Episode 13 - Chasing Mallards Through Timber: Rusty Creasey on Management, Migration, and Mentorship

Summary

Legends of the Wild, Episode 13: "Chasing Mallards Through Timber: Rusty Creasey on Management, Migration, and Mentorship"

Podcast: Legends of the Wild (Field & Stream)
Host: Sam Soholt
Guest: Rusty Creasey
Release Date: December 3, 2025
Duration: ~1hr 3min

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Episode Overview

In this episode, host Sam Soholt sits down with esteemed Arkansas duck manager and outdoorsman Rusty Creasey. The conversation journeys through Rusty’s upbringing in rural Arkansas, his career evolution in duck habitat management, his innovative techniques for sustaining duck populations, the changing nature of duck migration, and the crucial role of mentorship and ethics in the hunting community. Rusty’s storytelling is vibrant—mixing humor, wisdom, and deeply held convictions about conservation and tradition.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rusty's Origins in the Outdoors (02:24–09:32)

• Background: Grew up in rural Arkansas; outdoors was “all I knew”—spent time hunting, fishing, and foraging with family.
• Influence of Family: Father, uncle (manager of Coca Cola Woods for 40+ years), and older brother were key mentors.
• Life Lessons: Stories about first hunts as a child, the seriousness with which he approached even hunting sparrows, and gaining trust and responsibility.
  • Quote (Rusty, 05:01): “You got two choices: right, right; wrong, wrong. If you’ll always do right, you’ll be fine. I learned that at a young age.”
• Transitions: Left college for work in ag business, ultimately took over managing the legendary Coca Cola Woods after his uncle became sick.

2. Coca Cola Woods: A Case Study in Habitat Management (10:04–14:45)

• What is the Coca Cola Woods?: A storied, timber-rich hunting property in Arkansas, originally owned by the Coca Cola bottling company of Memphis.

  • Rusty describes instituting rest areas and food plots, learning from practices on nearby refuges.

• Habitat Improvements: Focus on not just hunting, but building rest and feeding zones to hold birds, manage pressure, and improve long-term hunting quality.

• Bittersweet Farewell: Rusty’s emotional departure due to limited creative freedom; wanted to expand his reach and share knowledge more broadly.

  • Quote (Rusty, 13:22): “When you meet kids… and they tell you what you said or done changed them, I’m like—now we’re really starting to make a difference. Now we’re using our platforms for something that counts.”

3. Current Work: New Lands and Applying Experience (14:50–18:15)

• Transition to Beecham Woods: Rusty now manages a new property (“Beecham Woods”), similar in character to Coke Woods, but with new challenges and opportunities.
• Testing His Ideas: Applying the same management tools—food plots, rest areas—proved they work in new settings.
  • Quote (Rusty, 17:37): “Anything you do… the worst thing that happens is you learn something when you try something new.”
• Club Model: Not an outfitter—private owner hosts friends, family, and business associates. Rusty guides but there’s no commercial hunting.

4. The Science & Art of Duck Management (19:45–25:07)

• Pressure & Quality: Managing hunting pressure, creating sanctuaries, and being mindful about how, where, and when you hunt extending productive seasons.
  • Quote (Rusty, 22:25): “I’m thinking way ahead—on day 60 I still want to be shooting ducks, still want to be holding ducks.”
• Quiet Guns—A Real Advantage: Advocates use of sub-gauges (20ga, 28ga, .410) in timber to reduce noise disturbance and hunting pressure.
  • Quote (Rusty, 24:07): “You can have a volley with a .410 and by the time you got your ducks picked up, you could be calling ducks again.”

5. Innovative Hunting: Bowhunting for Ducks (25:07–29:45)

• Bowhunting as a Management Tool: Rusty recounts hunting mallards with a bow—primarily to avoid making noise and educate birds, keeping the area ‘fresh’ for special guests.
  • Quote (Rusty, 26:51): “I have gone out before and shot four times with a bow, killed four drake mallards, and been back at the lodge by 7am.”
• Ethics of Shooting on the Water: Defends shot selection, emphasizing the skill of finishing birds and ethical hunting.

6. The Migration Discussion: “Short Stopping” & Habitat Pressures (29:45–41:59)

• Changing Patterns: Acknowledges southern hunters’ frustrations with more birds wintering farther north (“short stopping”) but stresses that ‘weather drives ducks.’
• Role of Private and Public Land: Explains how private lands holding birds with food & sanctuary benefit public hunters too, especially when water rises and birds redistribute.
  • Quote (Rusty, 35:14): “If it wasn’t for private landowners… I don’t think there’d be a lot for public land guys to chase.”
• Farming and Food Availability: Advances in agriculture mean less waste grain and less food/unharvested crops for ducks, making “every seed count” more than ever.
• Conservation Divide: Host Sam highlights that prairie breeding grounds are vanishing up north while southern habitat is changing to make ducks’ survival harder; efforts needed at both ends.

7. Imprinting and the Changing Landscape of Migration (39:12–42:00)

• Imprinting on New Wintering Grounds: Discusses how young ducks will only migrate as far south as their mother teaches them—after several mild winters, this could shift migration bands northwards permanently.

8. Living the Dream: The Allure & Ethics of Southern Timber Hunting (43:07–46:44)

• “Dream” Timber Hunts: Rusty reflects on the childhood dream for many—hunting southern flooded timber, the “duck capital of the world.”
• Non-local Hunters & Conservation Funding: Encourages embracing out-of-state hunters as vital to wildlife conservation funding through license revenue.
  • Quote (Sam, 44:51): “Out-of-staters spend a whole lot of money on licenses and all that goes right back into the coffer…”

9. Mentorship, Grace, and Social Media (48:12–51:52)

• Importance of Mentorship: Rusty emphasizes patience and encouragement for new (or out-of-state) hunters, noting many lack mentors and need accessible guidance.
  • Quote (Rusty, 49:00): “I can’t say it gets ignored—but it gets overlooked—that a lot of people are self-taught or learning from social media.”
• Using Platforms for Good: Talks about receiving messages from parents whose kids learned skills or ethics from his content. He argues social media can be a force for good if used right.
• Balance: Wrestles with the tension between reducing hunting pressure but also wanting more people to hunt for the future of the tradition.

10. Ethics Start at Home—Parenting & Hunting Values (52:55–58:59)

• Setting High Standards: Rusty shares his old-school values about manners and respect—insists these are foundational not just to hunting, but all of life.
  • Quote (Rusty, 54:28): “If you expect a kid to respect you and be 150 yards away… don’t expect them to have respect in the field if they don’t have it at home.”
• Raising the Next Generation: Advocates for hands-on, consistent parenting, and always leading by example.

11. Closing Thoughts—Self-Belief and Service (60:42–62:33)

• Perspective on “Making It”: Rusty pushes back on the idea of ever “arriving”—it’s about constant improvement and generosity.
  • Quote (Rusty, 61:06): “Making it—that’s an invisible place you never get to. You always strive to be better tomorrow than you were today.”
• Giving Back: Shares stories about how what you give to others often rebounds as a gift to yourself.
  • Quote (Rusty, 62:27): “You think you’re doing something for them, and you are. But at the end of it, you look back—man, they did something for me.”

