For the Fowlers Podcast
Introducing "For the Fowlers," a new waterfowl hunting podcast based in Northern California. Our goal is to dive into every aspect of this sport we're so passionate about.
We aim to create a valuable resource for new hunters, helping them get into the sport, while also engaging experienced fowlers with our stories and those of our guests.
For the Fowlers Podcast
Ep. 15 Three Guys, One Trailer
The trailer rocks, the coffee’s too strong, and the alarms are set for a time no one sane would choose—perfect conditions to get honest about duck season. We invited Pete back to camp to trade stories, argue about draws, and unpack what keeps us chasing birds when January feels long and warm.
We start with the heart of it: camaraderie and craft. From picking a refuge spot to building a spread that makes mallards stall at 15 yards, there’s joy in the process. But we don’t dodge the pain points. Electronic reservations create weird outcomes, and we sketch practical fixes: night-before blind assignments, cleaner communication for sweat-line hunters, and less incentive to stack and burn multiple top draws. Fairness and clarity make the 4 a.m. grind worth it.
Then we stare down the elephant on the feed. YouTube can teach better calling and concealment, but Instagram’s pile pics and stunt culture undercut the ethic. We break down the viral mute swan boat video—why moving-boat shots cross the safety line, and how that kind of content harms every hunter. Along the way, we share warden encounters that clarified the basics: plugs, shell counts, and fast species ID on tight limits. Mistakes happen; ownership and learning keep the tradition strong.
As the season closes, we get tactical. If a third of the calendar had to go, early, mid, or late—what’s the smart cut in a warm, high-water year? We compare favorite refuges by habitat and access, and sketch off-season goals that actually move the needle: consistent loads and chokes, better patterning, motion decoys that turn glass into life, and exploring new marsh with a neglected mud boat. It’s a grounded, gear-smart, safety-first conversation for hunters who love the work as much as the birds.
If this hits home, follow along, share it with your blind crew, and drop a rating or review so more waterfowlers can find the show. Got a guest idea or a hot take on draw reform? Email us and let’s keep the conversation moving.
Hi there, shooters. Welcome to For the Fowlers. This is Peter Lenz filling in for Brandon Ab. It's nice and chilly in this trailer today, but uh we're out here delving and looking to get cooking tomorrow and hunting. I'll give it over to Brandon.
SPEAKER_00:What's up, guys? Welcome to For the Fowlers. I'm Brandon. And I'm Caitlin. And that was Pete. Peter Lenz.
SPEAKER_01:How are we doing, everybody?
SPEAKER_00:Welcome back, Pete.
SPEAKER_01:Thanks. Good to be back. Glad to be here.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, if you guys remember Caitlin and I did an episode with Pete right before Christmas. It was fun having Pete on and uh the old naughty and nice episode. Yeah. But no, it's fun having Pete on, and I know, at least on my end, it's sounded like we had a little audio issues or whatnot, but the three on that episode, but the three of us are together. We're calling this episode three men, one trailer. We're up at Delvin. We got a nice reszi courtesy of Caton for tomorrow. So who knows what that's gonna be like. Feels like it's like March out there right now. I mean it's a little chilly tonight, but I'll tell you what, man. I was down in Sacramento today. It was only 70 degrees and it was sunny. 68 at my house. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:69 at mine.
SPEAKER_00:But no, we'll see how tomorrow goes. I'm looking forward to it. You good? Yeah, we're good. All right.
SPEAKER_01:Always good, Nelvin.
SPEAKER_00:Alright, well, you can't edit that out. That's perfect. Alright, make sure you hold that mic up too, big fella. But um it's kind of fun watching him. He's just like I know. No, but honestly, uh looking forward to tomorrow. It should be fun. Uh you know, I know we got that. We got another resie uh coming up this weekend. Caitlin and I. Yep. Pete, you're gonna maybe hit the pop uh private club again this weekend.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think this weekend, maybe before the the last weekend before close, if I'm lucky.
SPEAKER_00:But yeah.
SPEAKER_02:You've had a bunch of invites this year to the down in the grasslands.
SPEAKER_01:Usually my buddy says if you you you bring whiskey, he'll uh he'll he'll let me on a few days in the month of January, so it's kind of nice.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it should be cool. And I don't know what the kind of rest of the season, I mean we're getting to the last final couple weeks. It's been a grind, that's for sure.
SPEAKER_02:For January at least.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah, we'll see, we'll see what the rest of the season looks like. Uh you're gonna maybe hit the rice once or twice.
SPEAKER_02:I don't know. We're we're starting to pull almost all our decoys and go with a small spread. I know Chuck's got some tricks up his up his sleeve, but I've got these next few refuge hunts and I think one more private hunt like locked in, and after that I'll maybe do if the weather lines up, I'll hit the rice. We'll see.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I went to your guys' line last week, the one, your southern property. Oh, you did? Yeah, we were out there, and with all the rain and whatnot, I know that the water level was higher than you guys probably like, but probably the best I've seen that blind pond look in the last few seasons, so it was actually pretty cool to check out.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, both our blinds they look amazing. I mean, we've had a couple good days here and there, but there's just been a lot of water this year, and seems like the birds have kind of spread out for us.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So what else you got? You got any other what any other hunts coming up, big fella?
SPEAKER_01:Or no, maybe uh yeah, finish the season at my buddy's club there and then maybe get out there for the the bonus goose season, but yeah, you know, haven't haven't done that about three or four years, so yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, Pete, back in the day when we had our blind down the street from here, and that guy used to knock snows down left and right. He's got a handful of bands from late snow season, too.
SPEAKER_01:So first two birds ever shot were banded.
SPEAKER_00:Banded snows, yep.
SPEAKER_01:Pretty wild. No. One in each? One of each. Another one of our buddies, I don't know. Either Garzer or somebody else got the other one of them, I think maybe the next day.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, but isn't that how it goes? Uh I wouldn't know. Well, I guess I got one.
SPEAKER_01:I got the jewelry in the car. Yeah, we could give it a jingle if you'd like.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, the jewelry.
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:But no, it's funny. So I was just trying to kind of thinking, like, how'd the three of us start hunting together? And I know, Pete, we talked about it in the episode uh before Christmas. I know you don't get out as much. You know, Caden and I, we hunt quite a bit together, but a little backstory, Pete and I I'd like to say we grew up together, but I I met Pete either the summer before seventh grade or seventh grade, something like that.
SPEAKER_02:So we're coming up on We should get a picture, the youngest picture of you two together and put that on the Instagram.
SPEAKER_01:It's some it's somewhere out there. Yeah, my mom probably has it. Yeah, I actually pulled him out of a dumpster that year before seventh grade, and yeah, the rest is history, but yeah, walked him home after that and yeah, coming up on like 30 years.
