EP 464. Duck Hunting in Mazatlan Mexico

 

Authentically Mexican

Ramsey Russell: Welcome back to Mojo’s Duck Season Somewhere podcast from beautiful Mazatlán, Mexico. Out on the west coast, out on the Pacific Ocean where we go off and hunt ducks in the morning, come back to a resort environment and spend time with the brides. What do the hunters most remember about this trip? What do the non-hunters most remember about this trip? Is it safe down in Mexico? Let’s find out. Mr. Greg Moolah down here in Mazatlán. We’re at El Bagote’s right now. Now look, we’ve done a foodie tour here in Mazatlán. What do you think of El Bagote’s here?

Greg Moolah: This is the best tacos I’ve had in my life.

Ramsey Russell: Now you see why I don’t eat Mexican food in Mississippi?

Greg Moolah: Absolutely. And I don’t think I’ll ever eat Mexican food again in Mississippi.

Ramsey Russell: I know. We got here and just like last night when we went to El Capita, that little hole in the wall, you said, well, what do you order? I go, I just point stuff. How would you describe what did we ate? She called it pork skins, pork belly, which I have no idea what that was. Something kind of like a rib and tripe.

Greg Moolah: Tripe. Trippy.

Ramsey Russell: And I liked it all.

Greg Moolah: Everything was good, every bit of it.

Ramsey Russell: And would you come here again?

Greg Moolah: I will be back here again, that’s for sure.

Ramsey Russell: What was your favorite?

Greg Moolah: The tripe.

Ramsey Russell: What’d you think of that sauce? You know, like they cooked this meat, she said they started 04:00 in the morning. They’ve been in business 38 years, they turn it out at 09:00 in the morning when you show up, they’ve got like onions and something, onions and those orange peppers. Habaneros.

Greg Moolah: Habaneros.

Ramsey Russell: Some kind of sauce over here. Nothing like what we see Mexican food back home.

Greg Moolah: Not at all.

Ramsey Russell: Just build your own corn tortilla tacos.

Greg Moolah: Fantastic. And it was hot, but it wasn’t too hot. Put a little lime on it, neutralize the heat, then get some more.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah, I don’t found my foodie brother and Greg Moolah. So we go to this place last night and I was real worried because we went to a couple of nice restaurants a couple nights before and Anita and I found this place last year and it’s off the beaten path. Matter of fact, when we went to get the little red crab last night, we went to the bellhop and asked him could he order it up. And he had the biggest surprise on his face that we knew about this place. He’s like, really? I’m like, yeah, we go here every year. And he said, well, I like the asado, and I like this over here. And we got there and just kind of explained to the lady in broken English we wanted a samples of everything.

Greg Moolah: Everything.

Ramsey Russell: Tell about the two testatos.

Greg Moolah: We had lingua, which was tongue, sosa, which was brain, absolutely fabulous.

Ramsey Russell: They were good tasting, but the brain, I would describe, Anita said, well, what’s it taste like? I said, tastes like everything else, but it’s got a texture. Kind of like pudding on a cracker.

Greg Moolah: Well, when Nancy said, what did it taste like? What was the texture? I said, mushy. And it was mushy.

Ramsey Russell: Kind of mushy.

Greg Moolah: Just like a custard. But it was good.

Ramsey Russell: What would have been your favorite here or there? Cause they’re both real authentic Mexican food. They’re off the tourist route, but they’re totally different.

Greg Moolah: Totally different. These are the best tacos I’ve ever had, I think.

Ramsey Russell: That’s what Anita said, this is her favorite, hands down.

Greg Moolah: Probably my favorite, although I love the lingua. And we had the lingua last night there. I would do that again, but I think this is my favorite place.

Ramsey Russell: I’m going to eat back, every time I’m in Mazatlán, I’m going back to where we ate last night. But next time, I know what I’m getting, those 3 tacos, because they take that shell, and it’s like they wrap it around the meat and whatever else they put in there, and then I think they fry it in lard.

Greg Moolah: Fry it lard, because it was fatty.

Ramsey Russell: It was just too good. I was full of the tick, and I said, I want another taco.

Greg Moolah: Yes.

Ramsey Russell: She goes, really? I like, yeah, one more.

Greg Moolah: Yeah, we each got another one.

Ramsey Russell: They brought out those, to this day, I don’t ever know what those desserts were, but they were good. One was a custard, but the one that had the chunks of jell o in it, that was the different one.

Greg Moolah: Yeah, I would not get that one again.

Ramsey Russell: What did you all eat when you all came? This is you all second trip to Mazatlán. What’d you all ate last time?

Greg Moolah: We did the same. We went to Gaia.

Ramsey Russell: Gaia. That’s very nice.

Greg Moolah: Picasso, 46.

Ramsey Russell: Picasso, 46. Very gourmet and elegant. Right there on Machada Plaza.

Greg Moolah: Presidente.

Ramsey Russell: Presidente.

Greg Moolah: That was very good.

Ramsey Russell: Great ambience.

Greg Moolah: Then the last night we stayed at El Cid Marina. The guy that had the restaurant there made us a seafood feast. He went back to his hometown. He fried fish, oysters, shrimp. He made hush puppies. I mean, it was fabulous.

Ramsey Russell: Right there at the marina.

Greg Moolah: Right there at the marina.

Ramsey Russell: How did that come about? That you all got that kind of treatment? I’ve never seen that.

Greg Moolah: So the first night we were there, custom meal. First night we were there, we were just talking, told them what we were doing, real friendly guy. The girls ate brunch there the next day we showed up and he said, would you all have any interest if I cooked you all a meal?

Ramsey Russell: Heck, yeah.

Greg Moolah: And he offered it, and we took advantage of it.

Ramsey Russell: Let’s talk about the hunt. You want to talk about this morning’s hunt? I mean, you must have enjoyed it because you came back again this year. You must have enjoyed last year.

Greg Moolah: It was fabulous. So last year, a little different hunt in that I had my son and daughter in law, who was pregnant at the time, had my best friend from medical school that introduced my wife and I and his wife and my other best friend. We had an absolute blast. I was really trying to book the trip. We were calling Anita there, hey, we want to go when we want to go. And Anita said, well, we’ll be there this upcoming year just happens to be your 30th anniversary.

Ramsey Russell: That’s right.

Hunting Unpressured Ducks in Mexico

That’s when the pintail and everything else started showing up.

Greg Moolah: We had another friend who had to cancel, it was their 30th anniversary, and it’s our 40th. So We’ve had a great time. The hunting is nothing short of spectacular.

Ramsey Russell: But how would you describe it compared to hunting back home, Greg? You’re an ardent hunter back home.

Greg Moolah: Yes.

Ramsey Russell: How would you describe it? Because it’s just different. It’s a lot of ducks, but they’re kind of unpressured.

Greg Moolah: There’s no pressure. And it is way different. Number one, I have to get up at sometimes 03:00 in the morning to be there well before sunrise to kill ducks.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

Greg Moolah: We’re leaving the lodge at 05:30, sometimes you get in there at 08:00 and back home you could be too late and you won’t see a duck. The hotter it gets in the day, the more ducks we tend to see.

Ramsey Russell: We showed up this morning, to your point, at about 07:30, 07:45, and we got there and there were a couple of dozen birds on that big body of water. And like you say, it was kind of chipped, just a few little shots, and then it just started hitting this fever pitch the hotter it got. And as we were sitting there later after shooting all those ducks, we were sitting there eating our tacos and visiting while the boys got sorted for the ride back, and it was just still. That’s when the pintail and everything else started showing up.

Greg Moolah: That’s when they started showing up.

Ramsey Russell: They had just started showing up by the time you and I tagged out.

Greg Moolah: That’s correct. They started showing up.

Ramsey Russell: Isn’t that interesting that you and I were, like, over in this blind. Frank and Robert were over on this other blind around the corner. They would shoot some, we would shoot some, and then we were done.

Greg Moolah: We were done.

Ramsey Russell: Christian said, hey, you all got your limit. We said, great. And we backed off, and they brought up some other client that had some slower shooting, and we got to stand in a shade tree like the peanut gallery and watch them shoot.

Greg Moolah: And we got to film.

Ramsey Russell: It’s unbelievable.

Greg Moolah: And there’s no way you could do that back home. It’s not possible. Every duck within 4 miles would flare. I mean, they just came and came.

Blue Bills, Teals, and More

Well, I tell you, last year, my son and I hunted in crocs in shorts, and the only reason I didn’t wear my crocs this year is I stuck a cacti needle in my toe, and that’s the only reason I didn’t do it.

Ramsey Russell: What was your favorite hunt this week? Because they’re different. It’s different to shoot every teal in a pothole versus past shooting blue bills.

Greg Moolah: Everything is different. Well, yesterday and today was similar. I liked yesterday because we went a very small pothole, and the birds came in, and they dove in, and they were right there.

Ramsey Russell: Right there.

Greg Moolah: Today, they had a little more option. We talked about it. It was a little bit bigger pond, but when they committed, they committed. So it was great. And I’m not necessarily, I don’t like the real high volume. It’s ducks all in, and an hour later, you finished. These came in onesie, twosies, threesies, hey, Ramsey, you shoot, I’ll shoot. And we got to spend a little bit longer time. It was fun doing that.

Ramsey Russell: When we did the pass shooting the other day, it was like somebody kept lighting a firecracker string down the levee, and it was over before we started.

Greg Moolah: It was that fast.

Ramsey Russell: But like yesterday, talk about yesterday’s hunt, because from the pictures, it’s like you all were hunting this beautiful little oasis pond, the mountain in the background, a lot of cacti around, and you all ended up just taking turns.

Greg Moolah: We took turns, and so they had three of us Frank, Robert, and myself, and we just decided we’re going to take turns and one would come in and somebody would shoot, and if you missed, somebody would back you up. But we took turns and we shot them onesie, twosies, I think one time we shot 4 birds. Other than that, we took our time and just shot, and it lasted a lot longer, so it was way more rewarding.

