PODCAST EP. 372: Previewing New Season of The Flush on Outdoor Channel

Transcript for On The Wing Podcast Ep. 372: Previewing New Season of The Flush on Outdoor Channel

Speaker 1 (00:50.762)

Welcome to On the Wing Podcast presented by Purina Pro Plan. It's that time of year, it's our annual preview episode for the brand new season of The Flush on Outdoor Channel. Number 15. Do I have my numbers right? Lost track. I think it's number 15, the voice you heard. Obvious, host of the flush, Travis Frank.

Speaker 2 (00:56.919)

It

Speaker 2 (01:10.158)

I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:20.35)

And joining us at world headquarters. What do you say it, Casey, in the Upland newsroom? National. National headquarters. National headquarters. Okay. This is Casey.

Speaker 2 (01:31.188)

Yeah, those sound good by the way. Listen in. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:35.394)

Good job. Yeah. Yeah. I guess it could be sure it is. Let's let's ramp it up a little We got chapters in Canada. World headquarters, North American. I'm it man. the that voice, Casey Seal in the the second half of the public relations dynamic duo, Jared Wicklin. You you haven't been on the podcast in a while. I haven't. Thanks for thanks for having me back. I appreciate it. This is my first time, first time with Casey too. Yeah, man. I think so.

Speaker 3 (01:44.568)

Change.

Speaker 1 (02:04.79)

first time you guys have been on together. I think so. Or were we on this podcast? We're on the flush. Yeah, we're on the flush. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:12.664)

feel like the three of us or the four of us have been in a roundabout way on a lot of shows together that I've lost track.

Speaker 1 (02:18.732)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's great every time though. Yeah. Setting expectations high. so obviously we're gonna preview the the new season of the Flosh on Outdoor Channel, but let's start with who's already planning their hunting. I know you are I am

Speaker 2 (02:22.41)

always awards they're award winning.

Speaker 2 (02:40.334)

Plan mode, yes. It's it's after the fourth of July now and it is time to get serious about hunting season plans. We're learning where the birds are, where the hatches are good, where you might want to avoid and places that you really want to go ex and experience. now is a good time to get into it. So

Speaker 1 (03:03.502)

Do you plan personal trips before you start planning your work oriented trips or is just let the chips fall as they may and you start like I'm I'm wondering if you my assumption is you gotta protect your own personal traditions and you gotta do that first. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (03:21.15)

And I know what I know certain things that are coming up, certain traditions. EA Week here in Minnesota. That's a special one. That's my kids and there's four or five other dads and their kids, my nephew, and we have a huge group of of kids that go up there and it's it's the best five days of the year. Rough grouse, we hunt woodcock, we hunt waterfowl, and we also deer hunt at the same time.

Speaker 1 (03:42.104)

This is one of the rough grouse, right?

Speaker 1 (03:49.55)

Yeah.

Speaker 2 (03:49.806)

It's a youth beer weekend. Yeah, it's a youth deer weekend in Minnesota. Yep. So my plans for the TV production, I know I'm not going on those specific days. And there are other hunts around the season as well that I try to protect a little bit. But I I kind of have to build around the hunting season and where we can be. It's a short season, it goes fast, and we have to film the whole season of shows, and that means multiple locations.

And that's why when people reach out and we don't maybe film a hunt with them that year, I tell please don't hopefully you're not frustrated that it didn't work out, but just know that maybe next year because we might have ten options for November fifteenth and we can't do them all at once. Right right. So if it's prime time to be in a certain state to hunt for, you know, let's say it's a sage grouse hunt or something, well obviously that's gonna happen in September. and we're not gonna

Speaker 1 (04:47.37)

The window is super tight. So

Speaker 2 (04:49.482)

so small depending on where you hunt and when and the best times to be there. So the season is always sort of in limbo because we're we've had some times where we've had to pull the plug on a hunt a week before and and find a replacement just because a storm came in and we just the the people we were filming with just weren't comfortable with what they were seeing out there and and wanted to make sure that they're

Hard work in building this paradise is shown in the best light too. So it depends on the story and the adventure. But we're working on a couple right now that are quite adventurous, I'll just say. And it's more more moving parts. So I've I've been after that for a couple of weeks already.

Speaker 1 (05:31.724)

so tease us with one so you get we know we got MEA weekend. Yeah but what what's one other one that's got ya amped up for the

Speaker 2 (05:40.792)

Well, that's just my personal side. Yep. So I'm I'm really excited about the potential to go on a long road trip up into we'd be flying up into Alaska and then the road trip begins from Anchorage and we'd be going up into the Yukon and experiencing, you know, up in Caribou Country and and bird hunting up in that part of the world that I've never seen. But anytime you can get into the mountains

And those really, really remote places, I get excited. 'Cause I just love the real adventure side of of what Upland Bird Hunting can bring you. All right.

Speaker 1 (06:19.96)

Casey, we'll go to you. Yeah. Do you have it? Are you going to Yukon? Not quite. What what's what's on your list? Have you started planning? I yeah, I have actually. So I have just one trip on the book so far out to Wyoming. Nice around Cody. We're gonna go in September, do a little trout fishing and then hunt the prairie grouse in well and hunt stage grouse as well, which is something I've never done before.

So that'll be a whole new experience for me. I'm getting I'm trying to get everything in before Octo before about mid October, 'cause like I I mentioned on the podcast a couple weeks ago, I think we got a baby due in November. So I'm squeezing it all into a tighter time frame than normal.

Speaker 2 (07:04.93)

Very exciting times for you coming up. Yeah. And early congratulations on the baby. Thank

Speaker 1 (07:10.7)

Yeah. So that's what I got booked. I think we'll probably also head out to Western Nebraska. We have kind of an annual fishing trip out southwest of Alentine, where we fish for trout there. Cool. So you're you're kind of the cast and blast guy this year. I am, which is good. You know, I our our trip out Alentine, we we grew up fishing this river, and I sort of got away from it for a while just in my mid twenties, where mid twenties into like thirty.

Where I wasn't was just busy and wasn't able to go for a while and I just miss it. So I I got to go last year and I'm like dead set on like I am going again this year. So yeah, it's a it's a great trip. We fish the Snake River, which is just southwest of Alentine, about twenty miles. It's it's a pretty amazing place. Very immaculate, pristine river. Does not look like you're in Nebraska. and wild rainbow and browns.

Speaker 2 (08:06.508)

Nebraska's underrated as far as just the beauty of the topography.

Speaker 1 (08:09.582)

It is, man.

Speaker 1 (08:14.412)

Yep. There's a reason they don't.