SPEAKER_00:So, you know, and obviously Pete and I we started hunting together uh when I got started, and then okay, and we were kind of talking about before the episode. We were like, hey, how'd you kind of fit in with this group? And I I think you you were saying you had a resie or something.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think I quickly learned that a resie gets gets you on the refuge, and you can people want to hunt resies, they're hard to come by. So I hunted with our buddy Ryan a couple times on his blind with some of I think what is it, his brother-in-law or whatever. Yeah, brother-in-law. Yeah, yeah. Coworker, brother-in-law. And never shot a bird, but kind of got the idea of it, and I I know I threw in some resis, and I think it was with you and Chuck was the first shot, and then we went down, we had that Kesterson hunt. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Um, not to interrupt. I think that's kind of how the morale kind of grew. We all kind of just started throwing into uh trying to get blinds and something with old the German.
SPEAKER_02:I wonder. We hunted with him. I've only hunted with him one time. It was right after he went with his pops.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I did once, but yeah, I think that was my only time too.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah, that broke off.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Well, you know, it's funny. We obviously get together, you know, for a ton of different reasons, but you know, waterfowl season, we obviously all love waterfowl hunting, and I'm just kind of curious, you know, in this episode just gonna kind of be us just you know round robin, just kind of a little bit, you know, as we gotta get up here in a few hours. But I'm curious, like, what do you guys absolutely love about waterfowl hunting? And it it doesn't have to necessarily be the hunt, it could be anything kind of around it, you know, associated with it, whatever, you know, and I don't know. I mean, Pete, you want to go? Yeah, someone there.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, more just from a I guess a sports background, but just like kind of the camaraderie, you know, being out there, whether it's one hunter, two hunters, you know, four hunters, however many you're hunting with, and just kind of one team, one dream, you know, shooting birds. That's right.
SPEAKER_00:Team thing, you know. What was this saying a couple weeks ago? Good for another limit. Good for another limit or two. I mean, if I'm out there, let's let's shoot him.
SPEAKER_01:I'd I just you know, whatever it is, if it flies, it dies. And you know, oh, I mean, I love the you know, the dog, you know, out there as well, too. And just you think Molly would do good? No, my English Bulldog Molly would not be. She'd love the uh the environment. It's the trailer, she'd like the trailer. Love the trailer, but yeah, so I don't know.
SPEAKER_00:And just a quick disclaimer uh for the Fowlers does not condone any uh thing that's said or any uh potential game or violations that Pete may be We're above a board, we're above board. Yeah. But uh we don't condone the if it flies it dies. But no, we we know what you mean.
SPEAKER_01:Legal birds, yes, of course.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, I've I've always just wanted to just hop in a boat and do 40 across the the river and shoot swans. Easy.
SPEAKER_00:We'll we'll we'll talk about we'll talk about that shortly because that's uh definitely if it flies it dies, and man, thank god nothing worse happened on that excursion with those yahoos. But what about you, Caitlin?
SPEAKER_02:I don't know. So I had a I had an interesting hunt this weekend. It was a good hunt, but I've realized it's the morning. I love the morning aspect or just getting out there for a couple three f two, three, four hours and giving it your best shot. Usually it's the morning. I've had a couple good afternoon hunts over the past couple of years. Well, this mainly this season, actually, it's been the best afternoons I've had. But you know, I used to think it was just always being out there in the conversation, and I do enjoy that. But I think it's fun going out and giving it your your best shot, setting up a spread while the birds are active and seeing if you can get them to essentially hover. I was talking about it on with my cousin on the way here over on the phone, and one of our family members, another blind we have access to. I mean it it shoots lights out, but it's a lot of pass shooting.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And where we normally hunt, it's not pass shooting. You're getting I've said this, I think, on the podcast, but you're getting birds just right in front of you. And I'm not a great shot. I think I'm a better hunter than I am shot. I've you know, I miss a lot the the tougher the shot, I've missed a lot of those, but a lot of the times when I'm hunting solo or with just you, it's like being able to get that bird to kind of hover right over those decoys and slowly. I mean, shoot, my five-year-old could hit the shot because it's you know, 15 yards out, the bird's barely moving.
SPEAKER_00:You know, that I feel like that's when you've well, I think you said the tougher the shot, the more accurate you are. Is that what you meant to say?
SPEAKER_02:No, I'm saying the other way. I was gonna say, yeah. The other way. The tougher the shot, like when they're passing birds, obviously we all hit them. I'm a decent shot. I'm not saying I can't.
SPEAKER_00:But the ones that are right there in front of us, wings cup, like, yeah, I mean those I'm like you feel like you're I don't know. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So I don't know. I just mean getting the getting the birds to work right right over the decoys and just watching them do it right.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. I think for me when it comes to waterfalling, and and it's it's changed over the years, but I think if I just kind of look at this year by itself, I really kind of like the stuff we're doing right now. Obviously, the podcast has been cool, but like Pete said, the camaraderie, just hanging out with the guys, it doesn't necessarily have to be in a duct blind, but it could be before a hunt, during a hunt, after a hunt. You know, we could be you know at a restaurant, we could just be hanging out, BSing, you know, even just hanging out here in the parking lot, that's a lot of fun. But yeah, the hunt, the hunt itself, I I obviously do enjoy that. I think I love doing all the work that goes into it, you know, the research, the studying, the scouting, and then obviously when it pays off, and I love hunting with different guys, but when you're by yourself too, and it pays off, like that's so rewarding. So I would definitely I know there's a few things that I put there, but that's just kind of what I got into. I I I know it's easy to be like, ooh, like I'm all camoed out and walking around with the shotgun and shooting, you know, harvesting animals and and birds and different things like that, but that's all secondary, you know, for me personally. So all right, how about on the flip side though? What is one or two things that you would change or could live without when it comes to waterfowl hunting? Caden, you start that one. Live without That's a tough one. I mean, I'll go I'll go. I mean, and and when I was thinking about this, and let's just say if you were to make a change, and there wouldn't be any like consequences or any like effects to it. And what I mean by that is like especially being out here on the refuge, if like the early mornings, right? I don't mind it. Like I am super gung-ho about like, you know, it's funny we talk about all the time where it's like you gotta wake up for you know, your alarm's going off at 6 a.m. to go to work, but when we're going out to hunt, it doesn't matter if we're leaving the house at 2 30 or 4 30 or whatever, like I'm up before my alarm gets off. Like I'm ready to go, right? So it's not about like the energy and whatnot, like I love that, but it's like it is freaking early, and we we talk about it. That that's that's the thing, like this year, especially, and really like since you know you get in a relationship or you have a family and stuff like that. You back in the day, like when in the single days, I can go hunt, I can hunt as long as I want, or I can go home and just take a nap, call it a night, whatever. But now you go home after like you know, hunting all morning, and I can't go home with a newborn and yeah, yeah, I'm gonna go take a nap for a couple hours or or pass out at seven o'clock at night. Like it doesn't fly like that. So I don't know, it'd be cool kind of cool if you could but it'd be when it comes to the birds though, right? Like we know that shoot light, shoot light. They get up, they go feed.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, I've always thought with like the resis, you have you get resi, there's no re everything's online now. There's no reason you can't pick your blind, you know, select your blind the night before, whether it's online or I don't know. You can find a creative way to do it, and then that way you go out to your blind, you know, before shoot light, you come in, check in, and go out to your blind, and then that way the the sweat line and refuge guys, they know what blinds are gone already. So that's a good point.
