The Standard Sportsman

The annual Breeding Population and Habitat Survey left much to be desired for midcontinent mallards, though improved May pond numbers offered some encouraging news. Cason and Brent provide their annual breakdown with eastern Arkansas native Robert Riley, who grew up hunting the famed Claypool Reservoir near Weiner, where his grandfather—and later his uncle—served as caretakers. Robert joins the BPOP discussion and shares a few personal stories about hunting Claypool and the lasting influence of his late grandfather. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

Born during the Dust Bowl era, the Federal Duck Stamp was created to provide a permanent funding source for wetland conservation. More than 90 years and $1.3 billion later, it remains one of the greatest conservation success stories in American history. But as habitat continues to disappear and threats such as the recent drain tile setback issue emerge, protecting the Duck Factory will require more from duck hunters. The guys break down the Buy Two Duck Stamps campaign, where the money goes and why a second stamp may be the best $25 a duck hunter can spend on the future of the sport. Visit www.buytwoduckstamps.com for more information. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

James Callicutt leads Mississippi State’s Waterfowl and Upland Game Bird Extension program, working alongside the Osborne Lab, Cohen Wildlife Lab and Five Oaks Ag Research Center, among others. A dedicated waterfowler himself, James breaks down mallard movements, food preferences, the importance of water on the landscape and much more. He has a knack for translating complex waterfowl science into practical information everyday duck hunters can understand and use. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

New Mexico native Ryan Gentry serves in the U.S. Air Force and operates Black Horn Guide Service, pursuing big game across his home state. Ryan joins the show to break down New Mexico’s tag and draw system, including how nonresident and outfitter allocations are shaping hunting opportunity and affecting the resource. The conversation then turns to the consumption-driven mindset of today’s hunters and whether R3 still makes sense when access is shrinking, pressure is increasing and wildlife resources are already stretched thin. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

Few issues have stirred the duck hunting community like the USFWS proposal involving drain tile setbacks in the Prairie Pothole Region. For two weeks, social media feeds and podcasts were flooded with calls for hunters to submit public comments and help protect North America’s most important duck-producing landscape. Whether the campaign ultimately influences the agency remains to be seen. But despite the wall-to-wall coverage, nearly one million duck hunters stayed on the sidelines. Why? Cason and Brent examine what became a real-time social experiment—and what the response, or lack of it, revealed about advocacy, influence and the priorities of today’s duck hunting community. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

The Standard Sportsman Podcast took its show on the road and recorded live at Ducks Unlimited's annual event in Memphis. The show was recorded in DU's new mobile podcast studio with a rotating roster of guests. Radcliff Menge from Tom Beckbe, Karl Gunzer from Purina Pro Plan, Justin Reif from Create the X, Kale Flaspohler from Waterfowl Management Academy, Brett Maffett from Benelli, and finally Mike Brasher from DU updated listeners on the drain-tile setback issue. The show goes well beyond product talk but does include some exciting updates from the guests. >>> Thanks to our sponsors: Tom Beckbe, Sitka Gear, Waterfowl Management Academy, Create the X, Purina Pro Plan, Ducks Unlimited, Lile Real Estate, Perfect Limit Outdoors and Noah Perry. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

Drain tile setbacks on wetland easements help protect the small wetlands breeding ducks depend on by keeping underground drainage systems farther away. Reducing those setbacks could dry out more wetlands across the Prairie Pothole Region, leaving ducks with fewer places to pair, nest, and raise broods. The USFWS is seeking public input on potentially reducing these setbacks, a red alert for those who care about waterfowl. Ducks Unlimited's Scott Stephens and Mike Brasher join the show to break down why a seemingly technical drainage rule could ultimately mean fewer ducks in the fall flight and how duck hunter/conservationists can act now. >>> Thanks to our sponsors: Tom Beckbe, Sitka Gear, Waterfowl Management Academy, Create the X, Purina Pro Plan, Ducks Unlimited, Lile Real Estate, Perfect Limit Outdoors and Noah Perry. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

Talking season is in full swing, and the waterfowl expo circuit isn’t far behind. Cason and Brent preview their upcoming appearance at DUX in Memphis, where they’ll record a live podcast, before wading into several hot-button management issues. They break down the new draw system at St. Francis Sunken Lands WMA, weigh the pros and cons of the “three-splash” rule in South Dakota and Nebraska, and unpack the uproar surrounding Arkansas’ new one-time fee for non-consumptive WMA users. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