Speaker 2 (08:16.492)

Yeah. Right. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (08:19.67)

What what are the birds you're gonna hunt? we in the Palestine we're we're just fishing now. Just fishing, okay. Yeah. So that's it. That's a straight fishing trip. Okay. So yeah. I as long as I've been going out there, this is embarrassing. We've never hunted out there. It's always just been just straight trout fishing. You're missing out, man. I know. And that's what everybody tells me. But I well we're so like singular focus on fly fishing when we're out there that we haven't haven't delved dove into the

To the hunting opportunities. So I know somebody that's not singularly focused on fishing. Jared, where are you going? I'm I'm I'm sort of on the same line as Travis a little bit. So MEA weekend is turning into a bigger weekend for us with young kids. I'm gonna have a a 10 year old Maggie and twelve year old Grace this year. we were just talking before the show started that I I just brought both of them out to shoot

sporting clays here just a couple couple weeks ago with my chapter and they both came up to me and said, Hey, is it okay to try can we try it? I'm like, well, it's a 12 gauge, but it it it is also you know, the ammunition loads that we were using didn't have a lot of kick to them. So yeah, step up and try. And they both they both hit clay pigeons. And I know Grace is very excited. She got her she passed her hunter safety and it'll it'll come into effect here on her birthday, which is in August.

So she's very interested in going pheasant hunting and and grouse hunting this year. So we're gonna have some trips to Wisconsin. So the first one is probably gonna be the second weekend in October, is near and dear to me now because the girls love to go up and do the youth hunt in Wisconsin. That's an awesome weekend. we'll probably throw in some grouse hunting this year as well, followed by MEA weekend. I get into a bit of deer hunting and things after that with my father who travels every year.

From Arizona up to our cabin. I just I love doing that. I really don't get into pheasants until I'm done with my rough grouse and deer hunting opportunities. Honestly, it's just it's the way it worked out. I grew up deer hunting. I was such a big deer hunter growing up. I didn't get into pheasants until later. or rough grouse. I was big into that in the superior national forest as well. So we get through that. and then I'm gonna

Speaker 1 (10:39.864)

I'm gonna try to do a lot of hunting around the local area this year, honestly. for what I am seeing for birds in certain places. up at the cabin this past weekend, I went up to cut the grass. I saw two different rough grouse broods that were big, big broods. they look great. for pheasants, I have not seen any yet, but I did hear, I'm almost positive I heard a hen pheasant calling to a brood when I was working out in the pool barn the other day. It was very soft. but when you sit

sit in the blind list for turkeys or other things or during the fall. they've got these really unique sounds that they do to call to their chicks. And can you imitate it? I'd rather I'd rather I'd rather not I'd rather not. It's it's sort of it's sort of like a

Little kind of like a turkey. Pretty good. Yeah, kinda like a turkey almost. But I'd I'd dustle up to you after here. Thank you. and I have like I notice I've been working on some some later season food plots here and other things. And there's a bunch of dust bowls and stuff up there that a lot of birds are using. I'm seeing a lot of roosters are still crawling. I heard this morning on the way into the office.

Speaker 2 (11:29.24)

Okay.

Speaker 1 (11:54.498)

and throughout this past week when we've had this nice cool weather. So I'm excited. I I'm I'm one of those guys that like I love going on trips. I really do. But with the kids at home and wanting to bring them different places, I guess what I'm saying is I don't really I don't necessarily leave birds to find birds. and here at our world national corporate headquarters in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, you do not have to or St. Paul, whatever you want to call it, you do not have to go very far.

to find a viable population of rooster pheasants around here. I'm just telling ya. And I've been I've been telling people that for years. Nobody ever believes me, but we have good success.

Speaker 2 (12:32.278)

I've seen it I've sat on his on his porch and watched the birds fly over there. Yep.

Speaker 1 (12:36.962)

Yep, Chris Wilkins, who's on our chapter for Washington County Pheasants Forever. I brought him up on a late season hunt last year and I bet we flushed twenty twenty five birds. we only got close enough to harvest one, but boy did boy did I get him. It was it was good.

Speaker 2 (12:54.296)

You kinda said it. I think September is for the prairie, October for the grousewoods, and then I start thinking about pheasants in November, mid to late November after our rot deer season passes, and then I get heavy into the pheasants until the season closes. There's so many and then quail December, January, quail basically.

Speaker 1 (13:12.43)

December and January species Yeah. Yeah. I I just think the birds as you go through the year, there's no time that's more predictable, at least in my experience, as the later later ends of the season, like once it gets cold and once we get snow on the ground, the birds, especially pheasants, are so predictable and where they're gonna be. And there's less people out at that point too. So you're not you don't have to fight people on public land depending on where you're at. it's it's

Yeah, I really enjoy as the temperature drops going out and G give us that hen call again.

Speaker 1 (13:48.364)

That's why they're predictable. He's calling them in. He gets out of That's right. That's right. All right. let me thank Purita ProPlan as the national dog food sponsor of Pheasants Forever and of Quail Forever's Wildlife Habitat Mission and the presenting sponsor of On the Wink Podcast. My pups have always eaten from tramel to little winter, Purina ProPlan. Not just because Purina.

supports the wildlife habitat mission of our organization, which is important to me. But what's most important is that Purina is a team of the world's science best scientists and nutritionists behind their dog food. Purina Proplan was built, it was created for the working bird dog like yours and like mine. You can learn more at Proplansport.com.

Speaker 3 (14:43.598)

From Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever National Headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, this is Casey Sill with the Upland Newsroom, delivering top stories from the Habitat Organization and across the American Upland.

Speaker 2 (14:55.426)

The U

Speaker 3 (14:55.598)

The US Department of Agriculture recently announced the Natural Resources Conservation Service will award up to three hundred ten million dollars through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, or RCPP. RCPP is one of the nation's most effective tools for bringing together agricultural producers, conservation organizations, private industry, and government partners to address natural resource challenges at scale.

NRCS Chief Colton Buckley said the investment in RCPP will further leverage partnerships as force multipliers in supporting America's farmers. He continued on to say, quote, we're looking forward to seeing the results on the ground while we also work to keep working lands in working hands. In recent years, PF and QF's Montana Grasslands Initiative and Arizona Quail Initiative utilize RCPP funds to advance landscape level projects in their respective states.

Speaker 1 (15:43.694)

Have you

Speaker 3 (15:49.942)

Making an enormous difference for wildlife habitat and landowners. If you'd like to know more about how RCPP works, head back a couple weeks in the podcast feed and give episode 367 a listen if you haven't already, where Bob and I chat with the team in Arizona and break down how RCPP is helping them accomplish their habitat goals. Quail Forever hosted its second annual Bob White Ball recently at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Among a pack

Room of supporters, the Habitat Organization highlighted quail conservation efforts of the past, present, and future while honoring Bass Pro Shop's founder, Johnny Morris, with the spirit of the Uplands Award. The award is presented in recognition of outstanding contributions given to benefit pheasants, quail, and the other wildlife that make their home in the uplands. This honors Morris's enduring commitment to wildlife habitat and the impact his conservation work and advocacy will have on wildlife and wild places.

Not just right now, but for generations to come. Speaking to a packed house, Morris also unveiled a $250,000 commitment to Quail Forever's Build a Wildlife Area Initiative, made possible through the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's Outdoor Fund. This financial support will be matched to acquire additional high quality properties throughout the Upland Bird Range, including the addition to Stony Point Prairie Conservation Area in Southwest Missouri.

Speaker 1 (16:58.328)

Yeah.

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Pheasant's Forever and Quill Forever President and CEO Marilyn Vetter said, quote, We couldn't think of another individual more deserving of this first-time award than Johnny Morris. Johnny's contributions to habitat conservation have made a big mark on the future of wildlife and hunting. End quote. That'll do it this week reporting from PF and QF headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, Casey C.

