For the Fowlers Podcast

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A great duck dog isn’t born in the blind—it’s built with smart timing, simple habits, and a plan you can actually follow. We sit down with Richard Gebhart of Royal Gun Dogs to map the path from roly-poly puppy to safe, steady retriever. Richard shares the milestones that matter: crate comfort and socialization, a leash the pup can drag to learn pressure, and early bird exposure that creates desire before any formal pressure begins. Then he opens the playbook on his two-week puppy camp, where live-chukar excitement pairs with a carefu...

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On this episode, I sit down with Anthony “Houn” Calhoun, the voice behind Fowl Mouth TV, to unpack a season that’s short on easy limits but rich with lessons about motion, mindset, and the power of community.

We trace Houn’s start from turkey woods to flooded fields, the Grey Lodge storm that hooked him for good, and the crew dynamics that make a hard season bearable. You’ll hear how a dozen coot decoys and a last-minute YOLO resi turned into a seat in a blind, why blades can pull birds...

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Cold mornings, fog breaks, and the first real push of birds set the stage for a statewide check-in that connects Shasta and Modoc to Kern and the Salton Sea. We trade opening-week optimism for practical tactics: when to leave work early, how to read those fickle mid-morning flights, and why rice flood-ups are quietly reorganizing the whole game. You’ll hear why mallard-focused hunts demand a different plan, what GPS-banded birds reveal about short-hop movements, and how a simple shift in hide and spacing can turn a “dead” sit into a fast, clean shoot...

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The mid-season gear creep is real. We cracked open our blind bags to find out why they feel like cinder blocks, then rebuilt them around what actually matters on real-world waterfowl hunts: safety you’ll use, tools that solve problems, and comfort without the bloat. From headlamps and a trustworthy handheld to a compact medical plan, we separate must-haves from “nice until you carry them a mile.” We also get honest about tourniquets, when to stash a proper med kit in the boat or blind, and how superstition still rules the bird strap.
Duration: 01:07:09

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The wind is up, the birds are moving, and your shotgun is about to get tested. We sit down with gunsmith Grayson Katka of Field and Range Solutions, located in the back of Kittle’s Outdoor in Colusa to unpack what actually keeps a duck gun safe, reliable, and deadly when the weather turns and the hunts get real. From quick, same-day fixes to full tear-downs, Grayson explains how he diagnoses “my gun won’t cycle” the right way—firing, extraction, ejection, and feeding—so you stop guessing and start solving.

We dig into...

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Live from Slough House Social in Colusa CA, For The Fowlers is joined by the Filthy Spoon Podcast. We sit with John and Robert of Filthy Spoon to chart how a local-first Northern California podcast found its voice, its audience, and its staying power without trading honesty for hype. From rice club mishaps to refuge politics to why wind beats rain, the conversation blends fieldcraft, storytelling, and a healthy dose of humor.

We pull back the curtain on building a waterfowl podcast that lasts: why starting in spring created a back...

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The season’s on, the weather’s weird, and the refuges are a mixed bag. We kick off with real-world reports across the Sacramento Valley and Grasslands—warm temps, thin water, slow averages—then map out why the next storm could be the turning point for flights and success in public land hides. From there, we get to the heart of it: the unspoken code that keeps refuge hunts safe, fair, and actually fun.

We unpack the social media cycle—reservation flexing, vague screenshots, and the endless “Where should I go?” posts—and offe...

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We’re at California Waterfowl’s Sanborn Slough in the Butte Sink—surrounded by private clubs but sitting in a blind you can actually draw or win at a banquet. Boats are ready, blinds are brushed, decoys are out. That’s by design, because when the logistics are handled, you can focus on birds, dogs, and the kind of stories that keep you in the marsh.

We meet George who shares the joy of taking his father-in-law on a first duck hunt and getting a young dog on its first retrieve, remindin...

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The season’s opener finds us at duck camp in Calusa with blinds to brush, dogs at our feet, and a full tank of optimism. We didn’t hunt opening day—and that’s exactly why this conversation matters. We unpack the real work behind a good season: how you earn access, build relationships, and prepare a blind that performs on the slow days, not just the hero days.

Chuck joins to share a decade of lessons moving from Los Banos refuges to the Sacramento Valley’s rice. We break down how guided...

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The alarm hits at 3:00 a.m., coffee is lukewarm, and the marsh is still black. That’s where our story starts—just a couple of guys from Northern California launching a show by fowlers, for fowlers, with zero pretense and a lot of real talk.

We share how late-start hunters find their footing without a built-in mentor: first hunts in ballooning bargain waders, heavy pump guns, and the mix of nerves and joy that comes with walking into a refuge in the dark. From there we map the terrain that shapes NorC...

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