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Family & Mentorship (05:01):
  • “If you’ll always do right, you’ll be fine. And I learned that at a young age and my parents trusted me and I was always safe with a gun.” —Rusty
• On Habitat Management (13:22):
  • “Now we’re really starting to make a difference—now we’re using our platform for something that counts.” —Rusty
• On Imprinting and Migration (39:32):
  • “After three years you’ve got however many that’s never made it as far as Arkansas or Louisiana... I never thought about it that way. That’s great.” —Rusty
• On Using Social Media Positively (49:00):
  • “We can make a difference with social media when it’s used [right]… teach life lessons and teach right from wrong.” —Rusty
• On “Making It” and Personal Growth (61:06):
  • “Making it—that’s an invisible place you never get to. You always strive to be better tomorrow than you were today.” —Rusty

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Start | Notable Topics | |-------------------------------------------------|----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Rusty’s upbringing and family influences | 02:24 | Growing up in Arkansas, early hunting/fishing stories, role models | | Introduction to Coca Cola Woods | 10:04 | Origin, management philosophy, innovations | | Leaving Coca Cola Woods | 12:31 | Emotions, mentorship calling, growing reach | | New property—Beecham Woods | 14:53 | Applying management at a new site, testing expertise | | Duck management strategy—pressure & guns | 19:45 | Managing pressure, using sub-gauge guns, ethics | | Bowhunting mallards as a management tool | 25:07 | Quiet hunting, innovative approaches | | Migration and “short-stopping” debate | 29:45 | Bird patterns, food shortages, private/public dynamic | | Imprinting and shifting migration | 39:12 | Climate, duck generational learning, changing routes | | Southern timber dream, non-resident hunters | 43:07 | Allure of Arkansas hunting, conservation funding | | Mentorship, outreach, and social media wisdom | 48:12 | Importance of example, using platforms, grace for new hunters | | Manners and universal respect in outdoors | 52:55 | Linking life skills and field ethics | | Making it, the journey, and giving back | 60:42 | Continuous improvement, humility, unexpected returns from serving others |

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Where to Find Rusty Creasey

• Website: rustycreasey.com
• Instagram: @rustycreasey
• YouTube: Rusty Creasey

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For Listeners

• Giveaway: Leave a review of the episode (details mentioned at 59:05) for a chance to win a Rusty Creasey signature duck call and some Field & Stream merch!
• Final thought (Rusty, 61:38):
  • “You can’t ever think you’ve made it, because if you think you have you probably end up going backwards… I never want to say that I made it. I just want to be better tomorrow than I was today.”

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This episode is a can’t-miss for waterfowl enthusiasts, public and private hunters alike, and anyone interested in the intersection of conservation, community, and the outdoors.

Transcript

[A]

This is Legends of the Wild, presented by Field and Stream. Let's get into it. All right, everybody. We are back with another episode Today. I'm joined by. This is gonna be a fun one. We're gonna talk ducks pretty much the whole time, but I'm joined by Rusty Creasy. And it's. For me, it's kind of like the tail end. I live up, way up north, so it's kind of the tail end of duck seasons. I mean, they're closing in, like, four or five days for most parts of the country. But I would imagine that where you're at, you're just kind of getting rolling into it. And I know right before we started recording, you said you've been on. Was it 13 days so far?

[B]

Yeah, I'm a glut, A glutton for punishment. I deer hunted a few days right before opener, and then. Or went to the gym, but either way, I was getting up early and then rolled right into the first 10 days of duck season. So this was the first morning I actually had a chance to sleep in. And again, I got up, went deer hunting and kind of ducks. Duck scouted at the same time. So, yeah, it's hard. You can't fix stupid.

[A]

No, it's. Well, I mean, especially when you get into the season, and I end up feeling like I'm a complete addict.

[B]

I.

[A]

It's like I. It's like a compulsion. I, like, cannot help it. Like, if I have a day off, whatever. I'm, you know, I'm still waking up, you know, three, four in the morning, going, man, I should probably, like, the wind switched. What? From what they were saying, I should have been in that tree this morning, or I should have been in that blind this morning.

[B]

That's right. That's right. My uncle used to. My uncle was a guy and manager for over 40 years. And he would always say. You'd ask him, say, harb, you going hunting tomorrow? You know, you don't have people or whatever. He's like, heck, no, I'm not going hunting. He said, that's like a postman going walking on his day off. But later that night, he would usually call and say, hey, y' all want to go in the morning?

[A]

Right? Yeah, that sounds right.

[B]

He like. He liked that. He liked that saying, though.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. So why don't you. I mean, I'm just as curious as everybody else listening to this, but why don't you just kind of. How did you. You know, I've read some articles that you've, you know, Been interviewed in, and I've watched a bunch of your video stuff, just trying to, like, get an idea of who you are in this space. But why don't you take us through, like, you coming up into all this stuff where you grew up. Why did this bug bite you so hard? And how'd you get into it?

[B]

You know, hunting fish in the outdoors. I mean, living in rural Arkansas, you know, out in the country, I mean, that's just, that was just, that was all I knew, you know, from a young age. My, I had. I got a big brother who's 15 years older than I am, and I had an uncle and a father who just was always outside doing something. And I mean, if it was daylight, you know, you were, you were outside and you may be shooting your pellet gun, you may be sitting by a pipe with a jig pole or a rod reel or whatever, but, you know, it was just. I mean, it. I never really knew any different, you know, which. I'm 47, so video games wasn't really a thing. And I mean, I guess we had Nintendo and you played that when it was raining, when it was dark, you know, but it's just. It was all I knew, you know, from a young age. And look, times are different now and kind of be careful terr. Telling the story, I mean, but, you know, back in the day, my grandmother had chicken coops and you take a pellet gun and those sparrows or black birds would get in there and try to get that chicken feed. You know, we was, we was tough on them black birds with a pellet gun. But I mean, but I, I took that hunt, I took that just as serious as I do duck hunting nowadays. I mean, and that coming up like that, it just kind of makes you who you are and shapes you. And again, you know, I've. I have been blessed with some amazing teachers along the way who, who give me their time and man, that's priceless, you know, that's something you cannot put a price on this time. And had so many people just invest in me and, you know, just. Again, man, that's all I knew and was actually a decent athlete in high school and all state basketball and. But it was always a struggle during duck season because, you know, the practice every evening and on the weekends and games and just didn't really get to duck hunt. So that was, that was really tough. Almost quit one time. Thankful I didn't, but. Because I've always said you can hunt all your life, you know, I tell these kids now that I'M like, you know, enjoy your high school years, enjoy sports, because when that's over, that's over. And you can, can still duck hunt when you get out of school. But I mean, if it was daylight, we was doing something outside and. And only reason we come in either it got dark and the mosquitoes got too bad out here. But grew up with a. Like I said, my uncle was a manager of the, the Coca Cola woods for 40 plus years. And I lived half a mile from it or a mile from it and I'd ride my bike down there and that was all I knew, you know, it was outdoors hunting, fishing. That's just. Yeah, that was it.

[A]

That was the lifestyle.