SPEAKER_00:Like, do the draw, do the draw at night.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I mean, you don't maybe not even in person. I mean, I obviously I I like the in-person aspect. I we would definitely be this is a kind of a radical change, but it would give the guys who don't have a resie they know what's gone, what their plan is, how many guys have are gonna show up. I don't know, in a perfect world, obviously. For me, I thought what if I were to change something for as far as refuge, this is before my time. But I would like to go back to either hand mailing them in or something like that. I know it's a money grab and I'm not blasting the state because it does work out in probably everyone's favor, but make it a little bit more difficult to I don't know if it's blend of mailing them in or at least refining how the draws come out, because we've talked about it on the podcast before, but you see guys will post I got number one at you know Dry Creek, number three at Sack, and number four at Delvin. What do I do? And I'm like, dude, I haven't had a top five at any of those refuges in my entire career or whatever you want to call it. And it would, you know, it would suck to get those I mean, it would be great to get those draws, but it'd be cool to spread those out throughout a season.
SPEAKER_00:And I don't know if this makes sense, but uh spitting it out literally as I'm thinking about it, it's like, what if like you know you put in for all the different refuges and you get when you get the drawing, you get the thing that says, Hey, you've been you won Delivant or you won Little Dry Creek, and you go there, and then that's when you you do the drawing for blind position, you know what I mean? Oh, so it's just a general draw for the order, yeah. So you have to show up for that draw.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so like if you don't know, so I draw and then you can't just sit back and double log that's right. Yeah, I got three.
SPEAKER_00:So you don't have the people that are like, oh, I got dry creek number ten and Delivent number. I'm gonna burn it. Yeah, you know, it's like no, you earned an opportunity, you earned a reservation. You still gotta show up.
SPEAKER_02:Similar to like hunting the private club. You don't, you know, just because you've access the morning the one you go in the Grouselands, you guys in the morning do a draw.
SPEAKER_00:Correct.
SPEAKER_02:And that finds out where you guys go.
SPEAKER_01:You gotta show up, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean it's all in order, like everyone knows, and it it's very cool. It's it's c it's clean how they do it, but what do you think, Pete? Any I mean, and and honestly, Pete, I'm asking like whether it's what you love about honey and what you would change about honey. I'm more asking, like, for you that gets out a couple times a year, you know. Yeah, what what are your thoughts?
SPEAKER_01:I don't know if I'd change anything, considering the amount of times I go, but I do like what Caton touched on with the the draw thing. If it's electronic, I mean I feel like we're already halfway there. Yeah. If you if you got picked for a draw, you might as well, you know, hey, pick your pick your.
SPEAKER_02:I hate to say that because I mean we're not anti-technology.
SPEAKER_01:Maybe do 24 hours. All right, yeah. 24 people got picked for the blinds and then there is a grind, you know.
SPEAKER_02:We're out here in a trailer, but we're it's funny, like we have a good draw. We know generally where we're gonna go tomorrow. So we're gonna get up at four o'clock to go walk, you know, a hundred yards over the check station just to come back and hang out for a little bit.
SPEAKER_00:And that's that's what I was gonna say.
SPEAKER_02:But it gives the other guys opportun it. We're really doing it, so the lottery guys have correct. And I'm like, well, screw it. If that's what we're doing this for, why not have I don't want to even say it, but why not have some sort of like through their their app, you know, it's like, hey, eight o'clock it opens up, you can check in, this is where you want to go.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:You you know.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I don't I mean it's it's I don't know if that would be that that's that's really kind of what I was talking about, like the early mornings. It's like we're gonna go check in. It's just for my family. I'm only saying this for my family.
SPEAKER_02:Run out pre-kids, sleeping in the back of the old explorer, not a big deal. And I yeah, we're speak for yourself. Yeah, I mean, now we're in a trailer and it it is what it is, but you know, like my wife wants me home by one o'clock tomorrow, and that's fine. But I'm gonna be a little tired.
SPEAKER_00:A couple Red Bulls or Celsius on the way home to No sh shout out to her for you being here too, because like we were talking about on the way up. I mean, you got three little ones right now, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Alright, mama's deaf.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:She a listener or no, Caitlin? Nope.
SPEAKER_02:No, she's never minded. She's scandal. No, she's she uh she's got three kids, so I don't know how much time she's got on her hands to listen to her.
SPEAKER_01:Shoot her text after this weekend here and see if I can get her on the good side.
SPEAKER_00:So I will say that she does, along with a lot of folks, follow for the Fowlers on Instagram. Yep. So appreciate that support, kind of leading into social media. What are your thoughts on social media and duck hunting? And the reason why I put this in here is because I've been listening to a handful of different podcasts, and this week, especially, I don't know what triggered it, but uh it's interesting. A lot of podcasts seem to be talking about the impacts that social media has had on duck hunting, in particular, you know, we think about the pile picks and you know, the grip and grin photos and you know, all the different things of you know, it's easy to point the finger at the young kids, the the next generation or two behind us, you know. But what are your thoughts on social media? And I would say it's two part because think about it from like a Facebook standpoint, but also like Instagram, you know, and I think Facebook because of like the groups that we're in, you know. It's good information sometimes. You can also just get absolutely annihilated on on Facebook, but what are your thoughts?
SPEAKER_02:Normally, so I've been watching my boys like to watch YouTube monster trucks, duck hunting, whatever it is. I mean, I just saw some younger kid, I actually don't even know his channel, but I've enjoyed it. I think he's out in the grasslands, he's and he's basically got a GoPro strap strapped to his head, and he'll go out there and he'll film his buddies hunt and then he'll try and clean up. And he seems like a pretty good hunter. I think there's a good place for it because it I learned a lot from watching a podcast that we used we we do listen to, used to really listen to them back in the day and watch their videos. I think they've cut back on their videos, but it gave me an idea, you know, close the gap. Like, here's some guys out there who are actually able to I don't wouldn't say they're it was about the pile to them. It was about shooting seven ducks, and that's I'm not saying I'm about the pile, but if I can get seven, I'm all for shooting seven. So it was like, all right, here's some guys specifically on like calling. Obviously, the YouTube video is all the successes, so it looks like these guys go out there and every time you're talking sorry to cut you off, but you're talking YouTube, and YouTube doesn't seem to be getting dragged through the coals too much.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, obviously YouTube has its issues and and whatnot, but like those videos are pretty good. I I think it's more talking about like the folks that you know give hunters a bad name like because of the way they post on Instagram, or they you know, there's a lot of talk about people taking the same seven birds and taking like seven different angles of the same picture. Yeah, I see what you're talking about.
