MOJO’S Duck Season Somewhere Podcast
EP 478. Favored Gauges, Shot Sizes and Chokes for Waterfowl: BOSS Shotshells Updates
Fellow Mississippian, Aaron Carter of Boss Shot shells, and I take it to the plug discussing Arkansas speckled bellied goose hunting, our favorite waterfowl loads and how “compensation science” still influences waterfowl shot shell preferences decades after non-toxic ammo was mandated for waterfowl hunting. Running through our own favored tried-and-true gauges, shot sizes and chokes for ducks and geese, we then cycle fluidly through need-to-know BOSS Shot shells happenings to include why buffered Warchief payloads deliver superior patterns downrange, why new steel shot rounds are hitting the market, and how cutting-edge biodegradable wads are better for producing tighter patterns and a cleaner hunting environment. Whether a long-time Boss Shot shell customer or shopping alternatives to high-recoil compensation science, this epsiode’ll have your trigger finger itching.
EP 477. Duck Season by the Numbers: Estimating North America Duck Populations and Harvests
Whether good years or bad, North American duck hunters probably harvest more ducks annually than the remainder of the world combined. There, I said it. Prove me wrong. This amazing feat is accomplished using science-based management that emphasizes maximum sustained yield and is the world’s envy. A duck hunter since childhood, Brad Bortner is former USFWS Chief of Migratory Birds. While his job description encompassed far more than just waterfowl, he guides us through the murky, too oftentimes misunderstood swamp of managing North America duck populations and harvests, shining a q-beam on need-to-know, by-the-numbers topics. What goes into setting duck seasons and bag limits? What’s adaptive harvest management (AHM) and how does it compare to models used elsewhere worldwide? How accurate are these estimates? Why aren’t waterfowl surveys like counting piggy bank coins? What about the 2-year time lag between population surveys, harvest estimates and season settings–why does this time lag exist, should we be concerned? What is HIP (Harvest Information Program), what’s its relevance, how’s it used, and how can each citizen-scientist duck hunter improve harvest estimate accuracy–and why should we care? Listen. The duck hunting world is buzzing around these topics right now. Be well informed.
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“You get what you put in, and people get what they deserve.” – Kid Rock
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EP 476. California Leads Nation’s Duck Harvest Thanks to CWA
While America’s most populated state is often times characterized by its big blue-city progressive politics, California consistently harvests more ducks than any other state. It’s not by accident. Far from it. Founded in 1945, California Waterfowl Association has exerted David-versus-Goliath efforts to improve habitat and wetlands, increase waterfowl production, hunter access and recruitment despite the Golden State’s notorious political climate. John Carlson, Mark Hennely, Jake Messerli and I wade through a boundless marsh of hard-earned accomplishments—producing 1-million wood ducks, salvaging eggs, banding ducks, ensuring Klamath Basin’s permanent water rights, providing Veteran Hunt Program, conserving wetlands to reduce a carbon footprint, establishing CWA Hunt Program, embracing new field-to-fork mindsets, replacing kids screen time with nature, tackling ongoing challenges. Could this grassroots conservation model improve duck hunting in your home state? How might death-by-a-thousand-cuts, modern-day duck hunting improve if embraced nationwide? Listen and let us know your thoughts.
Related Links:
California Waterfowl Association https://calwaterfowl.org
Save It For The Blind Podcast https://calwaterfowl.org/save-it-for-the-blind-podcast
EP 475. Talking Ducks with Devney
Sifting through random solving-duck-world topics like we duck hunters do is a lot like poking glowing embers around late-night campfires. Hardly anyone better to do that with, either, than Delta Waterfowl’s John Devney. He packs facts, common-sense and, optimism to the party, sharing them like cold pearly pops and brats (or smores for the youngsters). Prairie conditions, nesting ground updates, voluntary restraint, dryfield hunting then versus nowadays, duck harvests in Canada compared to the United States, and duck hunter numbers–changes since 1999 are mind-blowing–and more are discussed in-depth. Small chance these topics won’t make their way into your next world problem-solving campfire talks.
