Ep. 731: Work, Workouts, and Worms | MeatEater Radio Live!

Summary

The MeatEater Podcast – Episode 731: Work, Workouts, and Worms | MeatEater Radio Live!

Release Date: July 18, 2025
Host: Giannis Patelis
Guests: Brody Henderson, Corey Calkins, Jared Van Hees, Ashley Morgan Olvera

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1. Introduction and General Chitchat (00:00 – 11:43)

The episode kicks off with Giannis Patelis hosting alongside regular contributors Brody Henderson and Corey Calkins. Giannis shares his excitement and nerves about an upcoming 100-mile race in the Montana mountains scheduled to begin seven days and 19 hours after the recording.

Notable Quotes:

• Giannis Patelis (01:25): "I didn't really have any like costumes that I was gonna wear and didn't feel like that's gonna be comfortable running... so I thought, well, what could I do to be fun?"
• Brody Henderson (04:05): "You might want to explain taper to people who don't have any idea what you're talking about."

2. Race Preparation and Tapering (11:43 – 19:26)

Giannis delves into his training regimen for the 100-mile race, discussing the concept of tapering—reducing training intensity before the race to ensure peak performance. He shares insights from trail maintenance efforts and the importance of maintaining physical and mental readiness.

Notable Quotes:

• Giannis Patelis (04:09): "When you're training for a big race... you taper down."
• Brody Henderson (28:10): "I keep it simple, man. I run and I do push-ups and sit-ups... about 35 maybe 40 miles a week."

Giannis also introduces Jared Van Hees, a habitat manager from Michigan, who discusses his work in habitat management to improve deer populations and hunting grounds.

Notable Quotes:

• Giannis Patelis (12:09): "I wear it all the time."
• Jared Van Hees (15:06): "If you can mimic that area where they feel comfy, you can get there and have them, you know, hopefully present a shot within Daylight hours."

3. Interview with Jared Van Hees – Habitat Management (19:26 – 21:02)

Jared Van Hees shares his efforts in opening up forested areas to improve habitat for deer and other wildlife. He explains the process of clearing canopy to allow sunlight to reach the ground, promoting plant growth that attracts deer. Jared emphasizes the importance of maintaining cover to ensure deer feel secure, enhancing the hunting experience.

Notable Quotes:

• Jared Van Hees (15:06): "You can't see very far in here. Especially when I'm done with it, you don't want to be able to see more than, like, 20, 30 yards at a time."
• Giannis Patelis (16:34): "Brody, you just gonna leave those trees laying out there? You're gonna get rid of them or what?"

4. Hunting Fitness Segment – Sponsored by Mountain Ops (25:10 – 35:03)

The conversation shifts to the importance of physical fitness for hunting, debating whether being in shape is essential for a successful hunt. Brody and Corey share their fitness routines, emphasizing running, push-ups, sit-ups, and stretching to prepare for long hunting trips. They discuss the benefits of staying fit, such as increased endurance, better energy levels, and reduced risk of injury.

Notable Quotes:

• Brody Henderson (25:48): "No, no, I don't think it's cut and dry."
• Corey Calkins (32:04): "Mobility? Yeah, a lot of basic stretches. Hips, knees, back."

5. Listener Feedback and Questions (35:03 – 44:48)

Listeners submit questions addressing walleye fishing techniques, hunting point systems in states like Wyoming and Montana, and obstacles faced during hunts, such as wildlife interferences. Brody and Corey provide detailed responses, sharing personal experiences and strategies to enhance hunting and fishing practices.

Notable Quotes:

• Brody Henderson (35:22): "I am not an expert walleye angler... but weed lines in the summer are like our go-to spot."
• Giannis Patelis (37:07): "Brody, you gotta have some kind of plan because like, you can't just expect like oh, I'm gonna get points for five years and I'm gonna get some crazy awesome tag."

6. Interview with Ashley Morgan Olvera – Invasive Species (44:48 – 57:16)

Ashley Morgan Olvera from the Texas Invasive Species Institute discusses the impact of invasive species, focusing on the hammerhead worm and Asian jumping worm. She explains how these species disrupt local ecosystems by preying on native earthworms, leading to soil degradation and erosion. Ashley emphasizes the importance of public awareness and proactive measures to control the spread of invasive species.

Notable Quotes:

• Ashley Morgan Olvera (47:32): "It's a predator of earthworms, so that's why we call it invasive."
• Ashley Morgan Olvera (50:40): "They're susceptible to a ton of household products. So you can spray vinegar on them, pour salt on them."

7. Meat Eater Menu: Cooking Wild Game (60:01 – 79:56)

Giannis introduces the "Meat Eater Menu" segment where he and his co-hosts share recipes and cooking tips for wild game. Giannis demonstrates how to prepare tougher cuts of meat like shanks and necks by slow-cooking them to create tender, flavorful dishes suitable for tacos and sandwiches. Brody and Corey contribute by sharing their own recipes for turkey and bear tacos, highlighting the versatility and rich flavors of wild game when prepared correctly.

Notable Quotes:

• Giannis Patelis (60:58): "You wanna put into the grinder. No. Do you really want to be chewing on all that silver skin while you're eating your burger?"
• Brody Henderson (68:46): "Just awesome stuff."

8. Conclusion and Final Thoughts (79:56 – 81:49)

The episode wraps up with light-hearted conversations about personal anecdotes, upcoming events, and humorous exchanges about missing items and Easter eggs in their content. The hosts encourage listeners to engage with their content and tune in for future episodes.

Notable Quotes:

• Brody Henderson (81:36): "Adios."
• Giannis Patelis (81:49): "Thank you all for watching today."

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Key Takeaways:

1. Race Preparation: Giannis emphasizes the importance of tapering and maintaining a balanced training regimen to prepare for long-distance races.
2. Habitat Management: Jared Van Hees highlights the significance of habitat management in improving deer populations and enhancing hunting grounds.
3. Hunting Fitness: Maintaining physical fitness is crucial for endurance and efficiency during extended hunting trips.
4. Invasive Species Awareness: Ashley Morgan Olvera educates listeners on the detrimental effects of invasive species like hammerhead and Asian jumping worms, advocating for proactive control measures.
5. Wild Game Cooking: Proper preparation and cooking techniques can transform tougher wild game cuts into delicious, tender dishes, enhancing the overall hunting and culinary experience.

Listeners Are Saying:

• Brody Henderson (01:25): "I didn't really have any like costumes that I was gonna wear... so I thought, well, what could I do to be fun?"
• Giannis Patelis (65:55): "Thanks, Mountain Ops, for sponsoring that segment. We appreciate it, Phil."

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This episode of The MeatEater Podcast offers a blend of personal stories, expert interviews, practical advice on fitness and habitat management, and engaging discussions on environmental conservation. Whether you're an avid hunter, fitness enthusiast, or simply passionate about the outdoors, Episode 731 provides valuable insights and entertaining content tailored to enrich your understanding and appreciation of the natural world.

Transcript

[Unknown Host]

This is an I heart podcast.

[Phil Taylor]

Smell us now, lady.

[Giannis Patelis]

Welcome to Meat Eater Trivia.

[Unknown]

Meat Eater Podcast.

[Giannis Patelis]

Foreign.

[Phil Taylor]

You'Re live, Giannis.

[Giannis Patelis]

Welcome to Meat Eater Radio. I'm your host, Giannis Patelis and today I'm joined by big bad Brody Henderson and the capable Corey Calkins. It's 11am Mountain Standard Time. That's exactly seven days, 19 hours before I start my journey running 100 miles in the crazy mountains of Montana. On today's show, we'll talk with habitat manager manager Jared Van Hees while he's hard at work on his Michigan property. Brody and Corey will share their pre hunting season fitness routine. Ashley Morgan Olvera from the Texas Invasive Species Institute is here to talk worms. And finally, we'll see what the crew has been cooking lately. But first, since Spencer's not here, fellas, let's start off with just some general chitchat and catch up a little bit.

[Brody Henderson]

Will the real Giannis Patelis please stand up?

[Giannis Patelis]

Please stand up. Are you just saying that because I told you my wife's been calling me Eminem since the.

[Phil Taylor]

The live chat is exploding with Eminem references.

[Corey Calkins]

You look like Slim Shady.

[Giannis Patelis]

Okay, well then there you go. That was not my goal. I'm just, I'm going to run this race in a week and a lot of times for these big races people like to people that are sort of middle of the pack and lower, which is where I'm gonna come in at. You got like to have some fun with it, you know, dress up.

[Brody Henderson]

Sure.

[Giannis Patelis]

And, and so I, I didn't really have any like costumes that I was gonna wear and didn't feel like that's gonna be comfortable running and that kind of stuff. So I thought, well, what could I do to be fun? Bleach my hair.

[Corey Calkins]

That's great.

[Giannis Patelis]

The last time I bleached it, I went back. In some photos I was 21 years old, so that's 26 years ago.

[Brody Henderson]

Last time I had hair, I was 21 years old.

[Giannis Patelis]

Wow.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

Did you ever bleach your hair?

[Brody Henderson]

No, my, like I had like, it wasn't that fakey blonde, but it was very light, like. Yeah, blonde.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah. I had pretty blonde hair too as a kid. I, I did dyed a lot though. This is, it was very nostalgic to have my wife do this to my head because it brought back the skater days. I pretty much did every color under the rainbow over the course of maybe, I don't know, three or four years.

[Brody Henderson]

So you said it's all about having fun. You don't got like Any nerves or anything like that?

