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This week we kick things off by talking some flyfishing with Athens, Texas native Bryan Smith. On May 24th, Bryan hooked into a massive channel catfish at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries’ Lake Zebco. After battling the 20 lb behemoth for over 20 minutes, Bryan landed the fish (pictured below) and was the proud owner of the Texas state record for channel catfish.
The fish set a total of 6 records. A dedicated fly angler only, Bryan talks about the unique way he targets and land big catfish on his flyrod. Yes, the fish does look similar to a big blue cat but by counting the spines on the fish’s anal fin they were able to confirm it is indeed a channel catfish. Congrats on the catch Bryan!
Then we check in with one of the greatest basketball players ever to lace up a pair of sneakers. Karl Malone, AKA “The Mailman” stops by to talk about his love for the outdoors. Karl has traveled the globe hunting big game but you will be very surprised to hear what his favorite types of hunting and fishing are to this day.
He also discusses his North American Sheep Grand Slam and what it was like hunting stone sheep in the same canyon that President Teddy Roosevelt hunted in over 100 years ago. We also discuss Karl’s Youth Hunting Initiative and his passion for getting underprivileged kids into the great outdoors. This is one of the most fun interviews we’ve done in recent memory. Karl doing what he does best, dominating the hardwood and downing big game like this massive elk:
We finish up the broadcast by talking ducks with our longtime friend and Delta Waterfowl VP of U.S. Policy – John Devney. I know duck season is 5 months away, but we need to find out how spring nesting conditions look throughout the Prairie Pothole region on into the Dakotas and then Canada. John talks about recent precipitation that could be a game changer for nesting waterfowl.
We also get into the rapid loss of CRP Land and what waterfowlers can do in order to help stem the tide. Of course we have to get into one of my favorite Delta Waterfowl efforts as well, so John and I discuss the controversial topic of Predator Management as well. In many areas, nest success directly depends on how high the predator ratio is. Removing animals like the raccoon pictured below gives the ducks a fighting chance.