[B]

That was it. That was the lifestyle, you know. And I remember the very first rabbit I ever shot on my own. A K. Big old swamp rabbit. I remember I was in the third grade, had old 870, 20 gauge and rode my little four whitter back there. And this is what's wild. I'm talking about being in the third grade and going hunting by myself. And you think about that now. There's no way I'd have let my kids in the third grade go. You know, it was, but it was just you had, man, they always trusted me and you know, I've pride myself on this. I've always tried to do the right thing. You know, you got two choices. Right, right, wrong, wrong. And if you'll always do right, you, you'll be fine. And I learned that at a young age and my parents trusted me and I was always safe with a gun. And so anyway, I go shoot this big old swamp rabbit. Shoot his head off. He jumps up, stop. Shoot his head off. I called my grandma. My mom was probably in her 70s at the time. Well, I know she was pushing 80. She drives to the house and she comes down and helps me skin the rabbit. And then we quartered up and she debones it and, and cooks it like. I remember that like it was yesterday. But just those little moments like that, you know, I mean, it was putting food on the table and. Yeah, from, from eating squirrel fresh crappie. I mean, you name it, man, we, we just, it. It always came full circle. Yeah. So anyway, it just, it's just been ingrained in me my whole life and you know, get out, get out of high school and do a little college and college really ain't for me. And I was actually working in the ag business and for a seed and chemical company. And of course I, I was dating my wife or my. Was dating my High school sweetheart who's now my wife 25 years now. And I was like, man, college ain't working out. I really want to get married. And so she graduates high school and we get engaged at night and we, we get married a year later and here we are 25 plus years later and she's been there through all this whole deal. But anyway, back to where we're going with that. Worked in ag business and my uncle got sick and I'd always help out at the lodge and at the, at the woods and helping him when I could. And when he got sick, I kind of stepped in and took it over and for a couple years he passed away in 2002 and again I was like losing a dad and you know, yeah, it hurt, hurt and it still hurts this day and, but it really opened my eyes to man, you know, you ain't guaranteed tomorrow, so if you want to do something, you better do it. So anyway, still working in the ag business, doing the duck stuff on the side. And my oldest was born Nat. Nat and she, I come home one night from doing food plots and she was already asleep and I'm like, I always took her in and I'm like, man, something's got to give, you know, so do you, do you do the safer out and stick with your, your daily routine of working in an office and yeah, you're in ag business so it's fun but you're still tied down or, you know, do you take a chance and quit that and just do the duck club, build full time and hustle on the side, do some side gigs. And so I had to pick something and you know, do you pick a regular 9 to 5 job or do you kind of chase your dream? And man, I quit a pretty good job at the time and I'm like, let's see where this deal goes. And so I started just doing the Duck club deal and managing it and then hope hustling on the side, picking up some odd jobs, do food plots for this guy or for that guy and a little consulting stuff. And man, I, I, I don't know how I ended up where I am other than I, all I do know is it has just been a, been a slow process, it's been a grind, but man, it's been a lot of fun. It's been a lot of fun but you know, I. Coca Cola for the big, for the small, the short and the tall, peacemakers, risk takers for the optimists, pessimists for long distance love for introverts and Extroverts the thinkers and the doers. For old friends and new Coca Cola for everyone. Pick up some Coca Cola at a store near you.

[C]

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[B]

Yeah, that's. That's how I got started.

[A]

Can you. Can you describe, like, what the Coca Cola woods is to people? Just like kind of a. Yeah, just give an overview of, like, what that is geographically, what that looks like. You know, I got.

[B]

All right, right. You know, again, it was in our family. My uncle was there from the late 50s until he passed, and I was there from basically my whole life from 1978 until, I guess, last year, about last October, October 24th. But it is a. It's just a section of green timber. Got its name from the people who owned it on the Coca Cola bottling company in Memphis. And they bought it and just made. Made a duck club out of it. And, you know, those ducks had been imprinted and imprinted there for years. And. And when I came on board, of course, duck hunting is getting more popular, and. And I was kind of ahead of the curve through working at the seed and chemical place, these federal properties, refuges. We had some farmers that would farm it, and they. They would always leave their trops in the field. Their. Their fourth rent. And I could kind of see the writing on the wall, like, okay, well, we got to give them rest areas. We got to give them something to eat. And that's what they were doing on these. On these refuges. So that's kind of what we started doing there. And it just completely flipped and changed the game. And you got to where you were, you know, created rest areas. We had groceries left in the field, and you hunt the edges and don't get in the middle of them. And that's how this whole management deal kind of started. And then you start doing food plots in the woods, which the ducks don't really come to the woods in my opinion, to eat. But if you've got something there for them, it gives them a reason to come back.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

But, no, it's just a man. It's just a special place. That was a hard One to leave. Because I, Like, I told. Like I told you I had grow. Grew up right there. But, man, I just wanted to. Go ahead.

[A]

No, I was just going to say I can't even imagine, like, the number of. I mean, obviously years, but just the number of days he spent scheming to make that property, you know, like, kind of catering it for wildlife. And what a cool opportunity to have the ability to, like, come up with ideas, be like, I think if we do this, we can start to, you know, just add more. Add better habitat for the wildlife and keep more stuff on the property.

[B]

Right, right. Yeah. I mean, it was a cool canvas to work with, but, you know, it was kind of. I obviously improved it, but it was. It's always been a pretty good place, you know, but I took. I feel like I took it from a good place to a great, great place. But, you know, the. And that was fun. But, you know, the. I guess the hard parts. I can go by any white oak tree on that place in certain areas. And I can remember, like, where my daughter killed her first deer. You know, where I was with my uncle when we did this, the last project we did before he got sick. And that's the stuff that makes it hard to. To kind of. To kind of swallow and being such a big part of your life. But, man, I felt like I had a. I hate to call it a calling, but it was a calling. I really didn't have the creative freedom like I wanted, just a conflict of interest with the owner. And, you know, when I would go meet people through social media, through YouTube, Instagram, all this stuff, I. I've got a decent little old following. And, man, when you meet kids and they tell you that something you said or something that you've done, how it's changed them and affected them, and I'm like, man, now we're really starting to make a difference now we're using our platforms for something that counts. And I really couldn't do that there. So I'm like, you know, let's see what we can do. And honestly, that was one of the. One of the reasons I had to step away from it because not everybody had an Uncle Harvey shoe to take them and teach them how to blow a duck call. Not everybody had that. Not everybody had that big brother. And yeah, I mean, that was a great place to. A launching pad to get me where I am. But now that I'm away, man, I can. I can help a lot more people. And it's been. It's been awesome to see the feedback and, and you know, it's pretty easy to go from a. To go into a place when you know it's good, but when you roll those dice and you bet on yourself not knowing, not knowing what's on the other side, it. It's a little bit of a risk. But man, it's been. It's been awesome the last year now.

[A]

I mean, that's, that's where all the good stuff comes from too though, doing it that way.

[B]

Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.

[A]

You know, what are you doing now? What'd you transition into?

[B]

So I'm still basically doing the same. Honestly, the same thing. So I, I went to Fowler's Point, which is an awesome place in the White river bottoms, and was there a season and I had a gentleman reach out to me about a piece of property. And it's. Honestly, it's very similar to what Coca Cola was. You've got some higher ground and it's in a kind of a natural drainage on a bio, but it's all timber. And a gentleman said, hey, is this piece of property worth looking at? And I do a little homework. I said, yes, sir, it's worth looking at. He said, well, if I fly in, will you go look at it with me? Yes or sure will. So we go look at it. And he calls me and kind of picks my brain about it. What would you do here? What would you do there? And we talk. And the next day he called, look, Rusty, I'm tired of beating around the bush. He said, if I buy this place, will you come run it for me? So I was like, well, my daddy didn't raise no dummy. I can't just up and say yes, but I can't. I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna say no either. He's like, that's good enough. And he signed on a property the next week and we set out on a wood pile and hashed out the details and shook hands. And here we are. And it was. It's an old. It's an older piece of property. It was kind of established in 1938. It's called the Beecham Woods. Spelled like Bochamp Beauchamp, Mr. Art Beauchamp. He was a duck call maker from Michigan, I believe, and he actually owned this property till 20. 20, 2021, something like that. And another gentleman had bought it and made some improvements and. But it still wasn't really. There's a lot of unknowns. There were still some things that needed fixing. And man, since July 1st, we have been running wide open. And we just finished up the first split. And it has exceeded our expectations. But honestly, in July, man, I didn't know if we was going to kill a duck. It really was that much of the unknown. So it's. So that's where I'm at right now. The Beachum duckwoods, Beecham Woods. It's close to Des Arc. It's right on the Bio desert. And man, it's, it's going to come together and it's going to be a fun piece, but it's, it's cool because, you know, when I went to my first place, it was. You kind of knew what you were getting into. Now, had there ever been food plots done like I did them? No. Had there ever been rest areas? No. Had there ever been this and that? No. And I. So I, I took it. But, you know, you always wonder, well, will that work on a different piece of property? And what I have learned the last six months is that, yes, all these, all these techniques, all the things that. Management tools and, and it. All ducks are dogs. Property. Property. Now, if you don't see them, you can't kill them. If they don't fly over it, they're not going to come there. But if anything, you do. Like I always tell them on social media, like, the worst thing that happens is you learn something when you try something new. Yeah. And. Yeah. So I kind of, kind of went out on a limb and bet on old Rusty again, and here we are. So it's. It's been good. It's been very. Been very. I have to say it's probably been the most fulfilling days of duck hunting that I've had. Just because, man, I didn't know who's going to fire a shot. And we've had a. It has exceeded our expectations.