Speaker 1 (17:36.634)

K cell. All right. When we recorded this preview episode last year, Travis, yeah. You you talked about, you know, what emerged for the season of 2025 was you termed it family time. Yep. You know, it was the y you had the family hunt with with your little ones and your mom and your wife. Yep. and you you had a couple other hunts. I think there was a father and a young son out west.

Speaker 2 (18:06.242)

Scott took his his daughters and his wife out. Bill took his son for his first rooster in South Dakota. So yeah, it felt like it was family time. Family time. Yeah. And then a lot of the hunting camps that we visited and told the stories about, you you just left feeling like family. Everywhere everywhere we went, I was like, Man, this just that was the theme that carried through. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (18:31.874)

This year is there a theme that I'm and I don't like fifteen years that's not something you go for. I'm just curious if

Speaker 2 (18:36.067)

Yeah.

Speaker 2 (18:40.27)

When I looked at that season last year, that's what came to mind. When I look at this year, the stories that are coming up here in the coming weeks and months that people are gonna watch, it's really a lot of difference makers. These are people that are really pouring themselves into the land. I mean, you think about Scott Raw. You know, we went down and everybody in Pheasants Forever membership or chapters have probably heard the name Scott Raw.

Down in Nobles County, Minnesota. Well, they were celebrating Pheasant Run number fifty. So we went down and we thought we should celebrate with them. And I hunted with Scott and we saw a few of his different wildlife management areas that have been created by his blood, sweat, and tears and all the work that hi he and his chapter members have poured into it. And

That is impressive. Mm-hmm. I mean, it really is impressive. The amount of time and commitment that he has poured into it. I don't know. I mean, Bob, maybe you know somebody that's put more effort in as a volunteer.

Speaker 1 (19:49.454)

He is at the pinnacle of that pyramid. You know, he which is why he was nominated as a hero of conservation by Field and Stream years ago. Yeah. You know, you mentioned Pheasant Run 50. Each Pheasant, each wildlife management area that that chapter, Nobles County, has created is called a Pheasant Run. And the very first acquisition the organization ever did was in 1986. Pheasant Run won. Yep. Nobles County.

And now they've done forty nine others. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (20:22.626)

They I I know other chapters have had impacts in their area, but I don't know that any have done that many acquisitions. Do you guys?

Speaker 1 (20:32.92)

I don't think so.

Speaker 2 (20:34.872)

Yeah, I I I I

Speaker 1 (20:36.64)

The hard prep McLeod County's gotta be in that mix. There's a few in because Minnesota with legacy amendment dollars, there's there is a lot of opportunity to do land acquisitions, but I don't know that there's more than what exists in Nobles County.

Speaker 2 (20:54.168)

Yeah, and we just felt like we had gone down back when it was Pheasants Forever Television and we filmed the story about at the time it was maybe I don't know, fifteen or twenty that were on the ground and and so w we did the story back then, but fifty is a pretty substantial number to celebrate. And who knows what's coming up for that chapter, but there are a lot of great places to hunt wild birds in that part of the state and

I think people need to realize that it's because of volunteers that have that raised their hand, that have poured the time in and made the difference to make it happen.

Speaker 1 (21:34.594)

Yeah. It's funny when you mention Scott. I get Scott Rawl, I get people that come to me now just out of the blue. They either send me an email or I'll get a phone call from them. They're like, hey, we've got we've got, you know, eighty, a hundred acres down here in Southwest Minnesota. We're next to some public land and there's a there's a guy there's a guy around here that's that does I think land acquisition for Pheasants Forever. He's very, very involved.

kind of a charismatic guy, wears a cowboy hat. Do you know do you know who I'm talking about? It's like, yep, I know exactly who you're talking about. And we're happy to get you in touch with him. And Scott, he wears his heart on his sleeve about the work that he does, volunte volunteerism for for Pheasants Forever. and he's always on the lookout for that next project for the chapter. And I don't want to take away from the chapter either because Scott obviously is a big part of it. But that that whole chapter, that crew that runs that down there, and they

They do a a veteran they do a veterans hunt, they do a youth hunt, I mean they do all this awesome stuff. but their their land acquisition work is as well as the community. The community comes out and attend I mean, they sell out that banquet every year. Yeah. They buy the tickets. Another interesting stat about those fifty land acquisitions is I think it's it's something like twelve miles you can walk from spot to spot that's contiguous.

Speaker 2 (22:57.204)

There is a there is a big chunk of it that's a complex.

Speaker 1 (23:00.222)

I mean think about that in today southwest Minnesota, twelve miles nonstop, there aren't that many opportunities to do that.

Speaker 2 (23:10.242)

And people are are filling their vests with pheasants down there. Last year was really a good year down there. They had the perfect moisture at just the right time during the hatch. And he does kind of his own pheasant count. Mm-hmm. You know? And he was saying last summer, he goes, This is going to rival he had a year a couple decades ago where the numbers were as high. And we saw it. We saw birds everywhere we went.

And that's public land. That's be that's places and I said, Are you sure you want to highlight this on national TV? Because you say the number of Pheasant Run, he goes, That's okay. I want people to know that this is real and this exists. Sorry, we hotspotted a little bit by saying Noble's County and we showed but in order to do justice to what has happened there, we had to show real hunting on public land for wild birds.

Speaker 1 (23:53.218)

So

Speaker 2 (24:08.806)

And we hunted a variety of different Pheasant Run properties. So we didn't say all of this was Pheasant Run forty two or whatever. You know, I mean we didn't highlight it that way, but he was adamant that we do talk about it and show it the way that it really is.

Speaker 1 (24:22.826)

That's that's something we wrestle with when we do rooster road trip. It's that balance between showing the fruits of people's dollars and sweat and like here's here's where it goes. It's creating habitats, creating public lands. And you know, you don't want to hot spot it 'cause you don't wanna blow out those water but you also want like it is real. Dollars that are sent in, whether it's membership or left in a way it

actually produces something, you gotta show that at some level.

Speaker 2 (24:56.94)

We've struggled with that, especially east of the Mississippi, where it seems like the projects are smaller and you know, somebody Yeah, people want us to come and and film and show what they have in Kentucky. Well, this particular and I'm just using that as using that as an example because the the property might be two thousand acres, but

Speaker 1 (25:05.612)

Demand is higher.

Speaker 2 (25:21.09)

This is the only property. And to them it's it's large and they don't see a lot of people. But if we highlight this and this is the two thousand acres that we spent two or three days on, everybody in the in the state, in the country would know about that. And I I don't know how to tell the story about success without showing it. And then when you show it, it kind of opens everything up to all right, guys, it's is it a free for all? Are are they gonna decimate what's there? I don't want that. Art

Speaker 1 (25:50.444)

Our communication is gonna say we have to strike that balance all the time, right? With every single, you know, acquisition press release and everything that we put out. It's like how do we balance celebrating this without without kind of going too far and and pointing people, you know, directly to it or or giving it too much attention. I had somebody get a hold of me just a couple of weeks ago. We did a in partnership with Nature Conservancy, and

couple other groups. We did a nineteen hundred acre land acquisition. Yeah, by Fargo, you know, and I had somebody reach out and they're like, Man, I was I kind of heard that you guys were maybe gonna acquire that, but it'd be nice if you didn't didn't talk about it. So I weren't well, it's like well right we have to talk we have to talk about our successes. People want to know where their money is going. Right. When they go to a bank when they go to a banquet or they do their membership. It's no different for, you know, a thirty thousand acre enrollment that we did for Path or a nineteen hundred acre land acquisition.

