On this episode of the North American Waterfowler Podcast, I’m answering questions sent in by listeners.

We get into whether ducks actually get smarter as they migrate south, what I look for when scouting new public-land spots, choosing between a decoy and passing choke, and some advice for weekend warriors who don’t have time to scout during the week.

I also get into the new Kansas nonresident waterfowl regulations, why I’ve changed my thinking on nonresident restrictions, where I think residents should be prioritized, and some of the things I don’t like about the new rules.

Plus, I talk about my first duck, a hunt I’d like to do outside of waterfowl hunting, my favorite cigars, and a few other questions from listeners.

Thanks to the partners of the North American Waterfowler Podcast:

Retay Shotguns
https://retayusa.com

Slayer Duck Calls
https://slayercalls.com

TideWe
https://tidewe.com
Code: NAW18

Mammoth Guardian Dog Crates
https://mammothguardian.com

Flight Day Ammunition
https://flightday.com
Code: NAW10

Shotty Gear
https://shottygear.com
Code: FDH10

Download the North American Waterfowler App on iOS or Android to log your hunts, track harvest data, weather, dog retrieves, hunter pressure and more.

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The 2026 teal season is officially in the books!

In this episode, I recap our third and final weekend of teal season—a weekend that had a little bit of everything. We camped out, watched massive storms roll through, experienced a major temperature drop behind a cold front, and hoped all of that weather would bring a new push of teal into the area.

I break down how the weekend unfolded, what we saw before and after the front, how the hunting turned out, and put a bow on three straight weekends of chasing early-season teal.

PARTNERS

Retay Shotguns
https://retayusa.com

Slayer Duck Calls
https://slayercalls.com

Mammoth Guardian Dog Crates
https://mammothpet.com\

Flight Day Ammunition
https://flightdayammo.com
Code: NAW10

Shotty Gear
https://shottygear.com
Code: FDH10

TideWe
https://www.tidewe.com

NAW18

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The 2026 teal season is down to its final weekend.

In this episode, I’m on the road headed back to teal camp for the third and final weekend of the season. Before we get there, I recap our second weekend of teal hunting—three more hunts, what we saw, how the birds behaved, and some of the incredible moments that made it another memorable weekend.

Now the question is whether there are any teal left.

The reports I’m hearing suggest that a lot of the birds have already moved out of the area. But there’s a cold front forecast to arrive Saturday night, and I’m holding out hope that it brings one last push of migrating blue-winged teal for the final day of our season.

We’ll find out soon enough.

THE NORTH AMERICAN WATERFOWLER PARTNERS

Retay Shotguns
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Slayer Duck Calls
https://slayercalls.com

TideWe
https://www.tidewe.com

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https://mammothpetproducts.com

Flight Day Ammunition
https://flightdayammo.com
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Use code: FDH10

I can also tighten that opening into a more Spotify/Apple Podcasts-style description if you want it shorter and punchier.

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Contact Elliott: [email protected]

Support the Show: http://www.patreon.com/freelanceduckhunting

Has duck migration really changed over the last 60+ years?

Waterfowl hunters have debated it for years. Are ducks staying farther north? Has migration shifted east or west? Are the birds simply not going where they used to?

In this special collaborative episode with the Ducks Unlimited Podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Mike Brasher, Dr. Heath Hagy, and Dr. Lisa Webb to break down the Verheijen Studies—research that used decades of band recovery data to examine changes in waterfowl migration and distribution from October through January.

The researchers looked at 15 species in the original study and then took a deeper look at mallards, northern pintails, and blue-winged teal.

What they found is fascinating and in some cases, surprising.

We also discuss the question every duck hunter is going to ask: WHY have these changes occurred? Weather? Habitat? Agricultural food sources? Something else?

The current research tells us what has changed. The next phase of their work is attempting to determine why.

This episode gets technical at times, but if you care about ducks, migration, and the future of waterfowl hunting, this is one you won't want to miss.

A special collaboration between the North American Waterfowler Podcast and the Ducks Unlimited Podcast.