Ramsey Russell: It was a lot like this morning. You shot your side, I shot my side, when a flock would come swooping through, we double team them.

Greg Moolah: Absolutely.

Ramsey Russell: I find a lot of joy in that, having enough ducks that I can take turns and enjoy the whole experience instead of just having to shoot all the ducks.

Greg Moolah: I agree. There was no pressure. Back home, I’m trying to make sure I can shoot every bird that comes in so I can kill 6 ducks, because some days if you don’t, you’re not going to, not that the limit’s that important, but you try to optimize every opportunity you have. We did not have to do that this time.

Ramsey Russell: Not only do you not have to get up early, I kind of like not having to wear them waders and all that gear. I mean, I basically, I put on my hiking boots and get my little shell pouch, my sunglasses, my tetra hearing, and boom, off I go. I’m ready to go. Hand me a shot gun and ammo bag, and I’m ready to roll.

Greg Moolah: Well, I tell you, last year, my son and I hunted in crocs in shorts, and the only reason I didn’t wear my crocs this year is I stuck a cacti needle in my toe, and that’s the only reason I didn’t do it.

Ramsey Russell: Well, I love wearing my croc, and you can do it here, but there are thorns.

Greg Moolah: Yes.

Ramsey Russell: And I’ve never had one go through my croc and hit, like lodge in my foot. But I had it get enough that when I put my weight on that croc, it kind of poked me. And it’s kind of hard, I’ve learned it’s kind of hard to dig a thorn out of a croc material.

Greg Moolah: It’s tough.

Ramsey Russell: So now I wear boots.

Greg Moolah: And mine went through.

Suburbian Mexico

It is safer in downtown Mazatlán than it is in downtown New Orleans or Jackson, Mississippi.

Ramsey Russell: Good luck with that. A lot of people that come down to Mexico are concerned about safety. How do you feel down here?

Greg Moolah: I will tell you, and Nancy and I have talked about this at length. We live right outside of New Orleans, a little small suburb. It is safer in downtown Mazatlán than it is in downtown New Orleans or Jackson, Mississippi.

Ramsey Russell: Absolutely.

Greg Moolah: It’s not even close.

Ramsey Russell: Not even close.

Greg Moolah: It is one of the safest places we’ve been and we’ve done some traveling, not at any moment or time did we ever feel concerned, worried about our safety. Now you can’t go it too. 02:00 in the morning down a dark street, we’re not going to do that anywhere. But we stayed on the main path, we stayed in the boardwalk. We were there in the main square. Not one moment of fear at any time.

Ramsey Russell: Well, we’re here today. El Bigotes is not really in, maybe at best, it’s on the fringes of what they call the golden zone. We’re in just a little family neighbourhood, we’re the only gringo. Anytime I’ve ever been here, I’m the only gringo, mercifully the founder’s daughter, this place has been here for 38 years, she speaks enough English and she gave us a nice tour today of all the food she did. Gave us a good explanation of how to put it together. Last night was even more off the beaten path. Los capitas, I guess that house was built in early 1900s, maybe earlier. And it was like what I’d call a blue collar working crowd neighborhood. And they accepted us like everybody else.

Greg Moolah: Like everybody else.

Ramsey Russell: Nobody cared. Bu we ended up having two waiters keeping us going.

Greg Moolah: They kept us going.

Ramsey Russell: And I just noticed that every time one of the three would come by, they would ask, is it good or you? Is it good? Oh, yeah, I’m full as a tick, I love it. And last night we got lucky because they get around these little red pickup trucks, like little taxicabs. And they told me it’d be 300 pesos to go there from the resort. And we gave them about 450 pesos worth of US dollars. I said, we come back at 08:00 and it’s 07:50. Somebody said, our ride just pulled up. We step outside, he opens the door, he carries you all to you all’s hotel, us to our hotel. That’s the way it should be.

Greg Moolah: That’s how it should be.

Ramsey Russell: You know, what I’m trying to impress is that everybody on the resort, everybody in the hospitality industry, the transportation, the storefronts, everything else around here, and then going to these little hole in the wall neighborhoods, there’s no problem. I feel more a part of the community welcome than I do, maybe in my hometown, people are just a little more polite.

Greg Moolah: It’s very easy to inculcate into the whole experience. I mean, everybody welcomed us in. I felt a part of it, especially the owner here came in, literally set samples of every dish we could have, and said, pick what you want. We said, give us something of each one, it was fantastic.

Ramsey Russell: Well, I mean, they sell it by the quarter, half, and full kilo. We ordered a quarter kilo of everything. And I could not have eaten any more than I eat. It’s the way it should be. It’s kind of trip you’d come back on?

Greg Moolah: Oh, we’ll be back next year.

Ramsey Russell: Well, I’m going to have your wife, Nancy, come on here. Because, man, she and Anita and Margaret hit it off.

Greg Moolah: They have hit it off.

Ramsey Russell: They hit. Anita told me the other night because you all are going on the hosted couples trip down La Paz this year, Anita said, I cannot wait. Cause she is so much fun. I’m hearing them talk right now in the background.

Greg Moolah: Well, it was great. I got Nancy here last year. We rescheduled this year. And I said, look, we’re going to go down to La Paz. And she says, with who? I said, we’re going with Anita and Ramsay. It’s all couples. I don’t know anyone there.

Ramsey Russell: She does now.

Greg Moolah: She does now. And they are planning it. She is so excited. So this has been a great trip.

Ramsey Russell: We got one more day, Greg, I hope I get to share a blind with you.

Greg Moolah: Me too, it’s been great.

Ramsey Russell: Because I will say this as somebody that shoots with a lot of different people, it was pretty natural shooting with you today.

Greg Moolah: Yeah, it was easy.

Ramsey Russell: It’s like we shot together long time.

Greg Moolah: I felt this. That’s what Nancy said. How’d it go? I said, in fact, there’s 3 people I hunt with all the time. My son Robert, who’s here, and another friend who was here last week, Craig Arthurmont. I said, it was like I was hunting with Gregory. We knew which birds to shoot, it just kind of flowed, it just went right, like it should be.

Ramsey Russell: The only awkward part, I’m going to end it on this. The only awkward part was that there was a four pack that came in, two shovelers, two teal, they were coming from your side. So I was just going to wait till you shot, and I was going to pick up spares, and then I didn’t know, they ended up all 4 flying 4 ways. Was he going to shoot that one? No, he’s going to shoot that one. No, he didn’t shoot either one of them. So by then they were gone.

Greg Moolah: We’re just waiting for each other to shoot. Nobody shot.

Ramsey Russell: But the great thing is there were enough more birds coming in, it didn’t matter. That’s what the quality part of it is about. We can talk about the quantity cause they’re here. But it’s the quality that quantity of naive, thirsty fun to hunt birds allows. That’s what draws me down in here. Besides the fact I get to hunt in warm weather shorts if I want to and not worrying about the cold weather.

Greg Moolah: No waders, no coats.

Ramsey Russell: Thank you, Greg.

Greg Moolah: You’re welcome.

Ramsey Russell: Greg’s better half Mrs. Nancy Moolah here at El Bigotes. I hated to interrupt you conversation because you all are having a great visit over there.

Nancy Moolah: We’re having a great visit. Absolutely. It’s a beautiful place to have that great visit.

The Best Couples Duck Hunting Trip

We, all of us said, this is the best day ever. It was really good.

Ramsey Russell: I got a text from Anita this morning, Greg and I were hunting in the blind and she said, I got a car, I’m heading over to the morrow to join the ladies. We’re going to eat breakfast and we had a tour plan. Tell me about your tour today.

Nancy Moolah: Oh my gosh. Okay. Wound up being one of the ladies wanted to see the basilica and just go see one of the little markets. And we wound up getting into that little car. I don’t know what they call them, Pagoda. I don’t know what the little cars are.

Ramsey Russell: One of them little golf cart looking things?

Nancy Moolah: And this wonderful gentleman named Carlos, we got in the car and he said, where do you want to go? I said we really don’t know. She wants to see the basilica, maybe go to a market. And he said, how about if I give you a tour? And we were going, what? He said, how about if we go see cliff divers and just see the town? I said, I love the old town. And we had last year come and driven through the town just for dinner and had a look at it.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

Nancy Moolah: Yes. But I never really got to see the old town. I fell in love with it last year. So this young man gave us the most wonderful tour. And it’s his city, so he has such passion for his city pride. We just fell in love with it all over again. And we toured with him 4 hours and he would point out different landmarks and the history of the city and the people are just so genuine and we just loved it. We, all of us said, this is the best day ever. It was really good.

Ramsey Russell: We were waiting on the tacos. And you all started showing us the videos of the cliff diver. And I’m like, this is my 20th time to Mazatlán. I did not know there were cliff divers.

Nancy Moolah: No, I didn’t either. And he said, you want to go see the cliff divers? I thought we had to go some distance. And he goes, no, they’re right here. He pulls up and he said, okay, there’s a tour bus behind us because these cliff divers, the only way they make money is for the tourists to pay to watch them. So we decided, he says, just go stand there and the tour bus will be along in a little bit and you all can join and pay whatever they ask you to pay and watch them. So we walk up and this man comes up and says, are you all here to see the divers? He goes, you want to see us dive? I said, oh, yeah, we can’t wait. He said, well, we’ll dive for you right now. It was just 3 of us. And so I met him.

Ramsey Russell: I mean, we’re not talking 20ft, I’m going to say 10 story building high on his rock.

Nancy Moolah: Yes. And he had to wait. It was in between the rocks, the waves are just pounding. And he said, we have to wait for at the right time so we can dive in the water at the right time so we don’t hurt ourselves. And we’re like, what? So the three of us are watching. There goes Francisco, introduces himself to us and walks up the steps and dives in. And then he has to swim against the current to get back. Oh, he was saying the Hail Mary and I was praying for him.

Ramsey Russell: He was kind of Hail Mary and praying, wasn’t it? He wasn’t exaggerating.

Nancy Moolah: No. It was the most phenomenal. We are dying and laughing because we had no clue what this day would bring.

Ramsey Russell: If I had to guess, it wasn’t like he had an Olympic swimming pool sized hole below him. It was like probably the size of a pickup truck bed he had to hit to go that deep.

Nancy Moolah: Exactly. In fact, I thought, oh, man, that’s really close to the rocks when he hit it, it wasn’t big at all, but it was amazing. He comes up waves and then swims to the rocks and just scampers up the rocks to come back to us.

Ramsey Russell: What else did you all do?

Nancy Moolah: Oh, my gosh. Let’s see. We went to the market where they sold all their wares and crafts. We saw fresh meat market where they’re cutting steaks, a fish market. They had candies. They had, oh, my gosh, the most beautiful vegetables. Tomatoes and beautiful.

Ramsey Russell: I’m sure they had a lot of hot peppers.

Getting into the Real Mexico

There’s so much culture here. It’s just a different vibe. It’s not a touristy town.

Nancy Moolah: Oh, a lot of hot peppers. If you like tomatoes and hot peppers, you’re in the right place. Beautiful. We just enjoyed it so much, walked through there. Then he took us all around the town and showed us an orphanage, an old university college where actually the children used to go to school from kindergarten through high school through university, at the same building, I just learned so much history. But I think the thing that really got me was the love for his city that he had. And we felt the same way because the people are just so genuine. There’s so much culture here. It’s just a different vibe. It’s not a touristy town. You are really getting a bit of Mexico.

Ramsey Russell: It’s a mix of both. You’ve got this zone with the resorts and all of us gringos coming down to hang by the pool, to drink and eat cheeseburgers. But then you got this vibrant city.

Nancy Moolah: Yes. That’s precious.

Ramsey Russell: And you talk about the national pride, Nancy, and it’s like, our listeners and our world is like an echo chamber. But let’s face it, you read the headlines in America, there’s so many hippie apologists or whatever, you don’t see that down here.

Nancy Moolah: No, not at all.

Ramsey Russell: People are proud to be Mexico. They’re proud of their history. They’re proud of their country. They’re proud of their families.

Nancy Moolah: Well, that’s interesting you say that because he said, Nancy, you don’t see any homeless here? I said, no, I don’t, your city is so clean. He said, they just have a sense of family and they take care of their children, of the elderly, and everyone know, they just have a great work ethic. They’re just so genuine. It’s been a delightful trip. It really has.

Ramsey Russell: What have you thought about the food? Now, where did you all, Greg told us a little bit about where you all ate last year. You all ate at Picasso 46, you ate it, Presidente. You ate at El Presidio, I should say. Gaia, which everybody loves.

Nancy Moolah: Absolutely. As you walk in, you sit on, like, the front steps, literally the front porch where everyone’s out in the square. We enjoyed it so much. People would come and sing and serenade, and it was just the best time.

Ramsey Russell: And what about this tour. Talk about some of this – we got kind of down in the bushes of it this year.

Nancy Moolah: Okay, and not so much the fancy little restaurants. We are into the heart of Mexico. We’re into the local taco places and the local, I just love this place, El Bigotes.

Ramsey Russell: El Bigotes.

Nancy Moolah: Oh, I’ve never heard of it. We’re sitting on a patio, and they’re bringing us all this different pork, 4 different types. I can’t even tell you what we ate, and it was delicious. Different corn tortillas, flour tortillas, and then the bread that was phenomenal.

Ramsey Russell: Probably made right here this morning.

Nancy Moolah: Exactly.

Ramsey Russell: When you drive around town, you see these little tortilla, little mom and pop tortilla places. When you come to this part of the world, they don’t buy tortillas at Walmart.

Nancy Moolah: No, they’re fresh. They’re hot off the griddle every minute. In fact, one of our gals ate just the bread, she said, oh, this is too good. She loved it.

Ramsey Russell: What about the safety as a lady, as a mama, how do you feel in Mexico in terms of safety compared to where you live at home?

Nancy Moolah: Right. Well, I live outside of New Orleans, and so I don’t even go into the city much anymore, especially at night, I won’t. And I grew up there, and I love the city, but this place, I was a little nervous, I’ll be honest, last year, I was a little nervous to come. They said, you’re going to Sinaloa County. I go, wait, where? I didn’t know where Mazatlán was, and we came, and I never felt safer. We’d get in a taxi, which was like a truck with benches and bisqueen, and never felt safer going into the old town. 20 minutes drive down the boardwalk. Just beautiful. And I feel very safe here. I really do. I really don’t sense any danger or anything.

Ramsey Russell: How fun is it catching these little red trucks?

Nancy Moolah: I love the little red trucks and the little cars. I just love it. The little red trucks are one of our favorites.

Ramsey Russell: I forgot to ask Greg when I interviewed him, but he was telling me about some people that came last year, and the wife was a little worried, a little nervous, a little cold feet. I said, Greg, is nothing that margaritas and the red truck won’t fix. He said, Ramsey, it worked like a magical elixir he said she had a couple of margaritas, got in the red truck, and forgot she was in Mexico.

Nancy Moolah: She said, this is the best.

Ramsey Russell: What have you got? We got one night tonight, we got one more day, we’re going to hunt tomorrow another night. The ladies got anything else planned to go see and do?

Nancy Moolah: No. We probably would just relax on the beach, talk to all the local vendors. We’ve gotten serenaded by several gentlemen with their guitars. Oh, it’s been fun. It’s been fun.

Ramsey Russell: You like it?

Nancy Moolah: I love it. I absolutely love it.

Ramsey Russell: You don’t want to come duck hunting down here, though, do you?

Nancy Moolah: If that’s the only way I’ll get here. I’ll think about it, Ramsay. I’ll think about it.

Ramsey Russell: Anita have asked that twice during lunch because Greg said, you know, she was scared of death to come to Argentina, she thought I was trying to snook her into going hunting, he said. Then she met Anita, realized she ain’t going to have to worry about her.

Nancy Moolah: No, I told her, I told Anita when I met her, I said I was a little hesitant about Argentina going to this, I thought I was going to go to some remote lodge. I didn’t know what was going to be happening. And I met Anita and I said, I looked at Anita and said, I’m looking so far to Argentina with just us two women.

Ramsey Russell: That’s right.

Nancy Moolah: Whoever they are, going and have an adventure ourselves.

Ramsey Russell: Even Martha will not get up and go duck hunting in the morning unless she has to. She’s going to sleep in and take care of you all.

Nancy Moolah: Well, we’re going to enjoy Martha’s company immensely.

Ramsey Russell: Thank you very much, Nancy.

Nancy Moolah: You’re welcome.

Ramsey Russell: Robert Sonberg down here in Mazatlán, how did Greg talk you into coming down here anyway?

Robert Sonberg: Well, Greg was fortunate enough to join Ramsey last year, and he brought home some pictures of this hunt. And after about the third picture that I saw, I said, stop. I don’t want to see any more. Book me. And he said, well, I can’t book you. I’ve already got my friend’s book for next year, but I’ll sign you up for the year after that. So after hunting with Greg in the marsh of Louisiana during September and October and December, I was begging him, I said, you got to get me on that trip. He said, well, I can’t. I said, all of a sudden, right after the season stalled last week in January, I think, he calls me up. He says, my buddy that was going to come and his wife can’t make it. And I said, well, Greg, if you don’t book it as fast for me, then you and I ain’t going to hunt together anymore. And I sent him a text to tease him. I said, my wife is mad at you because you can’t get us on that trip.

What to Expect When Hunting in Mazatlán

But here there’s an ability, abundance enough that you don’t. You can take turns. You can watch the other people shoot.

Ramsey Russell: Tell me how the hunting in Mazatlán compares to Louisiana Marsh hunting, because I cannot imagine a more different hunting environment, almost desert like to absolute Louisiana Marsh like. What’s the difference? What are some of the obvious differences?

Robert Sonberg: To me, the obvious difference is getting to and from the area you hunt. It’s much easier to drive a car, and have your guides take care of you and set everything up, and you just walk to where you’re going to hunt, and you just stay there in the Louisiana marsh, we take boats because it’s swamp land, and then we have to do blinds or we sit in the marsh without blinds to make a hunting. Here, it’s so much easier, so much enjoyable to watch the birds rather than just raise your gun and shoot. You got the scenery, you got the ponds in front of you, you got the decoys, and then of course, you’ve got the Mexican workers who really do a fantastic job.

Ramsey Russell: The staff is amazing. I got one suggestion, it’s important. You got to get these guys to learn English. I’m like, you’re in Mexico, if you want an English speaking guide, go to Canada. I mean, this is Mexico, but, you know, it’s like. It’s like this universal communication or language. They don’t speak. They understand more than they speak, but you don’t need it. They know the program, they know the thing, they’re very accommodating. You can make a hand signal and they know you need more ammo or you need something.

Robert Sonberg: There’s no miscommunication with these guys. They are on the ball. They know exactly what you need before you need it. I mean, they watch you. They watch the birds go. They pick them up, the birds, and they’ll see that if you’re having trouble with a gun, they come up to you and they help you with it. But we have no trouble so far with the equipment they’re giving us.

Ramsey Russell: It’s fantastic. We haven’t had any trouble at all. What were you thinking the first morning when the sun had risen and was above the mountains and we still weren’t at the duck hole? I mean, let’s face it, if you’re not early, you’re late in duck hunting. And we were an hour past Louisiana shoot time, getting to the duck hole, kind of what was going through your mind as you were walking down that levee with the first day we did? We passed shot bluebills. What were you thinking? Like, this is going to be a goat rope. What were you really thinking?

Robert Sonberg: Well, Greg had pre warned me, but I was thinking as the sun was coming up, I said, boy, we would be hopping like crazy right now to not be in a blind and waiting for the sun to rise and start shooting for when we can. And when I got here, of course, I said, Greg, preempted me a little bit. And I was just saying, well, I’m going to relax and I’m going to enjoy the beauty around here.

Ramsey Russell: Absolutely.

Robert Sonberg: And when we started that first morning hunt and I sat there, of course, we were with a few other people, and they were instantaneously popping up and shooting, popping up and shooting, I sat back and I watched. I didn’t shoot right away. I said, it’s fun to watch other people shoot, but when you go to, also when you go to raise your gun and there’s four or five other people shooting and you aiming in one, and all of a sudden it falls in front of you, or another one and falls in front of you, you said, back off and watch.

Ramsey Russell: Greg and I were talking about the same thing, how back home, you kind of sort of, if me and you and Greg are hunting together, we kind of sort of got to play for keeps and go after it, go with every play. But here there’s an ability, abundance enough that you don’t. You can take turns. You can watch the other people shoot. You can shoot, you can film, you can do what you want. You can just relax, enjoy it for what it is and what it ain’t. Which, just watching the birds, watching Greg shoot and miss, coming back, watching you all shoot. I saw you looking down your gun barrel, and I told you, man, look, I’m 20 yards away. I tell the barrels.

Robert Sonberg: That one’s meant for you, Tom. But no, the idea that when you’re hunting, like this morning, the hunt, we had a two man to a blind. And when you got birds coming in and you got another guy next to you, say, look, it’s your turn. I’ll sit back and watch. You get the first two shots, I’ll back you up on the third, that’s my way of liking the hunt. I don’t like to just jump up and shoot. I mean, I’ll shoot birds, but to sit back and watch somebody else shoot, or you shoot first, it’s your turn. And they’re coming in on the right, you shoot on the right, they’re coming in on the left, you shoot on the left. That’s what hunting is all about. The wildlife, the birds that are coming in, the different species of birds coming in, and the calls that you make trying to get them, you wonder, well, did that do any good or did that not do any good? But, I mean, you can’t complain about the volume of birds.

Ramsey Russell: No, there’s plenty of volume. Today was a lot of different species. Were you surprised to see gadwall using that duck hole today? That’s a marsh bird for you.

Robert Sonberg: Yeah, that’s a Louisiana bird. We love gadwalls there.

Ramsey Russell: There were pintail coming in, especially later.

Robert Sonberg: And the pintail and the teal. I’m a a good blue bill teal caller, and I can make some good calls on the teal. And then I brought a robo duck to try, and I’m not so sure it made it.

Ramsey Russell: They say birds of a feather flock together, and when you show up with a Mojo, I’m like, this is my man right here. And I tried, I said something today. Cause, like, I looked around the corner from where we were, and you all were back around the corner, and I couldn’t see the mojo out. And I told the guy to come get the mojo, and he come back and said, it’s already out. I’m like, I was hoping it’d be right over here on my corner so I could borrow from it some.

Robert Sonberg: Yeah, but I tell you, there was so many birds today, I don’t know if the mojo made a difference, really.

Ramsey Russell: There were birds everywhere.

Robert Sonberg: I mean, if you wanted to burn your fingers, just touch your barrel.

Ramsey Russell: That’s right. Talk about the food here. I can’t remember, well, the first night we went to Los Arcos, we ate seafood. The second night we went to presidio, it was off. It’s one of my favorite places in town, but what I ordered was terrible, but it was a Saturday night and had that saxophone player.

Robert Sonberg: Yeah, I mean, he was right us too.

Ramsey Russell: And I couldn’t hear nothing.

Robert Sonberg: Right.

Ramsey Russell: But the food was good, the ambiance was good.

Robert Sonberg: You’re not going to lose weight down here.

Ramsey Russell: No, you’re not. What had been your favorite meal? What were you really thinking? When we pulled up, the guy stopped that little hole in the wall I took you all to last night. Honestly, what were you thinking when you stopped there? Like, we done been to a couple of nice restaurants.

Robert Sonberg: I’ve been to Monterey, Mexico, and to Saltillo and a few of those places, and I’ve eaten a few of these places. Now, last night was good, but today we’re eating right now, and you’re doing this podcast that’s one of my best meals, El Pagote.

Ramsey Russell: It’s everybody’s favorite.

Robert Sonberg: We have four different types of meats.

Ramsey Russell: Oh, my God.

Robert Sonberg: And we made our own little, tostadas and tacos and burritos, and we sat down with friends. That’s the key.

Ramsey Russell: You’re not the adventurous eater that Greg is.

Robert Sonberg: No.

Ramsey Russell: He tried to get you to take a bite of that brain last night.

Robert Sonberg: I have a seafood allergy, so I can’t eat crustacea. I can eat fish and oysters, but I can’t.

Ramsey Russell: Brain’s not crustacean.

Robert Sonberg: No, but, yeah, and brains on, either. But I just can’t go the route yet. Every time, I don’t need brains because I watched a movie once when they were showing monkeys in an Arabian movie, and they brought live monkeys to the table. They cut his scalp, pull the sculp cap off of it, and people ate the brains right there. That’s why I’ve never tried brains. Now they say that’s a delicacy.

Ramsey Russell: You got to draw a line somewhere. I’m going to draw the line at monkey brain.

Robert Sonberg: Yeah, well, I do, too.

Mexican Hunting Hospitality

I’ve seen nothing but happy people here in Mazatlán.

Ramsey Russell: I will do that. Talk about the safety. I’m going to ask everybody what they think about the safety of Mexico, because there’s a lot of public concern north of the border. Have you felt down here? Have you felt threatened? Have you felt anything other than hospitality?

Robert Sonberg: No, but let me tell you, the key to that is the people you’re with. Safety is in numbers, no matter where you are.

Ramsey Russell: There’s a good point.

Robert Sonberg: And when you got a guide who’s been here before, knows the people, set up the people who arrange in your hunts, you don’t even think about safety because they’re going to take care of you. I mean, it’s like a friend told a story the other night, like when he was diving, the shark started approaching. He grabbed his wife, and he put it in front of him. I mean, he got a divorce after that. You know, I mean, it’s like we’re here. If we’re going to have a problem, we can put the guide in front of us.

Ramsey Russell: That’s like the old bear story, you don’t have to outrun the charging bear, you just Got to outrun your buddy.

Robert Sonberg: That’s right. That’s exactly right. But no safety, I’ve been to Mexico before, but I have had no problems anytime, not even coming through the border. They say they pull you over in the car, you see the cartel or whatever, we’ve not seen any of that. And I’ve been to Cabo San Lucas. I’ve been here, I’ve been to Monterey. I’ve been to Santa Saltillo. I’ve been to Guatemala. I’ve been to Lake Guerra, which was supposed to be real bad. I’ve never had any problems.

Ramsey Russell: I’ve seen nothing but happy people here in Mazatlán.

Robert Sonberg: And then Mexican people are very happy.

Ramsey Russell: The staff are super friendly. The young man, the very young man that was there today, one of my favorite memories is last year, and he’s grown a foot taller than the last time I saw him, this time last year. I would guess, he’s 13. And last year he was, say, 11 or 12 and a foot shorter, and they sent him out to pick up decoys and pick up dead birds. And that little boy was singing a happy song at the top of his lungs. And then later at lunch, I learned that he had been orphaned and adopted by Oscar. But not only had he been adopted with a family like Oscar, he’d been brought into this family, of the guys. Now, he had a job, and he had friends, and he had a purpose. And he was the happiest young man on earth.

Robert Sonberg: Because, matter of fact, when, the first day I got down here, we met somebody else in your group that it was just getting ready to go home. And they told me about him. He said, that boy, we told him we wanted a cinnamon teal and that group worked to get us a cinnamon. And here’s a picture of him swimming in the pond to go get the one we shot. well, that’s the answer.

Ramsey Russell: That’s dedication.

Robert Sonberg: That’s it. Yeah, that’s it.

Ramsey Russell: Robert, I’ve enjoyed hunting with you. I’m enjoying going out with you in the morning. You talk about the people you’re with, and it’s like, this morning I climbed into the truck and we talked. We could have driven 15 hours, I don’t know, because we talk the entire time? Yeah, we had a lot to talk about Greg and I visited the line, through round the corner, we could hear you and Frank just laughing and cutting up. And that’s what it’s about.

Robert Sonberg: That’s exactly what hunting is all about. And I don’t say you got to have it in your blood. Because there’s nothing I would rather do better than hunt. And I’m strictly a feather hunter. I don’t hunt the big moose or the deer, but put a feather on it, and I’ll shoot it.

Ramsey Russell: Enjoyed it. Thank you, Rob.

Robert Sonberg: Pleasure’s mine.

Ramsey Russell: Mrs. Margaret Sonberg. Margaret, what brings you to Mazatlán?

Margaret Sonberg: I came to go on a honeymoon duck hunt with my husband.

Ramsey Russell: Your soulmate.

Margaret Sonberg: For almost 55 years.

Ramsey Russell: 55 years. And you were saying at lunch you all have dated for 5 years prior to that.

Margaret Sonberg: Since right before being 17 years old.

Ramsey Russell: Wow, 60 years. I wouldn’t have guessed it, you all don’t look near as old as that, you all seem like spring chickens almost.

Margaret Sonberg: You kind of feel that old.

Ramsey Russell: That I understand. Have you been on other hunts with Robert? Has he ever taken you, like, any other hunt that he goes on because he’s a feather chaser.

Margaret Sonberg: When we first got married, I got a shotgun as a present. And I went on, like, 3 hunts with him to see exactly what he was so excited about doing.