Speaker 2 (26:20.706)

By Fargo.

Speaker 1 (26:46.476)

Or even a four you know, a 40 acre that's added on to a complex down in Iowa. I struggle with that a lot, but at the end of the day, if we're gonna communicate the the things that we're doing on the landscape and land ac land acquisition and you know access to private lands is a big part of that, we have to be able to to tell that proof statements. Exactly.

Speaker 2 (27:11.302)

Well plus you show up at a WMA in a parking lot and you've got a monument with a PF logo on it, a bunch of names on there. They have a sense of I accomplished this. This is here because of work that we did together. You know that your chapter then was a part of something great. I want to continue to be a

part of something great. I'm gonna continue to be a member of my local chapter. I'm gonna get involved with it. Look at all of my buddies' names that are on there. I wanna be on the monument. Yeah. I don't know. I mean you you see the work right there when you pull up and that's important.

Speaker 1 (27:45.932)

It is. It's a balance. It's a thread. It's a thread. Yeah. all right. I want to

Speaker 2 (27:48.622)

Sure is. Yep.

No, we gotta know Bob, what w what's on your list?

Speaker 1 (27:55.602)

you you wanna know? well, I'm gonna go to Grouse Camp. That's the first thing I plan every year, North Northwest or Northwoods Grouse Camp. I've got my opening day series. So so last year film that will come out here shortly w is Missouri with the with the White family in Missouri Cool family of quail biologists. So next year will be the fourth episode of

opening day and that'll be in South Dakota. Okay. So kind of one that was always on the radar. but you know it's it's finally time to celebrate everything that opening day is and South Dakota does that better than anyone. And it's with a guy that you've done a story with before, it's Darwin. yeah. At Westentick Springs. So he's gonna take me out and show me his tradition. So we're gonna we're gonna be

Speaker 2 (28:49.228)

Elm's place special.

Speaker 1 (28:53.186)

helping out with the chapter for the banquet the night before. Okay. And connect those dots, just like what we're talking about, connecting the dots between volunteerism, raising money, and then the fruits of those successes.

Speaker 2 (29:07.37)

It feels to me like Minnesota does their chapter banquets in the winter after the season is over. South Dakota does a lot of b during hunting season or right before the opener.

Speaker 1 (29:18.328)

Yeah, and that's str strategic. There's probably seventy percent of our chapters around the country hold their banquets in the spring when things are quieter in the winter. And that's that includes Minnesota and for the most part, there's a couple chapters that hold them in the fall, but for the most part, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa. The difference are difference is the fall banquets of destination hunting stakes.

South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, they generally hold them in the fall because they're smaller communities and they want to take advantage of people are coming to town. Like, hey, give back, contribute. So that's a shout out to folks that are traveling to South Dakota or Kansas or Nebraska for opening day this fall. Like look at Pheasants Forever's website, find an event. It's the greatest bash. Like you can get

Speaker 2 (29:54.434)

The hunters that show up.

Speaker 1 (30:14.274)

Tremendous intel, right? The night before the opener in South Dakota, buy a ticket and go to an event.

Speaker 2 (30:20.334)

Casey's writing it down. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (30:23.014)

Going to let's decide here. and then the last thing I'm planning is like Casey, I'm I've got a hankering to go to Wyoming. I have never been and I've never seen a a blue grouse or a a sooty grouse and this is the year

Speaker 2 (30:41.132)

Be careful. Because once you guys go there, I'm telling you, you're gonna wanna go back every year. Yeah. Yep. When you get into the mountains and some of those places, I have a hard time leaving and every time I tell my wife, Honey, I just think we need to move out here. You know, and I just fall in love with it every more every time.

Speaker 1 (31:02.488)

Something about like a bird dog on point and the imagery and then the sounds of like an elk bugling in the background. Sure. it's pretty tough to beat. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2 (31:12.728)

Well, Bob, I did get to go to your old stomping grounds up into the UP.

Speaker 1 (31:17.07)

That so that's on my list here to ask about. Okay. I want to thank one mutual partner before we get rolling. Welcome back, Onyx, to on the wing podcast. waiting season is almost over. It's almost time for hunting season. You know the feeling the dark dogs are getting restless. You're checking the rainfall and watching hatches. You know, like Ben Bradigan wrote this exact commercial.

Speaker 2 (31:46.796)

Did he write this for you? Yeah, yeah. my goodness. and should we share the lines? Should we come over here over your shoulder?

Speaker 1 (31:47.587)

Yeah.

Every bird hunter

Speaker 1 (31:54.986)

Yeah you start over, yeah.

Speaker 2 (31:57.228)

Waiting season is almost over. You know the feeling. The dogs are getting restless. You're checking rainfall and watching hatches, and every bird hunter is counting down the days until we can break away the dogs for reasons.

Speaker 1 (32:08.846)

For real. And then this one I read this and I started chuckling because I know this line. Ben wrote this specifically for you.

Speaker 2 (32:16.982)

I'm sorry, but it's almost time to reel the d well Face is like no You can do both they're gonna have Ox fish so you

Speaker 1 (32:24.562)

You can't. I'm sorry, Ben says it, but it's almost time to reel up the fishing lines, park the boat in the garage, and get back to thinking birds. Because fall will be here before you know it. Now is the time to open the Onyx app and start finding new opportunities, research new properties, and build a plan for the fall. The best seasons don't start.

On opening day. They start right now with Onyx Hunt. So there you go. Ben, thank you very much for right that that commercial and Onyx. Thank you for what a

Speaker 2 (33:05.186)

Hypocrite though, if he really wrote that, because last year he and I went to Montana and we hauled our dogs and my boat. And we hunt it by boat. So you do not want to put the boat away.

Speaker 1 (33:15.736)

Well, maybe he wrote it for me because he knows I winterized my boat after the Fourth of July. I do. It's like after the Fourth of July?

Speaker 2 (33:26.526)

No way. What do you what is the earliest date you've ever went, right?

Speaker 1 (33:30.934)

August first. Come on. I I have because you can run your dogs on August first. I go to the Barons and it's like, well, fishing's over. So I'm ready for winter. Well, let's let's get fall first. All right. you st you started to bring up episodes and y you brought up the one back in my stomping grounds. Yeah. And that was the one I was gonna ask you about. Superior Upland. Mm-hmm.

