Midwest Flyways Podcast
by Midwest Flyways
The Midwest Flyways Podcast is an authentic take on waterfowl hunting from Midwest Flyways. Duck and goose hunting has continued to evolve throughout the years and we aim to connect duck hunting traditions with the future of waterfowling. If you’re passionate about ducks and geese then come hang with Joey Vassallo and Cal Ness as they talk duck hunting, goose hunting and everything else in between.
Episodes
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The Duck Blind Cheat Code
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, Joey may have found his new favorite way to hide while duck hunting. After experimenting with artificial blind grass and a MoMarsh setup, Joey walks through how he brushed the blind, changed the shape of the cover, and tested it on a familiar pond. The...
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History Lesson: The Chesapeake of the West
In this episode of Ten Minute Tuesday, the guys dive into the forgotten history of Huron Lake, Minnesota-a place once known as the “Chesapeake of the West.” Historical accounts describe as many as 700,000 canvasbacks gathering there during fall migration, attracting professional market hunters,...
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Matt Judy; Ducks, Dogs & Farm Life
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, Matt Judy is back for the annual catch-up covering duck hunting, farming, Dive Bomb, dogs, and plenty of stories from the past year. Matt talks about hunting ducks out of the creek behind his house, grinding through muddy potato fields, growing up around...
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Sports Guyz Only; Wolves Are Cooking
This week on Sports Guyz Only... Nathaniel is out trying to punch a ticket to the state soccer tournament, the Timberwolves are playing their season opener on the TV, and Anthony Edwards is casually dropping 40-plus while the guys attempt to record a sports podcast around him. That quickly turns...
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Mid-October Duck Update
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, the guys are finally starting to see signs of new ducks showing up across Minnesota. Despite temperatures pushing 90 degrees one weekend and dropping back into the 30s and 40s shortly after, Joey has been seeing a steady trickle of new birds including...
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History Lesson: The Legend of Bo Whoop
In this episode of Ten Minute Tuesday, the guys dive into the story of one of the most famous shotguns in duck hunting history: Nash Buckingham’s legendary Bo Whoop. Buckingham was one of the biggest names in early American waterfowl culture, known for his outdoor writing, flooded timber hunts…
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Sports Guyz Only; Kick The Ball
This week on Sports Guyz Only... Nathaniel manages to cancel after the podcast has essentially already started, the fantasy football trash talk is getting increasingly personal, and Cal is already questioning whether half his roster belongs in the garbage disposal. Somehow, that's only the…
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What Really Happened on Duck Opener?
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, the guys address the controversy surrounding their Minnesota duck opener and add some context to what actually happened that morning. After getting permission to hunt a private property, Cal and Joey arrived to find another group already set up on the...
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Jordan Fromer; Learning Duck Hunting the Hard Way
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, the guys sit down with Jordan Fromer from Duck Gun Chronicles and Duck Gun Wild Seasonings to talk duck hunting, content creation, wild food, and one of the craziest boat projects we've heard about. Jordan shares how he taught himself to duck hunt and…
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Sports Guyz Only; Cal Goes Nuclear
This week on Sports Guyz Only... The whole crew is finally back in studio, there's a birthday to celebrate, and everyone spends about 45 seconds being nice before the Vikings completely destroy the mood. Minnesota is somehow 4-0 despite having one of the lowest-scoring undefeated starts in NFL...
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Alex Langbell; Dogs, Ducks & Doing It Right
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, Alex Langbell from Gundog Outdoors is back in the Game Fair studio for a wide-ranging conversation about hunting dogs, waterfowl hunting, building better products, and everything he's learned after more than 40 years chasing birds. Alex talks about the...
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The Ducks Are Acting Weird
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, the guys are trying to figure out where the ducks went and whether some seriously strange weather is about to shake up the migration. After duck opener, Joey, Cal, and Carter compare what they've been seeing around Minnesota. Some areas that normally hold...
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Sports Guyz Only; Sell the Farm
This week on Sports Guyz Only... Cal is calling in sick from the corner of his bedroom, Carter is extra crabby after another week of fantasy football abuse, and the guys waste no time revisiting some truly terrible roster decisions. Between insulting trade offers, injured players, and everyone...
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Sam Soholt; Protecting a Life Outdoors Pt. 2
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, Sam Soholt is back for Part 2 of the conversation, and this time the focus turns heavily toward conservation, habitat, and what hunters can do to protect the places and wildlife they care about. Sam and the guys talk about how your perspective changes the...
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Sam Soholt; Chasing a Life Outdoors Pt. 1
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, the guys sit down with photographer, filmmaker, conservationist, and lifelong hunter Sam Soholt. Sam takes the guys through how he actually broke into the outdoor industry, from filming hunts and taking whatever opportunities he could find to eventually...
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History Lesson: The Reelfoot Night Riders
In this episode of Ten Minute Tuesday, the guys continue the story of Reelfoot Lake with Part 2, diving into the violent conflict that erupted over who actually had the right to control the lake. After the earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 transformed dry land into water, generations of local families...