PARTNERS

TideWe — https://www.tidewe.com
Code NAW18 for 18% off

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Retay Shotguns — https://www.retayusa.com

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Flight Day Ammunition — https://flightdayammo.com
Code FDH10

Shotty Gear — https://shottygear.com
Code FDH10

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Opening weekend of teal season is officially in the books, and I’m recording this one straight from the truck on the drive home.

It was a hot one—literally. We spent the weekend sweating through some brutal early-season weather, but the teal cooperated and we had a ton of success. In this episode, I recap the entire weekend: what we saw, how the birds worked, the hunts that went right, the things we learned, and what opening weekend looked like from the marsh.

And somehow, after an already successful weekend, we finished it off with one of the best teal hunts I’ve ever been a part of.

No studio and no big production on this one. Just a road-home conversation while everything from the weekend is still fresh in my mind.

Opening weekend is here. Duck season has begun.

Flight Day Ammunition
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TIDEWE
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Code: FDH18

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Slayer Calls
https://www.slayercalls.com

Retay USA
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On episode 301 of the North American Waterfowler Podcast, Elliott sits down with Patreon guest DL Greise to talk about his journey into waterfowl hunting.

DL started duck hunting in East Tennessee without much experience or anyone to show him the ropes. After a season of trying to figure it out on his own, he eventually found a mentor and began expanding his hunting beyond Tennessee.

We talk about hunting Reelfoot Lake, Arkansas leases, an incredible dove hunting trip to Argentina, pheasant hunting in South Dakota, Florida diver hunting, and the lessons DL has learned during several years of freelancing North Dakota.

We also get into field hunting versus water hunting, scouting, expectations on destination hunts, shotguns, ammunition, waders, and plenty of stories from years spent figuring out waterfowl hunting along the way.

Before the conversation, Elliott also discusses the newly released waterfowl breeding population numbers and what they may mean heading into the 2026 season.

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Contact Elliott: [email protected]

Support The Show: patreon.com/freelanceduckhunting

Episode 300 of the North American Waterfowler Podcast!

In this episode, I talk about the upcoming teal season, scouting, current habitat conditions, and one of the most important regions for North American waterfowl—the Prairie Pothole Region.

I also dig into Ducks Unlimited and the growing debate among duck hunters about the organization. Why do some hunters distrust DU? Where does the money go? How much habitat is actually being conserved? And how important is protecting breeding habitat in the Prairie Pothole Region to the future of duck hunting?

Rather than just giving my opinion, I look at the numbers, discuss some of the criticism directed at Ducks Unlimited, and explain why I believe conservation on the breeding grounds matters to every duck hunter—no matter where they hunt.

Thanks to everyone who has supported the North American Waterfowler Podcast through 300 episodes!

NAW PARTNERS

TideWe.com (Code NAW18)

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FlightDayAmmo.com (NAW10)

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Mammoth Guardian Dog Crates

Thanks to all of our partners for supporting the North American Waterfowler Podcast.

#DuckHunting #DucksUnlimited #Waterfowl #PrairiePotholeRegion #WaterfowlHunting #DuckConservation #TealHunting

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Blue-Winged Teal Duckling Survival Jumped From 20% to 70% | Grant Rhodes

Biologist Grant Rhodes returns to the North American Waterfowler Podcast for the third year in a row to share what he learned during his fourth field season studying Blue-winged Teal across the Prairie Pothole Region.

Grant and his team are using drones equipped with thermal imaging, radio telemetry, and uniquely marked hens to study Blue-winged Teal broods and better understand what actually drives duckling survival.

And this year produced some incredible results.

After seeing duckling survival around 20% in previous years, Grant's raw numbers from this season showed survival approaching 70%. What changed? Water.

We discuss how wet conditions across the breeding grounds created more seasonal wetlands, increased food and invertebrate availability, provided better concealment from predators, spread broods across the landscape, and allowed young teal to move between wetlands.