You went to the UP. Tell us about that. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (34:02.796)

I've grown up hunting rough grouse my whole life and it's good here in Minnesota. You and I, Bob, we've hunted rough grouse a couple of different times now. And even in Wisconsin, it's really good. I've hunted them in Ontario. Excellent. And I've always heard about Michigan, the UP, and I thought it was finally time to go there. And there's a couple, Jake Perry, who started Superior Upland, and that's the name of their operation. They train dogs during the summer and

They take people out hunting, but they've been working on this old cabin in the woods. And it's a couple of mile trail. I would call it a trail. I mean, we drove our vehicles there, but I think it'd be tough to get there in the winter. It's not a real road maintained or anything. And you end up in this little log cabin overlooking this private lake in the middle of the forest. The tamaracks are on fire. I mean, it was quintessential.

Grouse camp.

Speaker 1 (35:03.144)

In a is in they always have a booth at Pheasant Fest and Quail Classics. Yeah. But I don't know exactly what part of the UP and that not to hotspot them, but are they are they far eastern UP? Towards Sioux the Sioux?

Speaker 2 (35:14.092)

Yeah, I would say eastern, southern I'm not too good with my

Speaker 1 (35:20.078)

So here's my map of Michigan. I'm from Escanaba on Lake Michigan. Were they closer to Superior?

Speaker 2 (35:28.61)

Year closer to Escloser to Escanaba. really? Yeah, I think. And I'm sorry if I'm messing that up. But they were kind of in the middle of it. And we drove to different areas and we hunted some some different cuts, a lot of public land up there. I think there's Bob, you n you would probably know this, but is there eight or nine million acres of publicly accessible property to hunt up there? When you look at all of the different timber companies that own and open up the

The hunting rights. I mean it's I asked him and he said it's i I think my memory serves me, it's like eight or nine million and we were so far back into places, but you could walk as far as you wanted and and hunt. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (36:13.57)

know the number, but there's population in the entire UP is like two hundred thousand people. So it's very rare for you to roll up to a spot and have anybody.

Speaker 2 (36:24.78)

Right. And it reminded me of northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin. Obviously it's the same forest that kinda flows through there. I just we we happen to time it perfectly for the for the woodcock migration. So we were just absolutely covered up in birds the entire time we were in the forest. And I love grouse I you know that Bob. You and I we share that love together. It's the first bird I ever harvested was a rough grouse and it's still to me the king.

is still every single time my dog points one, I hit it off of a flush and she brings it back. I hold that in the highest regard. That bird, it's just something about it. So that that place up there I think is really special. They they don't want it to be a high end not saying anything bad about like an Orvis indoors outfitter lodge. It's a

regular place, a place for regular people that want to just enjoy. You can go out with them. You can stay at their place and, you know, hunters come back. There was a father and a son from I somewhere East Coast, I believe, that was there when we were there as well. And they were hunting and because there's so many places to go. This is just a nice place to come back to. They made meals and we sat around the fire and told stories. And I I think of

That is a perfect grouse camp. Make a cup of coffee as steam rising over the water. There was a moose that walked down the road while he was waiting for us.

Speaker 1 (38:02.734)

Wow. So that's Escanaba then. That was further north. That would have been maybe towards Marquette, closer to Lake Spear.

Speaker 2 (38:10.582)

Yep. Yep. Yep. And and we were actually going to you think of the casting blast, we were going to fish lake trout in as part of this trip, but the winds were just relentless and we couldn't get out on the big water and we just decided not to try to push it. But yeah, so that sounds it it was still quite a drive to get to Superior to fish But I don't know. I I'm willing to make the drive.

Speaker 1 (38:38.782)

Casey, which which episode jumped out to you that you wanted to pick Travis's bringing. Can I pick two? Is that Yeah, sure. Well there's thirteen to choose from. Okay. well we talked about sort of the the family theme from last year, but that's the one that sort of stuck out to me first. And I wanna I know it's not the first time that you've done that, but I I was curious to talk about just the logistics.

Speaker 2 (39:08.041)

Yeah.

Speaker 1 (39:08.79)

Of wrangling family, a film shoe and a hunt all wrapped into one together. I mean, I I have little kids and it's I d I can't imagine like I imagine that's a lot going on there, man.

Speaker 2 (39:11.884)

huh.

Speaker 2 (39:21.538)

Yeah, I I just think anytime you're trying to get your kids interested in the same things you love, you want it to be great. Yeah, yeah. So in your mind, you're going through all of these gear list items that you need to make sure that you have what you need, but then to do it with all of your children and then my wife as well. And yeah, I mean, I've done this now for a few years with them and bringing them all together out there in places that I love.

I just I I find it mentally exhausting by checking the the ability to have these checklists on your phone. Now it does make it a little easier. You can cross it off and you just hope for the best. You hope for the best whether you try to make good on whatever successes you have in the moment. That's what I've learned with bringing the kids out there. If we get one, we're celebrating, you know, and we're making a big deal about that.

Because you don't know that you're gonna have another shot. Right. You know, those tired those legs get tired quick and wild birds can pull you another quarter mile, another half mile, and pretty soon you realize that you all have to get back to that vehicle. So when do you pull the plug on on pushing the limits and bringing the things that everybody needs and

Speaker 1 (40:44.726)

And you gotta get footage too, right? It's not just a hunt, yeah.

Speaker 2 (40:47.778)

Yeah, that's more so the the filming side, a few of our cameramen have been a part of it for so long that sure I tell them we have a plan going into it. We kinda sorta converse throughout the shoot a little bit, but here's the gist of it. Here's what we're trying to accomplish today. Y he knows that there's a lot of pressure for me to whether I've got my little girl on on my shoulders in a backpack or

My son trying to get his first bird, that's a special first time real moment right with a kid that I that could go really bad. And I've been nervous about filming with my family before because I think my role as a father is more important than my role as a producer. And so we go into it knowing that, hey, camera guy, X, Y, Z, you know, the the different ones we have are great. And, you know, whether it's Pete or Aaron or Lance or whoever and

They know that I need to be a dad there in that moment. And they can capture what they capture. And that's how all of our shoots always go. We don't pre script anything. You can't. Right. Then when we come back into the office, we load hours of footage and I watch it all. And then from that footage I I'm I write a story. Not the other way around. I don't write a story and then try to get the footage. So it

It never goes the way you think and that's okay. Right.

Speaker 1 (42:17.666)

Yeah. You feel like you have having done this with your family a couple of times, they have a pretty good system down by this one.

Speaker 2 (42:23.166)

It's absolute chaos every time and you just have to accept that. Yeah. But the packing is part of the hunt. Sure. The drive out is part of the hunt. I learned early on that I wanted to have everything ready. We're going. And then I'm it I'm just super I turn into just no fun to be around because I've got so much on my brain. Now when I change my mindset to know that this is all part of the hunt for them too.

They get to be a part of that. And we go through their list of things together and we load it together. And where do we want to stop? And the journey to get there. An eight hour drive. I can't just hammer down like I do with one of my buddies and get there so we can be ready at first light. It's it's we're stopping a couple of times and that's okay. Right. And you you build that into the whole experience and it turns into something that everyone kind of enjoys.

Speaker 1 (43:20.216)

I think making the drive a part of it is something that yeah. And that's e that's hard for me and I I've I haven't gone on a on a hunting trip, you know, with my with my kid, but just on on like a long even on like a regular long road trip. Like we went down to Nebraska for a fourth of July, right? Is like it's hard to get in that mindset or get out of the mindset that you've had your whole life where like I'm just gonna go, like don't bother me. It's like yeah.