SPEAKER_02:One thing I've noticed and I it's kind of a A weird way to put it, but when guys are p especially with the swans out right now and snows, those are always the bloodiest picks. Yeah. And it doesn't offend me by any means, but especially a lot of people don't understand the the mute swan thing. Yeah. And I've always noticed it with snows, but no one really seem no one really seems to care about the snows. But now that I know guys are posting these, it's an invasive species. We they they you know, for our state to give us the green light to shoot a bird, like you know it's a big deal. Yeah. And man, there's been some bloody picks out there, and like I get it, you're shooting a a bird that weighs as much as a small child. There's gonna be some blood involved, but I get it. I mean, what else are you gonna do? But the problem is, is like just because you post it, someone else shares it, it gets in, you know, in the hands of someone who is just extremely offended and uneducated on what you're looking at.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think you know it's interesting when I go back to like Hunter Ed and stuff, they talked about this and they were like, you know, just keep in mind, like not everyone like that follows you, you know, is into hunting or the outdoors or whatnot. So no, it it was just like, hey, be aware of like what you're posting and stuff. I think what people get like kind of the bad rap is like you see, like, you know, you mentioned the snow geese where you see these people that just you know, there's a party hunt going on and they all limit and then they end up like you know, riding the number like 150 in the you know in the ground with like their bird carcasses, right? So no, it's just interesting because some people like are just over social media when it comes to like hunting, you know.
SPEAKER_02:And I'm not big into social media as it is, but topical blur a lot of stuff you have to say, like, hey, this is I want to see this, and it makes I'm always wondering like what's gonna happen when I click on this, and it's just usually a pile of ducks.
SPEAKER_00:So, Pete, I know you follow for the Fowlers, but do you follow any other like duck hunting, waterfowl, anything like that? I mean you're big, you're you're big into social media.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think just a few of the the Facebook pages that we got into, you know, roughly about 10 years ago that I follow. And yeah, like you kind of just said, I think if it gets a lot of reaction, whether it's good or bad, it will probably appear on a lot of people's feed if they follow it. That's usually how social media kind of works with comments and likes, but I'm not I'm for it. Obviously, you want hunters to do more good than bad. But uh, I mean the entertainment aspect I think is you know, looking at what people are doing out there and you know, hopefully agreeing with it for the most part. But obviously there's a lot of dummies out there too that put a bad rap on the the sport as well, too.
SPEAKER_00:So but yeah. Well, I would say that's a great segue, and I'll let Caitlin throw his headset back on here. That's a great segue. We haven't chatted about this, not even off-air, you know. But and I'm surprised we haven't, especially you and I, Caitlin. But you guys have seen that Mute Swan video out on the boat. What what are your thoughts on that one?
SPEAKER_02:That was surprising to me because and I obviously we're not gonna go down the rabbit hole of who it was or what it was, but what was surprising to me is it appeared to be a guide service who posted it. And kind of I don't think they posted the video, but they obviously Well, they commented on it and like I actually had to go back and look because I mean at face value, I think 95 to 100% of the hunters were like, wait, you can't shoot a bird from a boat in motion. And I think there was a little confusion and discussion because it's like, oh, it's not a game bird in that case, it's an invasive species. Do the the rules change? Uh you know, a quick Google lawyer helped me out with that, and I was like, no, it doesn't change the aspect because it's a safety issue. It's not about the fair hunt in that case. And you saw the video, right, Pete?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. I did. So that was my issue with that video, was had nothing to do with whether or not it was legal or not, because like one of the coolest things I like to watch on like YouTube and different things are like those hog hunts from like helicopters in Texas, right? Like you there are ways to do that, you know. Yeah, that's a good point. The issue that I had with this video, which is absolutely three point swells across it was was yeah, they were obviously in some weather, but take all that out, like that one guy, a couple of them, but excuse me, the one guy how he didn't shoot that dude in the back of the head. Yeah. And I want me to laugh about it, but like it's just the it's the safety part of it. And I don't know if that was like a whole group, like meaning like if it was like us three and we got a couple of our other buddies to go, that doesn't mean that it's right, but like I couldn't imagine if I went out as like a solo hunter on that boat. No, and that's happening behind that's happening, and being okay with that and not like ripping that captain or that guide a new one.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, like I can see you can chalk up a perfect scenario where yeah, I could shoot from a moving boat and you can reason it in your head. But the whole reason I think that rule exists is due to the danger and keep it fair for the pursuit of whatever you know you're the bird you're choos choosing to pursue. I don't know, it just seems like that's why rules have to get put in place, because it that it wasn't like for me it was it was the weather like obviously there's a lot of factors to it, but for me it's the weather in that aspect. If it wasn't if you were out on I don't know, Clear Lake and it was a flat day with no you know, it's like is it legal? No. But I you could argue maybe it's safer because you know, you're going across glass, and I'm you know, everyone has their window. I'm saying you could argue a safe way to do it, and that was the video. It's like, well, this is why we have a bad reputation. Is here we are, boats bouncing off, white caps, can't even see the damn swans because it's got rain coming down sideways.
SPEAKER_00:I I will tell you what, and I think you might agree with this. Like, sure, you can make that argument, but you're a boater, like you have your captain ski boat or however you want to. And I've seen I've been on your boat and I've seen people lose their footing and get a little wobbly when the boat's tied up to the dock. Yeah, them getting in and out of it. So how many beers deep or not I mean, not even, you know. So what it was the whole safety thing, and and not to get on the high horse, but like I could say, I would never do that. Even I even tried to take myself back 10-15 years when maybe I wasn't as aware of we all went through hunter safety, but we were doing things with our buddies that we wouldn't do today. Yeah, um, and I was like, I don't think I would even do that. And what's four shooters? Well, it wasn't just one guy, it was four, you know, that's why I'm like Well, what's interesting, and obviously, I think we know the guide service, the captain, the owner of the guide service. Like, I've heard rumors or I have a pretty good idea on who it is, but I've never met this person. But following them on Instagram, what I didn't like about it was they were still promoting their guide service and they were showing pictures of like successful like pedal duck hunts that the guy didn't peddle. And one of the the in their description or in their whatever for Instagram said, like, check out this hunt that so and so did, and we weren't even under power, you know. So, like mocking the video. And then these guys, I mean, they just gotta be getting dragged through the coals or whatever because like I it's funny, I still look on their post and like they have comments turned off. You know what I mean? So they're trying to promote their business, I'm sure, but who knows what's going on there because I'm sure fishing game is all over this, you know. And there were rumors, I think we saw it on Facebook, that there was like even an undercover warden on that boat.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I don't know how true that was because I can't imagine that undercover not he'd be part of that that he would be part of that, right? Deep cover. Yeah, yeah. So what yeah, what were your thoughts on it?
SPEAKER_01:No, I was just chiming just with just to reiterate what you guys said. I think the safety portion between us here, I don't think nobody would want to be the shooter shooting. That almost took that guy's head off or left shoulder out, let alone be the guy in front of somebody, you know, doing it. So you know, Caiton probably wouldn't want to be behind me. I wouldn't want, you know, I just it's a safety thing. You don't want something to happen. But that's stuff that gives us a bad look.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, even less as hunters were like, well, that was fucking stupid. Excuse me. Yeah, that was stupid, but at the end of the day, like when it's a non-hunter, and then you're like, oh, here's some guys out there, and if there's one video of it, that means it's happened a hundred other times. That's how I look at it, and I'm like, I I don't know anyone who you know, I know some outlaws out there, but I don't know anyone who would do that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Well, this is kind of interesting. I was I was curious as I was kind of putting this together, talking about kind of what's legal and whatnot. And maybe you guys have an example, maybe you don't, but I'm curious for you guys what is like the closest call that you've had with a game board in all your time hunting? Past. Alright.