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, no, I definitely have some nerves for sure.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

It's getting to be that moment where it's like, yeah, you just wake up thinking about it and you. Like one moment you're like, oh, this is gonna be great fun and easy, and I'm gonna be the dark horse. I'm rolling in the 11th place. And then like an hour later, you're like, I don't know if I'm gonna finish, dude, that's a long ways. I know. We cleared trail last weekend as we had to do volunteer work. You got to do an hour of volunteering for anybody that's going to participate in the race, and they. They. The race director would like you to do it around trail maintenance or a race. I'm sure, you know, she'd probably take any kind of volunteer work. But anyways, we went to clear trail and we had a pretty long section, 13 miles of trail to clear, and another fella helped us, and he's already run it twice. I was like, oh, that's great. I'm gonna get that. Like, just quiz this guy. And basically the main takeaway, he was like, yeah, the first 50 miles is fun. Then you find out what you're made of. I was like, oh, right, yeah, because, you know, that's the longest I've done is basically 50, a little bit over. And then so from there on out, it's all virgin territory. And yeah, so there's definitely some nerves in there. But the taper has been easier this time than it has been for. For races prior.

[Brody Henderson]

You might want to explain taper to people who don't have any idea what you're talking about.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yes. When you're training for a big race, I don't know, probably for any race, for that matter. Like, depending on the race, I'm sure, and depending on the athlete, anywhere from probably a week to three weeks prior, you sort of start tapering off the high volume and. And, you know, extreme effort that you've been putting into the training, and you taper down. You don't want to quit running all together because you're let your body will kind of forget about it. But you just like. So I've been. I went from probably running 15 mile, 15 hours a week for, you know, two or three weeks prior to now down to like five or six, where I had a week that was maybe eight. And like this week it's going to be like four.

[Brody Henderson]

You're kind of resting up a little bit.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah, totally resting, but still maintaining. But definitely the Name of the game is just to chill out right now. Eat a lot of calories. But it can be hard to chill because your body's ready to run, your brain's kind of jacked up, ready to run. And I've had troubles, almost like sleeping years, years before. But this year it's been easier. I've been keeping myself occupied doing other stuff.

[Corey Calkins]

And yeah, that's what blows my mind about this 100 mile race is the amount of time that you're just up and moving and awake. Is there any, like, training to keep you rolling for, what is it, like 30 hours?

[Giannis Patelis]

Well, my goal is 30. I haven't really done any sleep deprivation training. I talked to my coach about it and she was like, you know, she's like. She felt like the damage that could possibly do. Right, or the recovery would be so long from just trying to stay up for a night and running through the night. So what I did instead was like, I did a couple, like, real alpine starts where we like get up at 3 and be running at like 4am and then go for like a four hour run.

[Corey Calkins]

Man, that's great for getting ready to hunt, huh?

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah, exactly, Exactly. So, yeah, my wife is probably. That's what she. She's going to be my crew chief, which means that she's going to run all my crew and my aid where, where they me along the course, keep me fed, keep me lubed up, keep me in fresh clothes, whatever I need, you know. But her main worry is that I don't do well staying up. Like, I'm not, I'm not like a night owl whatsoever. Like, usually I can barely get I love you out of my mouth and I'm out. You know what I mean? So she's like. And she has at 1:00am, she's like, are you gonna run while you're sleeping? Like, how's that gonna work?

[Brody Henderson]

I think your bot, like, you'll just like. I don't know, I've never done it, but I think you kind of go on autopilot for sure. You know what I mean?

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, yeah. And I think just the energy of the race. Right. I should be pretty, hopefully pretty jacked up. And the nice thing is that the second half I get to run with my friends with Pacers.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

And so they'll be there to keep me.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

Keep me fired up. So what else else did I want to bring up? Oh. Newest episode of Roast is out. It is a really good one, as they all have been so far. This one, Sarah Delaney and Matt Miller face Off in a small game shootout. And Brent Reeves and Clay Newcomb judge them. Clay steals the show. In my opinion, Everybody else is just kind of supporting actors. But it's a great episode. They do squirrels and then they have a little bonus rabbit that was killed that morning right here in Bozeman, Montana. We actually had to. We skinned it right outside the door of the office and it was kind of a funny moment because Brent and I are out there skinning it. Clay might have been there too. And we look over and there's a lady from the office next door with the meanest scowl on her face. Right. She's closing the blinds because we were just skinning and got this rapid.

[Corey Calkins]

She's in her office and can see all this.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. She was not happy with us. But anyways, if you want to see who won, go watch it. Like I said, it's a good episode.

[Brody Henderson]

And looks like there's some good kitchen mishaps in there.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah. Yep. They both, they both almost, almost burn us down. Burn down the office. But they pull it out and, and, and again, I've been so impressed because every time someone cooks something on this show, I'm like, oh, I'm gonna go cook that at home. Like that wasn't that hard. Like, oh, well, I'm not gonna give it away. You guys gotta go check it out.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

Anything else? You guys are ready to move on? All right. I mean we can, I mean, you guys can keep chit chatting.

[Brody Henderson]

Oh yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

I mean, Spencer would like you guys to add in onto into the chit chat segment.

[Brody Henderson]

Well, yeah, I mean we always do. You were, I thought you were moving on. You're just like anything else. Move on.

[Corey Calkins]

Well, we do have guests lined up for particular times of the show, you know, but we're not too over the top here.

[Giannis Patelis]

Now what have you been like? Phil said we don't ever, we don't ever stick to those times.

[Brody Henderson]

No, no.

[Corey Calkins]

What have I been up to, man? Doing a lot of camping, lot of fishing. My 7 year old boy is really into fly fishing right now. So like my dreams have come true really, you know, but it's hunting season.

[Giannis Patelis]

Just around the corner. Fishing.

[Corey Calkins]

He's into catching fish.

[Giannis Patelis]

Doesn't matter how we were together because we were taking some pictures of some meater merch the other day and I brought a spin. Spinning rod. And it, it, it was really sad to me because it seemed almost as though Marshall had never even seen a spinning rod up to this point in his life. And I kind of showed it all to him, and he was like, you know, bud, I'm interested in this, but that other thing that my dad's been working me with, like, I already know how to whip that thing around, and so I just don't quite have, like, the patience to learn how to cast this thing. But I'm gonna keep working on it.

[Corey Calkins]

Oh, yeah, Last weekend.

[Brody Henderson]

My kid hopped on his bike last night and rode over to the local bass pond and did some fishing.

[Giannis Patelis]

Nice.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah, Love it.

[Giannis Patelis]

Catch any?

[Brody Henderson]

He caught a couple. It's like a. Like, subdivision pond.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah.

[Brody Henderson]

You know what I mean? More for swimming than fishing, but, yeah, he caught a couple. We've been catching some. Good. The walleye fishing's been very good lately.

[Corey Calkins]

Oh, good to hear.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah. So we're stacking some of those up in the freezer.

[Giannis Patelis]

Some of these suburban Bozeman ponds, though, man. Like, I know a couple of kids that hit it pretty hard. Oh, yeah, There's. If you kind of know the inside track, there's some. There's some honkers out there.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah, for sure. Wouldn't want to eat them, but they're fun to catch.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah, exactly. No, these. These. This is all just for the adventure of it.

[Corey Calkins]

Yep. Catch and release.

[Giannis Patelis]

Is that it?

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah. We can move on.

[Giannis Patelis]

Is Spencer in the chat room today?

[Phil Taylor]

Spencer's not in the chat. We've got Randall Williams, though.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, what's Randall saying? He's just.

[Phil Taylor]

I think he's just trying to procrastinate. Writing, I'm sure. Doing an incredible job writing the next meteor.

[Brody Henderson]

Told me on days that there's a trivia recording, which there is. Today. He can't even work. Like, he can't get anything done.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, really? Because he gets so worked up.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah. Oh, man. Well, I mean, he's gotta. He's gotta come back big because he had, like, a. What did he get, like a five or a six?

[Phil Taylor]

It was. It was a tough game for Randall this week, but I'm. He'll talk about it more on trivia today. But Randall and I went to bar trivia last night.

[Corey Calkins]

Oh, it.

[Phil Taylor]

It went well. I'll just say that much.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, I can't wait.

[Phil Taylor]

So I think. I think his spirits are high.

[Giannis Patelis]

Tune in to future trivia episodes. All right, My buddy Jared Van Hees is waiting. Let's get him on. Phil, Here we are. Our first guest today is Jared Van Hees. Jared is the host of the Habitat podcast, co owner of Vitalized seed company. Hope I got that right. A land consultant, and holds a regular job in packaging sales. Jared is joining us from his Michigan property to show us the habitat work he's doing in mid July. Jared, welcome to the show.

[Jared Van Hees]

Hey, guys, how you doing today?

[Giannis Patelis]

We're doing great. It's a lot cooler, which is surprising because this podcast studio can be a hot sucker. But it looks like it's cooler here than it is where you're at. Phil, we don't have Jared up on the screen yet.

[Phil Taylor]

Something. Oh, sorry, Giannis.

[Giannis Patelis]

That's all right. There he is. Oh, I like it. I like that T shirt, Jared. I got one of those. I wear it all the time.

[Jared Van Hees]

Appreciate that. Thanks for having me on, guys. This is great.

[Giannis Patelis]

All right, so tell us, you're in Michigan. What part of Michigan? You don't have to be too specific, but what part of Michigan?

[Jared Van Hees]

Well, you know what we like to do? We like to do this. That's right down here, Southeast Michigan.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, but how come you don't bust out the pinky just a little bit for the Leelanal peninsula, huh? Like a real Michigander would have done.

[Jared Van Hees]

I like that. I'm a West Sider originally. I like that move. I've lost my touch, apparently.

[Giannis Patelis]

It's all right. It's all right. All right, tell us, like, what you're doing and why you're doing it. In mid July. Yeah.

[Jared Van Hees]

So today I am on my 40 acre parcel. I'm opening up the canopy. So it's very heavily timbered parcel, not a lot of undergrowth or early successional habitat. And if you're a deer or a critter, usually 5 foot numbers where you want all the food. So today I am opening up the sun to hit the ground in July because there's any time to cut a tree is the best time to cut a tree. So food plot season is around the corner, and I'm getting some more work done today.

[Giannis Patelis]

Okay, so what. So you're. Oh, you're getting more sunlight to the ground, and you said the critters like it five feet and under. Like, what do you. Do you think this is gonna affect your hunting for this upcoming season? Like, will just this amount of work in three months already have deer in there feeding on new growth?