The midsummer doldrums have set in, but duck season is beginning to work its way back into coffee-shop conversations. Cason and Brent weigh the duck hunting pros and cons of permanent daylight saving time before heading down a rabbit hole connecting military strategy, waterfowl science and the catchphrases hunters love to repeat. They close with a look at why state wildlife commissioners are appointed rather than elected—and why putting natural-resource management on the ballot could produce more politics than progress. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

Overcrowded public ground and limited flooded habitat have some duck hunters calling for the state to simply buy more land. Ohio recently put $50 million on the table, including matching federal funds, to expand public hunting access. So, what would $50 million buy in Arkansas? Not nearly as much as you might think. The guys break down the real-world cost of adding meaningful public duck habitat, then turn north for the latest intel from the Prairie Pothole Region and what current conditions could mean when the official reports arrive in September. >>> Thanks to our sponsors: Tom Beckbe, Lile Real Estate, Perfect Limit Outdoors, Purina Pro Plan, Sitka Gear, Greenhead: The Arkansas Duck Hunting Magazine, Noah Perry-Raymond James, The Waterfowl Management Academy, Create the X, and Ducks Unlimited. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

With the holiday weekend here, we're taking it back to the very beginning. This week's episode is a re-airing of a conversation recorded in September 2023—before The Standard Sportsman officially launched. Cason and Brent tackle a question guaranteed to spark debate: Is Arkansas still the Duck Hunting Capital of the World? Drawing on personal experiences, harvest data, and waterfowl science, they make the case from every angle. Enjoy the holiday weekend, and we'll be back next week with a brand-new episode. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

As her historic seven-year term on the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission comes to a close, outdoorswoman, conservationist, and avid duck hunter Anne Marie Doramus joins the podcast to reflect on her time helping guide one of the nation's premier wildlife agencies. Appointed in 2019 as the first woman to serve a full term on the Commission, Doramus navigated some of the agency's most consequential—and occasionally controversial—decisions. She shares how a childhood spent hunting and fishing in Southeast Arkansas sparked a lifelong passion for conservation, offers insights into key issues that shaped her tenure, and highlights opportunities available to hunters, anglers, and landowners across the state. The conversation also looks ahead, as Doramus discusses her vision for keeping Arkansas at the forefront of wildlife habitat management, public access, and quality hunting experiences for future generations. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

Canadian waterfowling finds itself at a pivotal moment. As more American hunters head north in search of ducks and geese, participation among Canadian residents continues to decline, raising questions about the future of the country's hunting traditions. Rob Olson, a former leader with both Delta Waterfowl and the Manitoba Wildlife Federation, was at the forefront of efforts to establish safeguards in Manitoba before hunting pressure reached a tipping point. Now, he's helping neighboring Saskatchewan navigate similar challenges as policymakers, hunters, and conservationists work to protect Canada's rich waterfowling heritage for future generations. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

With spring planting season winding down, attention turns to the work that pays dividends for ducks long after the combines are parked. Cason and Brent discuss Louisiana's newly announced black-bellied whistling duck season and debate whether duck hunters and waterfowl managers have fallen behind deer hunters when it comes to working together across property lines. The conversation also covers the latest reports from the Prairie Pothole Region, drought conditions across the South, and why stewardship matters, whether you own ground or not. The episode wraps up with a look at a potential floodplain reforestation project and several programs that can help landowners turn marginal farmland into productive wildlife habitat. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

Brandon Stafford has spent more than 20 years in the Arkansas land business, witnessing firsthand the dramatic rise in agricultural and recreational land values. In this episode, he shares insights into the evolving market for duck-hunting properties, the growing importance of privately managed habitat, and how habitat loss has concentrated ducks in fewer areas. Stafford also discusses some original things to evaluate in your due diligence of buying a property. Including your neighbors. >>> Big thanks to our sponsors: Sitka Gear, Tom Beckbe, Ducks Unlimited, Lile Real Estate, Create the X, Waterfowl Management Academy, Noah Perry-Raymond James, Purina Pro Plan, and Perfect Limit Outdoors. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