Speaker 2 (43:33.422)

Right.

Speaker 2 (43:48.438)

It's about you. But it's not about you at the same time. It's about everyone. And you can really force what you want to happen. And when it doesn't, it can be easy to get frustrated because there's all these other things that are pulling you away. And when we're packed full in the vehicle, you just have to laugh about that. And that's that's really something that I've learned as a father. But I think making all of it special for everybody. My my daughter's

We're we're finding the most beautiful dried flowers and right plants out there. And she loves flowers. So we made a bouquet. Yeah. And that was something she still has, you know, and then a first bird for cash and Weston feeding us on the tailgate with his roosters and things happen where you pause and you just are like, This is this is why.

We've made this happen for a few days of our lives. We've separated ourselves from sports and friends and school and everything to just be in a wild place together. And they still talk about it. They still talk about the first ones that we've done and they're looking forward to the next hunts together too.

Speaker 1 (45:06.594)

That's yeah, that's really beautiful, man. I'm I can't wait to do it with to do it with my family. Separating from school, do you do you take your like I do, do you take your kids out of school for for fun trips?

Speaker 2 (45:17.144)

Absolutely. You learn so much in real life experiences that you can't learn inside a building. Why not make that special? I my dad would take me out of school when I was a kid and this was special. Yep. And I I wanna celebrate that. I wanna celebrate these kind of moments together.

Speaker 1 (45:33.932)

My oldest my oldest daughter, Grace, is very, very studious. she's a straight A student. I'm very proud of her. But when she asks, she's like, Well, if we're gonna go out of school for two days, like what what do I tell my teacher? Like, tell him we're gonna try to shoot a big this is what we're this is what we're going after. I'm like, Yeah, you you tell you're tell you're leaving and you'd like your schoolwork ahead of time if you want to complete it. And don't beat around the bush. Be proud of that. Be proud.

Speaker 3 (45:47.659)

You know, like it's

Speaker 2 (46:00.438)

Out of it, absolutely. Have as anybody listening, they probably can't name a teacher that would say no to that. Right. They want teachers want kids to experience great things. And if you're taking them to go do something great like that together, that is rich. That is part of life. So I I don't think any teacher would ever say no.

Speaker 1 (46:24.946)

We gotta create an excused app absence form for social media with our logos on it and you can just That's a great idea.

Speaker 2 (46:34.454)

legs yes i i think you should and i actually i worked the system hard from through high school i maxed out my days that i could miss through college i over maxed for sure and i actually broke probably shouldn't even say this but i probably broke some some laws in that i had a relative in my family that was a doctor that wrote me notes a note so that i had an excuse to ask

Speaker 1 (47:00.628)

That's where a U.

Speaker 2 (47:01.702)

And I was in North Dakota, they're the peak of the migration. I don't remember what if a whole bunch of different Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 (47:04.878)

Yeah. What illness did you have?

Definitely I'm thinking yeah I'm thinking Dwight Shrute like Kalachalky Litus, you know.

Speaker 2 (47:14.934)

Totally. I'm not gonna name any more names 'cause I don't want anyone trippable, but it was an official letter from the hospital and everything else and I'm sorry.

Speaker 1 (47:25.0)

Trans says irritable bowel syndrome won't be it's

Speaker 2 (47:29.216)

He's gonna miss Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

Speaker 1 (47:32.642)

Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (47:37.438)

gosh. That's great, man. That's that's real life. That's commitment. You find a way. There's always a way.

Speaker 1 (47:45.614)

You had a second one. I do, I do. so Prairie Farm Iowa. Yeah. I I wanted to bring that one up because I I was curious, again, not the hotspot, but where roundabouts in this state you guys film that because I I have not hunted in southern in the southern part of Iowa where there's more quail. But I've spent a little bit of time down there and we talked about Nebraska being underrated earlier. I feel like like aesthetically, southern Iowa is

Gorgeous, man. And I think it's super underrated. But I I was I was down there a couple of years ago for a few days. We're like, I don't know, probably twenty some miles from the Missouri border. Mm-hmm. And just the rolling countryside and there was Bob Whites everywhere. So

Speaker 2 (48:28.94)

Yeah. That's that's really what we ran into as well. We saw pheasants and quite a few quail. And that's really a celebration in Iowa, the amount of quail. Let's hope that continues again. But the the prairie farm is a place where they grow different native grasses. And so obviously the wildlife comes to this place and their their livelihood is around farming.

native wild grasses and people that have a CRP contract, whether they would buy seeds, you know, Pheasants Forever blend or from somebody else, it comes from somewhere. Right. And so this is a real story about a family who has Hoxie native seeds. That's the name of their business. But Carol Hoxbergen was a farmer in central Iowa

who did not want to grow soy soy corn and soybeans. And he was different than everybody else around there. But he he wanted to plant native and and farm native grasses. And so they have anywhere from depending on the year and what their plans are. And they work with there's just not many of these out there. I I'm sure you guys work with a couple as well to to get your seeds, but you're talking about billions of seeds that come out over the course of the

the years they've done it. While Carol passed away from cancer and his son Nicholas has taken over and Kent Boucher have taken over the prairie farm. And they are gonna keep it going. And that is a hard thing to do because big companies don't make farming equipment for the five native grass farmers that are out there in America. I mean there's

Ma maybe ten or twelve. Like there's just not that many. So they all have to work together to make sure that the blends have the right seeds. But they the equipment they use is from the sixties, seventies, eighties. You talk about duct taping something together to make it work, they have to because John Deere's not making a a planter or a harvester for all of these specific seeds. And to see their operation

Speaker 2 (50:48.536)

takes you back like forty or fifty years is what it feels like inside this barn and seeds are shaking down and they got these it it felt like I was in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, you know, with things coming down the shoot and doo doo doo goes into the next one and before you're done you end up with these teeny tiny seeds. And somebody in Iowa or North Dakota or wherever that that signs a CRP contract, whether they go through you guys or somebody else that just wants to put the seed down.

It has to come from somewhere. Yeah. Yeah. So seeing that, but also the fact that they they they share our love for hunting too. And because they have the grasses that they're farming, they have the wildlife naturally. Right. And so we got to see that how everything kind of comes full circle. They do

Speaker 1 (51:36.344)

Get a great podcast. Do Prairie Farm Podcast and they also often have a booth at Pheasant Fest and Quail Class.

Speaker 2 (51:43.01)

Yeah, they've been there for probably three years now, three or four years. Great. They they really are just salt of the earth, hard workers, very knowledgeable. They think about the land in ways that I think a lot of us probably overlook and they they really research a lot of it to they want they want what we want. Right. And they talk about it in a way that I can understand it.