[Jared Van Hees]

Yeah, there will be deer in here tonight feeding on the maple leaves that have hit the ground from the canopy that I've already cut this morning. And this is just helping all the oak regeneration and ash regeneration flourish before, you know, between now and frost. So it'll definitely help by the time this hunting season comes around.

[Giannis Patelis]

So you. You think you'll have a tree stand in that spot this fall, I think.

[Jared Van Hees]

When I'm done, I'm gonna have a tree stand or a saddle in that big, gnarly oak tree back there. And you can see that behind me or not. But that's my plan.

[Giannis Patelis]

Okay, just for. For reference and for, I guess, for people working, listening, that are not watching on YouTube, what's the diameter of this opening that you're making?

[Jared Van Hees]

Oh, that's a good question. I'd say it's probably 40 yards by 80 yards. It kind of runs lengthwise from another spot I have back here, which is a bedding area that I cut in the wintertime and springtime. And then there's agriculture that way. So it's kind of a little staging area Runway design in between the timber. I'm going to have edge feathering on both sides so they're still secure. You can't see very far in here. Especially when I'm done with it, you don't want to be able to see more than, like, 20, 30 yards at a time. That's where the deer feel secure. So just a narrow kind of Runway through the timber with good succession coming up and security cover on the sides.

[Giannis Patelis]

Talk a little bit, a little bit more about the thickness and why those critters feel comfortable in there, Because I think that's been one of the things that I've learned the most, like going down this, you know, whitetail habitat journey, is that, you know, growing up, the folks that I hunted with a lot, like when we would set up mostly for rifle, like, you're always trying to spot. Trying to be in a spot where you could see the most country because you figured you're covering. The more. The most country, you're getting, the better chance of, you know, seeing a critter and getting a shot. But now it's almost like the exact opposite for me. I want to, like, set up in a spot where my max shot's going to be 50 yards.

[Jared Van Hees]

I learned the same way I started hunting public land in Michigan on top of a hillside with a 7 millimeter mag and see as far as you can. But I learned that over time, my best spots were the archery spots. Even, you know, going see 30 yards max, you know, deer bed in those types of areas, they feel secure. If they're going to bed there and they don't lay down all day long, they get up and they feed around five times a day. And if you can mimic that area where they feel comfy, you can get there and have them, you know, hopefully present a shot within Daylight hours. Otherwise, the big park like setting that this timber was before I started. They'll come through maybe right at dark. And throughout the night, they just like to have cover nearby. They're, you know, they're creatures of edge and they feel secure.

[Giannis Patelis]

Got it? Fellas, Any questions for Jared?

[Brody Henderson]

You just gonna leave those trees laying out there? You're gonna get rid of them or what?

[Jared Van Hees]

Good question. So right now I'm in the, the fun part where you just drop and make a big mess, right? Kind of got amazing pocket effect all over the place. But no, I'm gonna, I'm gonna come in here and clear a lot of the big trunks out, feed the worms as they rot and push them off to the sides. Maybe use some as firewood. But no, they'll be. This will be all cleared up. The edges where you see along the back, that will remain. So I'll push yourself off to the edges and create some, some habitat there and some structure for, for sight blockage. I don't want them to be able to see too far. So now I'll be cleaning this up, just not to that part of the stage yet.

[Corey Calkins]

Jared. I grew up in northwest Montana where logging was king forever. It's kind of slowed down a little bit, but I had this theory growing up that deer and elk loved fresh cut clear cuts. Like, I don't know if it was the SAP off the trees that they would lick up, but have you ever noticed that critters like a fresh clear cut to get something extra out of those downed trees?

[Jared Van Hees]

Yeah, you nailed it. Northwest Montana is gorgeous. My beautiful wife went to school in Missoula, so I've been out there and I love it. Actually, if you hold on just one sec, I'll show you what, what a clear cut looks like. Here is a, like an oak stump right here. Can you guys see that?

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah, we got it.

[Jared Van Hees]

That is heavily browsed on. That's the stump that's heavily browsed on. So that's what you're seeing and what the clear cuts are doing. They're feeding all those animals with the fresh shoots, with all the nutrients that are still on the ground from that root system that's previously there from the big tree. So, yep, you nailed it.

[Corey Calkins]

It's always a good spot to sit in. November is a fresh clear cut.

[Jared Van Hees]

Yes.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, man. But yeah, I know a lot of people are, especially with this, like their possible resending of the roadless rule. They're real worried about, like all this mega logging is going to happen. I don't think there's going to be as much that is going to really happen, but like a little bit of logging in your area, man, I'm telling you, it's going to be good for your hunting, man.

[Corey Calkins]

There's places in northwest Montana that are disgusting, overgrown, and need to be logged for the health of the animals.

[Giannis Patelis]

Totally. All right, Jared, thanks for the update from. I guess I'd call that South Central Michigan. Tell everybody watching and listening where they can find more information and, and watch and listen to your stuff.

[Jared Van Hees]

Thanks, Giannis. I appreciate it. Guys, if you want more of the habitat content where you try to make your property better for hunting and wildlife, it's a habitat podcast. And if you want some food, plot seed that's super attractive and also helps build the soil and maintain organic use and save you money on fertilizer. That's a vitalized seed. So I appreciate the time for the shout out, guys.

[Giannis Patelis]

All right, thanks, Jared. Good luck out there. Be safe.

[Jared Van Hees]

You bet. If you guys want, I can drop a maple as we roll out.

[Giannis Patelis]

Bring it. Let's go. No one, no one's gonna say no to that.

[Corey Calkins]

Timber.

[Jared Van Hees]

I mean, isn't it in the entrance of the meat eater podcast? Right?

[Giannis Patelis]

That's right. Oh, he's at it.

[Brody Henderson]

Pre cut.

[Corey Calkins]

A nice little wedge.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, yeah. He had already done his face cut.

[Phil Taylor]

This is what this show's all about.

[Giannis Patelis]

That's right.

[Brody Henderson]

Timber.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, look at it.

[Brody Henderson]

Excellent.

[Giannis Patelis]

Bravo. That right there makes me extreme. I have extreme FOMO right now because I would love to be in Wisconsin with my chaps on. Jared, I was just saying I have extreme FOMO right now because I'd love to be in Wisconsin with my helmet and chaps on and my saw in the hand going and cutting down maples. And I would actually be probably spraying that stump too, so that sucker doesn't sprout back on me. We'll talk about that next time. Hey, thanks again for joining us.

[Jared Van Hees]

All right, see you guys.

[Giannis Patelis]

Thanks.

[Brody Henderson]

See you.

[Phil Taylor]

Thanks, Jared.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, I love it. I love it. I know it's probably a real foreign concept to you, just being a straight up Western. Western boy. Because, like, people don't do a lot of, like, habitat management. I think it's coming to the west. I think like the real high end ranches it's happening on.

[Corey Calkins]

Oh, for sure.

[Giannis Patelis]

But like Paul Lewis, it just owns a small chunk in the. In some mountains not far from here. I haven't heard him talking about doing habitat improvements, you know.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah, I mean, I think it's all dependent on what kind of forest you got terrain, you got what's going to come out of it, you know.

[Corey Calkins]

Sure. Yeah. My quarter acre in Bozeman doesn't need.

[Giannis Patelis]

A whole lot of habitat enhancement.

[Brody Henderson]

You could like in a lot of places you can do that. If you have like valuable timber, you can do that and make oh, some serious money for sure. My dad's, he's only got like 30 acres, but he's done a couple cuts in the last 20 years and made some coin and made it better for the deer, you know.

[Giannis Patelis]

Right. What was he mostly, you know what kind of timber he was selling mostly. Did he have hardwood?

[Brody Henderson]

Like a very oak Chicks and walnut maybe?

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

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[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, oh, oh, oh. Auto parts.

[Unknown]

When you're in the back country, don't forget your own backcountry. Keep it pristine and confidently clean by bringing along wet extra large dude wipes. I'm, I'm glad to be doing dude wipe ads because I buy dude wipes anyways. I've been a long time dude Wipe. I'm a dude wipe dude all the time. Just like your truck gets muddy out in the wild soaking your butt, you never clean your vehicle with dry paper towels. So why would you clean your butt with dry toilet paper? Wetter cleans better. So ditch the itch and switch from TP to wet Extra large dude wipes. Love them. Like going on a ten day moose hunt. I just bring a pack along. Not only that, so they're extra large. Okay. If you're a little baby, you get little baby wipes. If you're a man, you get extra large dude wipes. And when you're out in nature, it's going to inevitably call. So make sure you bring along wet dude wipes and three adventure sizes. Like day hike single wipes, 18 pack weekend wipers, or you know, for long trips you got a 48 count pack. And it's not just that. Like when you're out camping, just sleeping in a sleeping bag, let's say you're gone for 10 days, whatever. I use them just to clean up at night. Like, you know, scrub the old pit, scrub your arms if it's all dusty. Just kind of get your neck and everything cleaned up. I love having them with me. Dude wipes. It is the best. Clean. Pants down. They're available at Amazon. That's where I usually order mine from. It's on Amazon, but you get them at Walmart nationwide. Fantastic product. Proud to be doing ads for these boys at Dude Wipes.

[Giannis Patelis]

All right, our next segment is called we're going to come up with a better title, but today it's going to be called Training for Hunting. And oh no, I had two versions of it. Our next segment is called Hunting Fitness. This segment is brought to you by Mountain Ops.

[Brody Henderson]

How about Hunting for fitness?

[Giannis Patelis]

Hunting for. Oh, yeah, it's not bad. Oh, I like it. Oh, Phil likes up. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, first off, fellas, I want to know, like, do you think this is a real thing? Do I really need to be fit to be a successful hunter?

[Brody Henderson]

No, no, I don't think it's cut and dry. I know where you're going. Yeah, but I don't think it's cut.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, I don't have. I don't have an end goal here. This is just a question.