We also get into:

• Why Blue-winged Teal were chosen for this research
• How thermal drones are changing the way researchers count duck broods
• Why nest predation was so severe during the Saskatchewan years
• Ravens and their impact on nesting success
• Predator management and nest survival
• Why some broods traveled as far as a mile
• A hen that went from 11 ducklings to 21 through brood adoption
• What ducklings are eating during their first weeks of life
• Why Grant believes we could see a significant increase in Blue-winged Teal following this year's production
• What harvest really means for Blue-winged Teal populations
• Why habitat and breeding-ground conditions remain so important to waterfowl populations
• Where Grant's research goes from here

This is Grant's fourth field season studying Blue-winged Teal and his third appearance on the podcast. Each year we've been able to follow the research as it develops, and this may be the most interesting year yet.

Join the Freelance Duck Hunting Patreon:
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Thanks to the partners of the North American Waterfowler Podcast:

TideWe — NAW18 for 18% off
Retay Shotguns — retayusa.com
Flight Day Ammunition — flightdayammo.com
Slayer Duck Calls — slayercalls.com
Mammoth Guardian Dog Crates — Search Mammoth Guardian Dog Crate on Amazon
Shoddy Gear — shoddygear.com — Code FDH10

#BlueWingedTeal #DuckHunting #Waterfowl #WaterfowlHunting #DuckResearch #WaterfowlBiology #PrairiePotholeRegion #NorthAmericanWaterfowler

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Contact Elliott: [email protected]

support the show: patreon.com/freelanceduckhunting

Partners of the Show

Retay Shotguns
https://www.retayusa.com/

Slayer Duck Calls
https://www.slayercalls.com/

TIDEWE — Code: NAW18
https://www.tidewe.com/

Mammoth Guardian Dog Crates
https://mammothguardian.com/

Flight Day Ammunition — Code: NAW

⁠https://flightdayammo.com/⁠

Shotty Gear — Code: FDH10⁠

https://shottygear.com/⁠

The Klamath Basin is one of the most important waterfowl landscapes in the Pacific Flyway—but in recent years, drought, water shortages, and devastating avian botulism outbreaks have taken an enormous toll.

In 2024 alone, an estimated 140,000 birds died from avian botulism.

On this episode of the North American Waterfowler Podcast, I’m joined by Jeff McCreary, Director of Operations for Ducks Unlimited’s Western Region, and Dr. Dan Smith, Ducks Unlimited waterfowl research scientist.

We break down why Klamath is so important, the complicated battle over water in the basin, how avian botulism kills waterfowl, and an innovative new approach called Flowthrough that could help provide water for wetlands, reduce botulism outbreaks, improve habitat, benefit fish—and create better hunting opportunities.

There is plenty of doom and gloom surrounding waterfowl and habitat today. This conversation is different. There are people working together to find solutions, and there is legitimate reason for hope at Klamath.

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Damien Pittman of Punisher Waterfowl joins me for a wide-ranging conversation about his life in waterfowl hunting.

Damien grew up in Newfoundland, where hunting looked a lot different than the decoy-and-calling style most of us picture today. We talk about those early years, leaving Newfoundland, his 20-year military career, getting back into duck hunting, and eventually building Punisher Waterfowl.

We also get into what waterfowl hunting looks like today in Ontario, early Canada goose season, hunting pressure, the differences between Canadian and American waterfowling, the growth of his podcast, and why he recently brought everything under the Punisher Waterfowl name.

Along the way, we talk about the relationships this community creates, the toxicity that sometimes shows up online, taking risks, learning from failure, and why no duck is worth risking your life over.

A great conversation with a guy I really enjoyed getting to know.

THANK YOU TO THE PARTNERS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN WATERFOWLER PODCAST

🔹 Retay Shotguns — Check out the ACE and ACE-R lineup of 12, 20 and 28 gauge shotguns.

🔹 Slayer Duck Calls — MC, YOLO Bypass and more. Check out Slayer’s Call of the Wild training resources to improve your calling.

🔹 TideWe — Waders, heated gear, blinds and more.
Code: NAW18 for 18% off

🔹 Shotty Gear — Waterfowl gear including backpacks, gun cases, shell pouches and more.
Code: FDH10

🔹 Flight Day Ammunition — Maximum Payload steel ammunition.
Code: NAW10

🔹 Mammoth Guardian Dog Crates — Heavy-duty dog crates with the roll cage attachment for added protection.

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