[A]

Now, is that place. Is it a duck club now or is it. Are you outfitting it or. Well, how's it run?

[B]

It's very similar to what it was at Coca Cola. It's just one. One gentleman owns it. He brings his friends and family, and then he's a businessman, so he has employees that will bring a customer here and a customer there. So you just, you know, you bring a customer and that's good time for them to bond. And then you go shoot some ducks and cook and sit around a campfire or, you know, a fire pit. And it's just good, man. It's, it's really, it's good business, to be quite honest. So I've. And I've seen that, you know, back from 04, when Mr. Harvey Robbins owned it. You know, every opening weekend we'd have Governor Bob Riley and his family from Alabama. And it was, hey, when he, when he needed a favor from the governor, you had him at opening weekend of duck season. That kind of pulled a little weight. So. So that's how the game is played, man. You just take care of the people that take care of you. And. And that's. That's what it is. So to answer your question, no. I mean, I do guide and I take people, but nobody's paying to hunt.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

It's just.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Just invite only.

[A]

Yeah. You know, one question I had. I mean, growing up, I basically, you know, hunted some, you know, knock on door permission places growing up, but a lot of public stuff. But you having a completely different perspective, being able to kind of like.

[B]

Take.

[A]

Care of a property where you said you. You're building in these rest areas and food and, you know, making sure that the ducks are going unpressured. I guess I'm trying to. I mean, like, I would imagine that by letting birds rest and not, you know, like, okay, duck season's open. We're hunting every day by, you know, giving birds days off, letting bird new birds filter and doing all that stuff. Like, you have higher. You might not hunt as many days of the whole season, but you have way higher quality of hunting by doing that.

[B]

Am I wrong there? Yeah, no, no, no, no, you're right. You're right. And you know, you can actually get by hunting every day. I mean, we had 10 days of season. We hunted all 10 days. You can get by with hunting every day. A couple of different reasons. All right, so one, where the ducks. We've been killing. This first split, we've been running traffic. We're not necessarily holding. We're kind of like, you know, you would run on a flight day, migrate day, big spread, breaking down high ducts that aren't necessarily coming to your piece of property, whether it woods or fields or whatever. You're just, you're tricking them. You're making them come somewhere they really wasn't going to, which is honestly, as a duck call guy, that's. That's as good as it gets. Blowing as hard, hard and as loud as you can and finally break them down. So we've run a bunch of traffic. But so if you do that, you can hunt every day because you're not. Not hurting anything. Another way, you know, where. What I've always done, every place I've gone is you got to have access. Just some different things you can do to hunt Every day. Like you got to have access to and from without going through your concentration of ducks. So if you've got a rest field or a rest area, your woods, your access to your shooting hole or to your blind, you don't need to bother those birds.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

You don't need, you don't need to run right through them. You need to go around them. You need to. You know, obviously quiet is big. You know, a four stroke motor versus a mud motor a lot quieter doesn't bump birds. That helps. Noise is a big factor. So access to and from is huge. That allows you to. And just the way you hunt, you know, if you've got 5,000 birds in one corner of your property, you know. Yeah. You could go jump in the middle of them and shoot. Let's say six of you go and you burn them and you shoot a six man limit in ten minutes. Okay. But you, you just, you, you burned it. So if you can hunt around the edges and then not jump in the middle of them, hunt a quarter of a mile away and hunt the edge and just. Okay, so you shoot 16 or 18, but you shoot 16 or 18 a day for the next week.

[A]

Right.

[B]

You're way, you're way ahead of jumping in there and, and jumping in the middle of them. Yeah. So that's the thinking as a, as a manager and as a. That really, I mean, I'm thinking way ahead. Like I'm thinking on day 60, I still want to be shooting ducks. I still want to be holding ducks. Right. Another thing, small calibers, especially with the quality of ammo and stuff. Now we shoot. We hadn't shot a 12 gauge yet. We're shooting 20 gauges. But even if you could step down to 28 gauges are very popular right now with the ammo and, and the technology Now, I mean, a 12 gauge in the timbers, totally unnecessary.

[A]

I was actually just about to ask you about that. Like, how much difference does that sound make if you're shooting a 410 or 28 gauge? You know, any water stuff.

[B]

Right. It's a huge difference. Especially if you've got birds setting or close by or you know what you got to remember? You know. Well, let's. I'll finish this topic first. This is my wheelhouse. This is what I like talking about. You know, I first noticed the gun deal, which neighbors hunting around you, they're like, man, it was really loud this morning. Yeah. We were all 12 gauges and so we tried 20s and the neighbors could tell it was significantly quieter. But during February and March. I sit in here and I edit my videos and I'll wear AirPods like I got on now and really listen to all the audio and, and man, the days we hunted with twelves, it was so much louder from an editing standpoint. I could, I could pick it up right away. And then from, from being out in the woods, you know, if you, that we do a few 410 hunts and this is no lie, you could have a volley with a 410 and by the time you got your ducks picked up, you could be calling ducks again. Right. It was just, it was just so much quieter. So yes, it's. Believe that when people, when people talk about that like it's legit. Uh, and I'm not the only one that would tell you that. There's a lot of people that, that are duck club managers and guys that'll tell you, you know. Yeah, the sub gauge is the way to go as far as quiet.

[A]

Yeah. And obviously that's a very niche thing. You know, it, it's very like hunt specific and location specific, like depending on where you are. Um, but if you can do it, that's. Yeah, there's, you know, there's spots where that, the little, those little guns are, are fun.

[B]

It is. But I mean obviously man, if you're hunting often you're hunting big geese or you're hunting in a big open field, you're taking 40 and 50 yard shots, you're. Yeah, that ain't, that ain't the right gun for you for sure. Right. But in a timber backpedaling at 15 or 20 yards. Yeah, you don't need a 12 gauge. Don't need a 12 gauge at all. Another thing. Go ahead. No, go ahead.

[A]

I was gonna say, you know, just kind of stick it on that topic. Just talking about shooting quieter things to not pressure the birds. I had heard a story about you chasing them with the bow and arrow just so you could basically go out and hunt, but never like not be. Why don't you tell that story? Because that's, that's, that one was a good one.