[Corey Calkins]

You got some coinage, you don't have to get off your ass.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, right, right.

[Brody Henderson]

And I mean, look, there's dudes that road hunt. There's dudes that drive their four wheeler to their tree stand and walk 10ft, get in their tree Stand, get back.

[Corey Calkins]

In their four wheeler and kill big stuff.

[Brody Henderson]

So I, I think it's like situationally dependent. I'm not trying to say don't bother at all. Don't get me wrong.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah, yeah.

[Corey Calkins]

To each their own. You can hire.

[Giannis Patelis]

It's not mandatory.

[Corey Calkins]

No, you can hire somebody to do it for you or. But if you want to like really earn an animal, say a western Rocky Mountain elk, you better get fit.

[Brody Henderson]

I think. Yeah, it could be mandatory. And I don't like the like extreme elk hunter athlete thing. Like so annoying, that narrative to me. But like, take running around in eastern Montana hunting, like sharp tails and pheasants. Like, you can cover a lot of ground and you look at that stuff and you're like, that's easy walking. But you go do it for six or eight hours and it'll take it out of you, you know? So I don't think it's just this like killing a bull on top of the mountain thing.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah, yeah. It's not, it's not like you're gonna wait to get in shape for when you finally decide to go sheep hunt or you draw a sheep.

[Brody Henderson]

Exactly.

[Giannis Patelis]

Right. Yeah.

[Corey Calkins]

It's a lot more fun if you're in shape.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah, that, that's kind of my, I think, takeaway. And my thought is it's just like. It's easier.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah, it's easier. And you can like enjoy yourself.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah.

[Brody Henderson]

Like, you don't look at a thousand foot climb and like, like, oh, God. You know, then you get up there and you're sucking wind.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah. And you're only going to do it once. And really with elk hunting and again, we kind of always fall back to that, but you're going to have to do that multiple times, multiple days in a row.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah. Rather than successful, I would say it makes you more efficient, makes you more capable and you're going to be more comfortable and you're going to have more fun.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah. You do more smiling. All right, so what are you guys doing to get ready? It's middle of July. Are you guys thinking about already sort of doing a little, Little thinking about.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah, it's never. Not on my mind. Brody, you going go ahead.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah, I mean, like, I keep it simple, man. Like, I, like, I don't, I don't. You don't need a gym membership. You don't need to pay for a personal trainer or a coach or whatever. Like, I run and I do push ups and sit ups, you know, like, I probably put in, I don't know, on average, 35 maybe 40 miles a week. I do.

[Giannis Patelis]

That's pretty heavy load, Brody.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah, I mean, I mean, that's nothing.

[Giannis Patelis]

To shake a stick at.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah, right. Trying to think more than I'm doing.

[Brody Henderson]

But. And I also, like, I think it's good to have a goal that keeps you motivated. Like, you got your hundred mile race. I do a half marathon in early September, which keeps me going through the summer, you know, And I just think it's like, simple. You do cardio for legs and lungs, a little resistance with push ups and sit ups. And like, I'm no superhuman athlete, that's for sure. And I still get tired out there, but I'm also like, I'm in my 50s, buddy, and stuff starts getting harder, like, whether you want to admit it or not. So if I want to keep doing this, like, that's, that's like.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah. You get to a point where it's not even a. Do you or do you not want to? Like, you pretty much have to if you want to continue doing what we do.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

Which again, is not like the extreme hunting that, you know, some portray out there. It's pretty general, basic, you know, western United States hunting. And whether it's upland birds or, you know, elk in the mountains or. Or deer out east, whatever, like.

[Brody Henderson]

Yep.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah, if you want to keep doing it, you got to stay in shape for sure.

[Brody Henderson]

And I want to keep doing it as long as I can, you know, like, the thing is, is, like, I don't know how you were when you in your 20s, but like, I wasn't even in my 30s. Like, you can kind of get away with it, Right. For a while in some respects, but like, you're just like grinding through it, you know? Tough young guy, but yeah, you could.

[Corey Calkins]

Eat whatever you wanted, drink whatever you wanted. Can't do that anymore.

[Brody Henderson]

But I also look back now and I'm like, what if I had been training then? Like, holy.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

What I noticed too is that I used to just like, just start running, say in, I don't know, the summertime, and then I'd be ready to go for the fall.

[Brody Henderson]

Yep.

[Giannis Patelis]

But like, now, like, I can't even afford to do that. Like, I pretty much have to run or just stay active somewhat through the winter and then, you know, maybe up my volume of running. But like, you, you can't. You let it drop off. Just like the rebound takes so long to just get back to the baseline again, you know. What about you, Corey?

[Corey Calkins]

I do a little running. I had a lot more motivation last year, of course, we did that mountain marathon last year.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, you're not, you're not going for the Bridger Ridge Run again?

[Corey Calkins]

Nope, I'm not, no. Probably one and done.

[Giannis Patelis]

I don't know.

[Corey Calkins]

It was fun, but I mean my motivations. Yeah. Just. Well, spring and fall and throughout the winter trying to keep up with the animals I'm chasing. But I run a little bit. I have this seven mile loop that I do around town that's got a couple ups and downs to it. If I can do that under an hour, I'm feeling pretty good. But come August, I'll really start thinking about it a lot harder. I'll probably stop running and do more mountain climbing with a weighted pack. I think kids call it rucking these days. Yeah, do a lot more of that. Whether it's in my hunting spot or just here locally. Just trying to find a steep hill. I'll definitely start eating better too. Like a lot of people do. Dry January, I do dry August. Try not to drink as much. Many beers.

[Brody Henderson]

Oh, dude, Like I got, I cut the alcohol about whatever seven months ago and I, it's. I think it ties into fitness for me. Like I got, I sleep better.

[Corey Calkins]

Yep.

[Brody Henderson]

Got more energy. My guts work better.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

I win more trivia games if I haven't been drinking.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah. See, if I'm sneaking a beer, I feel like I do better at trivia. But come August, I'll stop drinking. But then come September, while I'm hunting, I'm going to crack a few Coors lights up.

[Brody Henderson]

Sure.

[Corey Calkins]

Ice cold box, you know. And then stretching is a massive one. I've skied my whole life and my knees and my back already paying for it. And if I don't stretch like for a solid 15, 20 minutes every morning, I pay for it later.

[Giannis Patelis]

Pretty basic stretching. Is it more like a mobility routine or what are we talking about?

[Corey Calkins]

Mobility? Yeah, a lot of basic stretches. Hips, knees, back. And it just, it's amazing how much more you can get away with and how the aches and pains just aren't there if you just stretch. I've never had knee problems since I've started religiously stretching in the morning when.

[Brody Henderson]

It comes time to throw a big load of meat on your back.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah.

[Brody Henderson]

Makes a big difference then.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, man, I've said it dozens of times before, but when I was on my strict yoga routine for those two or three years, you know how you get stoved up when you're bent over an elk, gutting and skinning, you know, painful. Yeah. And then like every time you stand Up. You're like, oh, I don't know if I'm going to make it back up to vertical. Like, when I was doing the yoga thing, like, I could do three elk in a row and never even have stove up come through my head. Not once.

[Corey Calkins]

Yoga or Pilates.

[Giannis Patelis]

Because the core, I think, was just strong, you know?

[Corey Calkins]

Yep, you're back.

[Giannis Patelis]

Tyler Jones from the Element. He recently posted that he was working out, getting ready for an elk hunt, and he was asking people on the Internet, you know, what should I do? Any other. He kind of said, this is what I'm doing. Should I add anything in? And what I commented. And I think it's. It's good to think about and remember and. Because I've been caught on it too, and it really helps is that when you're on your western elk hunt, like, he's going to come up from Texas, right. He's probably going to have a week or so, right. Or whatever hunt you go to do if you're that kind of a hunter and you're not just doing the weekend, right. You're going to hunt five days in a row, seven days in a row. And I think your training kind of has to mimic that too. Right. Because if you're like, oh, I trained, and then you take a day or two off and then I trained again. Right. That's not what an elk hunt is like. Because an elk hunt is like, oh, no, you pounded it hard day one, and then you really want to do that day two, three, and four as well. So a lot of people.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah. That first day, especially if they're not, like, acclimating for a couple of days, hiking around for a couple days before the hunt, like, and they just go, like, go hard that first day. And then the second day, it's just like, oh, you gotta maintain, man. Unless you get lucky opening morning.

[Giannis Patelis]

First date. No. Yeah. Who does that? I haven't killed anything on opening morning. I don't know, maybe ever. All right. Thanks, Mountain Ops, for sponsoring that segment. We appreciate it, Phil. I think it's time for some listener feedback.

[Phil Taylor]

Let's do some listener feedback. Get those questions in for the crew, if you have any. We have a question for Brody from the brothers Harrison. They ask, hey, Brody, brothers Harrison, I'm not so experienced walleye angler. What is your recommendation for baits and structure to start at on a smaller lake?

[Brody Henderson]

I am not an expert walleye angler. You should be asking this to Seth or. Or Chester. But we fish, like, I wouldn't call it a small lake Mo like our main lake that we fish is probably like, I think it's 2500 or 3000 acres, so it's not giant. And weed lines in the summer are like our go to spot. This, this time of the summer it's anywhere from 12 to 20ft deep off weed lines. It just concentrates the fish because that's where the little perch are. So like that's one thing. And you can do like, you can jig those weed lines with like soft plastics or throw a, have a crawler on a jig head. You control crankbaits along those weed lines. You can run bottom bouncers. The other thing that I know Seth and Chester look for a lot are contour. So like maybe you've got like a bay that's 10ft deep and then it drops off to 20 pretty quick. Those kind of contours. I know walleye guys look for a lot I talk about and we, we catch our share of walleyes. But like I'm still learning and luckily we got some good lakes around here to learn on. So that's, that's all I got for you, man.