Speaker 1 (52:07.692)

That sounds like a unique story. I'm sure that'll come out in the episode too. I'm looking forward to seeing that. Your turn, Jared. Which one, which one piqued your interest? I've got two. I'll I'll give a shout out. We already covered it a little bit at the beginning of the show, but the the Pheasant Run 50, I've had a very unique privilege since 2014 when I came back from being a regional rep in Iowa. I've got a great relationship with Scott and the Nobles County crew. And to be able to write about some of those acquisitions and just

Speaker 2 (52:11.778)

Hope so. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (52:36.566)

watch watch those evolve over time. the big one that I'll go back to when Bob remembers this because it was in it was in the Star Tribune. It was in outdoor news. there's been television shows done on it, but is the the Worthington Wells project down there. I'm not sure is that one part of part of a Pheasant Run? there are yeah projects that are part of that. Yep. And so that was just to give people a little bit of background. That particular

land acquisition, Worthington Wells WMA was CRP ground that they purchased to protect for protect the drinking water and the well heads around the city of Worthington. and by the way, you can go out and harvest a pheasant on that too, which is which is pretty cool. So yeah, he's just a a unique person and and a unique crew down there in Worthington and they they deserve they deserve that story being told. So

I'm looking forward to to seeing that for Pheasant Run 50. the other I wanted to ask about was Bird Dog Christmas in Idaho and and Oregon. I haven't done a lot of far western western hunting with my bird dogs. I've done a little bit, but that particular one piqued my interest because last year we traveled out to Oregon with

I don't know. Extended family. I think we had four trucks and four campers and we were gone for like two weeks and we All right, folks. And remember Nash Lampoons vacation? Yep. That's this is like imagine Jared as Sparky, Chevy Chase. Yeah. And pulling a trailer and who who's on the who's on the lawn chair on top? the mother in law? I I don't I don't remember. Yeah, probably the Beverly Hillbillies. I

Yeah. Go ahead. Sorry. no, it's fine. The we visit all these national parks though, and it was it was probably like a week too long. Everybody was pissed off, tired, hot. I just didn't it was that slimp. Yeah. On the way back, you know, it's like I I'll should throw a little shade at my wife. Like she and her she and her sisters she and her sisters plan like a an eight hour detour for like a

Speaker 1 (54:59.0)

Two hour stop at a national park. I mean, I guess it was cool. We got to see it, but we do you need to lay down. The coolest part of the coolest part of the trip was getting out to Oregon and you're still not over it. Going along going along the Columbia River. very yeah. Yeah, we went all the way up. We went all the way out to the ocean. But I find myself like I'm supposed to be driving and paying attention because you know the truck is packed with like nine people and we're driving down the road and

But I'm like looking around and I'm looking up at all all these huge rolling hills and mountains and other stuff and it just a very unique landscape out there. So I wonder if you talk just a little bit about what what that episode That was a long way to get to the payoff. Yeah. Carrie got Carrie Carrie, if you're listening to this I love you dealer. I'll be I'll be home at five thirty.

Speaker 2 (55:50.382)

Yeah.

Speaker 1 (55:52.66)

Yeah. Was there a question in there?

Speaker 3 (55:56.054)

Just need to get that office chair. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (55:58.158)

Think something about is the landscape great.

Speaker 1 (56:00.834)

Yes, you also do isn't it beautiful?

Speaker 2 (56:05.686)

Well, this is actually a Tyler Webster film production. So new to our team is Tyler Webster this season. And this is one of his episodes. I have hunted out there in Idaho too. And I can tell you that all of those western states, when you get to the Chucker and the the Quail, man, it is it is stunning. And it's a good thing that I live this far away because I would probably be there every single time I could hunt. And I I think some of the quail

Numbers out there blow your mind once you start seeing them. And they got into that. They also hunted Chucker and Katie Willis was also a part of this production. So if anybody knows that name, you know that it's probably gonna be quite entertaining. And this one, I believe, is going to surpass the hype on the variety of birds, the experience, and Tyler also had his his oldest dog Rusty, and for them to hunt a particular bird.

finished off the the upland slam for them together. That's They've they've traveled the country a lot. So it's pretty special in in several different ways. Puppies, Katie Willis, a lot of birds, an amazing country. You let your mind wander a little bit and then we'll show you what it looks like.

Speaker 1 (57:23.906)

You know, I think it's I think it's it's interesting too. Anytime you talk about these western states or Western species, there's a lot of people out there who be like, man, you know, that's my that's my that's my bucket list bird hunt. And I think it is for a lot of people, but it more comes down to like we were talking earlier about our families and different things that we have going on. you know, I I just love I love taking my kids out around our home, up at the cabin in Minnesota, and even like over to South Dakota and

I think it's more one of those things like you just have to put aside the time to go and do those trips because whether Bob going to Wyoming or you know, whoever going out to these these western haunts, it's more about just making sure you have enough time and able to be able to enjoy it. Cause like you're not you're not going out there on a four day trip. I mean, it takes it takes two days to get there, depending, you know, where you're at, maybe even longer.

Speaker 2 (58:14.816)

Well, and and I've learned too some of the things about these adventures that I've gone on with my kids that I really want to leave wanting more. So you talked about we you were there eight days too long, you know, and that sticks with you. What do your kids remember? It got it got pretty uncomfortable with the family after day six, you know. Yeah if it was over. We just came out of the boundary waters a week and a half ago. And my buddy's like, Should we stay this until this day? We got these dates for the permit. I Nope.

We're getting out when it's good and you leave wanting more and we left and like, no, I don't want Perfect. Yeah. That means they wanna go back. You got It's like when they get a little older, you can extend those trips. But when they're young, make short and sweet.

Speaker 1 (58:49.154)

Leave yet.

Speaker 1 (58:57.848)

To your point though, there is like my daughters, we were where were we fishing out but the cabin the other day and they asked her, like, Dad, we have one of those like eight or nine foot white river sturgeon, you know, with the lake or you know that's what they remember about that 'cause we took him to a hatchery and saw that kind of stuff. So no, I agree. It was we look back on it. There's some there's some great memories there. it was probably more just like my problem versus versus anybody.

Speaker 2 (59:21.346)

Yeah. Usually is ours. Yeah. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and then the stress of everybody shut up. Everybody. Ten minutes of quiet. You know, that moment

Speaker 1 (59:32.578)

Are we there yet? Yeah. I gotta go to the bathroom.

Speaker 1 (59:39.97)

Quiet if you knew it was good for you, but

Speaker 3 (59:41.72)

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (59:44.232)

Give some dramamine and what's the thing that helps sleep.

Speaker 1 (59:49.582)

I was thinking something else. I don't have kids. Give am Ambient. Hydrocoda.

Speaker 2 (59:52.374)

Give them some melatonin

Speaker 2 (01:00:00.877)

no, okay.

Speaker 1 (01:00:03.246)

Do you feel better? I do. Do you really? Yeah. It's only been that's been on my chest for like a year and a

Speaker 2 (01:00:06.491)

Have we had this morning?

I feel better for you too. I didn't know you were holding this in all this time.

Speaker 1 (01:00:13.986)

I just appreciate you guys, I think, being on my side. It's all good. One of us are gonna drop an Easter egg to carry. You should listen to about fifty fifty two mark on this episode. Just know that your husband loves you. So it was good. All right. season I think fifteen.

Speaker 2 (01:00:35.916)

I think sixteen, I think. but we internally don't know. We all get this wrong. Everybody from our social media manager to Scott Franzen who wants to come after me, every one of us comes in with a different number.