With Cason out on vacation and the holiday week keeping things short, Brent takes the controls for a rare solo episode...no guests, no script, just stories and insight. Using the Executive Q&A featured in Greenhead: The Arkansas Duck Hunting Magazine as a guide, he walks through the same questions posed to prominent Arkansas business leaders, mixing in personal experiences, hunting memories, and the lessons that shaped him as a waterfowler. It’s a laid-back but revealing episode that offers a deeper look into how Brent approaches duck season, the outdoors, and the traditions that keep him coming back every fall. SUBSCRIBE TO GREENHEAD GRAND PRAIRIE DUCK CLUB MAP >>> Thanks to our sponsors: Tom Beckbe, Lile Real Estate, Perfect Limit Outdoors, Purina Pro Plan, Sitka Gear, Greenhead: The Arkansas Duck Hunting Magazine, Noah Perry-Raymond James, The Waterfowl Management Academy, Create the X, and Ducks Unlimited. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

As the Memorial Day holiday weekend approaches, the guys swap stories about duck bands they’ve harvested or witnessed firsthand over the years. Some are the kind every waterfowler dreams about, while others are almost too wild to believe. Along the way, they dive into the evolution of college baseball and how, much like duck hunting, the sport continues to change with the times before wrapping things up with a look at Brent’s upcoming induction into the Arkansas Waterfowler Hall of Fame. >> Thanks to our sponsors: Tom Beckbe, Lile Real Estate, Perfect Limit Outdoors, Purina Pro Plan, Sitka Gear, Greenhead: The Arkansas Duck Hunting Magazine, Noah Perry-Raymond James, The Waterfowl Management Academy, Create the X, and Ducks Unlimited. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

Youth sports and duck hunting may seem worlds apart, but beneath the surface they share a common thread: money. In this episode, the guys dive into the growing influence of dollars and commercialization in both arenas, and what it means for the future of the outdoors. They also tackle why outfitters are finding themselves squarely in the crosshairs as duck seasons continue to struggle across the flyway. To wrap things up, Cason and Brent break down several recent Lacey Act violations, discuss the presence of outlaws in the outdoors, and explore the uphill battle game wardens and prosecutors face in bringing offenders to justice. >>> Thanks to our sponsors: Tom Beckbe, Lile Real Estate, Perfect Limit Outdoors, Purina Pro Plan, Sitka Gear, Greenhead: The Arkansas Duck Hunting Magazine, Noah Perry-Raymond James, The Waterfowl Management Academy, Create the X, and Ducks Unlimited. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

Danny Fulton joins the show to tell the story of building a duck property where most wouldn’t expect one, along the Ohio River in southern Indiana. In a region outside the traditional waterfowl spotlight, the Fulton family has transformed a challenging river-bottom farm into a true waterfowl-focused operation. Danny breaks down the process of acquiring the property, adapting to the constant variables of a fluctuating river system, and learning how to shape habitat around the three things ducks demand most: food, rest, and cover. It’s a conversation about vision, patience, and the reality of building habitat in a place where success isn’t always guaranteed, but earned. Danny also shares practical advice for anyone considering taking on a habitat project of their own. >>> Thanks to our sponsors: Tom Beckbe, Lile Real Estate, Perfect Limit Outdoors, Purina Pro Plan, Sitka Gear, Greenhead: The Arkansas Duck Hunting Magazine, Noah Perry-Raymond James, The Waterfowl Management Academy, Create the X, and Ducks Unlimited. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.

Weather gets talked about a lot in duck circles—and for good reason. It affects everything, from breeding habitat to migration timing to what your mornings in the blind look like. On this episode of The Standard Sportsman, the guys sit down with Arkansas native, chief meteorologist, and passionate duck hunter Skot Covert to cut through the noise and talk about what’s really going on. They dig into the prolonged drought gripping much of the South, what an incoming El Niño could mean for winter, and how both may shape the season ahead. Skot also gets into why weather on social media is often overhyped, how forecasting actually works behind the scenes, and which weather apps are actually worth trusting when duck season rolls around. >>> Thanks to our sponsors: Tom Beckbe, Lile Real Estate, Perfect Limit Outdoors, Purina Pro Plan, Sitka Gear, Greenhead: The Arkansas Duck Hunting Magazine, Noah Perry-Raymond James, The Waterfowl Management Academy, Create the X, and Ducks Unlimited. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Reserved. Please subscribe, rate and share The Standard Sportsman podcast.