[Giannis Patelis]

I think it's pretty thorough answer that was.

[Phil Taylor]

Chris asks, as you know, it's the preference point application period for Wyoming and Montana. Is there a particular state or species where you guys are banking points or acquiring points? I suppose guys have a strategy or preferences.

[Brody Henderson]

I mean it's different for residents and non residents. Right. Like for us here in Montana, like we already applied for our bonus points. We don't have preference points here as non residents. But yeah, I'm building up points in Wyoming for mule deer and antelope. I got so many deer points in Wyoming but like not enough to get the top tier tag. So I'm like every year I'm wondering whether I should burn them or not.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah, yeah. I don't know if there's anything still left open besides Wyoming, Montana. But yeah, I've already got my Wyoming points. I still do pronghorn, mule deer, elk down there. What else do I apply? I get, I get points in Arizona and then I think just Idaho and New Mexico. I apply, but that's not a point system. That's just a straight lottery. Oh, and then Colorado and you know, it would be a lot less. But the reason I still do Colorado is because we lived there for a long time. So I started banking points when, when I was a resident and it was cheap and now I feel like I can't stop and I guided in Arizona and so I already had to buy the hunting license and then the points were cheap and so they kind of got me.

[Brody Henderson]

The one thing about points, man. Like you gotta have some kind of plan because like, like you can't just expect like oh, I'm gonna get points for five years and I'm gonna get some crazy awesome tag. Like you need to do research and see what your points are gonna get you in whatever state or unit you might species you might be interested in. Um, just having points isn't enough, you know.

[Giannis Patelis]

No, but man, it's like, it's kind of like when was a good day to, you know, any day is a good day. Nevermind. I'm gonna skip that one.

[Corey Calkins]

Relive.

[Giannis Patelis]

Get, get the points because you just have to start and maybe do your research once you already have five points. But like you'll be so happy that. Because I started right about at the age of 30 and now I'm coming on 50 and like it's finally, it's taking 20 years to kind of be in that position to be like, yeah, look at this. Like I might, I have a pretty good chance of drawing that one or that one or that one. And it's going to be a once in a lifetime kind of a deal because I'm probably not going to apply for those same tags when I'm 70, you know.

[Brody Henderson]

No, no, I'm just saying get like, like it's, it's an investment over time. You put in for 15 years at whatever, 50 bucks a point, you know, you're.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh yeah, it adds up. It adds up. Yeah, I would definitely like stick to one state or like, like don't spread your money thin to where you just have a little bit here and there like by 1.1 year here and another point another year here. Like pick one, stick to it and make sure you're accumulating those and yeah. And set your expectations. I think like you're saying a lot of people think that, oh, I'll just, you know, apply for 10 years. Next thing you know. Yep, I'm gonna have some, you know, I'll have the best tag in Wyoming.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah, you gotta study maybe not maybe you gotta study, draw odds and, and things like that and figure out what your points are gon.

[Giannis Patelis]

What else we got, Freddie?

[Phil Taylor]

Rick asks what the crew is cooking with with their wild game this week. Freddie, hang out for another 20 minutes and you'll find out.

[Giannis Patelis]

Wow.

[Phil Taylor]

River Rock dental says Phil. What determines the cast of the Meat Eater Radio Live crew? Seems like whoever isn't in a special meeting, this is A great question for one of the guys sitting at the desk right now because he did this for a long time. Corey. It's not an easy process.

[Corey Calkins]

No, yeah.

[Phil Taylor]

No, it's a little tough with a crew like ours who's constantly in and out of the office sometimes without letting people know.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah. Whoever's in the house on a Thursday from a 10:30 to 12:30 Mountain Standard Time. That's really it. I mean. And it gets tougher, obviously, as hunting season gets closer. But I mean, there's a reason why I'm here. Because Steve's in Africa.

[Giannis Patelis]

Otherwise Steve would have done this episode.

[Corey Calkins]

No, probably not.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

Well, we kind of plan it out.

[Corey Calkins]

It's very planned out.

[Giannis Patelis]

I. I knew that I was hosting this episode for at least a month, I think.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah, we try and have it planned out at least three weeks ahead of time. But yeah, it's. It's kind of a crapshoot. Everybody's so busy.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah.

[Corey Calkins]

All these guys, they're all. Whether they're kissing babies at an event somewhere or out hunting, it's tough to track them down, even on just a random Thursday.

[Phil Taylor]

So I thought this was a fun question from T. Patsfield. He or they ask what other animal is the biggest nuisance to hunters? For example, gray squirrels hunting whitetail or coyotes disrupting hunts, et cetera. Like other wildlife or nature getting in the way of your hunt.

[Giannis Patelis]

I actually don't think the gray squirrels actually are such a nuisance with whitetail coyotes disrupting hunts.

[Brody Henderson]

I've had. On two occasions I've had coyotes screw up a mule deer hunt.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh, really? Like they spooked your game.

[Brody Henderson]

Actually, our. I don't know if it made it into the episode or not, but the episode that I did with Steve and like season seven, we had coyotes come in on a very nice mule deer, but that I was getting ready to shoot.

[Giannis Patelis]

Oh yeah, yeah.

[Brody Henderson]

And there they went.

[Giannis Patelis]

But I thought all the does ran. The buck just stayed there.

[Brody Henderson]

No, no, he went over the hill with them. We watched him. Just.

[Giannis Patelis]

Isn't that, Is that the first location or a second location? Second. Oh, okay.

[Brody Henderson]

That's right. Cuz coyotes came in on the first one.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah, but the buck just stood up and then laid back down. He was slick. He was slick. I once was, I think, calling in a coos deer by doing some rattling. And I had a buck coming around this basin and I'm pretty sure he was coming to me. He's looking pretty determined. And then on the same trail, I could see a coyote going the other direction. And when they met, that kind of blew that whole deal. But I would say for me, cows, Cattle.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

Like, you know, as an elk hunting guide, you're up on the forest a lot. And there's, you know, you're sort of at the tail end of the grazing season up there. In the first couple weeks of archery season, this was in Colorado in September. And like, never fail. Like, like, oh, there's a bugle, let's go. And all of a sudden you're like, oh, my God, we got to go through 50 cows to get there. And like, there's no way you're going to do that. Being sneaky. Like, you're going to bump one if it's in the dark, then they all run off and then guess what? There's no more bugling after the whole herd of Herefords.

[Phil Taylor]

Yeah. We had Derek pop in and say that cattle has ruined multiple turkey hunts.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah. And like, tricky. Deer will ruin a deer hunt a lot.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Corey Calkins]

Too many deer.

[Brody Henderson]

Elk will ruin an elk hunt.

[Corey Calkins]

I've had wolves howl in September with bugle and elk and then a pack of wolves start howling and then it's over. Try a different spot after that.

[Brody Henderson]

I, I, I've had, I had a late season cow tag one time back in Colorado and it like had this herd, like, freaking dialed, man or snow on the ground. Everything was lined up just right. Went back the next day and a lion had killed one and herd's gone.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah.

[Phil Taylor]

Yeah. We have Ryan saying fall season seasonal allergies screw up the most funds for him.

[Brody Henderson]

I don't get fall, I get spring.

[Phil Taylor]

Yeah, that's a big one for me. Kai says kids on four wheelers. Our producer Jake, in the chat said that, that his kids too.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah.

[Phil Taylor]

The biggest, biggest nuisance.

[Giannis Patelis]

That's true. Cool.

[Phil Taylor]

I think we're, we're good for now, but if you have any more questions, we'll do this one more time at the end of the show.

[Giannis Patelis]

Thanks for the questions, everybody. All right, next, we are interviewing Ashley Morgan Olvera, who is the research and education director at the Texas Invasive Species Institute. Ashley works on invasive species concerns associated with hogs, carp, doves, and aquatic pill. Excuse me. And aquatic plants. Ashley, welcome to the show.

[Unknown Host]

Thank you.

[Giannis Patelis]

Hey, I don't feel like I did a real proper description of your job. Can you give me, like, a nice detail called layman's overview of what you do?

[Unknown Host]

I mean, I kind of liked it. Yeah. So I do research and education. I basically, I talk about invasive species. I live and breathe invasive species. So we do a lot of grant work for USDA APHIS to look for newly emerging ones. We do a lot of community outreach. And then things like this, you know, like I was mentioning to you yesterday, it's like I will talk about invasives at any point in time just to kind of get everybody more comfortable with that term and aware with what invasive species are.

[Giannis Patelis]

All right, since you just mentioned that, that it's sort of like a term you're still trying to get people comfortable with. It's probably not really comfortable so much as it is just aware of. Because you're telling me yesterday that the federal government didn't even really recognize that term up until how many years ago as 1999.

[Unknown Host]

Yep. President Clinton had to issue an executive order that finally defined what an invasive state species is. So people often mix exotic ornamental weed. They'll use those words instead of invasive. But invasive is like a very special subset. So it's often an invasive. It's often a species that's not native to the environment that it's in and it causes harm. So that's where something can become invasive because you might have exotic animals that have been imported for, for hunting purposes and such. And so maybe their populations are maintained. And so that's going to just be an exotic animal. But like down in Texas, you know, people were importing things like access deer. The deer got out and now we have an invasive problem with them because they are outside of their normal area and they're causing harm by competing with the native species. So it's that harm factor that really is what makes the species invasive.

[Giannis Patelis]

Okay, now Ashley, you came across our radar because producer Jake Birch found an article about the invasive hammerhead worm, which is a nasty looking creature. Tell me what's up with the hammerhead worms and what we need to do about them.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah, so I, as I was mentioning yesterday. Yeah, that's kind of like our little poster child right now. It's just a really unique looking organism that catches a lot of people's attention and it's what helps me start that conversation on invasive species. So this one, it's a predator of earthworms, so that's why we call it invasive. So this is one of those species that's actually been in the United states for over 100 years. It was brought in when people were moving plants and it got out of greenhouses because it can crawl and stick to just about anything. And then it's really in the past 20 years that we started realizing, wait a minute, it's eating our Earthworms. This is a problem. It's causing harm. So really in just like the last 20 years have we started calling it invasive and realizing like what it is. And that's some of the stuff too is realizing just because something's been here for a long time doesn't mean that it's, it's a good thing. So that one definitely catches a lot of attention, but it's mainly a threat to earthworms.

