Cast and Blast Florida: Recent Episodes
Cast and Blast Florida
It’s hard to believe that this week will mark our 8th ICAST as Cast & Blast Florida!
Join us online all week as we run into old friends and family while previewing some of the hottest new gear the fishing industry has to offer.
Our socials will be updated on:
@travisthompson
@allflaorg
@castandblastfl
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts
We said “If we meet our Fundraising Goal for Giving Tuesday for All Florida, we’ll drop a podcast”
This is it. And it’s a mess.
Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org
Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg
Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here!
E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s”
Follow Cast and Blast Florida:
Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website
Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter?
E-mail Travis to book today . . .
Connect with the gang on social media:
Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts
Hopefully all of your questions answered as we deep dive into why the right to fish and hunt is a “must have” for the state of Florida, how we got through the legislative session, and what it means to our state.
Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org
Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg
Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here!
E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s”
Follow Cast and Blast Florida:
Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website
Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter?
E-mail Travis to book today . . .
Connect with the gang on social media:
Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts
For those NOT here to hear Emily ramble about Campers and Taylor Swift, we talk about the Right to Hunt and Fish at the 9:10 mark, and we talk about the Polk County Board of County Commissioners at the 11:36 mark (for a while!)
Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org
Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg
