MOJO’S Duck Season Somewhere Podcast
EP 515. Texas Duck Hunting Desert Paradise with Speck Ops
West of San Antonio, where the Chihuahua Desert and Brush County collide it’s dry. Real dry. But there exist one of the most unique and best-kept secrets in North America waterfowl hunting. Renowned since forever for world-class muy grande white-tails on vast private ranches, the region also harbors ducks, speckle bellies and sandhill cranes that’ve long been disregarded by locals and remain relatively unpressured. Enter Speck Ops Waterfowl. Luke Bledsoe and wife, Jillian, describe moving to the area, amassing and covering a hunting area best described as a 500-mile triangle, hunting practically every Central Flyway duck species–to include some real prizes–delivering lodging experiences unlike anywhere else, and their long-term vision. Sounds so good that we make plans to maybe do a couples trip there next year!
Related Link:
Texas Waterfowl Hunt Desert Paradise
EP 514. Powder Morning Hunting the North Platte River Nebraska
Hunting western Nebraska is all about the right stuff–the right properties, the right locations, the right people. There’s mallards and geese galore, for sure, but this corner of the Wild West is also crawling with huge mule deer and white-tailed bucks, pronghorn, Merriam’s turkeys, and elk. Born and raised nearby, Powder Morning Hunting Company’s Coy Fisher describes growing up there; what Sydney, Nebraska was like before, during and since Cabela’s; how carbon sequestration is a billion dollar industry out there; putting together and covering over 400,000 acres to include many miles of fabled North Platte River and warm water sloughs; unique waterfowl habitat projects; and delivering great customer experiences. Am headed out there myself early-January 2025 and can’t wait.
Related Links:
Nebraska Waterfowl Hunts with Powder Morning Hunting Company
EP 513. Duck Camp Dinner Experiences Now Served
Getting a feel for who people really are is as simple as putting your feet under the right table. Or in the instance of Chef Jean-Paul Bourgeois, just talking food. Proud of his Louisiana duck hunting heritage, Chef Jean-Paul Bourgeois shares Sportsman’s Paradise unique culture via Duck Camp Dinners, that’s just completed its 3rd season. Gumbo variations around Louisiana is only the beginning and we’re soon running through an international buffet of topics to include the Chesapeake Bay, Vietnam, France; influences, ingredients, people, favorite recipes, and away-from-home experience collecting. Bon appetite.
EP 512. Benelli Shotgun Features and Performance
Having used Benelli shotguns since the mid-90s because of their utter reliability and superior performance, their continued innovations continue to amaze. Benelli’s Senior Product Manager, Brett Maffet, is a long-time waterfowl hunter and living his dream by working in the outdoor industry. We do a deep dive into Benelli shotguns past and present, cycling through need-to-know topics like various Benelli shotgun platforms, differences between Benelli shotgun models, sub-gauge popularity, new advanced impact system (A.I.) that significantly improves patterns and energy as shot moves downrange, recoil reduction, the 828U shotgun and its new steel receiver, availability of left-handed shotguns, and much more. Whether shopping for a new boom stick or just wanting to know more about state-of-the-art waterfowling shotguns, you’ll find this discussion extremely informative.
EP 511. Making Outdoor Dreams Reality
Grizzly bears, wild sheep, bison, elk, white-tailed bucks, waterfowl–we all have outdoor dreams. But South Carolina-based Outdoor Dream Foundation is making outdoor dreams reality for youths facing some of life’s toughest challenges. “It gives them light at the end of the tunnel, something to live for,” one of today’s guests says. Disappointed that similar foundations were not granting firearms- and hunting-related wishes, they decided to do something about it. ODF members Leroy Martin, Richard Cranes, and Skip Still share some favorite memories of past recipients, proving that the best way to help oneself is to help others. Whether you’re a parent or not, you’ll appreciate today’s heart-felt stories.
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EP 510. A South Africa Duck Hunting Safari Remembered
Following a 2-week, 3-province, 5-lodge, waterfowl-and-upland-gamebirds South Africa duck hunting safari that’ll be memorable for many reasons–it’s like we saw and did everything–the adventure is recapped with hunters Mark Hagar and Seth Arbogast. One collected lots of game room trophies, the other did not, because it’s mostly about experiences involving new lands, people, foods, all united around hunting ducks and geese. Whether considering such an adventure yourself or just wanting to hear what it’s like bird hunting in the half-way-across-the-world land of spiral horns and hippos, you’ll enjoy today’s visit among hunting friends in a foreign land.
Related Link:
South Africa Duck Hunting Combo
EP 509. All Florida and More
Fifth-generation Florida native Travis Thompson was born-and-raised Florida duck hunting. In the absence of mallards, their mainstays are blue-winged teal, Florida mottled ducks, whistling ducks, and–of course–ring-necked ducks, which are discussed in depth along with local hunting traditions, gators and cattle, where and how ducks are hunted. “But when you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu,” says Thompson, pivoting to the rapid loss of wintering habitat and hunting rights in Florida. Beyond Disney and Miami, an entirely other Florida exists. But for how much longer?
EP 508. Reviving the Craft of Wild Game Cooking
For Larry White, an interest in cooking began as simply as being around grandmother’s kitchen, and while he learned a lot of techniques in the military it wasn’t until afterwards that a passion for crafting wild game dishes emerged. His interesting takes on carpaccio, prosciutto, wild turkey, wild ham, fish and other favorite spins are discussed, but check out his The Wild Gourmet Blog for more.
Related links:
EP 507. The Maggie Williams, Arkansas Public Land Duck Hunter
Raised a 4th-generation northeast Arkansas public land duck hunter, Maggie Williams says the first girl her daddy ever even saw in the woods was the 10 year-old daughter he’d brought along himself. Treated just like one of the boys, the rest was history. A genuine duck hunter–that just happened to be a girl–was born on the spot. Maggie Williams describes growing up hunting Arkansas public dirt, how beauty pageants enabled her insatiable high school duck hunting appetite while teaching valuable life skills, and how the combined effects shaped her life. We get into nitty gritty topics, too, to include a growing hate culture among public land hunters, Arkansas public land hunting ettiquette, coping with public land crowds, the backlash of being a woman hunter, the need for role models, why representation matters, and how people from different walks of life bond through a shared love for duck hunting. And then we get into the whole turkey hunting thing!
EP 506. Coast-to-Coast Perspectives with Shawn Swearingen
Cutting his teeth in Oregon, Shawn Swearingen–that’s spelled like the guy in Deadwood series, he says–migrated to the outskirts of DC, where the hunting is in some ways different but in many ways similar. Besides a legislative career, he makes duck calls and, like a ravenous honker in a plowed corn field, roots out interesting then-and-now hunting and fishing stories as an outdoor writer.
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