SPEAKER_01:I'll go quick. Mine's super easy. Oh, let's hear it, big fan. Oh. Well no, I I think it was uh I I think it was at SAC Refuge, and I think it was after hunt, and I think it was it was quick and easy. You were just seeing the th checking and saying you had my stopper.
SPEAKER_00:Oh the plug. The plug. Oh, so just you're just talking about like interaction. Yeah, interaction.
SPEAKER_01:And you know what's you're talking about. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had a buddy that input it or put it in for me, and I'm like, oh, that thing better be in there because if uh four shell slides in there, then you know it's interesting.
SPEAKER_02:I actually had someone, a family member of mine, get popped for the plug. She was using her dad's gun. She hunter hunted this gun for probably a year and a half. I'd hunted with her, I never checked her plug. And didn't have it? It it didn't have it. He it wasn't with me, it was with her, it was with her boyfriend at the time. Through the shells, and she's and she's like, I've never once put more than three shells, never thought of trying. Sure. For me, I I would I'd find out pretty quick because you know you guys know how I think. When anytime we shoot, I push shells. I don't count I I push until it I can't get any more. I'm like, all right, now I know I have it. If I was starting to feed shells down there, I'd find out pretty quick. But I was surprised to hear that. Yeah, it's most guns come that way.
SPEAKER_00:No, and I think it was last week or two weeks ago. We were out in the field and I was shooting the 20 gauge and I hadn't shot it out in the field before, like that particular gun. And I remember thinking like, I never even checked to see, like, and I just made sure I couldn't put that fourth one in. Yeah, and and and and and so I just wanted to make sure that it was all good. I've had no no no, you go. I'll go because I because you were there for this one, and I don't really say a close call, but I don't even worry about the wardens, to be honest with you. Like, because we're always on the up and up, like there's you know you hear that wardens, come get them.
SPEAKER_01:Come get them.
SPEAKER_00:No, we talked about this a couple weeks ago, you know, that you know, we I I just don't want to lose my privileges for anything stupid, you know. So I think that if I ever get cited for something, it's purely going to be education because I truly probably didn't know, you know. But no tickets. I would no nothing. And and I would say like look at the little halo over his head. No, no, no, no. But what I would say is like I was there with I think probably with Pete when he got checked once, but honestly, what scared the heck out of me was remember a few seasons ago out at Sutter when the guy came out of the bushes and the shell check with the guy, the guy on training. And and what was crazy about it was you know, I've always been checking the parking lot or whatnot, and then you hear about these guys jumping out of the bushes or out on the trail or whatever. But this guy came out of like, you know, he was all he right around the bend. He had nothing, no identifying clothing on. I remember he was wearing like all like sitcomar stuff and he had his red headlamp on.
SPEAKER_01:How deep was he in like the water or just came out of the room?
SPEAKER_00:It was two of them, right? When they had the truck. No, well, no, so he came out and he identified himself saying and then pulled us around the corner. Okay, now I remember how it was. And they were all hanging, and they were all they were all uniformed up. But it was when you came over the levee. Levy out, yeah. So they were obviously just doing equipment checks and everything, but that one there, I was like, uh not not to sound like a wuss or a whinie, but that one startled the heck out of me. You're just pushing your cart and it's pitch black out there.
SPEAKER_02:And we were it was an I we were out there pretty quick, right? I think we were the first ones out because never would they get you for or would they check out?
SPEAKER_00:No, nothing, nothing. They check shells. And you know, and they went through everything. Remember that. Yeah, that was before you even got out to the blind, huh? Yeah. And uh because I mean, yeah, you yeah, so yeah, it was on the way. So that was uh and that's just a good one where it's always like, hey, just make sure that you're good, you know. And it's funny, like I was loading up shells today and and I used that 25 count box because you brought up a good point. You're like when I go to the refuge, I don't use my shell bag, I use that box because I always want to make sure that's it. I loaded up on the way. I got there's no chance that you have 26. Yep, there it is.
SPEAKER_02:But I've had a I've I was there for that one. There was that's a story for another day, maybe, but I didn't get a ticket or anything. But I've had I've had one at SAC, same s scenario. I actually had one on one of my solo hunts. It wasn't a it was a guy out there with a green light, and he was hunting, and I'm walk- I'm riding my bike by and I'm like, Oh morning! And I actually went over to talk to him. He was right off the side of the road. I've never seen anyone set up like that, and like he said something, I couldn't hear him. I thought it was Warden, it was just a guy setting up with a green headlamp, so that was a funny encounter. But no, a couple seasons ago I had this is this is always my cautionary table, uh cautionary tale, as I have had a citation out in the in the marsh before. We were I was up hunting a refuge up north, and it was my first season with my dog, first hunt, and I don't know if I've told the story on the podcast, but you have not. Yeah, I'm pretty uh I'm pretty sure I'm famous on another podcast. I'm just I'm convinced, but I had a I I had a uh opened up the kennel to start the hunt, and my dog took off like a bolt of lightning and just gone down the levee road. And I I started running after him. It was a shit show. It was my first time ever hunting with my dog, first time ever hunting with a dog my own dog in general. I'm sure I did 10 things wrong. I couldn't even tell you what they were, but long story short, I had to chase my dog down, find it. So that was how the hunt started. Once I got my dog back to some really nice hunters who actually corralled my dog probably a mile and a half away and walked him back to me. Um I started pushing my cart down and found where I was gonna hunt, set it up, and I we started shooting. This is probably four years ago now, three years ago now, whatever it is. And this is back when it was one pintail. And I always check my birds when I shoot 'em, because that's just kind of what we do. Check for a band, see what it is. Well, my first hunt, I was not looking at my birds. I was shooting birds, watching my dog. I was trying to send my dog, make sure it didn't break, all this good stuff, and I have all the excuses in the world. And I had I guess I I don't know when I did it. I shot a bullsprig and I shot a hen.
SPEAKER_00:And it was early in the season, too. It was the opener. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And so Warden, I see him walking across the pond. I had my seven birds, and I wave, we chatted up, I showed him the birds, he looked gave him the old once over, we kept chatting for a little bit, and then he did like the official like I'm checking what birds he had, and there it was. And he actually I barely even recognized it as a hen, as a hen pintail, but yeah, there it was. And so he, you know, got got the old citation, he didn't take my license or anything, but I you know paid old Uncle Sam a few couple hundred buckaroos, have a bird taken away from me in a plastic bag. Interestingly enough, I was like, so now I have six birds, can I continue hunting? No, you cannot. You're still bound by the seven, even though the warden walks away with one of them.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. It's your daily uh your daily bag limit.
SPEAKER_02:You still met your daily bag limit, you just did it in the wrong way. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So it's kind of like well, we won't get into it here. But you know, it's funny is small world was and I won't say like the conversation that was had, but you didn't that same warden was at Sutter a week or two later. That was he was on that that's a good one.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, which is why we had a much better, I think, interaction there.
SPEAKER_01:We were getting but you have a standoff or a standoff?
SPEAKER_02:No, it was it was yeah, it was just uh he was the the he was the guy training the other officer, I think.