Ramsey Russell: You didn’t get excited for it?

Margaret Sonberg: No, I did not. It was not my thing.

Honeymooning & Hunting in Style

So you come down here on a honeymoon duck hunt.

Ramsey Russell: So you come down here on a honeymoon duck hunt. How’s the resort? How is the moro? How is the room and all that good stuff?

Margaret Sonberg: The room, we walked into the room, I was expecting a regular hotel room. And the room is a suite, it had a complete kitchen with a full size refrigerator, had a living area that was bigger than some people’s homes, and everything is immaculately clean. Two bathrooms, one bathroom equipped with a shower, another bathroom with a big old sunken marble tub, and it’s beautiful. It’s huge.

Ramsey Russell: My goodness.

Margaret Sonberg: So that was a very nice surprise to start off the trip.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah. Now you realize it ain’t going to be just a hotel honeymoon.

Margaret Sonberg: Exactly.

Ramsey Russell: But talk about some of your dining experiences, how – we all hit it off. We’ve gone out to eat dinner every night and had a good visit. Anita loves, she has found her tribe with you and Nancy. She has had so much fun with you all. But talk about your dining experience.

Margaret Sonberg: Soul Sisters. It has been wonderful. You feel like you’re with good friends that you’ve known for years. It’s just the food has been good.

Ramsey Russell: What was your favorite meal?

Margaret Sonberg: The coconut shrimp.

Ramsey Russell: Oh, really?

Margaret Sonberg: That was my favorite.

Ramsey Russell: Which was Los Arcos.

Margaret Sonberg: Yes.

Ramsey Russell: Everybody loves that restaurant.

Margaret Sonberg: Coconut shrimp with a mango sauce was absolutely delicious.

Ramsey Russell: Well, I may need to get that next time.

Margaret Sonberg: It was delicious. I enjoyed that very much. But it’s just been fun getting together in the evening. And the men can talk about the hunt that they’ve done that day, and the women can talk about what they’ve done that day. And you just communicate and you feel like you’ve been with friends that you’ve been with for years.

Ramsey Russell: Well, that’s what these experiences do. Birds of a feather, I think, really flock together. And that’s the way I’ve always felt. I mean, we come from different walks of life in different parts of the world, but we end up here for the same kind of reasons. The guys hunt, they’re married to great women that will come along on these trips with them and let them duck hunt. So they’re bound to have something in common.

Margaret Sonberg: Well, it’s been wonderful. Also, the restaurants, two of the restaurants we went to had musical entertainment while we were there. Last two nights ago, we had a saxophone player who was fantastic. And last night we had a duo with the woman who sang and the guy played his little ukulele, and they were both excellent.

Ramsey Russell: They just walked in off the street and started singing.

Margaret Sonberg: I think so, too. And it was just like an added bonus.

Ramsey Russell: Very culturally immersive.

Margaret Sonberg: Right.

Ramsey Russell: How have you felt in terms of safety? How safe have you felt in Mexico?

Margaret Sonberg: I usually research any place that I go, and I was a little nervous about some of the things that I had heard about Mexico. I have felt completely safe. I have not worried at all about where I’ve been going. It’s been wonderful.

Ramsey Russell: What about the little red trucks?

Margaret Sonberg: I like the little red trucks. I had kind of like a checklist. I had gone, as I say, researched a lot of different Pinterest sites and things, and so I kind of knew what a lot of people said. Oh, these are the 10 things you want to do. These are the 21 things you want to do. And so this morning, we had done the little red truck. So I said, okay, let’s do –

Ramsey Russell: Oh, that’s one of the top 10 things to do, the red trucks?

Margaret Sonberg: I said, let’s do the pomonia. We haven’t done that yet. And I wanted to see –

Ramsey Russell: What is pomonia?

Margaret Sonberg: Those are little open air cars.

Ramsey Russell: Oh, those little golf cart looking things.

Margaret Sonberg: We were going to do that, and we were just going to go to where the market was and to see the basilica. And we had the most wonderful driver who ended up taking us for 4 hours to see not only what the 2 things that we had wanted to see. We saw cliff divers, he stopped so we could take a picture in front of the Mazatlán sign and the monuments along the way. And we went to the market, he followed us through the market.

Ramsey Russell: Talk about some of the things you saw in the market. Like a flea market?

Margaret Sonberg: No. Absolutely anything that you can imagine. They had vendors that would have all kinds of beef products, steaks that they are cutting there to order whatever you want. They had whole chickens, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, they had people who had made wallets, people who had made purses, people who had made all kinds of artisan products. And besides the tourist stuff that people buy, I mean, it was absolutely everything.

Getting Off the Tourist Track

It’s a tourist town, and a lot of the places we go are. But I like to get off the tourist track. I was telling the guys last night at dinner, somebody asked, how’d you find this place? I said, here’s the deal. If you asked the hotel bell man or the concierge or somebody, where’s a good place to eat? They’re going to put you on the tourist track.

Ramsey Russell: It’s a tourist town, and a lot of the places we go are. But I like to get off the tourist track. I was telling the guys last night at dinner, somebody asked, how’d you find this place? I said, here’s the deal. If you asked the hotel bell man or the concierge or somebody, where’s a good place to eat? They’re going to put you on the tourist track. What you do is you find somebody like that, just make a conversation and say, how old are you? I’m 35. When’s your birthday? And then you say, where do you and your family go on your birthday or your wife’s birthday? Or where do you go? Where do you go on your off day? When you get an hour off to go eat, where do you go eat? That’s where I want to go. I want to get a lot of times off the tourist track and into where the locals eat. It’s like if you can be in the middle of nowhere in this world, and if you see a whole lot of pickup trucks in the parking lot at lunchtime, it’s probably a pretty good place to eat.

Margaret Sonberg: Probably also this morning, the driver would get up here and point out buildings, and he’d be able to say, that building is 94 years old. And he’d say, this was a school that had children from kindergarten through graduation, and he was able to point out things. And he told us, he says, I love my city, and I want to share it. I told him, well, because you love your city, you’re giving us the culture and the history of your city, and you’re making us love it.

Ramsey Russell: I think it’s important to get a real taste of culture beyond just the trigger pull or something. From my perspective, I really enjoy that, what I call that whole national geography of it all. I like the context of it all.

Margaret Sonberg: Well, as I say this morning was the highlight of my tour. I had told my husband when he first asked me about going on this trip. I said, as long as it has a beach and I have a book, I’m going to be completely happy. So that was my only requirement. I said, if I have a beach and a book, I’m in. And it’s been so much more than that. I mean, I feel like I’ve made good friends along the way and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. I look forward to definitely doing it again.

Ramsey Russell: Thank you, Mrs. Margaret. Gabby Lidol. That’s a new last name.

Gabby Lidol: I know it is.

Ramsey Russell: I had tried practicing your old last name, and then you changed it on me.

Gabby Lidol: I know. I changed it pretty quickly, didn’t I?

Ramsey Russell: When we started talking about this hunt, Gabby, 2 years ago now.

Gabby Lidol: Yes.

Ramsey Russell: It was just a dream trip for you.

Gabby Lidol: Yes, it was.

Ramsey Russell: But now you show up. And it is kind of your honeymoon, or as your mama called it, a hunting moon.

Gabby Lidol: Yeah.

Ramsey Russell: Because both of you all hunt.

Gabby Lidol: Yes.

Skilled Hunting Guides in Mexico

So obviously, without that pressure, they don’t – I mean, we had the truck parked, right, like, probably 20 yards behind us.

Ramsey Russell: Did it live up to your expectations?

Gabby Lidol: Oh, it sure did. I was thrilled with how many birds there were, obviously. The weather was incredible. The guides and the staff were outstanding. They worked very hard, I could tell they knew what they were doing.

Ramsey Russell: They’re very practiced.

Gabby Lidol: Yeah. I can tell. Yes. They’re professionals, that’s for sure. And that’s their specialty.

Ramsey Russell: I called you one day to talk about this hunt or something, and you were goose hunting?

Gabby Lidol: Yes, I was.

Ramsey Russell: You’re from South Dakota, and you’re in a goose blind, and you said something like, well, it’s okay, they’re not flying. How does goose hunting in South Dakota, compare to Mazatlán?

Gabby Lidol: Oh, man, it’s like, on a different planet down here. I mean, when I was talking to you while goose hunting, I was bundled up. It was probably – I mean, it was still rather nice, it was sunny, but it was about 20° outside with some wind. And I was just kind of sitting there just hoping to get lucky because the geese were flying. Whenever I looked trying to get underneath one path, the next flight would be right over where I was at. So it was just a complete guessing game. Versus here, the birds, especially the first 2 days, and even today, they were very predictable where they were coming from.

Ramsey Russell: Thirsty day.

Gabby Lidol: Yes, they are. The heat obviously drives them off from the ocean or wherever they’re at, and they come in and get some nice, fresh water. So obviously, without that pressure, they don’t – I mean, we had the truck parked, right, like, probably 20 yards behind us.

Ramsey Russell: It would never work in South Dakota or Mississippi, would it?

Gabby Lidol: Yeah, absolutely not. We were sitting there, we weren’t even hidden. We could be standing and chatting, and they still came right on in and catch us off guard. So they’d land and they’d look at us, and they’re like, what are these?

Ramsey Russell: So you get here from South Dakota, you all settle in, and we go hunting the first days was the blue bill hunt, what was that like?

Gabby Lidol: That was a dream, I thought I was dreaming just so many birds. Like, I’ve been to Canada, and I’ve seen clouds of snow geese, but they’re always high, and they’re unreachable. These were absolutely within my reach. And like I said, that’s stuff where dreams, that’s what you dream about.