[B]

Well, so, yeah, so years ago, the old Echo DVD days, Freddie King, Rick Dunn, Tyler Merrick. Kind of where I got my first start as far as TV or videos. I would want, we wanted. We started talking about doing a duck hunt with bows and it just seemed far fetched. But I'm a bow hunter. I love the bow hunt whitetails and, and Freddy was. And, and I had heard Freddie talk about back in the public land duck hunt days when you could shoot two him and his brother would go in with a handful of decoys and their bows and, and go into some public property and they'd shoot them four great mallards and then slip out and nobody clue. Nobody had a clue.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I'm like, okay. So anyway, we did a little three man bow hunt one year and then I got to where when Mr. Harvey Robbins, back in those days, it was Harvey's Duck club. I wanted it to be fresh for him. I wanted it to always be as good as it possibly could when he came in. So I was like, hey, we're going to hunt in the morning, but we're going to take our bows. And he would, he was looking at me like I'm crazy. And he's like, do what? I'm like, no, we're going, we're going to bow hunting. But that just tells you how good, how good it was because man, I have gone out before and shot four times with a bow. Kill four Drake, Mathers and me back at the Lodge by 7 o'. Clock. I mean it's, it's in, it's in.

[A]

So obviously you're landing birds.

[B]

Oh yeah. Shooting the bird. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now I, I, I've shot at them flying before, but it gets expensive. I tell people. I didn't, I never, I never had an arrow sponsor so I couldn't just waste them. But it was a, it started out as just kind of a fun thing to do, but it turned into a management tool. Yeah, because you're not, you're not making any noise. I mean, I literally killed my limit out of one group of ducks. Before now it was a, one of those magnum groups that just takes basically three or four minutes to come in. You know, I've sure, I've seen some stuff. Man, I have been so blessed to, to see the, to see the good old days. I mean, as good as it gets. And I mean you just, when they start coming in, you're kind of behind your tree and you draw and when he hits the water, you're kind of angled that pointed that way already and you shoot where his body meets the water. And I mean it's, it's not rocket science and it's not a terribly hard shot. There's a learning curve. But started doing that and, and it just, man, it just kind of took off and it was just fun to do because it made the hunt last a lot longer. It was the epitome of, of finishing birds. We caught flack because we'd shoot them on the mortar. And I'm like, hold up. You catch. You catch. You catch flag for shooting them over the tops of the trees with a shotgun or at the treetop. Tree top. All right, so that's too far.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

But now we have. In my opinion, if you have. If you're. If your camo does its job, you're good enough. Caller, all the stars line up, and you put that duck on the water. You have tricked him. You have earned the right to shoot him. And I'm. Look, I'm fine shooting with a shotgun at that point. It's the most ethical shot there is, but especially with a bow that you have. You've tricked him. He's finished. That's as good as it gets. So, like, you earned the right to be able to shoot him that way, but you still. It was crazy, man. What. You know, it don't matter what you do. You got to have somebody that's going to talk. Crash.

[A]

That's right. Y.

[B]

But, yeah, so we would catch. Oh, I can't believe you're shooting them on the water. And I'm like, okay. But it turned into a management tool, and then it kind of become a tradition and a management tool after it sold. And gentleman that bought it after Mr. Robbins had it, he would never hunt on opening day. He went somewhere else and hunted. So same deal. I was like, look, I don't want to shoot shotguns. I want to be good when he gets here. So we started opening day, bow hunting only. And, man, again, it's just fun. And it's just a management tool. You still got. You still get to see the show, which is the best part anyway.

[A]

Oh, yeah. I mean, that's 95% of it.

[B]

And you get to see the show and you get to kill a few, you know, and. And it's fun. I mean, honestly, man, if you can go shoot one or two with a bow, it's better than shooting a full limit with a shotgun.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Well, that's. Yeah. You know, one thing I wanted to ask is, since you are down south, I've heard a lot of people that, like, hunt down south, they're just mad that all the birds are hanging up short of that. Have you seen that? Or. Or what's your opinion on, like, how the. How the migration is happening now, you know, compared to what it used to be in the quote unquote, good old days.

[B]

Right. Look, it looks to me like. And these are just my opinions and what I've seen from hunting 60 days a year down here in Arkansas, but it looks like it's got. I mean, it has gotten worse. The hunting has gotten worse. Now, can you attribute that to short stopping, Man? I don't know. I think you get the weather. I think you get the ducks.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It'S a. It. Look, it is a. Like, you're right. It's a touchy topic down.

[A]

It is very. And people want to touch it real hard. I just like talking about stuff.

[B]

No, no, no, no.

[A]

It gets people fired up.

[B]

It does. It does. No, I don't mind it. I'm gonna choose my words wisely, of course, obviously. But first of all, you can't blame them.

[A]

Nope.

[B]

Pressure. I mean, as we just talked about in the beginning, I told you, you know, pressure. Rest areas. I've been. I had doing it. Have been doing that since I first got into waterfowling when I took over as a manager in 04 of managing a piece of property. Create rest areas. That was always it. Now it's more publicized. Everybody's caught onto it. Um, so now they're doing it north of you. I still think if a duck wants to move south, he's going to move south. Now, with that being said, if he's got open water and he's got food and he doesn't have pressure, why.

[A]

Why would you go anywhere?

[B]

Why would he go anywhere? But I will tell you this, you know, and first of all, public land guys, I have the utmost respect for a public land hunter. I sat in a restaurant at lunch of the day and visited with some, and they had actually lost the race that morning. They were on foot, and the guy was in a mud motor, and they beat him by about 150 yards and got the hole. But like I told those kids, I was like, dude, I respect the heck out of y' all because I have hunted some public land, but I've never really had to. I've just been dealt a really good hand to have some great places. But with that being said, I respect the grind that these public land guys do. I mean, we had a guy right here, close public land area right here, close to home. I know he slept in his vehicle for almost two weeks before opener. That's how bad he wanted it. And that's. That's hardcore. That's hardcore. That's loving it, you know, So I respect it. But, you know, private places do catch flack because of food left and all that. But this is what I'll tell you. In Arkansas especially, and other places, especially south, like Louisiana, you want to. And. And I don't blame a farmer. That's Their livelihood. But right now, rice and other crops are planted so early and harvested so much earlier than they used to. You know, you got stuff harvested in July and August used to. Everybody wanted to have their crop out by Thanksgiving.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So technology, the machines are more efficient. There's not as much waste grain. What Waste grain there is usually sprouts before season, and if it doesn't, there's so much fall pillage and there's so many people working up their fields right now to prepare for the spring. It is hard to be a duck in Arkansas or Louisiana. And look, I don't know if it's that way up north as far as how they. Their farming practices, but down here it's. It's for making a living. It's for getting a farm another year. And it's not necessarily in a duck's best interest. Yep. So. So with all that being said, man, if it was not for the private landowner who plants 40 acres of food for a duck and leaves it or plants anything, whatever you can do. Like, my message this year, this summer, was every seed counts. And it does because, I mean, there is not a lot to eat. So with all that being said, like, if it wasn't for the private landowners doing what they do for ducks and managing ducks and holding some ducks around, I don't think there'd be a lot for the public land guys to chase. They would either keep shifting south or keep going. If it wasn't for private places holding them. Now, after being at a, you know, at Coca Cola for 20 years, I will tell you this. The minute that it rains and you get fresh water and fresh food and let's just say the cash or the white or the bio de view or some of these river systems gets out, you lose your ducks from these private places and they go. They go to the public places. So if it wasn't for the private guy holding them here until the rivers got up. Yeah. There wouldn't be no ducks around for them to hunt. Now, you could see every. Every time the water would come up you. Every day it'd get a little worse, A little worse and worse. But then in about a week, it would flip the other way.

[A]

Right?