Speaker 1 (01:00:38.231)

okay so maybe

Speaker 1 (01:00:50.798)

Tell you I can tell you based on press releases which one. Yeah. Which one we think it we anyways, that doesn't matter.

Speaker 2 (01:00:55.0)

We don't know either if that's Yeah. We've been doing it for a while. It's I will say though that we are obviously grateful for the partnership with Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever all these years. I mean what started out before I was here with Pheasants Forever television, were you part of that? yeah. When that T V show started?

Speaker 1 (01:01:11.564)

I was, yeah.

Pheasants Forever Television. So it was in two thousand five on Versus Network. Yeah. And then it went to NBC Spa.

Speaker 2 (01:01:24.288)

Or yep. And then

Speaker 1 (01:01:26.498)

And it changed names when it went outdoor channel, went from Pheasants Forever Television to The Flash.

Speaker 2 (01:01:35.372)

That was like two thousand eight, two thousand nine when it changed to the Yeah. So it's been going for gosh, twenty years.

Speaker 1 (01:01:39.032)

Change names. Yeah, that sounds right.

Speaker 1 (01:01:44.854)

One thing we know for certain, whether it's 15, 16, or 20, it's the 2026 season of the flush. Yep. Airing on outdoor channel from the first week of July through the last week of December. So third and fourth quarters. lots of different times this year. Yeah. There's more times than ever. Monday. So all of these times that I'm going to mention are central, are eastern time zone.

Speaker 2 (01:02:05.806)

Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:02:13.432)

So you can convert them no matter where you're listening. Eastern time zone. Mondays, 4 30 p.m. So kids home from school. Tuesdays, 1 30 p.m. That's your retirement audience. Wheel of Fortune is on after that. Wednesdays 5 30 p.m. So the dinner hour. Thursdays 8 30 a.m. Or the gym workout.

Speaker 2 (01:02:22.028)

Yeah. Heck yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:02:39.928)

Coffee time. You go.

Speaker 1 (01:02:44.04)

Saturdays twelve thirty PM. So there you go. Yep.

Speaker 2 (01:02:49.538)

You're done hunting, you can have we missed as well to make you feel better.

Speaker 1 (01:02:55.483)

And Sundays at six thirty AM. So lots that's more than normal, six different areas.

Speaker 2 (01:03:03.458)

I think we added a little bit more this year, 'cause why not? We all could use a little more bird hunting in our lives. And the network agreed with us. Wonderful. Yes. And our our loyal viewers are speaking and so we'll take that. Plus I think, you know, you can pretty much any however your T V works now, they're all pretty smart. I think if it airs once you can save it and watch it whenever you want. To your schedule as well.

Scott Franzen, Tyler Webster, and myself are the hosts of the show. I will say you talked about your R V. Scott and two of his oldest longtime hunting buddies got in an R V and they hunted down highway two. And that in itself is is it's what you think spending that many days.

Speaker 1 (01:03:52.194)

Beer and for everybody in a bar work.

Speaker 2 (01:03:54.934)

Yep, yep. So there's there's plenty of twists and turns on that journey too. But yeah, it turned into two. The the season starts first week of July and it runs through August, September, and then it reairs again October, November, December. That's how the network runs their television cycle by quarters. So thirteen weeks is a quarter, thirteen weeks of re airings, and then after that we do stream the episodes in their entirety on our YouTube channel.

Speaker 1 (01:03:59.829)

Well that i that's two episodes.

Speaker 2 (01:04:24.556)

As well, but we can't do that until the first week of January.

Speaker 1 (01:04:27.118)

Like the state diversity in here as well. I think there's like eight or nine different states, of the thirteen

Speaker 2 (01:04:32.76)

We try that on a purpose. Yeah. That's why we might get twenty ideas to film a pheasant hunt, but we can't do all thirteen episodes as a pheasant hunt because we have viewers in Washington, in Arizona, Texas, Florida, Maine, and everywhere in between. So we try the diversity of different birds and different landscapes to really show North America bird hunting. That's that's something

that we really try to focus on, as well as wild birds, public lands, wild places that anybody can go and experience it. Sometimes the stories are they lead us to a private, you know, like we just talked about the prairie farm, where this is just a story about people that care and they're doing something and we want to highlight efforts that people are doing as well. And sometimes that happens to be on private lawn. Just like in Kansas, there's a guy down there that may have

He's like the Eric Johansson if it's but he done in Kansas. And it's his efforts that are being noticed. There's universities around the country that are coming to his property to study the Bob White quail because what he's done has brought so many quail back that they wanna really wrap their head around this success of the project. And so we got to see that as well. And that's a lot of hard work and dedication, but the results are incredible.

Speaker 1 (01:05:57.016)

Can do it. It can be done. If somebody's got an idea they want to float your way, yeah. How do you want them to reach out?

Speaker 2 (01:05:57.858)

You can do it.

Speaker 2 (01:06:03.288)

Well, the flush is on all the social channels and then the flush dot T V is our website. If you if you just search the Flush television, you'll get us on whatever it wherever you're searching and then you can send a message and in a roundabout way they all come to me.

Speaker 1 (01:06:20.93)

And you do a the flush podcast as well and that drops once a week.

Speaker 2 (01:06:24.332)

Yep. Yep. We do we're we have a lot of probably similar listeners on our show, people that just really are dedicated. I mean, if it's the off season and you're listening to people talk about bird hunting, you're you're in our space, you know, and yeah, that's been a lot of fun too. Talk about dogs and training and a lot of the things that you guys talk about as well. Cool. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:06:48.354)

Guys, thank you for doing this. Yeah. That's been fun. Carrie, forgive him, please. He's vented. He'll be fine. We're going to we're going to Michigan in a couple weeks. So nice. This one's more of a week-long trip. So I'm certainly looking forward. No two two hour detours in this trip? No. No. No. Are you gonna go see a beach somewhere in Michigan? I think we're going to I think we're gonna stop by is it sleeping bear? you're going to the lower peninsula.

Well, we're going upper too. We're making the we're making the round. Yep, bringing the camper with. You didn't learn the first time, huh? Packing her plum full and putting the gas camper. well we got I think there's five families coming this time. my god. There's probably tw probably twenty. Probably twenty.

Speaker 2 (01:07:20.992)

RV again?

Wait.

Speaker 2 (01:07:28.568)

How many people?

Speaker 2 (01:07:39.842)

How many how many automobiles?

Speaker 1 (01:07:42.558)

five.

Speaker 2 (01:07:44.374)

Okay. So you don't have other families in your vehicle? Do they

Speaker 1 (01:07:48.974)

kind of like we have before, but just to make it easier on everybody because everybody's growing, the kids are bigger now. We gotta it we gotta expand our our vehicles. So dogs? Luna's coming, yeah. Yeah, she's coming. every everybody better be careful or she's she's gonna get the front seat. Clark W. Griswold. That's right. All right, folks. Thank you very much for listening.

Speaker 2 (01:08:06.542)

We'll be praying for you.

Speaker 1 (01:08:17.543)

And please check out the flush on Outdoor Channel kicking off first week of July. I'll leave all those times in the show notes and thank you once again for listening. I'm Bob St. Pierre reminding you to always follow the dog. Something good will arise. Thanks, folks.