This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, we sit down with our buddy Jeremy Cmiel after his very first duck hunting trip — a South Dakota waterfowl adventure that ended up becoming much more than just a hunt.

What starts as a conversation about first-time hunters, migration, and getting humbled by educated mallards slowly turns into something deeper: why experiences like this affect people so profoundly in the first place.

We talk about waking up before sunrise, laying under massive migrations of birds, hearing snow geese cut the cold air overhead, earning meals from the land, and the strange way hunting makes you notice nature everywhere you go afterward. Jeremy shares what surprised him most about waterfowl hunting — not just the shooting, but the reverence for wildlife, the connection to the outdoors, and the camaraderie that comes from chasing birds with good friends.

Along the way, we get into:

• South Dakota duck camp stories
• Permission hunting and meeting local farmers
• Duck stroganoff that changed Jeremy’s life
• Liar’s Dice marathons until 2am
• And why waterfowl hunting feels different than almost anything else

At its core, this episode is about more than hunting. It’s about reconnecting with something honest, ancestral, and deeply human — the kind of experience modern life rarely gives us anymore.

Whether you’re a lifelong waterfowler or someone who’s never stepped foot in a blind, this conversation will probably make you understand why people keep coming back to the flyway year after year. Thanks so much for listening and be sure to subscribe and review!

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