EP 474. Ducking Roadtrips and Red Ruddy Ducks
Heath Hoogerhyde hails from Michigan, but his quests for waterfowl hunting experiences take him far beyond his home state’s mitten-shaped borders. Through mostly self hunts, personal contacts and swap hunts, he’s amassed an enviably impressive collection of waterfowl species and experiences at a relatively young age. He describes how he got into duck hunting, how and why he began chasing waterfowl species experiences, quality versus quantity, favorite species and once-in-a-lifetime type trophies for most of us that now adorn his hunting room, the advantages and disadvantages of do-it-yourself hunting around the US. Almost entitled this episode “better luck
Related Links:
North American Waterfowl List https://www.getducks.com/north-american-waterfowl-species/
World Waterfowl List https://www.getducks.com/waterfowl-of-the-world/
EP 473. Bayou Beast Living
After enjoying plates of steaming-hot boudin and digging through fresh batches of made-from-hand cane duck and Oiu Caille (spotted goose) calls, long-time friend Dale Bordelon and I move to his front shop to catch up. He walks the walk of bygone South Louisiana times, his entire approach to duck hunting–and life–is that of his ancestors. We talk about food, new calls, and a growing collection of old pump-action killing sticks, him sharing sure-fire strategies for tricking wary, late-season gray ducks and leaving the swamp happy regardless. We also talk about the very last made-by-hand cypress dugout ever made in Louisiana and why it symbolizes a passing of the torch.
EP 472. Are We Killing Too Many Ducks? Better Understanding Duck Population Management
Regarded by many as the absolute go-to guy when it comes to empirically describing North America’s duck populations, Dr. Todd Arnold is at University of Minnesota, where his research emphasis includes developing waterfowl population models to guide management activities and predict future populations. “Are we killing too many ducks?” I asked repeatedly throughout our conversation. His thoughtful, plainly worded answers provide greater understanding of Adaptive Harvest Management—its inputs, assumptions, strengths, weaknesses—leading us to in-depth discussions about our beloved mallards and pintails, and whether science-based, hunting-related harvest affects sustainable duck populations.
EP 471. Alabama Rock Hunter
“Northern Alabama is the largest Easter egg hunt in the world,” says Shade Murrah in explaining why serious rock hounds are already leaving muddy tracks crack-of-dawn early when conditions are right. A long-time duck hunter from northern Alabama, Shade describes how the 2 hobbies go hand in hand and takes us on a fascinating, highly detailed dig into collecting indian arrowheads and other artifacts dating back to forever ago.
EP 470. Talking Arkansas Mallards with Dr. Doug Osborne
Dr. Doug Osborne from University of Arkansas Monticello peels off from his research lab to catch us up on duck banding projects and what’s being learned about Arkansas mallards. While most duck hunters cherish leg bands on their lanyards, they provide a wealth of invaluable information for monitoring and research. We get into when mallards arrive and depart from Arkansas, seasonal movements, how Arkansas mallards are genetically exceptional relative to the Mississippi Flyway population, possible reasons increasingly fewer hen mallards are being recovered than were banded, and much more.
EP 469. Beyond the Trigger Pulls in Nayarit Mexico
Wrapping up an epic 3-week stretch hunting ducks and doves in Nayarit, Mexico, Ramsey breaks from shooting white-winged doves to visit with his host, Pocho. Covering a lot of topics to include growing up, living and working in this part of Mexico, favorite eats, hunting areas, duck species, staff, and regional history goes directly to the heart of this authentic Mexico duck hunting destination–beyond the many trigger pulls.
More Info:
Mexico Duck Hunting Nayarit
https://www.getducks.com/photo-galleries/nayarit-mexico-duck-hunting-and-dove-hunting-combo/
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