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Nick Johnson; The Traveling Waterfowler
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, Nick Johnson is back for his annual visit to talk waterfowl hunting, traveling the world, and some of the weird stuff he’s tried along the way. Nick and the guys get into everything from old-school duck hunters and spring goose hunting on James Bay to...
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Sports Guyz Only; Week One Overreactions
This week on Sports Guyz Only... Nathaniel is out, Carter's fantasy roster is already under investigation, and the first week of football has given the guys plenty of evidence to determine who does and definitely does not know ball. The Vikings lead things off after a rough opening performance…
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Goose Opener Was Rough
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, the guys recap a rough Minnesota goose opener and try to make sense of where the birds went. A lot of the geese that had been around for weeks seemed to disappear right before opener, teal reports were all over the place, and plenty of hunters around the...
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History Lesson: How Reelfoot Lake Was Born
In this episode of Ten Minute Tuesday, the guys kick off Part 1 of the story of Reelfoot Lake, one of the most legendary places in American waterfowl hunting history. Before the duck calls, cypress trees, and famous hunting culture, there wasn’t really a lake at all. That changed during the…
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Sports Guyz Only; Gambling Ruins Sports
This week on Sports Guyz Only... Everybody is back in the studio, and it takes roughly a minute for Michigan football to send the show completely off the rails. After Western Michigan nearly pulls off the upset, the guys break down the controversial ending, Michigan celebrating a win that came…
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Do We Really Have Fewer Ducks?
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, Joey is running the show without Cal and diving into the newly released waterfowl population numbers and he has a lot of questions. Mallards are reportedly down, several other puddle duck species dropped, and the overall numbers aren't exactly what Joey...
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Early Season Goose Hunting Tips
In this episode of Ten Minute Tuesday, Joey breaks down some of his go-to strategies for early season goose hunting. With seasons opening across Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota, the focus is on keeping things simple: smaller decoy spreads, good scouting, realistic family...
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John Walls; Champion of Champions
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, the crew sits down with three-time World Goose Calling Champion and Champion of Champions John Walls at Game Fair. John talks about getting into contest calling nearly 20 years ago, finishing second at Worlds over and over again, and eventually breaking...
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Ducks Rode the Railroad Pt. 2
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, the crew picks up Part 2 of the history of duck hunting by train, continuing Tuesday’s story of how railroads helped transform waterfowl hunting across Minnesota and the Dakotas. The guys dive into railroad tycoon James J. Hill and his son Louis, who took...
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History Lesson: Ducks Rode the Railroad Pt. 1
In this episode of Ten Minute Tuesday, the guys kick off Part 1 of a history lesson about a time when Minnesota duck hunters didn’t drive to the marsh, they took the train. As railroads expanded across Minnesota in the late 1800s, they opened access to remote lakes, marshes, and prairie potholes...
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Sports Guyz Only; Fantasy Draft Disaster
It's fantasy football draft day, and all four guys are finally back in the studio to build their teams for the new Sports Guyz Only dynasty league. With only four teams and a loaded player pool, you'd think it would be impossible to screw this up. The guys immediately prove otherwise. From Gavin...
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Are Duck Hunters Getting Soft?
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, Cal and Carter are joined by Gavin for a shorter episode after wrapping up two weekends at Game Fair. With duck season right around the corner, the guys get into a debate about why waterfowl hunter numbers are declining and whether duck hunters simply...
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History Lesson: The Armistice Day Blizzard
In this episode of Ten Minute Tuesday, the guys dive into one of the most tragic and legendary stories in Midwest waterfowl hunting history: the Armistice Day Blizzard of 1940. November 11 started unusually warm across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Upper Mississippi River, but it also…
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Shawn Stahl; Ducks Have Figured Us Out
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, Joey and Cal sit down with Shawn Stahl at Game Fair for a wide-ranging conversation about how waterfowl hunting has changed, what makes a great hunter, and why some of the best days in the field have nothing to do with shooting a limit. Shawn shares his...
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Sports Guyz Only; Better Than Brady?
This week on Sports Guyz Only... The boys are back from Game Fair, Nathaniel is out for the week, and it doesn't take long for things to get contentious. After wondering why any college athlete making millions in NIL money would ever want to leave campus, the guys dive into the completely normal...
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Scott Anderson; What Your DU Dollars Do
https://www.ducks.org/events/du-national-trip-auction This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, Joey and Cal sit down with Scott Anderson of Ducks Unlimited at Game Fair to talk about what DU actually does for ducks, where conservation dollars go, and why habitat remains the biggest piece of the...
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History Lesson: America's First Waterfowl Refuge
In this episode of Ten Minute Tuesday, Cal dives into the history of Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge—the nation's first refuge created specifically for waterfowl. In the early 1900s, the Klamath Basin held nearly 88,000 acres of lake and wetlands, attracting enormous numbers of ducks…
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Sports Guyz Only; Kyler Time
This week on Sports Guyz Only it's a two-man show as Cal and Nathaniel hold down the fort while Carter celebrates his birthday, Gavin is out, and Nathaniel gets ready for another soccer season with expectations already set at a completely reasonable state championship. From there, it's all about...