[Giannis Patelis]

Okay. Do you know, does it use that little hammerhead? Like what is the hammerhead part of that worm? Do you, do you know specifically if that the, the shape of the body sort of like helps it in its day to day?

[Unknown Host]

So it doesn't have eyes. And that head is basically full of receptors. So yeah, they will use that head to kind of survey for their, their sniffing for their worms.

[Giannis Patelis]

I see, I see. But like it. So. But it's been also in the news not just because it's a nasty looking critter, but because it's got neurotoxins on it. Right. That can actually be, I don't know, would you call it harmful to humans or.

[Unknown Host]

I'd say more annoying. Okay, so that's, that's always part of my PSA with this thing too is because humans hear neurotoxin and they're instantly thinking, oh, it affects us. Right. Because humans are very human centered. And the thing is that neurotoxin is to digest earthworms. So for us it could cause a very mild allergic reaction. You know, like maybe if you encounter poison ivy or it can lead to kind of a more severe. But I've talked to thousands of people, I've only maybe known about 10 that have had any sort of slight itch on their hands. So overall we recommend don't touch them with your hands, but we do want you to remove them and kill them if you see them.

[Giannis Patelis]

Okay. How should someone kill one? Because I heard you don't want to just cut them in half.

[Unknown Host]

Correct, yes. They're flatworms. So they'll regenerate. You cut them in half, they suddenly become two worms. You got twice as many problems. So they're soft body organisms, they're susceptible to a ton of household products. So you can spray vinegar on them, pour salt on them, or you can remove them with a gloved hand, stick them in a sealed container and throw them away. You know, I've had people say, oh, they're susceptible to blowtorches. I say, well, I'm susceptible to a blowtorch. Like, yes, fire does work as well.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah, but a 12 gauge shotgun would work too.

[Unknown Host]

All right, it would, but that's a waste of ammo.

[Giannis Patelis]

Good point. All right. I feel like this is a great segue to take us to the. To the earthworm conversation, because I recently found out through the habitat work that I'm doing in Wisconsin that not only are earthworms not native, but that they can be invasive. So tell us how earthworms impact our landscape.

[Unknown Host]

Yes, so that's something that I also was learning a few years as well, too. So it's just really important for everybody to remember that earthworms in general, your European earthworms, those red wigglers that you use in your gardens, your compost piles, even as bait, they are not native to the United States. They were brought over by the colonists because the colonists said, hey, this is great in our garden, we're starting a new colony. Like, let's bring our life with us. And so earthworms are very good at nutrient cycling, and that's why we keep them in our gardens and they're really good in our agricultural fields. But the thing is, North American forests, prairies, all of our natural landscapes, they have adapted to not have any kind of earthworm. They don't need things milling about, breaking down the leaf litter. They need the leaf litter to stay there on the ground.

[Giannis Patelis]

So.

[Unknown Host]

So even if a European earthworm, right, our nice little aerating one, if that gets thrown into a forested area, it can start removing all that leaf litter and it starts exposing tree roots and all of this. So it's really important that earthworms we kind of view as more naturalized, like a honeybee, but they actually do cause problems. So it's really important that, especially when you're done fishing, please don't dump any worms in the lake. Yes, in theory, most of them drown, but it just takes a couple of them to make it to the shore and start over, and then they're inhabiting a natural area that genuinely does not need them.

[Giannis Patelis]

Did you know that, Corey?

[Corey Calkins]

No. No clue. That's why I fly fish.

[Unknown Host]

No worms at all. And so what's been really not fun in all this is we've realized there's an invasive earthworm out there. It's called the Asian jumping worm. It's often sold as an Alabama jumper, snake, worms, things like that. It is not from Alabama, it is not native, and this one is not even a nutrient cycler. So it doesn't even do the good stuff that the other earthworms do. So this other Asian jumping worm is just flat out invasive. And so that's one that we really need people to just be aware of, you know, talk to. I've talked to bait shops around here. You know, they say they've called and I. I've appreciated it. They say, well, I've heard about these jumping worms. Should I be breeding them? I said, please don't. Please don't. They say, well, what about, you know, red wigglers? Yeah, of course. African night crawlers. I say, not a problem. Those are exotic species. They are not invasive. They still provide a good benefit. But again, it's just important to be careful with any worm. But, yeah, those Asian jumping worms, they flail around, they look like little baby snakes. It's kind of like you'll look at a worm and you'll say, this is not like any worm I've ever seen. It's not, you know, it's not floppy. It flails around like a snake. And then it also just completely degrades the soil. It causes erosion, Plants won't see seed, all that kind of stuff.

[Giannis Patelis]

So there's more aggressive than these other earthworms that you've been talking about?

[Unknown Host]

Yes, yes. These Asian jumping worms, they're. We won't even, like, say that they're good in one environment. They're just flat out bad, and we want them out. But the problem is they look a lot like the other earthworms. And that's why it's one of those sneaky invasives where I became more aware about it five years ago. I put up something on our website two years ago, and within three months, I got reports from Houston, Dallas, Austin, and I think along the coast. And it's one of those. With a state this size, if you get hits that quickly, it means that the worms probably been in our soil for a long time. We just didn't know any better.

[Giannis Patelis]

Okay. I feel like we'd be remiss not to bring up hogs while talking to you since, you know, that is like the. The poster child for invasive species. Right. Especially in Texas. So what stance does the Texas Invasive Species Institute take on them?

[Unknown Host]

Please remove them. Please remove them. So in. At least in Texas, there isn't. You don't need a permit to hunt. The. The state wants you to remove them. So that's kind of how we feel as well. Please remove them when you're out. When you're out hunting, if your state doesn't require any sort of permit, please, please kill them. But especially for us, I get that question asked a lot like, well, what are you going to do about hogs. And I have to say, well, the conquistadors brought them over in the 1500s, so we're not going to win that war. But we can at least slow the spread, win on a local level, or at least stop it from invading every state in the United States.

[Brody Henderson]

What about Ashley? What about Audad? Like, I saw that recently. Texas, like, legalized shooting those suckers from. From helicopters. Like, air gun in them. Do you guys do it? Like, are they considered an invasive species in Texas?

[Unknown Host]

They must be if they're. Well, no, if they're allowing permits, it might be one of those where they're trying to prevent it to be coming become more problematic. Like an axis. Yeah, it was imported. It's getting a little out of control. And so I think they're trying to cull it before it becomes just outright invasive. So that might be why they're like lifting or allowing more types of hunting to happen. One of those, like, borderline ones where it's like, the state's like, we'll allow it for right now.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

Fellas, any other questions for Ashley?

[Brody Henderson]

No, I'm good.

[Giannis Patelis]

Hey, thanks for taking the time, Ashley. We really, really appreciate it. And yeah, hopefully this helps, man. Everybody dispose of your worms properly and watch out for them jumping ones.

[Unknown Host]

Yes, please. And clean, drain dry your boats. I just want to say, you know, naturalists and outdoorsmen, you're kind of like our first line of defense. So it's really up to y' all to help just clean your equipment before you leave your site. So. But thank y' all so much for having me.

[Giannis Patelis]

Okay, thank you. Have a good day.

[Unknown Host]

Bye.

[Unknown]

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[Giannis Patelis]

Auto parts.

[Unknown]

Hey, I'm not ashamed to tell you I'm a big Dude Wipes fan. I keep dude wipes in my backpack. I keep dude wipes at our fish shack. I keep dude wipes in my truck, garage, wherever the hell. I just keep them around. And also, you know, one of the reasons I got kids, man, when you got kids, you learn that you keep them around because little butts make big messes. When nature calls for your kid, answer with the pristine clean of little dude Wipes. They're gentle enough for little cheeks and strong enough for toddler streaks so they can be the first generation that never has to suffer the agony of dry toilet paper. The next time your kid goes number two, show them their number one with Little Dude Wipes. Little Dude Wipes are wet extra large flushable wipes, alcohol and chemical free. They're the same size as Extra Large dude wipes. Perfect for the big messes the little kids make. Kids are known to get a little stinky. Wipe away the funk with Little Dude Wipes bubble gum. The bubble gum scented flushable wipe free little Stinker. Also available in fragrance free Little dude wipes are made with 100% plant based based natural fibers so you can keep the planet healthy for your little dude. Available exclusively at Walmart nationwide. And remember, check out the bubble gum. You'll get a kick out of it. Hey everybody, I'm talking here about Montana Knife Company. From our very own state of Montana, this company was founded by one of the most experienced master blade Smiths in the world, Josh Smith, who over recent months I become friends with and my God, have I learned a lot about knives from this guy. Just a phenomenal hometown company that makes world renowned knives. Josh has been making knives for 30 years. You get one of these knives up and open it, it is sharp like something that came from outer space. And here's the deal. They make knives that can be sharpened. You can work on these knives. If you don't want to work on them, you send it to them and they'll work on it. They'll get it sharp. Phenomenal hunting knives. If you want to see them in action, we just did. Me and John Hayes, the taxidermist just did a video about how to properly skin a black bear. Watch that video and in that video you'll see Montana Knife Co. Knives in action. MKC products usually sell out in minutes of being released, which is true. But now for the first time they're dabbling with having knives in stock on their site. So right now you can grab yourself a Blackfoot 2.0 or the ultralight speedgoat. Use code Meat Eater and you get 10% off your first order. Montana Knife Company working knives for working people. 10% off with the code Meat Eater. That's a good deal.

[Giannis Patelis]

Now on to meat eater menu. And I said hey, hey, hey. I said hey, what's on that stone?

[Corey Calkins]

Nice bill.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah. Every time when we. I don't. Is this, is this a new segment or have we done this one before?