SPEAKER_00:And and those guys uh and I want to say like before we get off the the Green Ginger the Warden conversation and everything, and you know, speaking for myself and probably you guys as well, these guys I I have no issues with them at all. Like they're out doing their job and they're out keeping like the sport going, making sure that the yahoos, the poachers, the folks that are doing it for the wrong reasons that they're you just gotta go out there and check and exactly.
SPEAKER_02:No, I don't know. I'm not a bad hunter, I don't think I'm a bad guy. I got caught up. I I yeah I I did it. I he had to educate him. I was not intentional. I laid out my birds, I'm like, look what I got. Yeah. And then he was like, well.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So at least I didn't stop it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I know a lot, I mean, I've you hear stories of guys that just do crazy things. I think that's one of the better things about the three pintail, is I think there was guys out there already doing it, just hoping they get away with it, or they would stomp them out in the field.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's just horrible. So we were talking a little bit about you know, the weather's changing again. I mean, uh it's not getting that warm, but obviously, you know, it's been warmer for January and you know it's getting sunny again, and I haven't seen any rain in the forecast, which I'm not, you know, I'm happy with, you know, let us dry out a little bit. But I'm curious, and and Pete, if you have an opinion, chime in. But I feel like this is probably a question for Catan. If we were to get rid of a third of the season, would you prefer to lose in early season, like opener? So like let's call it October, early November, mid-season, which I doubt, like we'll take that off the table because I'm sure that that's that's prime, or late season, so like January. What would you prefer? I think I'd do January.
SPEAKER_02:I agree. Okay. And by the time January comes around, we were talking about it before the podcast, I'm out of favors with the wife and stuff like that, so it's it's tough. And honestly, I mean I've had good hunts in January. I know there's birds there, but a lot of it's access. My I don't my rice blinds aren't usually on the X, and I've been flooded out now two seas well, one season, and a little bit of this season. Some of the private spots I hunt are flooded out. The Sutter one. They're done for the season. They haven't they they won't hunt. This is three seasons in a row, they won't hunt in January. Wow. Yeah, and then the other the other one is it just got down, but it was 15 feet underwater. Yeah. For so I don't know. Maybe ask me again when we're back in drought season. I know January and droughts is a lot better because it's you know, you got cold and concentrated water and the birds really start focusing. But while we have all this water the past four or five seasons, I'm I'm over January.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think for me, that's kind of how I am. It has to do with like all the rain that we get, and it's kind of post-holiday season, and to your point, like a lot of the favors and you know, the season is long and and been a unique season for me this year, obviously, with you know the newborn and whatnot, but I feel like you know, obviously we've had really hot, hot openers, like and I mean temperature-wise, but I think it would be cool. You know, I like some of those like kind of fall, you know, rainstorms that come through to kind of stir birds up and get into them and whatnot.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, no, I think I can say about that.
SPEAKER_00:Yep. Alright, well, hold on, we're gonna pause for a sec. Alright, and we're back. So alright, well, we're getting to the end here, but a couple more questions, and and Pete, we'll bring you in on this one. What is your favorite refuge? Or if you can only hunt one refuge from here on out, which one would it be?
SPEAKER_01:Can I just say my buddy's private club? No, I'm kidding.
SPEAKER_00:I know you gotta go refuge.
SPEAKER_01:I don't know, just based off of just because I've had pretty good luck getting picked, I'd probably say probably sack. I had a feeling you guys know I'm pretty lucky.
SPEAKER_00:I probably know you are, but you've also had some really good draws, and I was trying to think like, is where's this guy gonna say?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I was wondering what you I thought you might go like a smaller one, yeah. Yeah, I mean No, I had agree. Was hoping you'd say that because you've had a lot of good draws at Sack.
SPEAKER_00:So how come? Just like you feel comfortable out there, you like it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, I yeah, between Sack and Delve and here where we are today, you know, I think just familiar familiar grounds, real easy, basic.
SPEAKER_02:Are you asking like my odds of getting on to or no?
SPEAKER_00:I'm asking like no, like it's basically if you were to turn it into your private club, or or if you knew that you could always like you had down at the time.
SPEAKER_02:That was a good spot. So you would choose Banos? No, I'm just saying it was a good hunt. I don't know, I'm sure I'm gonna make a lot of enemies down there, but they it's a cool refuge down there.
SPEAKER_00:Um, I meant more like if you knew the check station guy at every refuge and you could always just they always just saved a spot for you and said, Hey Caitlin, we got you. Come on, let us know if you're coming down, we'll get you out. Where would that be? Probably Delvin. Really? Mm-hmm. How come?
SPEAKER_02:Just the habitat. I like ponds. They got a lot of ponds. That's my my gripe with Sack is all the blinds. The trailers are rocking. Yeah. No, I I just between the free roam spots that we've hit up and some of the sp What's going on over there.
SPEAKER_01:I don't know what you guys are laughing at. Someone just stirred up the clouds.
SPEAKER_02:I just like the stirred up the clothes zone. So if I'm gonna have a guaranteed spot necessarily on there, not necessarily on the top blind. Obviously, if you get the number one draw, it is what it is. I don't know. I just feel like it'd be good. I I've hunted more free roam here than I have at SAC.
SPEAKER_00:I don't know. So I was just thinking if Pete limits out tomorrow, we're gonna tell the person that he has eight ducks because he sat on one in uh in the trailer. I'll get a few duck calls at going out there, but that's about it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Not known for your calling, but you're getting better. You know, damn, that's it. I did not expect Sacramento makes sense for Pete over here, but I did not expect Delvin for you. I don't know what I expect you to say, but I mean I don't know, because I I mean think about where I've hunted.
SPEAKER_02:So I I wouldn't say I've had my best successes here, but yeah, I don't I I know it wouldn't be Sack.
SPEAKER_00:So I really like I like Howard. I like haven't had good hunts out here. I like Yano or Lano, however you want to say it. Yeah, I like Yano Seiko. But I think with what you were just saying about just like the habitat out here and the way the ponds are set up and feel like it's managed better than a lot.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, Howard's managed pretty well. Howard's a good player.
SPEAKER_00:Well we'll find out tomorrow because honestly, I this is my first time hunting here this season. Yeah, I feel like I'm for a handful of times at Delvin every year, and I was honestly driving like have I really not hunted Delvin all season? That's crazy. It's crazy. We in two years.
SPEAKER_01:Do you guys out here last year? Do you guys have one time?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, we came out once early in the season.
SPEAKER_01:Is this a place I know I obviously you guys feel comfortable lay of the land? You guys even despite size as to what you feel pretty comfortable as far as like the lay of the land, even though we just uh I think we put a lot of time in here. I mean, I know we put a lot of time in here.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, one, it's not that big, I mean, compared to some of the other ones. I feel like we know pretty much where we're going. Yeah. And you know me, like I I obviously prefer like the assigned areas, but I feel pretty comfortable here. And this is where I first my first refuge ever, you know. So I don't know.
SPEAKER_02:I just feel like you get it first. If I were to I don't think I've ever goose egged at Delvin. I've definitely had a bunch of sack. I jinxed it. There you go.