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A Waterfowl Roundtable: Bringing Hunters Together
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, Joey joins some of the biggest voices in waterfowl for a special roundtable recorded at the Delta Waterfowl Expo. Ramsey Russell, Jeff Stanfield, Jon Sandvik, Billy Campbell, and Joel Brice sit down alongside Joey to talk about something that affects…
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History Lesson: Who Owns the Ducks?
In this episode of Ten Minute Tuesday, we dive into the surprising legal battle that helped shape modern waterfowl hunting in America. The story begins in 1914 with an Arkansas hunter, a few coots, and a federal government attempting something brand new: regulating migratory birds across state...
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We're Bringing Something New to Game Fair
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, the guys keep it short as they get ready for one of the biggest outdoor events of the year—Game Fair. The crew shares everything attendees need to know before heading out, including where to find the Midwest Flyways crew, what's new this year, and all the...
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History Lesson: Duck Clubs
In this episode of Ten Minute Tuesday, the guys explore the origins of America's legendary duck clubs and how simple hunting camps evolved into some of the most influential places in waterfowl history. Long before modern lodges and managed properties, these clubs became gathering places where...
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Sports Guyz Only; LeBron's Last Superteam
This week on Sports Guyz Only Brian O'Neill's contract extension sets the tone for another lively episode as the guys debate whether the Vikings made the right move, leading to plenty of passionate opinions and a few memorable rants. Along the way, they swap stories about brutal fantasy football...
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The MN DNR is Trying Something New…
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast we dive into one of the hottest waterfowl topics in Minnesota: the DNR's proposed optional three-duck bag limit aimed at making duck hunting more approachable for new hunters. While everyone agrees that recruiting the next generation of duck hunters is...
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Why Every Duck Hunter Matters
In this episode of Ten Minute Tuesday, the guys take a step back from tactics and gear to talk about something even more important: what it really means to be a waterfowl hunter. As duck numbers face ongoing declines and wetlands continue to disappear, they discuss why every hunter has a role to...
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Sports Guyz Only; Best Timberwolf Ever?
With Gavin out on vacation, Nathaniel returns to the studio just in time for one of the biggest Minnesota sports debates yet: if Anthony Edwards retired today, is he already the greatest Timberwolf of all time? The guys compare Ant's resume to Kevin Garnett, Karl-Anthony Towns, and the rest of…
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Ben Brettingen; The Future of Hunting
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, Joey and Cal are joined by Ben Brettingen from onX for a conversation that goes far beyond maps and technology. The discussion explores the growing division within the hunting community, why hunters seem more divided than ever, and what it will take to...
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Sports Guyz Only; The Kaprizov Debate
This week on Sports Guyz Only, Nathaniel is out sick, which leaves the rest of the crew plenty of time to roast Carter's wedding, question whether jeans belong at formal events, and pitch perhaps the greatest wedding job of all time: making Joey the official beer vendor at a future reception.…
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Market Hunting Debate, Say What?! Finale
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, the crew tackles one of the most interesting "what would you do?" questions in waterfowl history: market hunting. Rather than looking at it through today's lens, they discuss what it must have been like for hunters whose entire livelihood disappeared when...
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History Lesson: The Outlaw Era
In this episode of Ten Minute Tuesday, the guys dive into one of the most fascinating chapters in waterfowl history: the outlaw era. After the Lacey Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act changed the future of duck hunting, generations of market hunters suddenly found themselves on the wrong side…
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Sports Guyz Only; LeBron to Minnesota?
The guys kick things off with Joey's brutally honest assessment of Team USA after their disappointing World Cup exit, and things somehow spiral into presidential phone calls, VAR controversies, and whether the U.S. accidentally gave Belgium all the motivation they needed. From there, the...
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Copper Shot Controversy
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, the crew catches up on everything happening in the waterfowl world before diving into another round of Say What? trivia. The guys discuss the temporary concerns surrounding copper shot approval and speculate on how changing ammunition regulations could...
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Hawaiin Ducks, Say What?!
This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, the guys keep things short but pack plenty of laughs into another round of Say What? Can you beat Cal and Joey in waterfowl trivia? This week's questions cover everything from Hawaiian ducks and conservation seasons to shovelers, Canada geese, coots,...
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Off Season Blues
Waterfowl season may still be months away, but that doesn't mean duck hunters have to sit around waiting for opening day. In this episode of Ten Minute Tuesday, the guys talk about beating the off-season blues and staying connected to hunting when the marshes are quiet. From organizing decoys,...
About this show
The Midwest Flyways Podcast is an authentic take on waterfowl hunting from Midwest Flyways. Duck and goose hunting has continued to evolve throughout the years and we aim to connect duck hunting traditions with the future of waterfowling. If you’re passionate about ducks and geese then come hang with Joey Vassallo and Cal Ness as they talk duck hunting, goose hunting and everything else in between.
Hosted by
Midwest Flyways
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