The Flush Podcast - Stories from the field

Jared Wiklund from Pheasants Forever joins the show to break down America’s 2026 pheasant hunting forecast. Travis & Jared discuss where pheasant populations are strong this year heading into opening day and places where pheasant populations have been affected by spring rain, cold, and drought. Overall, the outlook remains good to great if you’re a pheasant hunter, and this season has a lot to be excited about. @pheasantsforever

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On the second leg of a remote Alaska adventure, Travis Frank, Ben Brettingen & George Lyall discuss the challenges and rewards that come from their bird hunt deep into the interior of Alaska. The trio explain the highs and lows of hunting for six different species of ptarmigan and grouse on wild and unfamiliar turf, reading habitat and mountain terrain, how Alaska’s weather impacts every hunt, keeping dogs safe and fresh on a long hunt, dodging dangers, hunting alongside migrating caribou, falling short of a plan, breaking down mountains and tundra habitat to find ptarmigan, epic moments, enjoying the journey, and so much more. @benbrettingen | @g.lyall66

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Travis Frank & Ben Brettingen join Eric Locker from All Alaska Outdoors to experience Alaska’s Ultimate Adventure hunting and fishing deep in remote bush country. Eric shares experiences as a guide flying into Alaska’s rugged wilderness and how the ultimate adventure combines upland hunting for ptarmigan with incredible fall fishing opportunities. The three share stories from their float plane adventure into land they’ve never seen before, breaking down mountains and tundra habitat to find ptarmigan, coming face to face with a grizzly bear, danger in the mountains, flying to Alaska with bird dogs, and so much more. @allalaskaoutdoors | @alaskabirdhunter | @benbrettingen

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Eric Sytsma is the Habitat Protection Officer at Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever. Eric and Travis discuss the “Build a Wildlife Area” week campaign and how it’s purchased and permanently protected nearly 250,000 acres of wildlife habitat since its inception in 2005. Eric reveals a few new properties that will open this week, what supporters have built this year, properties under construction, how the program works and who funds it, where your dollars go, how you can support this habitat mission, and so much more. @quailforever | @pheasantsforever

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Dr. James Martin discusses the impact of hunting on upland birds species and the effects of crippling loss. Dr. Martin is a college professor, scientist, biologist and bird hunter who studies bobwhite quail and other upland game birds. James & Travis talk about the quail crippling loss study that James and his team recently produced, mortality rates in upland birds from hunters and overall population effects, predator management vs habitat upgrades, when habitat changes actually impact quail, how we all can make a difference on the landscape, and so much more. @martingamelab | @talltimbersrearch

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Friends in the forest give pre-season ruffed grouse and woodcock hunting reports from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Bailey Petersen, Mike Amman and Jake Perry discuss what they are seeing right now in their forests - including positive reports of brood sizes and grouse numbers. We also discuss the spring hatch, how a lack of moisture may affect where hunters find birds, where to find woodcock when the forest is dry, forest habitat, listener stories, and so much more. @grouseweims | @baileyo1 | @superior_upland

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Nick McGuire is a Weekend Warrior in search of America’s Upland Slam. He’s also a habitat conservation manager who works with NRCS and landowners to protect and enhance wild places. Nick & Travis discuss the role of hunters today in a political landscape, training a bird dog in the city, traveling to hunt upland birds on public land, NRCS easements, the attack on America’s public lands, the big picture, and so much more.

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Josh Lizer is the Chief Scientific Officer at MG Biologics, the manufacturer of Rattler Antivenom. Josh and Travis discuss the evidence-based science and methods to treat rattlesnake bites in bird dogs. We discuss rattlesnake avoidance training, what to do when a snake bites, how antivenom helps your dog, does Benadryl help or hurt your dog, rattlesnake vaccinations, costs of antivenom, finding a veterinarian that can help, National Snakebite Support group, dispelling snakebite myths, and stories from snake country. mgbiologics.com | www.nationalsnakebitesupport.org | www.veterinarysnakebite911.com 

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Dr. RuthAnn Lobos & Dr. Chris Frye from Cornell University of Veterinary Medicine join the show to discuss sporting dog nutrition and sports medicine. Dr. Frye shares his work towards the future of sporting dog care in the medical world, ultrasound technology that helps properly identify injuries in joints & ligaments, rehabilitation strategies, genetic effects on sporting dogs, studying internal temperatures while performing, and helping more veterinarians understand working dogs. Dr. Lobos discusses how decades of nutrition science fuels performance in our working dogs, when and where to feed dogs during hunting season, burning calories, proper nutrition practices, and Purina’s ability to feed 100 million animals a day. @petvetruthann / @purinaproplan

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Friends in the field give mid-summer brood reports from MN, ND, SD, IA, WY, MT & KS. We discuss areas where drought has had an impact on chicks and regions where pheasants, quail, partridge and grouse numbers appear to be rising. These field reports offer optimism as we head into this season and provide a glimpse into what hunters may see this fall. We also discuss the petition to save the prairie pothole wetlands, and the show wraps up with an argument between Travis & Tyler over hen pheasants re-nesting.

Presented by: Walton’s (waltons.com/), OnX Maps (onxmaps.com/), GAIM Hunting & Shooting Simulator (https://alnk.to/74wKReb), Black Gold Explorer Dog Food (blackgoldpet.com/), North Dakota Tourism (ndtourism.com/), Federal Premium Ammunition (federalpremium.com/), Alclair Audio (alclair.com/), & Lucky Duck Premium Kennels (luckyduck.com/)

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