Ramsey Russell: And they just kept coming wave just like this Pacific Ocean over here, just wave after wave after wave. You know, somebody wrote me in social media said, that’s not even hunting, that’s just killing. I said, well, past shooting is a thing. In fact, your dad in law Jeff, who I’m going to ask about in a minute was telling me about some of the favorite passes he had in South Dakota growing up shooting divers that are now 15ft underwater. Because it’s flood and he fishes there now. But it is a kind of a good thing. But it’s fun, isn’t it?

Gabby Lidol: It’s incredibly fun. I love that. I’m glad I took one day because I bruised my shoulder a lot on that first I got too excited, so I needed that one day, and then the rest were nice to shoulder the gun properly and watch the ducks come into the decoys. But like I said, it was just dreams, and I just loved watching them just fly over. I have really grown to appreciate how majestic ducks are or any kind of bird. They’re so much fun to watch.

Creating a Hunting Monster

Well, my husband got me into duck hunting, that was a fatal mistake for our wallets, unfortunately. 

Ramsey Russell: A lot of people we’ve talked to for this episode have talked about it’s not just the trigger pulling. And one of the great things about coming down here is the abundance of birds. Every hunt I’ve been on, I sat out and I filmed or I watched or I did something, and I shot plenty too. You know, like the day on the levee, I shot out and started walking around, talking to people and watching you all shoot, filming you all shoot. And just seeing the spectacle of wild birds just at an abundance of still flying and stuff was great. We’re out here by the pool, the iguana pool, the wind blowing, there’s a waterfall right behind this Pacific Ocean, a little bit of music in the background, I like it. This is Mazatlán to me, Gabby, this is Mazatlán. Now let’s hear what I’m getting at. A lot of the ladies we interview for these episodes are down here with their hunting husband and they’re doing and other stuff. And we’ve had some guys do real honeymoons down here before, like you all. But you’re a hunter. You’re a young lady, how did you get into hunting? How did you start duck hunting? How long have you been duck hunting?

Gabby Lidol: Well, my husband got me into duck hunting, that was a fatal mistake for our wallets, unfortunately. But that was back in 2018.

Ramsey Russell: He created a monster.

Gabby Lidol: He did. An absolute monster. It’s kind of horrifying. I mean, after so 2018 through 2019, we were doing nursing school, and there was some pressure there to do well, so we’d go. And I thoroughly enjoyed duck hunting, and I got to say, I think when I started, that was also when I started eating duck, and I do think it’s an acquired taste for me personally.

Ramsey Russell: Right.

Gabby Lidol: So the more I ate it, the more I enjoyed it. And I was like, man, like, let’s get out there and get more ducks. I want some more duck meat. And eventually, it just started becoming my favorite thing. I’ve been hunting pheasants since I’ve been walking with my dad since I was 3 years old.

Ramsey Russell: That’s the national pastime of South Dakota’s pheasant hunting.

Gabby Lidol: Sure is.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

Gabby Lidol: So he took me out, and that’s all I remember is pheasant hunting. Once I got a career, and the world was open, Jeff’s dad was a huge, and still a huge influence in my hunting expectations and dreams. So he’s got a full wall of animals that I want to recreate for myself and John. But that’s kind of opened the world to me. And now I’m like, well, I have a career, I can make my own decisions with my finances.

Ramsey Russell: Right.

Gabby Lidol: And hunting right now is where I want a lot of those trips and that fun money to go into to keep me sane with all the nursing.

Ramsey Russell: Wind is kicking up. What was your number one species to get down here?

Gabby Lidol: Oh, you know it, Ramsey. Every time we were on the phone, it was always the cinnamon teal. Poor Oscar, my guide. Oh, my gosh.

Ramsey Russell: He’s used to it. It’s the number one most requested species on earth. People ask me about is, where can I get good cinnamon teal? And I got down here, we had that wonderful blue bill hunt, and Christian told me when we got back to hotel, he said, tomorrow I’m going to break everybody into smaller teams, 4, 3. Because right now, there’s a lot of these freshwater ponds, and the ducks are real discombobulated. He’ll go and look, and it’ll be full of ducks, and the next day, there’s none. They’re just moving around and shifting. They’re ready to fly north, and so they’re moving around and kind of making their job hard. I said, oh, that’d be great. We’ll have a good time. And by day 3, it was day 3, they put us in one kind of a large – but one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen could have a lot of submerged aquatics surrounded by trees. You can see the mountains in the background. And it was really right a few miles from where we shot bluebill across that big estuary. And Greg and I, we were just kind of done. And we could hear Frank and Robert on the back behind us, laughing, cutting up, having a good time, chipping away. And when our last duck hit the water, he said, hey, I’m going to bring the others over here. And here comes a suburban. And your family got out like you all were at a Super bowl party. You all were laughing and cutting up like you all had just limited on ducks. But you all had a slow morning, you all hit one in ponds, and the ducks had moved, and they brought you to us. And I’m going to say it was 09:00 in the morning when you all came in and you and John got into the blind that we had been shooting, and we sat 10 yards behind you in a shade tree and watched. What happened? Tell me about. Probably an hour into it. And then what happened?

Gabby Lidol: Well, we saw the pintail. I think the pintail came in first, didn’t it?

Ramsey Russell: John got the pintail right off the bat. Oh, you got it.

Gabby Lidol: My husband is incredibly generous and kind, and he let me shoot my first ever pintail drake.

Ramsey Russell: Well, that was a hell of a pintail for a first one. About as good as they get.

Gabby Lidol: He’s letting me take it back, too, which is even better. He already has one mounted. It’s a beautiful pintail, too, but I wanted one standing, a standing mount of it, and he’s letting me do it. I love those pintails.

The Shoveler: National Waterfowl of Mexico

Talk about honeymoon souvenir.

Ramsey Russell: It’s like when we pulled up to that pond, Frank walked down to the water with his binoculars and he saw 5 cinnamon teal, and Greg kill one right off the bat. And we didn’t see any more. And a little bit later goes by, it’s like the minute we get done, there’s still shovelers coming in, that’s the national waterfowl of Mexico as far as I’m concerned, because they’re everywhere. But then the blue wing started coming back, the pintails started coming back, and I don’t know, we were all sitting on the shade tree like a peanut gallery, and a pair come in hot and heavy, and we all yelled, cinnamon teal.

Gabby Lidol: We didn’t even see them until they passed. I have perfect shot camera. So because of my bruised shoulder and because of my excitement, I watched the shot cam footage. I hit right over it like it was probably 35 yards in front of me. By the time you were all yelling. And I can just see it. I’m like, oh, that’s painful. But they got way out, and we both made Hail Mary shots because the shot cam shows that at least one of my shots hit one of them.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

Gabby Lidol: And then John winged out the other, and they were able to retrieve them. But Oscar and the other young guy were cruel. Oscar came up and told me that it was a blue wing teal.

Ramsey Russell: Oh, my God.

Gabby Lidol: And I believed them. You corrected them, though.

Ramsey Russell: I knew what they were doing. I would say those birds were 45 yards when you all dumped them. And immediately Oscar and his son were in the water heading to – they went across the pond. And the great thing about them being longer and coming down is you knew they weren’t going to be tore up and they both had, like, died of magic BBs or winged down. And they come out with him. I saw him coming up with it. And he told you it was a blue wing?

Gabby Lidol: Yes.

Ramsey Russell: Oh, my gosh. And what really got me was when his 12 or 13 year old son come up and told you it was a shoveler and you fell for it.

Gabby Lidol: I totally fell for it. John was like, I just couldn’t believe it. I mean, so back when you had your question and answering session, I couldn’t attend to it because I was working. So I made sure my parents and John’s parents were listening. And my mom wrote on the notes, rare for cinnamon. And I was like, of course, it’s an El Nino year. What a freaking year for me to pick the bird that I want the most right now because it’s unattainable to me. Until you come down here.

Ramsey Russell: Mexico is the place to come. Western Mexico is the place to come from cinnamon teal. But we were talking about this in the truck yesterday with the biologists and everybody else, they’re never an abundant species like blue wings and shovelers and green wings and everything else. You see them in singles and pairs and small family cohorts. But we saw 5 in the morning and Greg kill one, you all killed a pair. And the one video I’ll regret because my phone just wasn’t going at the time I filmed you all, was when those birds went down, it reminded me of a 1975 price is right when somebody got called to the front. You started break dancing and vibrating. I have never seen anybody as happy and excited in my life when they came down.

Gabby Lidol: Oh, yes, I know. I jumped very high, and I slammed my feet on the blind that I was on, I thought I broke it. I was like, oh, boy, calm down, Gabby, you’re making a scene. But I was near tears. I get intense. What can I say? I love hunting. I love birds. I don’t know, having that as a taxidermy piece in my house. Like, I knew I would remember this trip forever.

Ramsey Russell: Talk about honeymoon souvenir.

Gabby Lidol: Yeah, exactly. I mean, you just get all of them.

Ramsey Russell: You and your husband John were in one blind, and 20 yards down a bank maybe your dad and brother in law were in the other.

Gabby Lidol: Yes.

Ramsey Russell: And so the hits just kept on coming because we weren’t done yet. You all shot a few more shovelers, a few blue wings, a few whatever. And then what happened?

Gabby Lidol: Well, then another one comes in, of course. And John, once again, in another incredible shot. And it came out, and, like, he winged it, and it came and landed right in front of my dad. And he finished the job.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

Gabby Lidol: So I love to know that we were all a part of getting those cinnamon teal. That’s just what I see it. I probably am too sentimental with these things, but that’s just my connection. That’s how I see life.

Ramsey Russell: Well, I mean, you showed up with your husband, and then his mom and dad came, your mom and dad came, the brothers and sister in laws came, it was a big family event. 4 of you all hunted the rest of us hung out, went to the beach. Because you all are very tight knit family.

Gabby Lidol: Yes, we are.