[B]

And the pressure, the pressure would start getting to them and they would know, okay, we can come here. We can come here. And, you know, I mean, so I understand their grip, but they definitely need to see the big picture because I think it helps. It definitely helps the species. You know, we winter and we. We help the. I mean, hunters are the best conservationists. You know, I mean, yes, we harvest some ducks, but we also take care of a lot more than we harvest and provide them food and a place to sit without getting their butt shot. Yeah, you know.

[A]

You know, you're talking about, you know, down south at the. Kind of just based on new technology and the farming equipment, whatever. And I'm not a farmer, and I had. I completely understand trying to make. Make money, but in the north, we have the opposite. Like, it's on the other end of the spectrum. So, obviously, a lot of the birds that end up down south breed here, and right now we're just losing grasslands because of farming practices, because the machinery keeps getting bigger. Like, the. I wish I had remembered the rate of. Of loss of grasslands right now. But, like, where all these ducks breed, like, is quickly being just, you know, either tilled under or drained or. Or, you know, whatever. So we're kind of in a race on both ends. So it's like, down south, it's like a race to make sure there's enough food for everything to actually show up that far down south and up here, it's a race to slow down the progress across the prairies. And so there's enough places for them to breed up here.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know, we're burning the candle at both ends.

[B]

That's right. That's right. And we both. You know, you're praying. You're praying for a rain up there to give them more ponds to nest and.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And stuff. And we're praying for rains down here in the fall to keep the farmers from being able to work their fields up. You know, I mean. I mean, but again, you know, you put yourself in a farmer's shoes, dude. It's. It's hard to be a farmer right now. Commodity prices are terrible. You have bad weather events. But, you know, I mean, so. So they got to do what they got to do to make a living. But as a duck hunter as well, I'm like, man, you know, if y' all could leave. Leave a little stubble or something a little buff, you know, leave them. Leave them. Yeah, leave them something. But, man, it looks as slick as a hardwood floor on a lot of these places. And, you know, then, like I said, if it's. If there was some seed out there, they covered it up. Now it sprouted and came up. Now there's really nothing for them to eat.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So it's hard. It's hard to be a mallard duck. So, you know, I just encourage everyone, even if it's a. If it's a Guy in Alabama or South Carolina or wherever, and he's got a. Maybe it's a cattle pond. Maybe it's a little marshy area that. That holds some wood ducks and a few malers. I'm like, man, if you can get a bag of millet and throw it out and make. Just make something, you know, anything we can, Anything we can do to. That can help them, especially now more than ever. So with all that being said, going back to what. What we started about up north and the weather, like, I mean, I don't blame them for doing it up there, and I don't blame. You can't blame the duck for not wanting to leave.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean, I'm.

[A]

I'm not a biologist. I'm not a climatologist. I'm not. Or whatever, but if you look at the, like, the like, basically GPS images of like, the snow line in the winter, it. It barely goes past, like, central Nebraska anymore.

[B]

Right, right.

[A]

I mean, and so where, you know, where it used to go all the way down to southern Missouri, where you'd have that, like, consistent snow line through the winter, like, that just doesn't happen anymore. You might get a big snow and then it just melts back off. Like all that big water's not, you know, freezing up. And so it would be pretty easy. I mean, if I'm a duck, why would I fly an extra thousand miles when I can stop, you know, on the river in Nebraska and have plenty of food and no pressure because the season's already shut down and, you know.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know, I'm basically in a refuge without having to deal with it. Like you said, you know, in the Coca Cola woods. You were saying, like, those birds have been imprinted on that location. The same thing that's happening now if you have a few mild winters that those three generations of birds that get born are going to imprint as short as they can fly.

[B]

That's exactly right. That's exactly right. And, you know, I know they don't have a calendar on their iPhone, but I often wonder if. Let's just say it's January 10th or 15th, and you get that cold, frigid air up there above us, you know, does that duck. No. Can he look at his watch and say, you know, I'm gonna have to fly right back up through here in two or three weeks or whatever that might be. Let's say it's the end. Let's just say it's the end of January, last week of January. It comes with a lot of snow and Stuff and do they have that internal memory of knowing that, man, I'm about to come right back here in three weeks. I'm just gonna ride this dude out.

[A]

It's possible.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

Or, or, you know, it's. Or maybe like they know enough where it's like, I'm just gonna go with the shortest. Like, I'm not, you know, there's a big weather system. I'm not bailing out 500 miles. I'm not going to fly until I lose half my body weight, you know, like we typically do on a big migration day.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I'm going to fly to the nearest food and there that has a water source next to it and stop. It's just.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. So I don't know. I mean, I get it. I see both sides, to be honest. Now, I don't know what you can prove or can't prove, but you're spot on as far as imprinting. Because if that hen brings her little ones or a couple of the little ones out of her flock and they know last year they came this far, then they have a set of little ones, they come this far. Like you said, after three years you've got however many that's never made it as far as Arkansas or Louisiana or wherever that may be. I actually never, never thought about it that way. That's. That's great.

[A]

I mean, they don't even know Louisiana exists.

[B]

Yeah. And that's, that's something I've always wondered too, you know, Went to Canada for the first time this year and it was cool and I'm glad I went. But like, you're laying out there in a dry field shooting mallards and I'm like, first of all, why do they come in the woods down here but they won't go to a dry field. Like, I don't get it. You know, what's different? What's different up there? It's just, I get. And I guess just as they come down, they know the terrain and they know how. Right. Things change or whatever. But that's always. We were actually talking about that in the, in the woods the other morning in the downtime was like, why do they go to a dry pea field up there but they won't come to cut bean field here? Kind of looks the same.

[A]

Yeah, that is interesting.

[B]

But you never see them feeding. The only time you see them dry feeding in Arkansas would be on a really hard freeze when everything's locked up and they're absolutely starving. But anyway. Yeah, just a random, random Thought, yeah.

[A]

So what is the, I mean what is the, what's the biggest difference between the place that you had been for 20 years and this new spot? Our mutual friend Sam told me that you, you hunted timber for like 20 years and are you hunting blinds and stuff now? Depending on.

[B]

Well, well, you know where I was at Fowlers this past season, uh, it was more of kind of willows and stuff like that, open areas, you had some timber, but it was big willow trees and some 20 something year old oaks. But now where I'm at now it's actually back in the timber. It is where Coca Cola was a man made impoundment if you will. This is more on a natural waterway and we are figuring out ways to kind of block some water up and push it back it up on some timber.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And we, we've got a little impoundment, about a hundred acres that we can, that we flood with a well. But everything else is just natural rain that we catch and just kind of back up on the property and. But you know, Fowlers last year in those willows was awesome. But I would be lying if I said there ain't something special about standing by oak tree. It was like I didn't think I missed this, but yeah, I missed it a little bit.

[A]

Well, I wanna, I meant to say this earlier the podcast, but like you've basically growing up in what when I was growing up as a young water fowler and watching all the videos of hunting flooded timber. I grew up in the Dakota, so I've hunted flat prairie potholes, you know, fields my whole life. And all I've ever wanted to do is get down there and go hunt in the timber. Like to the point where in sixth grade I did a, in a geography class. I did an entire like poster board for Stuttgart, Arkansas because that was like you know, the duck capital of the world.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And had this whole thing. So I've been, you know, you've been able to live the existence that in my head was my dream from when I was about 10 until I was, you know, 20. So.

