, lifelong duck hunter, and serious decoy collector—for a grounded, from-the-bootstraps story of how passion turns into habitat, community, and a legacy worth passing on. From carving lessons after school to developing clubs in the Butte Sink, Mike maps the moves, mistakes, and mileposts that shaped his waterfowl life—plus why he and his wife poured so much into Chesapeake Bay retrievers and California Waterfowl.

What’s inside

• Roots & mentors: the early days that hooked him on ducks—and the carver who lit a lifelong fascination with working decoys.
• Chasing birds north: leaving the Delta for the Butte Sink, joining a club, and learning the realities of leases, partners, and pressure.
• Building ground the hard way: second mortgages, burn requirements, summer refuge negotiations, and the year-round grind it takes to keep wetlands producing.
• Dogs that do the work: how Mike and Julie went all-in on Chesapeakes, from weekend trials to national-level success.
• Decoys with stories: cross-country hunts for classic blocks, how to spot originality, and the pieces he’s still chasing.
• Why give back: on becoming a CWA Gold Benefactor, supporting hunt programs for years, and making sure the next generation has a place to learn.

If you care about ducks, dogs, and doing things the right way, this is a blueprint—equal parts inspiration and practical wisdom—for building a life around waterfowling.

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Jeff Smith checks in with three boots-on-the-ground voices to break down how California’s opener really went—and what to expect as November weather finally shows up. Guests include Garrett Spann (Manager, Yolo Wildlife Area), Derek Seweck (Wildlife Habitat Manager, Upper Butte Basin), and Orlando Rocha (Environmental Scientist, Grizzly Island Wildlife Area).

What you’ll hear

• Opener by the numbers — solid starts in spots, soft elsewhere; teal and wigeon led many straps while mallards were patchy.
• Why it felt “quiet” — late rice harvest, limited flood-up in key zones, and a streak of 80°+ bluebird days that scattered birds.
• Flood-up status & timing — which units are online now, what’s filling next, and how that will shift day-to-day bird use.
• Local patterns — Yolo’s steady trickle of new water holding birds, Upper Butte’s wood-duck swing not materializing (yet), and Grizzly Island’s east vs. west marsh differences.
• Youth & access intel — how the Howard Slough youth area and nearby rice options are structured (free roam vs. blinds), plus what to expect on busy Saturdays.
• Pintail reality check — 3-bird limit is on the books, but most hunters haven’t hit it… yet; watch for classic December–January rice flights.
• Hunt smarter in the lull — read wind and pressure, pivot units as new water comes up, and be ready when the first real fronts push fresh birds.

If you’re lining up your next reservation or boat-in plan, this roundtable gives you a clear read on conditions, timing, and the moves that’ll matter when the weather finally flips.

🦆 Dig the intel? Hit Follow, drop a quick review, and text this episode to your blind crew—your support keeps these conversations rolling and the flyway thriving.

Jeff sits down with Brian Huber and Jason Coslovich to unpack this summer’s banding push and preseason pintail work—what changed with more water on the landscape, how night-lighting in the Klamath Basin actually happens, and why your band reports keep California’s harvest models honest.

What’s inside

• Sac Valley bounce-back: swim-in traps, summer water, and a strong run of molting mallards and wood ducks.
• Klamath after dark: airboats, spotlights, big crates—plus what red-painted bands mean and how crews avoid re-capturing fresh birds.
• Transmitters 101: what they reveal about nesting and molt, the tradeoffs for different species, and why units keep upgrading the tech.
• Preseason pintail nets: how state/CWA crews coordinate shots, handle big mixed flocks, and keep mortality low.
• Oddballs & highlights: redheads and ruddy ducks in force, shorebirds with tiny tags, and a handful of long-lived recaptures.
• Do your part: how to return a transmitter, why reporting every band matters, and how those data feed adaptive harvest decisions.
• Get involved: Aleutian trapping help, the Colusa Dinner, college camps, and the Rice Levee nesting program (with grower payments).

🦆 If this helps sharpen your season, tap Follow, drop a quick review, and share it with your blind crew—your support keeps these conversations rolling and the flyway thriving.

Jeff sits down with a panel of California wildlife refuge managers to lay out what hunters can expect this season—water deliveries, flood-up timelines, food on the landscape, and how weather and pressure will shape bird movement from the opener through the late split.

What you’ll hear

• Water & habitat status across key refuges: unit-by-unit flood-ups, moist-soil production, and sanctuary plans to hold birds after the first volleys
• Access updates: road work, blind repairs, closed-zone adjustments, and any changes to check-station flow or shoot times
• Species timing: teal on the front end, mallards and wigeon mid-season, specks/snows and divers as winter builds
• Weather game plans: how managers react to storms, fog, and hard freezes—and how hunters can adapt to keep birds finishing
• After-season priorities: projects queued up for spring/summer that pay off next fall

🦆 If this helps you plan your hunts, hit Follow, drop a quick review, and share the episode with your blind crew—your support keeps these conversations rolling and the flyway thriving.