Ramsey Russell: And to be able to share. And then I got in on the last cinnamon. I’m way back, I’m eating tacos because I’m hungry, and I see a bird, stratospheric bird, get shot down. And it is the 5th cinnamon teal drake that we saw that morning. So you all came out with 4 of them.

Gabby Lidol: We sure did. That was incredible. I never thought, Like I said, I just knew that I would have – I made the lottery just getting one and to have 4 of them, like I said, just seems like once in a lifetime, especially with how uncommon they seem to be here, at least this year, from what you were hearing and seeing.

Ramsey Russell: Everybody, so far, everybody has gotten one. But, like, it’s taken going to jump shooting a few of them, or these guys, they understand the importance of little red birds to gringos. They really get it. And they’re always looking. Like, today, while we were hunting this morning, Christian left, and he found a pond that had 5 of them on it. And he knows that somebody’s going to show up tomorrow, now, the end of the season, and want some cinnamons.

Gabby Lidol: Absolutely.

Ramsey Russell: And he’s always looking for them. What would you tell anybody listening – I’m going to change the subject completely. I just want to ask you this. How safe did you feel here down here in Mazatlán?

Gabby Lidol: I never felt unsafe, honestly. And we walked to the boardwalk –

Ramsey Russell: Did you feel as safe as home in South Dakota?

Gabby Lidol: I did.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

Gabby Lidol: We didn’t wander off in the evening, but, I mean, I’m not much of a night walker anyway. But while coming back from dinner, we felt very safe, and there was even a little traffic jam, and we figured, well, everybody’s – they managed to work together to get out so we could all leave, and the traffic would be flowing again.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

Gabby Lidol: So I was very impressed with that. After, like I said, after dinner, we figured, well, in the states, no one would be able to back up in these little roads and get out of this situation. You’d be stuck there for hours. And like I said, it was really cool to see, and I admire that a lot that they were able to do that.

Ramsey Russell: That morning you got to go back out with your family and end on a great note. I know it was early. I’m saying it was 08:45, and Christian came back, told me, said you all were 10 away from a 4 man limit.

Gabby Lidol: Yeah.

Ramsey Russell: It must have been a quick pace hunt this morning.

Gabby Lidol: It was pretty darn quick. I mean, what came in was like, you’d have these large groups – it was just the perfect, consistent pace. You’d never see that in the – we would have limited out in a one man limit what, in after half an hour, probably. We got there really early, though. You can tell that the ducks, they will be a lot more active once the sun is up. I mean, I had my jacket on because we were there so early. The sun wasn’t even out. We left pretty darn early.

Ramsey Russell: It’s kind of weird getting out there so late, isn’t it?

Gabby Lidol: Yes, it is. I never expected that.

Ramsey Russell: The hotter it gets, the harder they fly.

Gabby Lidol: Yeah. We could tell that, like, as soon, like you said, the hotter it gets, the more come in. And it seems like the teal especially seemed to start coming in on some of those other ponds.

Ramsey Russell: Well, I wish you all the very best of luck in the remainder of your marriage. I mean, I think you all are off to one heck of a start coming to starting off a marriage with a hunt like this and a vacation like this, I think it says a lot about who you all are as people and what a great life you all got to look forward to.

Gabby Lidol: I’m so excited. I know, we’re just getting started, so thank you very much, Ramsay.

Ramsey Russell: Thank you, Gabby. John Lidol down here on your honeymoon turned hunting moon. You don’t have any regrets getting Gabby into hunting, do you? She’s a lot more intense than you are about it.

John Lidol: I don’t get days off anymore. I mean, I never thought I’d find somebody that likes to hunt as much as I do because I want to be going every day. I’d love it if I didn’t have a job and was able to hunt every single day. And I love that I work 12 hour shifts and I can hunt more often because I only work 3 days a week.

Ramsey Russell: When you all started hunting together, I’m asking because I heard a story at dinner the other night. When you all were buddies, you all were just friends, and you all started hunting together as friends. And then as you all’s career progressed, you all realized, hey, maybe we’re more than friends. Is that kind of how that worked out? Is that the fair assessment of what I heard the other night?

John Lidol: Pretty fair, yeah. I mean, we actually started out getting to know each other in school more. I mean, we’d known each other for a long time, but not well.

Ramsey Russell: Right.

John Lidol: And then got to know each other through school, got to be closer and closer. And then we decided we wanted to live together still as friends. And we were living together and working together, and we were constantly going hunting and fishing together.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

John Lidol: And then all of a sudden, we were just kind of like, Gabby was looking at continuing education and maybe moving away, and I was like, I don’t want to stop living with you.

Ramsey Russell: Right.

John Lidol: I don’t want to be away from you.

Ramsey Russell: She’s a good duck hunt, roommate.

John Lidol: Exactly. And then we were just like, what have we been doing for the last couple years? Like, we want to be married, we want to be together all the time. We don’t want to spend any time apart.

Ramsey Russell: That’s awesome. But now she had already booked and planned this Mazatlán trip before you all got married.

John Lidol: Yeah.

Ramsey Russell: So was that just a natural? Did it just kind of like, yeah, that’ll make a great honeymoon, they call it honeymoon duck hunt, anyway. How that came about?

John Lidol: It was pretty much how it ended up happening. We had started dating, and then we were just like, we’ve already lived together for a long time, we know we like being together.

Ramsey Russell: Do you all like hunting together?

John Lidol: We like hunting together.

Ramsey Russell: Who’s a better shot?

John Lidol: Well, I got to say, I am still. But she has gotten a lot better. She has gotten incredible improvement in the last year and a half.

Ramsey Russell: I Got to say this because somebody said it yesterday while we were on the bank behind you all those cinnamon teal failed. Did she have that much fun on you on your marriage night than shooting those cinnamons?

John Lidol: That’s a tough one there. I want to say yes, but I don’t know.

Making Mazatlán Memories

Ramsey Russell: What was your favorite part of coming down here to Mazatlán in terms of the hunt? What are some of your takeaway memories here in Mazatlán?

John Lidol: Me and my dad and my brother had recently gone to Argentina and had an amazing hunt down there, and kind of comparing that kind of a hunt to coming here to Mexico, easier travel, nicer to come here, and being able to bring trophies home and the weather’s is so nice.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

John Lidol: And just the ability to still have great duck flight, be warm. I mean, you’re sitting there in a long sleeve and light pants, maybe even shorts if you really wanted to. But it’s just amazing to be able to be here. You have amazing flight, you’ve got a lot of birds, and you’ve got the ability to get after the cinnamon teal that you can’t get elsewhere.

Ramsey Russell: You all shoot a lot of ducks there in South Dakota. I mean, I could tell, talking to your whole family, you all are avid duck hunters, long time duck hunters. What are birds colored up like this, this time of year?

John Lidol: Oh, man, it is incredible. I mean, we’re used to shooting a lot of spoon bills.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

John Lidol: And a lot of blue winged teal right away when our season first opens and they have no color to them, they’ve got nothing to them. They don’t look anything like they do down here. It is incredible to see them in full plumage. And it is incredible. I mean, when we shoot spoonbills or blue wing teal back home, you think they’re all hens because there is no male plumage.

Ramsey Russell: No.

John Lidol: When we get them down here, it is incredible. The difference.

Ramsey Russell: You can pick the drakes out.

John Lidol: I can see them.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

John Lidol: You just know they’re coming.

Ramsey Russell: What about the hunting program? How early do you all have to get up in South Dakota on your usual hunt?

John Lidol: Ooh. I mean, it changes as the year goes on because our season opens in September and it doesn’t end until the first week of December, so it really changes over that course. But I mean, when we’re going for opening weekend, a lot of times we’re getting up at 04:00 AM, getting out and going out there, and you’re getting in waders and you’re chest deep in waders, throwing decoys out, and it’s so much different here.

Ramsey Russell: We were meeting downstairs at 05:30, so I was getting up about 05:15, pulling on my clothes and my boots, walking, go get a cup of coffee, drinking my cup of coffee on the way to the blind. The sun was up and gone by the time we got there. And like Gabby pointed out, the ducks weren’t even really flying yet.

John Lidol: Yeah, not at all. And back home this last year, I think we got up at like, 03:30 in the morning and got on the road by four and just hard work the whole way. I mean, we have great hunts back home, don’t get me wrong, South Dakota is a great hunting state, but nothing like, getting out here and you walk into the blind at 08:00 AM or maybe 07:00AM.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

John Lidol: You know, if it was a longer drive to get there. And you get in there and the ducks aren’t even flying well yet, whereas, back home, most of the flight might be done.

Ramsey Russell: What was your favorite hunt?

John Lidol: Definitely day 3.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah. The cinnamon teal?

Blue-Winged Teal: A Rare Trophy for the Trip

I loved shooting all the mature shovelers, but the variety we got day three getting the cinnamon teal, the blue winged teal, the green wing, a great gadwall, we got pintail.

John Lidol: When we were there, Gabby’s reaction being there with her. I mean, I loved shooting all the mature shovelers, but the variety we got day three getting the cinnamon teal, the blue winged teal, the green wing, a great gadwall, we got pintail. I mean, it was a great day to be able to get all that variety and mature pintails, mature cinnamon teal, mature blue winged teal that we never get back home.

Ramsey Russell: Are you a species collector like Gabby?

John Lidol: Not the extent that my wife is.

Ramsey Russell: More of an experienced collector, have a good time. I’m asking those questions because I’m curious how many birds you all are going home with to get mounted.

John Lidol: Oh, I think we’ve got –

Ramsey Russell: How many are yours and how many are Gabby’s?

John Lidol: They’re all Gabby’s. Let’s be honest here. I think we’re taking some 7 birds home with us.

Ramsey Russell: That’s going to be a heck of a nice. That’s going to be a heck of a nice memento for a heck of a trip.

John Lidol: Oh, yeah.