[Phil Taylor]

We've done it before but the, the drop is new.

[Giannis Patelis]

The drop is new relative. I need to do more, I guess pre production on the next time I host, just to make sure I can get as many new fill drops as possible, because that's definitely my favorite part. This is the segment where we all talk about what we've been cooking with our wild game lately. And today it is taco themed. First, we're going to start off with a PSA I recorded yesterday just before I bleached my hair. Hey, it's Giannis Mattelis from Meat Eater and I'm here with a hot tip slash public service announcement. This is regarding the what's considered the unusable or tough cuts or sinew laced chunks of your wild game. Okay, like this, like shank. I call them shank pieces. They're actually not the shank. It's a little muscle next to the shank. Everybody knows what I'm talking about. It's just got sinew all lace through it. There's some neck in here. Just, you know what I'm talking about. A lot of the lower legs and the neck is what, is what gets lumped into this category. Okay? So think about lots of silver skin. Stuff that you like, you don't want to put into the grinder. Yes, you could grinder, but do you really want to be chewing on all that silver skin while you're eating your burger? No. So instead, low and slow, cook it low and slow. Then you'll end up with a meat that can be shredded and turned into tacos, burritos, pulled meat, barbecue type sandwiches. It's easy and the opportunities are endless for what to do with that meat. And now you're thinking, well, what happens with all that silver skin and everything in there? Okay, this stuff, if you go slow and low, five to six hours, it's just going to slowly dissolve and it's going to become part of the sauce and part of the juices and it's going to give you that wonderful silky texture that you're really looking for. Okay? So it's not. This is not just like a way to use this chunk of meat. This is actually a way to have some of the best wild game meals available. Because this silver skin, the connective tissue is going to. It's going to give you a great palette, great flavor. It's going to make it seem more moist. If you do this same recipe that I'm about to give you with just whole muscle cuts out of the back leg, you're going to get a much drier product that you're not going to be anywhere near as happy with. Okay? So trust me, lower legs, lots of now, real quick, if you want to just do the simplest version of this, chunk it up. I've been doing like two, two to three inch chunks. Okay. I'm going to brine it in a water, vinegar, and a little bit of salt mixture. Okay. About a half cup of vinegar. I've probably got, I don't know, two, three cups of water in here. About five cups or five pounds of meat. I don't know exactly what this does, but this is basically how you start birria or how you start barbacoa in those Mexican taco dishes. It's been working excellent for this stuff, so I'm just going to brine it in here. But today, instead of doing those fancy Mexican dishes, I'm just going to make it so it's ready for pretty much anything. My plan is to do pulled meat barbecue sandwiches, but I'm a brine it for 30 minutes. Then without searing it, I'm just going to put it into my Dutch oven. This joker right here, all of this meat. I'm going to rinse it first. I'm going to rinse my brine off. I'm going to put it all in there, and then I'm going to cover it with some kind of stock, chicken stock, beef stock, whatever. Just barely cover it, put a lid on it and in my oven at 260 for probably five to six hours until it's fork tender. So you can pull it apart with a. Pull it apart with a fork and then take it off. At that point, when it cools, I'll put it out on a sheet pan. I'll pick it. If there are any of the bigger chunks of sinew, silver skin, whatever left, pull those out. There won't be many. We'll put it back in there with the juices. And then the world is your oyster, barbecue sauce, salsas, whatever you do as you please, you're going to be extremely happy with the results. Okay, so use your lower leg meat. Cook it low and slow. You'll find that you'll be reaching for that more than you're reaching for a lot of the whole muscle cuts out of your wild game. Thanks for listening.

[Brody Henderson]

Nice tip. Be honest.

[Giannis Patelis]

What do you boys think about that?

[Brody Henderson]

I think it's a good segue into what I'm going to talk about.

[Giannis Patelis]

Okay.

[Brody Henderson]

You don't. You don't have anything to add there. You covered it all.

[Giannis Patelis]

I sure hope so. I felt pretty thorough.

[Corey Calkins]

I was distracted because the chat was so worried about your missing drawer. It looked like right below your sink. Maybe A little shortcut to your trash can.

[Giannis Patelis]

I can give you a quick explanation of that. That's funny. I actually love it. It's the best thing that's ever happened. In kind of a weird way. We're in a, you know, kitchen remodel is probably going to take 15 to 20 years, but we put a new sink in, and the measurements were off to the point where that drawer could not be in. In there anymore. What? When the sink was in there. Right. But the sink was more important than the drawer. Well, what's underneath that missing drawer is the trash can.

[Corey Calkins]

Perfect.

[Giannis Patelis]

And so it's pretty much like being at a McDonald's, where you don't have to open the trash can slider every time. You just want to drop something in there. Now, if you got something big and messy, yeah, you got to open the trash can. But if it's just like a, you know, you blow your nose. Kleenex just right through the hole, plops right in. So when I complete this whole remodel and there's maybe some new cabinets, I'm going to incorporate that. I'll probably have the little swinging door, you know, not just a hole. I have a little swinging door, but, yeah, it's awesome. I hate dealing with trash cans. I love having them hidden away, tucked away. I don't like one in the middle of the kitchen and where it's just always, I don't know, shout out to.

[Phil Taylor]

Leland for solving the mystery before you. You announced it. That was. That was his theory. So.

[Giannis Patelis]

Good work, Leland.

[Corey Calkins]

Anywho.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah. So going back to Giannis's video, all that, everything he said applies to wild turkey legs and wings, which is. Phil, you got teed up there. So we're talking tacos fresh. So the other day, I made tacos out of turkey thighs, drums, wings. Like, save your turkey wings. I know it's a pain. Get those wings off of a gobbler, but it's worth it. There's enough meat there to make it worth it. So I cook those things the exact same way Giannis just. Just described with that shank and shoulder and other tough, like deer cuts. And then what you do is you. You shred it up, and then you gotta. Gotta crisp it up. And like, I've crisp this stuff up a couple of different ways. You can do it in a cast iron pan. You can put it under a broiler, which is, I think, how Steve likes to do it. But this time I got a. I got one of those big Blackstone suckers for Christmas, and I Did like a.

[Giannis Patelis]

Big flat top grill.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah, yeah. And I did it on there and. And it worked. It was so much. Just was. It worked great, man.

[Giannis Patelis]

What kind of grease did you use?

[Brody Henderson]

There's a little olive oil, and I did a mix of olive oil and I think canola, but I'm not like attacking it with super high heat. So I try to do olive oil because it's got a low smoke point, you know, so you can't get after it too hard. But either way, the great thing about that big outdoor griddle is I was able to cook the tortillas while I was cooking the meat. And so that made. That made it nice. I'm not dirtying up a bunch of pots and pans and those things. Like, we eat them more like. Like a Mexican street taco. Like, real simple cilantro, little chopped onion, queso fresco. Like, don't be putting American taco cheese on there. Don't be dumping half a bottle of paste salsa on there. Like, keep it simple. And they're very, very, very, very good. Just awesome stuff.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah. It's amazing if you do the meat right, how well a taco can taste when it's just tortilla meat, fresh onions, and usually white. Yeah. More of that bite and cilantro. It's really all you need. Even. Even that the cotija or the queso fresco is like, you know, it's nice, but you don't. Definitely don't have to have it.

[Brody Henderson]

And you can put a little like spicy hot sauce on there maybe if you want a little heat. But yeah, I'm not a fan of drowning it in red. Red salsa.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah, ditto.

[Giannis Patelis]

Corey, what about you, man?

[Corey Calkins]

I've been eating a lot of Black Bear recently. Last night actually made some Black Bear Smash burger tacos.

[Giannis Patelis]

So talk about, Tell me more.

[Corey Calkins]

Bringing the world together with tacos and burgers.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah, man. Very international, me.

[Phil Taylor]

Interesting.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah. The photo didn't turn out great, but yeah, it's a taco shell and a smash burger. Everybody knows how to make smash burgers these days. This. These are not homemade shells, but I did fry them myself to get them nice and perfectly crispy and folded them.

[Giannis Patelis]

So you started with a corn.

[Brody Henderson]

Corn.

[Giannis Patelis]

A corn. Just tortilla.

[Corey Calkins]

Yep, Corn tortilla. And then I did cook half of it in oil, fried it in oil, whatever, and then smashed the burger, flipped it over. Being Black Bear, I really wanted to make sure it was cooked, which doesn't take long with a Smash burger style. And then I took that half cooked tortilla, put the uncooked side on the outside gave it a flip. Put some cheese on it.

[Brody Henderson]

So you're. You're like burger smashing the tortilla on there.

[Corey Calkins]

That's typically. That's how I would do it. I did it separate this time. But, yeah, I think that's the kind of classic way to do it. Smash it with the tortilla.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah.

[Corey Calkins]

But then you're only cooking one half of the burger. So I did the burger.

[Brody Henderson]

Yep.

[Corey Calkins]

And then flipped it, and then tortilla on top just to make sure it was fully cooked. And then I put a little bit of garden fresh romaine lettuce on there, garden tomatoes. And then that was my kid's meal there. He wanted some taco sauce on it. Normally, I'd make, like, a fancy sauce, as Will Ferrell put it, ketchup and mayonnaise with a little dill sauce in there. But. So it's. You get that burger bite, but it's in a taco shell. Yanni, I think I made some for you when we were out pronghorn hunting a couple years ago.

[Giannis Patelis]

You did?

[Corey Calkins]

You, me and Max Barda. They must not have been that memorable.

[Giannis Patelis]

You made burger tacos?

[Corey Calkins]

Smash burger tacos. I think that was with some elk. But you must have been tired.

[Giannis Patelis]

I was tired. I got a question for you. When you do ground bear meat, do you add any fat?

[Corey Calkins]

I do. You do not. Not as much as deer or elk.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah.

[Corey Calkins]

But definitely threw in some pork fat.

