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PODCAST

Save it for the Blind Podcast

California Waterfowl

Welcome to the Save it for the Blind Podcast. Dive into the world of duck hunting, conservation, and legislation. Join us for insightful discussions on preserving both tradition and nature. Our podcast isn"t complete without tackling the legislative side of things. Discover how local and national policies impact hunting seasons, bag limits, and wetland preservation. Interviews with experts and policymakers will shed light on the intricate balance between hunting traditions and the need for

sports wilderness

All Episodes

41:09

Klamath Wetlands, Waterfowl & Restoration with Dr....

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2026/10/07

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Dr. Karl Wenner, longtime Klamath Basin resident, hunter, farmer, and orthopedic surgeon, for a deep conversation about the landscape he has called home since the late 1980s. Karl shares how his background in biology and wildlife eventually brought him to Klamath, what he has watched change across the basin, and why he still believes wetlands can be a major part of its recovery.Episode highlightsA lifetime in Klamath — Karl explains how he went from marine

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43:16

Inside the Migration with Cory Overton

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2026/09/28

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Cory Overton, Science Director for California Waterfowl, for a preseason look at what hunters may see across the Pacific Flyway this year. Cory breaks down breeding conditions, mallard and goose numbers, an exceptional year at Klamath, and how weather could shape bird movement once the season gets underway.Episode highlightsOverall season outlook — despite national mallard numbers being down, Cory explains why many of the breeding areas that supply

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54:12

Hunt Bums with Casey Hartwell

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2026/09/21

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Casey Hartwell, founder of Hunt Bums, to talk about how a passion for waterfowl hunting turned into a growing platform built around gear reviews, field experience, and helping everyday hunters make better decisions. Casey shares his path back into hunting, why he started Hunt Bums, and how his marketing and research background shaped a more data-driven approach to reviewing products and understanding the hunting community.Episode highlightsHow Hunt Bums

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53:45

CWA Hunt Program Preview: 2026–27 Waterfowl Season

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2026/09/16

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard break down what’s ahead for the 2026–27 California Waterfowl Hunt Program, covering everything from dove and big-game opportunities to the full slate of duck and goose hunts coming this season. They walk through CWA-managed properties from Suisun Marsh and the Delta to the Butte Sink and Goose Lake, share updates on habitat and blind improvements, and highlight several donated hunts that give everyday hunters access to some exceptional private clubs.Episode

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54:42

Ep. 122 Klamath: The Road Forward

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2026/06/18

California Waterfowl CEO Jake Messerli and VP of Advocacy Mark Hennelly provide the latest update on one of the most critical waterfowl habitats in California – Klamath. While the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge benefited from significant water deliveries organized by CWA and its partners, the refuge faces a dry year ahead. Jake and Mark outline the makings of a long-term solution, including infrastructure investments, advocacy at all levels of government, and a “flow-through concept” that

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59:47

Ep. 121 Dr. Bob McLandress on Building Early CWA

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2026/04/27

Mallard nesting at Grizzly Island, the story about CWA’s first biologist, and how research, banding, fundraising, and education all took shapeJeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Dr. Bob McLandress—past CWA president and one of the key figures in the organization’s early growth—for a look back at how California Waterfowl found its footing. Bob traces his path from Canada and Ducks Unlimited into graduate work under Dennis Raveling at UC Davis, then into CWA in 1985 as the organization’s first

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49:20

Ep. 120 Chemistry, Calls, and Canada Geese with...

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2026/04/20

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Chance Wadsworth, owner of Quill Creek Championship Calls, to talk goose calling from the inside out—how a chemistry background helped him design the Mach One, why he refuses to sell a call he hasn’t proven at a high level, and how contest calling sharpened the way he hunts real birds in Wisconsin. The conversation covers mentors, stage nerves, field philosophy, traffic hunting, and the kind of repetition it takes to actually get good.Episode highlightsHow

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58:13

Ep. 119 Tracking the Flyway with Cory Overton

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2026/03/16

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Cory Overton for a data-driven look at what really happened during this season’s migration. Instead of relying on blind chatter and guesswork, Cory breaks down what tagged birds actually showed—how prolonged fog affected movement, why a warm winter kept birds north longer than usual, and how some California-marked ducks are spending more time in places like the Northeast Zone, Klamath, and other areas north of the Sacramento Valley.Episode highlightsWhat

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40:15

Ep. 118 Season Recap: January Averages, Year-to-Year...

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2026/02/09

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard wrap the season with a clean, property-by-property breakdown—January numbers, year-over-year changes, species quirks, and the big themes (fog, late rains, road work, king tides) that moved the needle across CWA hunts. Expect straight talk on mallards and pintail, why Staten keeps trending up, and how Goose Lake quietly turned in one of its best mixed-bag years.January by the numbersStaten Island: 4.4 birds/hunter; GWT + specks led.Goose Lake (Tulare Basin): 4.2;

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50:50

Ep. 117 Senior World Champ Duck Caller — Craig Wilson

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2026/02/02

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Craig Wilson, owner of River Oaks Outdoors and a Senior World Duck Calling Champion to trace his path from SoCal refuge rat (Wister/Kern) to Idaho mallard country, and what that journey taught him about scouting, pressure, and staying calm on stage. Craig breaks down how to practice with purpose, the real differences between Main Street contests and meat calling, and why late-season California birds demand restraint on the call. He also dives into the shop

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41:46

Ep. 116 CWA-New Zealand Hunter Exchange Program with...