Ramsey Russell: I think everybody listening would agree to me, that is a heck of a way to kick off a young marriage. I think it is. I cannot think of a better way to start a marriage.

John Lidol: We’ve had a great time.

Ramsey Russell: 2 best duck hunting buddies that got married. What a great send off this is.

John Lidol: Oh, yeah. I mean, I got her into hunting when we first started going to school together, and getting her out in the duck blind, getting her going on it, she was a little hesitant with it at first, and then she started to realize, like, how fun it was, and then she got to be a better and better shot, and, oh, man, all of a sudden, it just flipped a switch in her head and she was hooked.

Ramsey Russell: She’s full steam ahead, I’ve noticed.

John Lidol: Oh, yeah.

Ramsey Russell: Is she that way about everything?

John Lidol: Yes. Once she gets on a topic that she really enjoys, there is no stopping her.

Ramsey Russell: There’s no other way to live life than full measure.

John Lidol: Oh, that is one of the things that drew me to knowing that I was marrying the right person was her passion for things.

Ramsey Russell: John, I’ve enjoyed hunt with you all. I’ve enjoyed getting a to know you and visiting with you. Thank you so much for entrusting us with this hunt, because that’s a very important hunt in you all’s life, and I’ve greatly enjoyed getting to know you all.

John Lidol: Thank you, Ramsey.

Ramsey Russell: Jeff Lidol from South Dakota, down here with the entire family. And I can’t tell if you had fun or not.

Jeff Lidol: I had so much fun. I’m just walking around with a smile on my face all the time because it’s so much fun having my family here and watching my boys, my daughter in law, my future daughter in law, just having fun. It makes my wife and I so happy to see our kids happy.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

Jeff Lidol: And doing the things that we love together, that’s what’s important. And I just can’t speak enough, highly enough, of how much fun we’ve had and how good it’s been. Just a very –

Ramsey Russell: The whole family’s had fun. Not just the hunters.

Jeff Lidol: The whole family has had a tremendous time. The weather’s perfect, the entertainment’s great, the food is excellent. We want to come back.

Ramsey Russell: Well, come on.

Jeff Lidol: Yeah.

The Legitimate Tradition of Pass Shooting

But we grew up as pass hunters and diver hunters, bluebills, redheads and canvasback. So for me, it was heaven.

Ramsey Russell: Well, I wanted to ask you about this question. You told me a great story the other day about, and it was interesting because some people saw that blue bill hunt on my Instagram stories and for lack of a better word, offended that we were pass shooting. And it’s like I explained to him, I said, have pass shot all over the world, it’s a legitimate tradition. But you told me about growing up, how much it reminded you of growing up in South Dakota.

Jeff Lidol: We were pass shooters in northeast South Dakota when I grew up, we didn’t have decoys, we didn’t have enough money for decoys, and so that happened later. But we grew up as pass hunters and diver hunters, bluebills, redheads and canvasback. So for me, it was heaven.

Ramsey Russell: Just like your child.

Jeff Lidol: It was just taking a step back in time. I sat there and I saw these flocks of bluebills coming over me, and I just was giggling because it was. You saw me giggle? Yeah, I was laughing and giggling with my boy because I raised my kids this way. They’re diver hunters and we just love it. I think about divers and when I’m not hunting them, I’m thinking about them.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah, I can understand. I think the real serious diver hunters all have that affinity.

Jeff Lidol: It’s a love that you can’t. It’s hard to explain.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah. And but you told me that some of the famous passes of South Dakota were now, habitat.

Jeff Lidol: Well, what happened was the passes that I was a kid, we had high water levels in the 90s, particularly the winter of 1997. And what happened was that these passes got, they were between two lakes and then the water came up so much that it ended up flooding them. For example, Hetkes pass near my present home up by Waubay, South Dakota, where I live, probably 5 miles from Hetkes Pass right now. And as a kid, that was a famous pass that was depicted with a lot of waterfall artists. And that pass is now under about 12ft to 15ft of water. I troll over it when I go fishing.

Ramsey Russell: Really?

Jeff Lidol: Yes. But back, even as late as 1984, 1985, 1986. I can remember going over to Hetkes Pass and just shooting bluebills and canvas back and redheads. Awesome. Just awesome. And then, like I said, those things have changed a little bit in our part of the world up there, where some of the deep lakes, some of the water has gotten deep, and consequently, it’s great for fishing but not for hunting. And then some of the – it’s created some opportunities also, though, in flooding some areas where they’ll become shallow and good duck habitat.

Best Waterfowl to Hunt in Mexico

…the bluebill hunt was by far my favorite.

Ramsey Russell: I know you had a good time. You grabbed me right when I got back this morning said, you want to come back down here? What was your favorite? I guess the blue bill hunt would be your favorite.

Jeff Lidol: Absolutely my favorite. I wasn’t there to watch Gabby and Jonathan and my son Jacob shoot the cinnamon teal, which I would have loved to have been, but anyway, no, the bluebill hunt was by far my favorite.

Ramsey Russell: I told Jacob, I said, you brought the look.

Jeff Lidol: Oh, yeah.

Ramsey Russell: The morning he shows up, that’s when all the magic starts happening.

Jeff Lidol: Yeah.

Ramsey Russell: He brought the luck to the blind.

Jeff Lidol: That bluebill hunt was a walking back, a trip back in time for me. It just made me smile, and it made me realize that the roots that I’ve had in hunting and then the way I’ve raised my kids, it works. It just worked out quite well.

Ramsey Russell: Talking about the roots in hunting, what are some of the similarities and differences of South Dakota versus Mazatlán?

Jeff Lidol: That’s a good question. There’s a lot of similarities. I mean, it’s rural, very rural. You’ve got a lot of people that are involved in farming, and then you’ve got a lot of these ponds or lagoons, which are no different than a lot of our sloughs.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

Jeff Lidol: Maybe minus some of the cattails.

Ramsey Russell: Right. Isn’t that crazy that the drive out, we feel kind of like we’re in a desert?

The Joys of Hunting in Mexico’s Warm Climate

And so you look at the vegetation’s totally different, and the weather’s nice here

Jeff Lidol: Well, it is. And so you look at the vegetation’s totally different, and the weather’s nice here. I mean, whereas in South Dakota, a lot of times, and I like it cold, and when this wind is blowing and it’s spitting snow, that’s my favorite hunting day back in South Dakota. But here, if you can shoot ducks in this kind of weather and you just can’t beat it, especially in the winter time. It’s just a wonderful way to get away from things.

Ramsey Russell: Speaking of the weather in South Dakota, I went up there one fall around, like, the second week of what would have been the pheasant opener and me and a college buddy, drove up to go duck hunting in the morning and pheasant hunting in the afternoon, and he found a public campground on lake Andes. It was $5 a night. And we drove up and the whole place was empty. I’m like, well, golly, I wonder why. Boy, let me tell you what, I woke up the next morning with my teeth chattering. We skipped the whole first morning to go buy warm sleeping bags and heaters and everything else, we about froze ourselves to death. And it was early fall yet.

Jeff Lidol: Yeah. And like I said, the pheasant opener is always the third Saturday in October. And it’s always a great combination hunt where you can hunt waterfowl in the morning and then pheasants in the afternoon, or you can do what I call the trifecta. Ducks, geese, pheasants, and walleye.

Ramsey Russell: That’s right.

Jeff Lidol: And Lake Andes has been famous for years now. It’s not so famous since the 70s, early 70s when I was in college, and Lake Andes was one of the premier duck hunting spots in the world. Well because I was there.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah.

Jeff Lidol: And the Corps of Engineers shut down the water. There’s wells out in the middle of the lake, and that well would keep the water open. So at times you’d have, in the mid-70s, you’d have a drought and you’d have a dryness problem. But then when you had water, they would hold up to I think the peak was at one time 1.6 million ducks on lake Andes. Lake Andes was phenomenal. And phenomenal bass fishing lake.

Ramsey Russell: Crazy.

Jeff Lidol: Yeah. I mean, I went over there and fished, perch, bass. It was awesome.

Ramsey Russell: You know, there’s a lot of great restaurants in Mazatlán. I tell everybody, we’ve got some of our favorites. I’ve never eaten a bad one, some are better than others. But you all found a great restaurant I’d never heard of last night. Where did you all go and what did you all eat, it was so good.

Jeff Lidol: We found a restaurant north of the resort called Roy’s, and it’s on the water, and their specialties are seafood and ribs, and it’s absolutely the best meal we’ve had in my life.

Ramsey Russell: You got the ribs?

Jeff Lidol: I got the ribs, yeah. And then some of the other folks had seafood and whatnot, and everybody raved about the meal.

Ramsey Russell: What about the safety? Because Mexico is dangerous if you read the Internet. But you brought your entire family down here, Jeff.

Jeff Lidol: I’ve never felt unsafe, not once.

Ramsey Russell: Is it as safe as Waterston, South Dakota?

Jeff Lidol: Probably.

Ramsey Russell: It feels like.

Jeff Lidol: I’ve never felt threatened. I’ve never felt insecure. You look down at Mazatlán at night when you’re driving back and you see people walking everywhere. I just think that, to me, I’ve always felt safe.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah. I sure enjoyed hunting with you all. I enjoyed getting to know you all. What would you tell anybody listening about coming down here to Mazatlán?

Jeff Lidol: Don’t hesitate.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah. And you’re coming back.

Jeff Lidol: Absolutely.

Ramsey Russell: Thank you, Jeff.

Jeff Lidol: You bet you, Ramsay.

Ramsey Russell: Thank you all for listening to this episode of Mojo’s Duck Season Somewhere podcast from Mazatlán, Mexico. For more information, go to getducks.com. check out the honeymoon duck hunt for yourself. It might be a vacation that not only you enjoy, but your spouse does too. See you next time.