[B]

Well, if you, if you had seen the, the amount of traffic here at home on opening weekend adult season.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You're not the, you're not the only one that dreams like that.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[B]

Pretty insane. Pretty insane. But you know, kind of going back to that same deal, you can't out of state, people catch black. But like dude, I'm not mad because you want to come down here and do it. I understand why. That's why I go to that's why I go to your states and, and try to chase turkey.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

You know, because it's better there. It's more fun there. It's a, I have a better, I have a better chance there, so. Can't have it both ways.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. And it's not, it's, you know, obviously we need lots of money to help fund all this. You know, the kind of the backflow into, you know, biologists and people who are actually researching bird numbers and stuff and so out of state to spend a whole lot of money on licenses and all that goes right back into the coffer to keep more birds and more deer and more wildlife around. So it's, you know, I'm, I'm an out of stater a lot. I travel a lot to hunt and so I understand, you know, people not liking out of state hunters. But I, I've found I've, I've completely flipped my, my approach to when I run into other hunters out there, especially people that are like our locals, I'll just go start talking to them. And most time there's, you know, it doesn't matter where I am. Most time they're the nicest people ever and nobody's ever going to tell an actual truth of what they're seeing or what they've been into. But I have found that like, you can, you can have some pretty fun conversations with people if you just go like, you don't try to like, avoid them.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I've been doing that way different this year and I've had a good time with it. I've met some of the most screwbally people you've ever met and it's been hilarious to me. I have great stories from all of it. So if you're out there hunting a different state, just, you know, go strike up a conversation, you might just learn something, right?

[B]

Yeah. I mean, just be nice. It's really simple.

[A]

Yeah. You know, be nice, respectful, you know, like you're not in your home state. You know, respect the fact that you're in somebody else's house.

[B]

That's right. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. Well, that's very well said.

[A]

So what's, what's the rest of the season look like for you now? Like, I mean, how much, I mean, you said you're at the first split, like how much grind and do you have coming up?

[B]

Oh, let's see. We, we opened back up the tent through the 13th through the 23rd, so there's a 1314 day stretch air and we open back up the 27th after Christmas and then run till the end of January. So that, that stretches, that's the grind. That's when the weather gets cold. But yeah, you know, where I'm at now, they say this area gets better as the year goes on. Which honestly, I mean this, it exceeded the first split, exceeded my expectations and, and my new, the new owner, we were blown away. So if it gets better, it's going to be, it's going to be pretty awesome. It's going to be pretty awesome. I'm excited about it. But no talking about the, you know, talking about being nice and kind of showing some grace, you know, is what you really, really got to do is not just on your end as an out of state or coming in, but I mean as a local, you know, uh, you gotta know that man, you can't fault people for coming in. And I'm gonna kind of transition into something here and that's just, you know, people are, are hard on out of state people sometimes. Sometimes. And they're hard on new hunters who maybe, man, they don't know what's right, maybe they don't know what's wrong. But they didn't have, they hadn't had the teachers, you know, I'm friends on Facebook or stuff with some locals and I'll just read some of their stuff and I'm like, man, the kid can't help it that he is a certain way. He didn't have an uncle that taught him the blood duck call.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

He didn't, he didn't have a daddy that made him. I mean I've got, I know a ton of people who are self taught and maybe watch my YouTube videos or some Instagram stuff and have learned some stuff from it and that's got them into hunting. We don't want the sport to die out. We want to keep, sure, we want to keep pressure down, but we want people, we want the sport to live on. So that's what I really try to do on social media is teach that kid that don't know how to blow a duck call. Teach them some ethics, teach them some techniques that maybe they can go kill a few dogs. Because a lot of people don't have, don't have anybody to teach them the right way.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I think that, I think that, I think that gets, I ain't gonna say ignored, but I think it gets overlooked.

[A]

You know, it gets lost in social media.

[B]

It does, it does. Everybody wants to see the bad. They want to blame it for stuff but man, I can. I have got so many screenshots of stories and, and heartfelt things from parents, mamas, daddies, grandpa's, from something I did on social media that they saw a change in their kid or, or I had one guy said, you know, he watched the video and he was out in the garage trying to build wood duck boxes. He was trying to build a duck call. It's just like we can make a difference with social media when it's used. It ain't all gloom and doom, you know, it ain't, it ain't the devil all the time at times. It doesn't have to know at times, is it? Absolutely it is. But when used the right way, man, you can, you can really help people and teach them some life lessons and teach them right from wrong and okay, they learn to blow a duck call and kill them a few ducks, well now they're hooked, you know, so. And that's what we want. And I guess that's kind of the, it's kind of a situation you get into like we're talking about, you know, you want less pressure on the ducks, but you want as many people to hunt as you can. So where is that balance? I don't know. You know, if everybody just hunted the right way and did it right, it would definitely be better. But yeah, I guess. Anybody listening? Just, man, show a little grace and. Because, you know, not everybody had a Harvey Shoe or a Big Brother that took them under their wing and taught them everything they know and just show some grace, man, and ain't rocket science.

[A]

Yeah, I know. They'll always. Like you said, how do you find that balance? Well, it's just always going to be a pendulum, right? You know, it's going to, it's going to sway from, you know, everyone just chasing pile picks and you know, doing that whole thing to the other side where it's people trying to use the platform to tell the complete story. You know, for you, it's like 365 days of management and building in places where birds rest and adding habitat. And you know, because that's not only good for ducks, it's good for deer, it's good for turkeys. It's good for everything that uses that, you know, wetland. And then, you know, somewhere in the mill there'll be, you know, people are going to find a balance. And there's like you said, like you have people who are self taught or they're learning stuff from the Internet and it might not be the way that you do it yourself, but it's you know, like you said, they're out there, they're figuring out how to, you know, they're getting hooked and all of that. Bringing more people into the fold and like constantly trying to educate people on ethical and, and proper and shedding positive light on hunting and fishing or whatever you do in the outdoors. The more of that we can have, the better. And it's just going to continually, like, we'll keep raising the bar.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know, you just got to keep high standards for yourself. And if anybody watches any of your stuff, like, you know, like, oh, well, that's a good way to do it. I'll just kind of like emulate that a little bit.

[B]

Right, right. No, Set a good example, be a light and just again, try to do what's right. That's. Yeah, that's always. That's all. That's what we're put here for. Yeah. You know, I, And, And I had a good thought and it. I lost it. But I'll think about it.

[A]

I was gonna ask you, like, when you were younger, because I certainly didn't. Did you ever think like that you'd get to a point in life where, you know, like you said, there's a lot of doom and gloom on the Internet, but like, without it, we wouldn't be able to do some of these things that we do. Like this right here, we're recording this podcast virtually. We're being able to talk about, you know, the bigger picture when it comes to habitat and wildlife and migrations. Like, did you ever even dream that you have a. Like make a living, like, doing the stuff that you love so much? No.

[B]

Never drink. I. I mean, I.

[A]

Same.

[B]

I. I thought I could. Okay. I could pay the bills, you know.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

Make. Make some side money. Maybe at first, yeah. But man, no, I didn't. And when I look back and it ain't. Doesn't seem like it's been that long ago. You got to bet on yourself, you know? Yep. You got to bet on what you first think, what you feel like, you know, and what you are good at. And I don't ever think you can go wrong betting on yourself. But. No, I, I never thought that I'd have 50,000 followers on Instagram, 40,000 subscribers on YouTube. I never thought I'd have a website. I never thought I'd have some merchandise of my name on. I never thought I'd have a signature series called Never in my Wildest Dream. It. But I feel like I have. I. I don't feel like I have changed. I'M still just rusty and, and I pride myself on, on. I, I'm try my dangness to be humble and that's what my daddy would want. And I know where I was going with this. This is a perfect transition. So we were talking about ethics and doing the right thing and stuff. And you know, we, we're talking about hunting. But I'm old school. Yes, ma'. Am. No ma'. Am. Yes or no, sir, Please and thank you. And hold the door when the lady's coming in and take your hat off at the table. I mean, dude, my wife's a school teacher and like, this is no lie. I'll say, how many kids in a 20 kid class will say yes ma' am or no ma'?