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2026/01/26

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard welcome Eben Herbert from the New Zealand Hunter Exchange to compare notes on waterfowling half a world apart—what shocked him about the Suisun Marsh, why California’s public access and species variety feel endless, and how late-season calling here differs from New Zealand’s “call hard, break ’em from the sky” approach. We hit rice country pits (illegal back home), foggy boat rides to island blinds, a tough-but-worth-it California quail mission, and even a little

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68:06

Ep. 115 Mapping the Flyway: CWA Science Director...

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2026/01/13

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard welcome Cory Overton, California Waterfowl’s new Science Director, for a clear, field-level look at how modern telemetry is rewriting what we know about duck movements—and how that science feeds better habitat work and smarter regs. From the original PINSAT satellite project to today’s GPS/cellular tags and emerging smart bands, Cory explains what the data actually show: longer staging in SONEC/Klamath, pintail that roam like “five-year-olds on espresso,” fog-driven

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50:33

Ep. 114 Uruguay Mixed-Bag Done Right: Closaway...

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2026/01/08

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Dwight Jones, founder of Closaway Outfitters (Uruguay) and CEO of Okmulgee Fields Inc., to unpack a boutique, American-run operation built for wild birds, predictable shoots, and no-surprises pricing. From why shore blinds mean no waders, to how legal baiting and lead shape reliable duck hunts, to the perdiz over dogs that steal the show—this is a clean, honest look at South American wingshooting done right. Learn travel logistics (LATAM into Montevideo,

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21:21

Ep. 113 December Property Recap: Floods, Fog, and...

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2025/12/29

Carson Odegard sits down with Jeff Smith to break down December’s numbers across California Waterfowl properties—what got better, what got buried under water, and how long tule fog and rolling storms shifted bird behavior. From Staten Island’s goose grind to surprise surges at Potrero Hills and Goose Lake, this is your clear, no-spin field report.By the numbers (December):Staten Island — 3.44 birds/hunter in Dec; season avg 4.3 (leaders: Aleutians, specks)Potrero Hills (Suisun) — 3.4 (up from 1.3 in

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49:06

Ep. 112 Questions from the Blind: Jeff & Carson’s...

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2025/12/22

Merry Christmas! This episode drops right before the holiday—here’s to safe hunts, full straps, and time with your crew and family.Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard dig into listener questions—from “what time do you pack it in?” to the weather that really moves birds, why consistency (choke + ammo) beats tinkering, and how to tweak spreads when wind, fog, or pressure make ducks stubborn. They also hit species quirks (why wood ducks and late-season mallards can be maddening, and why specks act different

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32:35

Ep. 111 Rugged Sound for the Duck Life: DEMERBOX with...

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2025/12/15

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Alex Keil, president of DEMERBOX, to unpack how a garage-built, Pelican-case speaker turned into a made-in-USA workhorse for hunters and outdoor crews. From Zac Brown’s early buy-in to today’s South Florida build shop, Alex walks through durability tests (yes, trucks and shotguns), smart features like USB-C/A charging, true ported sound with a waterproof plug, 40-hour battery life, and why the team still repairs your unit years down the road.What you’ll

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62:41

Ep. 110 California Ducks & Modern Shotshells: A...

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2025/12/08

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Mark Regalbuto, CEO of MIGRA Ammunition, for a straight-shooting talk on California waterfowling and the nuts and bolts of building precision shotshells. They cover why California is richer duck country than most folks realize—ocean to marsh to rice—and how public-land access shapes the hunt. They also dig into navigating California ammo regulations, COVID-era growth, sustainability trends like biodegradable components, and where MIGRA sees innovation and

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21:30

Ep. 109 November Recap & December Openings: CWA...

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2025/12/03

Carson Odegard (fresh off dad duty) and Jeff Smith run a quick, no-nonsense update on how November hunts went across CWA properties—and what’s opening up for December. From Staten Island’s lights-out start to new rice blinds coming online (including veteran blinds), this one’s your fast guide to where birds are working and how to grab a spot.What you’ll hearCarson’s back and lining up winter hunts—then straight into a November conditions snapshot.New access coming online: Gatti is filled and running

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44:04

Ep. 108 From Turbochargers to Duck Calls: Inside...

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2025/11/17

This week, Jeff sits down with Kevin Azzopardi and Jason Cline of Pardi Calls (Yuba City, CA) to trace how a family machine shop that built industrial turbocharger parts turned its precision tools toward duck and goose calls. Kevin and Jason break down the design choices that make their calls easy to run—and easy to maintain—plus what’s next from the shop.What’s insideMachine-shop roots → call-making: from trains and tugboats to tone boards, why precision machining shaped their sound and

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47:57

Ep. 107 The Life of a Waterfowl Hunter with Mike Cole

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2025/11/10

Jeff sits down with Mike Cole—CWA Gold Benefactor, rice grower, lifelong duck hunter, and serious decoy collector—for a grounded, from-the-bootstraps story of how passion turns into habitat, community, and a legacy worth passing on. From carving lessons after school to developing clubs in the Butte Sink, Mike maps the moves, mistakes, and mileposts that shaped his waterfowl life—plus why he and his wife poured so much into Chesapeake Bay retrievers and California Waterfowl.What’s insideRoots &

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