[Giannis Patelis]

Just a little bit.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

Okay. Because I haven't ground mine yet, and I'm wondering what about you? You've had some bears. You ever ground your bear meat?

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah. If I'm making sausage or whatever, I'm gonna add a little bit.

[Giannis Patelis]

What about this? Regular old ground.

[Brody Henderson]

I don't think I made any out of the last bear I shot. I think I did all sausage because.

[Giannis Patelis]

Like, when you handle the meat, like, my hands get greasy.

[Corey Calkins]

There's fat in there.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

So I'm wondering, like, if I need to do it.

[Brody Henderson]

But I still think you're missing, like. Like, if you were to slice a bear's, like, thigh muscle.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah.

[Brody Henderson]

Down the mid, like, crosswise. Is there, like. Are you seeing, like, internal fat in there? You know what I mean?

[Corey Calkins]

A little bit. Not. Not a. Not.

[Giannis Patelis]

Like I said, I feel like you can feel it more than you can see it.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Corey Calkins]

On the outside.

[Brody Henderson]

Do a few pounds one way and.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah.

[Brody Henderson]

Without trying to see.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah.

[Corey Calkins]

I did it, and it just cooked so much better. You know, there's our. There's just a Little bit more fat to cook.

[Giannis Patelis]

I will say I recently did some ground just because of the way that the portions ended up that I had maybe five pounds left of deer meat and I didn't have any fat to mix into it. I was making meatballs and then the leftovers. I was like, well, I'm just going to freeze this ground. But I didn't have any fat for it. So I just did it just by plain deer meat. And it's been fine. I've been just salt and pepper and making patties and the burgers have been coming out just fine.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah. You can add an egg to it if you're really worried about it.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah. Okay. I guess a little more feedback. Phil. Yeah.

[Phil Taylor]

Last call for questions. We're a little light right now and I get quite. We get questions like this a lot almost every week. And I normally don't pick them because it's kind of a big topic, but everyone has their own opinion on it. So I'm gonna bring it up now. It's kind of a big general question, but Ethan Blair, realtor and auctioneer, it's just a Swiss army knife. This guy, he says, we're wanting to experience hunting out west next year. We're focused on elk but open to other big game. What would you recommend for prep and would you go DIY or hire an outfitter?

[Brody Henderson]

First trip, I'm assuming.

[Phil Taylor]

Sounds like it.

[Corey Calkins]

Yep.

[Brody Henderson]

If you can afford an outfitter, it's not a bad way to go.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah. Take a lot of guesswork out of it. That's my answer, too.

[Giannis Patelis]

I'd hire a guide, especially if it's going to be like a one and done thing.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

But if you're like, oh, we're going to start doing this and make an annual tradition and I've got like the next 10 years, like I'm going to become an elk hunter.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

You know, go DIY and you can.

[Brody Henderson]

Kind of do a combo. You could do an outfitter drop hunt where they're going to pack you into a decent area, help you pack all your stuff in, pack all your stuff out. But you're out there hunting on your own.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

Do your homework, man. Call, call. A lot of referrals. You know, if you're looking at the outfitter thing, other preparation, I don't know. Go back to listen to earlier in the show.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah.

[Brody Henderson]

Get in, get in shape and shoot your gun or your bow.

[Giannis Patelis]

That's right.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah.

[Phil Taylor]

Nathan, I've been seeing this question for weeks. I don't pick it because I have no Effing idea. I'm not a part of these conversations. This is about the first light waiters. When will they be available? I'll try to get some info for you and update. But I'm sorry, I'm not the guy to come to this. I don't know if anyone. Anyone at the table. Yeah, I didn't think so.

[Brody Henderson]

How about you, Corey?

[Corey Calkins]

I have the power of knowing this right in front of me. Actually, I saw these come up earlier. There was a whole chat about waiters. It looked like. Yeah, I have the date right in front of me. But just the way things have been going with the waiters. I will say very soon.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Corey Calkins]

And leave it at that.

[Brody Henderson]

That's a great global economy kind of thing.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah. But very, very soon. They're like in stock, ready to roll.

[Phil Taylor]

So. Yes. Would you believe that this tariff stuff has affected us in some way?

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah. No, get excited though. They're badass.

[Giannis Patelis]

Cool.

[Phil Taylor]

Well, great. I'm glad I brought it up because I normally just skip right. Right past those ones. Let's see. T. Patsfield once again asks, best snack in the stand.

[Corey Calkins]

Jerky.

[Giannis Patelis]

I like. I mean, if I really just had to pick one, go to from the last five years of deer hunting in Wisconsin, it would be my liverwurst and butter sandwiches on Latvian rye bread. Now, all of you can probably get your hands on some good liver. Worse. But that Latvian rye bread's a little harder to get a hold of.

[Brody Henderson]

That's not a snack, though, man.

[Giannis Patelis]

That's amazing you.

[Brody Henderson]

It might be, but that's a meal. Come on, a snack.

[Giannis Patelis]

I think when they're asking about snack in the stand, it's like anything that's going to sustain you as you're going throughout the day. P.B.

[Corey Calkins]

And J.

[Giannis Patelis]

But I do eat a multiple of those. I'll usually. And I pack a breakfast sandwich in there too.

[Corey Calkins]

Oh, there you go.

[Giannis Patelis]

I've gone to not eating really breakfast before four hunts. And really just packing in food that I will as soon as I'm set. Whether I'm glassing or I finally get in the stand, I'm gonna start eating at that point. There's no reason to waste the time at whatever 4:00 clock in the morning putting down food, you know.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah, I agree there. I eat all kind. I don't. I mean, I ate all kinds of different.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah, man. The thing with us, Patsfield, is that we get to hunt so much that all snacks.

[Brody Henderson]

Some of us do.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

All snacks get old after a while and you gotta keep it fresh, man. Variety is the spice of life. Yeah, man. So I'll switch up the candies, I'll switch up the bars. Chocolate. Sometimes I don't know.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah, that's why I say jerky. There's a million flavors you can toss in your jerky and every bite reminds you why you're out there.

[Giannis Patelis]

There you go, Meat.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

What else, Phil?

[Phil Taylor]

Yanni, your. Your new hairstyle inspired Chase to do some freestyle rap in the live chat. He's asking, he's asking me to recite it. Chase, I'm not going to do it dry right now because, you know, rap cadences, they require a little bit of practice. You gotta, you gotta really dig in. If I have time, I'll go back and read them and see if I can prepare something. But no promises whatsoever.

[Brody Henderson]

Well, I'm excited, Phil.

[Phil Taylor]

Oh, great. Now I have to do it. Russell says DIY Alaska Moose Hunt this September. Have two rifles in the safe.300 Weatherby Mag and a.338 Win Mag. Your choice of these two.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yes, yes, everyone.

[Brody Henderson]

Yeah. Which one you shoot better?

[Corey Calkins]

They're both gonna whack them.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yep, Both those calibers are gonna do just fine.

[Brody Henderson]

If you can shoot them.

[Giannis Patelis]

If you can shoot them.

[Brody Henderson]

If you can shoot a.270 Winchester, better shoot. Take that.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah.

[Giannis Patelis]

And yeah, make sure you got a good bullet. I'm not gonna like throw any bullet companies or bullet models under the bus here, but both those calibers with a cheap bullet might not do the job. So make sure you got a good bullet that's gonna stick, stay together and, and really hammer them.

[Corey Calkins]

Amen.

[Phil Taylor]

James, I don't know this for sure, but just as someone who has done TV stuff, he. He asked, why does Meat Eaters still make episodes 22 minutes long when they are primarily a streaming show? Well, the keyword there is primarily because sometimes we make sure deals with TV networks and 22 minutes is still the standard length for a half hour episode of tv. But that's why we make so much other programming on our YouTube channels that, that don't have to play within time constraints. So check those out. But. But yeah, that's, that's the answer.

[Corey Calkins]

Yeah, Phil.

[Phil Taylor]

Let's see. I think, I think that's good. I think we're good.

[Corey Calkins]

Well, I don't think we can go through the entire show without bringing up Tony Hawk Pro Skater three plus four.

[Giannis Patelis]

Phil. Oh, yeah. What did you decide? Are you gonna play it or.

[Phil Taylor]

We can't play it for licensing reasons, but my wife and kids are out of town and I made an Instagram reel that I had some fun with. So if you wanna.

[Giannis Patelis]

It's really good.

[Corey Calkins]

I had some fun watching.

[Phil Taylor]

If you wanna check that out. PhilTaylor25 on the old Instagram. It was fun.

[Giannis Patelis]

Let me ask a question. The thing that caught my eye, the little Easter egg, was that when you grabbed the skateboard, the truck was loose.

[Phil Taylor]

I have not. Nobody has touched that skateboard in years.

[Giannis Patelis]

Okay.

[Phil Taylor]

We inherited it from my brother in law and it's been collecting dust in the garage.

[Giannis Patelis]

Okay, but so you didn't set that up like it was. The truck was also. Was already.

[Phil Taylor]

The truck. The truck was already basically falling off.

[Giannis Patelis]

Wow. So it was like it was just waiting for you to make this.

[Phil Taylor]

It was waiting for me.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah.

[Phil Taylor]

And there's another Easter egg that the skateboard is themed as well. So go back and pause it and see.

[Corey Calkins]

Oh, better go again. This coming from the skater boy haircut over here.

[Giannis Patelis]

Yeah. Oh, man. Yeah. No, that got me a little nostalgic too. I was like, man, I wish I had a skateboard kicking around. Although at my place, there's no place to ride it. No, it's all gravel, which is a bit of a bummer, but. All right. Thank you all for watching today. If you're looking for some new swag meters, got some new hats out. I especially like this new one from Wired to Hunt. It's pretty hip in my opinion. Go check them out at the meat eater store. You know where to find that. And again, thank you for watching and listening this week. And we'll be back next week, Thursday, 11:00am Mountain Standard Time.

[Brody Henderson]

Adios.

[Unknown Host]

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