[A]

Am?

[B]

No more than two out of a class. Yeah. So if you expect a kid to respect you and be 150 yards or not run through your decoys or whatever, some of this public land stuff.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

If you expect that same kid that doesn't have any raisin in any manners. Nothing to do with hunting. Right. You know, we'll be general life skills. Life skills. Commercial common sense.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That my daddy. If I wouldn't do it, he'd tear my tail up. Right? It ain't, it's nothing to do with hunting. It's, you know, we'll go on a date night once every week or two, me and my wife and we'll sit here and I'll watch the door and I'll watch some of these kids come in. They may be 17, they may be 23, 24. And they open the door and they come in, literally the door hits their date in the face. Dude. I'm like, I don't get it. You know, hats on at the table. Yeah. And no. And I'm like. And they're like, well, you know, kids have changed. Kids have not changed. When I had a, when I had a child, I got a blank canvas to work with. That child is what you raise it to be. If you do your job and you're consistent and you make sure you ingrain. Please. Thank you. Yes, ma', am. No ma'. Am. And you do all that, then it carries over into the hunting. Then it carries over into other things instead of just life. But when they can't even show respect in all facets of life outside of hunting, don't expect them to have respect in the field.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Because they don't back that. Setting a high standard for, not only for yourself, but for others.

[B]

They don't know it. They don't know it. And it's. Look, you got a blank canvas to work with. So it falls on mom and dad. And as parents, we owe it to our kids to raise respectful kids. I am blessed with an awesome wife and we've raised two girls. And there's a, it's as good a compliment as you get when somebody tells you how well managed your kids are or how hard they work. And that's what I'm proud of. Yeah, that's what I'm proudest of. Raising two productive, well mannered, well spoken kids who act right. Are they perfect? No, no. But you can bet when you ask them something, it'll be yes ma' am or no ma'.

[A]

Am. Yep.

[B]

And you, you can bet they're going to hold the door for an older person when they come in. And I know this is kind of something, this ain't really related, but like, it's an issue that carries over into, into the hunting world. Especially. Especially on, especially on public land.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, so anyway, I'm kind of preaching in an Ain't Sunday.

[A]

No, it's good, it's. It's good to get a parenting advice with Rusty Creasy here.

[B]

Well, I mean, it didn't come with a handbook other than the Bible.

[A]

And no, as a relatively new parent, I tell you what, every day it feels pretty easy to screw the kid up. And so I just, you know, I'm doing my best to, you know, doing my best to do that exact same.

[B]

Thing where it's just, man, just raise somebody that, you know, kind of stay consistent. You, you can't let up. Yeah, well, you're too hard on your kid. No, I'm consistent because consistency, that's what you end up with as a kid that you can be. I mean, we're all proud of our kids. I shouldn't meet that way. But as somebody who other parents look and see is that's, that's what we want our kid to be, you know?

[A]

Yeah. I mean, I guess the, the approach that I'm taking with it is lots of support, but also a high standard, you know?

[B]

Right, right. And spend, spend as much time with them as you can take them with you everywhere. You know, a lot of people, every time they go out, they want to leave their kids and whatever you want to do. But like, man, we, we took our kids with us everywhere we went and.

[A]

Well, it's just easier to set an example that way.

[B]

Absolutely, absolutely. And they're going to mimic what they see. You know, if they see you and you're a good dad and a good husband to your wife. Or when they get older, if it's a boy, he's going to try to emulate you. If it's a girl, she's going to look for somebody that treats you the way you treat your wife. And so it's up to you on how that is.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[B]

Anyway, I'm done preaching. I shouldn't have went off on that. But.

[A]

But we just. No, yeah, yeah.

[B]

We can't expect them to act right in the woods when they don't act right in the house.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm trying to think of we should do something cool since you have your own signature call. We should have people go and just, like, if they listen to this episode, go write a little review, say something. You know, anything about the episode, you want to give away a call?

[B]

Yeah, all right, sure. Well, y' all let you pick the winner.

[A]

Perfect. I'll pick the winner. If you're listening to this, you've made it all the way to the end. Go leave a review for us at Legends of the Wild Podcast. Let us know what you're liking, what you're not liking, what we can change. But on this episode specifically, we'd love to hear your thoughts on it. And we'll rust, and I'll give away a call. I'll throw in some public land tease waterfowl merch, and we'll. We'll make it a little bit of a deal. So this is the first time I've ever done this, but they gave me free will on this thing, so I'm gonna. I'm gonna use it.

[B]

Awesome. Awesome. Yeah. And look, you want to look at the call, go to my website, man. It's. It's all new. Rustycresey.com and got a lot of my partners on there that. That I couldn't do this without, and Echo's one of them, and I got a little merch and stuff, and. I don't know, man. Just trying to. Trying to spread the word of doing what you're at.

[A]

Absolutely. Yeah. Well, I was looking at the website this morning. It's. It looks amazing. Um, but where else can people find you? YouTube, Instagram.

[B]

Yeah, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook's. So. So. But Instagram and YouTube are my two. My two top ones. And. And, yeah, man, it's. It's been a fun ride, and I hope it keeps trending the right way. It ain't been easy. It ain't been easy, but it never will be.

[A]

And that's the way it should be. Yeah.

[B]

No, I had a. I end with this on my end. Uh, a few years back, I had a kid in the truck with me, and I don't remember. I was talking to somebody on the phone, and, man, we had had a great hunt that day and got tipped good and, you know, all was right in the world, kind of. And he's like. He looked at me and said, dude, you've made it. I'm like, do what?

[A]

What do you mean?

[B]

Yeah, like, what do you mean? He's like, dude, you've made it. I'm like, man, it that making it, that's an in. That's an invisible place that you never get to. You always strive to be better tomorrow than you were today. I'm like, that's that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that you never reach, but we're all trying to get to it. Yeah. You can't ever think you've made it because if you think you have, you probably end up going backwards. So. Yeah, I never want to say that I made it. I just won't be better tomorrow than I was today.

[A]

I like that. Yeah, that's the. Definitely the best mentality, because in my short time on this earth, I feel like every time I've gone through something really hard where I made it to the destination, I look back and the pot of gold, I was carrying it the whole time through all of the hard work. That's exactly had it when I got to the end of it. But, like, all of the. All the joy and all of the memories came from, like, what I had to go through to get there, so.

[B]

So that's exactly right. And I've had some instances where I did what I thought was doing favors for people. I took a. Took a paralyzed guy out to watch ducks one time, and. And it was quite the ordeal and took some older people hunting. And you think you're doing something for them, and you are. Yeah. But at the end of it, you look back, man, they did something for me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. You know, so. So, yeah, that's. That's good stuff, man.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, we're going to end it right there. That's the perfect spot. So thanks again for taking the time to hop on and, you know, if I ever make it down to Arkansas, come look you up and come hang out.

[B]

Please, please, please do. We might share a tree together.

[A]

Yeah, I think we're going to have to.

[B]

So it would be fun. That'd be. Well, thank you for having me. It's a. It's a privilege. And why Somebody have a redneck Marcus on? I don't know, but I'm glad you did.

[A]

Yeah. Thanks, Rusty.

[B]

Appreciate it.

[A]

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