SPEAKER_00:Nah, you can't think of like actually I think we did last, did we not last year with Chuck? No, we got a bird. We had to have a big bird.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, because Pep, I remember I was I can't I I can't say this on the podcast. I know uh Chuck listens to it, but I was like, we had a bird and it was right in front of Pepper, and she didn't want to get it. I'm like, come on, Pepper, let's go. And I'm over here because my dad It was a slow morning, though. It was a slow morning.
SPEAKER_00:I'm gonna tell Chuck that.
SPEAKER_02:Now the him and his pup. You know, Pepper's got a lot of fire in her.
SPEAKER_00:So we're within a couple weeks, end of season. I'm curious for both of you guys, as the season starts to wrap up, what is something you plan to change or improve before next season?
SPEAKER_02:Well for me, I mean I'm we we talked about a little off air. I gotta figure out what I'm doing as far as where my time and energy goes, but if I keep my I got a pretty good rice spread that I I I move around and I wanna go I want to go through it through it, weed out a lot of the filler leakers, the filler decoys, and I want to cycle out I got probably another 150 decoys that I've hunt my refuge decoys that are in pretty damn good shape. I want to cycle those into my rice spread and then maybe replenish some of my refuge decoys, because over the past two years I've had, I mean, they're all hanging up in my garage, they're super nice, and I just hunt with six.
SPEAKER_00:So I'm gonna cut you off there because that kind of will maybe answer the next question, but I'm more curious as to maybe like your development or improvement as a hunter. You know, I guess you could say better. I'll tell you what it's about.
SPEAKER_02:No, so for well for me, I I mean I have a mud boat and I have I have not used it in multiple seasons. Nice. And so that's a good one. I I'd like to take it up to I I haven't done Thule. So I think it'd be w I mean, I have the boat. I gotta I gotta take it up there and at least experience it. I mean that Thule's no secret, but it'd be cool to go up there and at least just try and get out there and see what find some X's and do some scouting and at least just see what it's like all the way up on the border.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And to that point, you know, maybe get a a guest or a visitor license and hunt over on the other side in Oregon. I'll check that out. What about you, big fella? What uh how about a semi-auto?
SPEAKER_01:I was just gonna say you guys had harp. No, that's the next question.
SPEAKER_00:My next question would be what's something you're gonna get in the question was what are you gonna change? No, I'm not talking about equipment though, I'm talking about so like for me. There's only so much you can change.
SPEAKER_01:This is something I've just been sitting on this answer for the last few actually. Hey Brandon, what would what do you want to change?
SPEAKER_00:No, so one thing that I have actually learned a lot about this season is like the shells and the shot that we shoot and everything like that. So one thing equipment. No, one thing that I want to get better at a lot, huh? Exactly. I go into the safe and you start looking, you have three inch threes, three inch fours, they're all different speeds, they're all different uh shot sizes, all you know, or pellet sizes and and weights and all this, and then different gauges, and I'm like, you know what? Like you hear all these guys that have a ton of success, it's because they don't change throughout the year, you know. And what I think has been really cool, and one of the things that and I I actually want to connect with some of these guys on Instagram and see if we can't get them on the podcast, is when you learn about like the and a lot of folks probably listening that are like seasoned hunters should be like, Yeah, you didn't know that or whatever, but you know, I always kind of thought that you know the f the faster the shot, you know, the more impactful stuff like that, but then you start hearing about how like no you lose on it and all that stuff destroys the pattern. Yeah, so so I that's one of the things that I want to improve on is becoming more accurate. You know, I feel good about the shots that we take, the you know, that they're all ethical. I feel good about that, but it's about being more impactful and stuff like that. So that's a good one. So yeah, I was sitting on that, or at least for the last couple days. Yeah, that was a good answer. And I'll politely pass. Well, let's go ahead.
SPEAKER_01:Tell me you you give me one.
SPEAKER_00:No, I don't have anything, but I'm saying what what do we need to do to get you uh, you know what do you want me to start calling? I want you to start putting back in.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that'll be Oh, uh you want to want me to donate the old couple hundred dollars, huh?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you just got a nice new raise. Come on.
SPEAKER_00:Let's talk about let's talk about this. Like you you've been out a couple times this season, twice? Or is this gonna be so tomorrow will be three times? Yeah. So you enjoying it?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah. But I mean Yeah, the club's nice. Obviously, you know, we'll see how the refuge just treats us tomorrow. But yeah. Yeah, but I mean But I I think I think if I mean yeah, if you do get committed to spending the money to try to get some draws, I think it does you know, push you to hey. If you do get draw, yeah, get up to buddies and that's what we said.
SPEAKER_00:You don't have to come out all the time and come out with us, but just put in because I mean then it's just more opportunities for all of us.
SPEAKER_01:But yeah, well, you guys have my number over there. Just give me give me your hunters or go ID, and I'll just think we're kind of dipping into the old and lawful, or if that's integrity, come on now.
SPEAKER_02:It's still your resie if I'm just willing to fund your resie. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Hold on here. Team photo. Oh Jesus Christ. All right, there we go. We got it. All right. Alright, so then the last thing that I have here is, and we kind of talked about Caden wants to redo his decoys, and Pete's gonna get a semi-auto for if he decides to go out. A Turkish semi-auto. Yeah, but it says speaking of off-season, we all spend a ton of money on this hobby. What are you buying before the next opener? I honestly don't know.
SPEAKER_01:I'll have I'll have a new gun next year. Book it. I'll have a new gun.
SPEAKER_00:Are we calling it right now?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Or do you want me to put in for blinds? I don't know. That's an extra three I could decipher it. I could decipher.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, what I can do. I think you should just budget for all of it. What am I gonna buy next year?
SPEAKER_00:That if you do decide to like hang it up, can I buy your gun off you? You're never gonna hang it up.
SPEAKER_01:I'm not what do you mean?
SPEAKER_00:And if you want to come out and bring out the Turkish.
SPEAKER_01:Get your own 870, Pope.
SPEAKER_00:I have my own 870, but I really like yours.
SPEAKER_01:You guys could trade. Uh you can like these. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:No, I have the 20 gauge. I want a 12. Uh, you have a 20 gauge 870? Yeah. Fieldmaster.
SPEAKER_00:We bought it just for the. Oh, you did get an 870 gauge.
SPEAKER_01:Was that at the uh 60 bucks?
SPEAKER_02:60 bucks off a kid off the corner. He was selling lemonade in an 870? No, it was tough to get actually.
SPEAKER_01:How did I come up with getting that? We were at the dicks and um, no, you added a Bass Pro Guns and Balls. I don't know why you're just guns and balls out this.
SPEAKER_00:It's a great gun. I love it. Like when I and I I haven't held it. You know, maybe I'll get to take a peek at it tomorrow again. But a couple times when like I've well no when I lived back in the Bay Area, I'd take it to the house and I'd clean it, or I had that guy that I knew that he would do some repairs on it and whatnot. So it's a great gun. So I just always said, like, if he decides to hang it up or decides just to-telling me never give a another man a yeah, it's like yeah, you can't do that.
SPEAKER_01:I'll throw it on my will. You can't be in the will for it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, there. Okay, cool.
SPEAKER_02:Now it's sad.
SPEAKER_00:How do you know you're gonna outlive Pete? Because he told me like 10 years ago where he wanted to make it to, and we're coming up on it.
SPEAKER_01:I think it went from like 68. Now I'm like, I think I want to make it. 42 is gonna be solid. I think I want to at least have like 10 years of my retirement.
SPEAKER_00:I think you said he's like one day he's like, yeah, if I just make it to like six, I think he was joking, I don't think he realized how early that was. I think he said like, and I'm like, that's coming up. So I think that's a little bit more my retirement. So uh uh.
SPEAKER_01:Don't be sad, it's over, be glad to be.
SPEAKER_02:For equipment for me, I think I'm just gonna stop teasing the gun. I've had a good year with the tw, I don't know. I'm not gonna say gun. I do actually I'll tell you, it's a pretty simple thing. I want to get a mallard machine or by mouth.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, you bought one today. Did you? I did. I don't know. I I did.
SPEAKER_02:So I've been every hunt, every hunt this year I've thought of could I use the could I use this? And it's been 50-50 because you gotta have enough water.
SPEAKER_00:So I was at I like it. I went to Bass Pro today, had to grab a pass, and and I was 300 bucks though, aren't they? It was 250. And and I'm looking at it, and it had a couple gift cards from Christmas and birthday and stuff like that. And I almost bought it, and the reason why I didn't is this box is huge, and the picture, this guy has like basically the refuge runner thing on his back, and I'm like, how big is this thing? It's tall. I feel like I'm gonna be holding it. It's every bit of 24 inches tall. It looks like, and uh, you probably know what they're called, but like it's the same kind of technology like when I go to Hawaii and stuff, and they have those scuba tours that snubas that hold the propeller thing. That's basically what this thing is. It's a snooba. Yeah, so it just kind of bounces up and down.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, but it boils the water in a pretty cool way. So if I'm gonna buy something, that's what I'm gonna buy.
SPEAKER_01:So it's just a bubble machine out there. Is that what I'm gonna do?
SPEAKER_02:No, see now we have our splashers, right? Yeah. So I I've I won't I've only seen one guy hunt with it, but it's uh it's essentially imagine like a f a propeller underwater. And so instead of splashing water, it turns this propeller and it just pushes water up. Yeah. It just kind of boil picture like boiling water in a pot.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:That's what it does. I just don't know why it needs to be so big, but the fan thing is huge. Okay. I mean, I'd say it's it's like an iceberg. 80% of it's underwater.
SPEAKER_00:Because I was well, that's what I was thinking about. It's like one of those where it's like you need a pretty deep rice field for it. Yeah, it wouldn't work in my rice. And then it wouldn't have worked on a couple of the hunts that we've had.
SPEAKER_01:Throw it on that cart, I'll push it out. I'll mule it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, but the thing is, is like where do you store it? Like for me, you know what I'm hunting with. I got my my my spinner, and then I have four splashers, and I can fit my the four splashers. I mean, it works out great.
SPEAKER_01:What's the price point on it?
SPEAKER_02:250.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, that's not that that's what most like those motion things are these days.
SPEAKER_02:Well, no, the the splashers you get down to 100.
SPEAKER_01:Maybe that's what I'll get to improve my uh hunting game next year.
SPEAKER_02:I'll just dive in on the mojo or a mallard machine, whatever they call it. Mallard machine. I'd be curious if anyone hunted with the new mojo big blade. I haven't seen any out. Oh yeah, people are hunting.
SPEAKER_01:I did notice both of you guys brought your cart, so it looks like we're bringing a hefty amount of stuff out there tomorrow, huh?
SPEAKER_02:Actually, I packed I packed pretty light. That's super light. I just still brought, I mean, it's not I guess it's heavier than it's not as heavy as we used to go.
SPEAKER_01:Just glad my stool made the trip.
SPEAKER_00:This guy's got a freaking desk chair that he's taking out too much.
SPEAKER_01:Dude, that's a great brownie. That thing swivels, got a backrest.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Hey, by the way, we're going free roam. You're gonna be bringing the office chair out into the marsh. So for the listeners uh fine, it's gonna be on that.
SPEAKER_01:It's gonna be floating.
SPEAKER_00:So for the listeners, Pete years ago needed a stool for the blind or something. And no, I rem so I remember like it was yesterday, we you bought it from Pacific Flyway supplies, which unfortunately is no longer a random they're out, they're out, but but I think he's on the show. Who's the owner of that?
SPEAKER_01:No, I think I bought it at the little shop there in a Vacaville.
SPEAKER_00:No. It was Vacaville. David, yeah. Dixon, Dixon.
SPEAKER_02:Dixon.
SPEAKER_00:No. You're not it wasn't Kittles. It was. Oh, maybe it was. Yes, it was.
SPEAKER_01:I swear. I know. I don't, yeah. I swear we were in that shop. I don't know.
SPEAKER_00:We shot up, you know, Kittles, I guess, but yeah, he ended up he did I think he did buy the kittles. And so it's basically the blindstool. It's banded, but you know, the tangle-free one. Yes. And so this thing It's gotta weigh 20 pounds. It's not so much that it's heavy, but I'm like, what do you do if we were to go into a signed pond or free roam? I he took it. We had it at Grizzly.
SPEAKER_02:That thing has made it out to Grizzly. Yeah, I think it has.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. I'm telling you, we used it.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I can't wait.
SPEAKER_02:I mean we know we're not going in one tomorrow, but yeah.
SPEAKER_01:You can have my chair over my 870 first.
SPEAKER_00:I don't want your chair. It's been sitting in my storage unit for three years waiting for you to go on a hunt. You were surprised I still had it when I called you to say it. You're at least gonna put some WD40.
SPEAKER_01:You don't think fucking all the blinds.
SPEAKER_02:A lot of the blinds out here are gravel bottom. I didn't even think of that. You're gonna be perfect. It's harder, it's hard for us to still as our garbage. Yeah, you're gonna be living like a king.
SPEAKER_01:Living like a king, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, shout out Cabo San Lucas. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Let's not talk about that. Yeah, say that trip for another episode. Hey, yeah, the podcast gets camped. You said that's when it picks up, right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, for the listeners. How much is that?
SPEAKER_00:Well, uh, the offseason we are yeah, we'll kind of see what this looks like in the offseason. It's gonna be here before we know it, but you know, we'll wrap it up here. Follow us on Instagram at for the Fowlers. We also have an email, for the Fowlers at gmail.com, so you can shoot us an email, let us know what you think of the pod, get in on the conversation, let us know if there's anyone out there that you think that we should reach out to and want to chat with, you know, especially as we head into the off season. And rate review, follow us on uh Apple, Spotify, and check us out on YouTube.
SPEAKER_01:I've done a few of the tomato rankings. We're getting the ratings. Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So yeah. So Pete, good hanging out, man.
SPEAKER_01:Appreciate the invite, good hanging out. Yeah, hopefully a good hunt tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, looking forward to tomorrow. And Caitlin, thanks for bringing the trailer down. Sure beats sleeping in the back of the rig like we used to, so cool. All right, boys. Well, let's uh hit the sack and we'll have a good hunt tomorrow. Alright, see you guys.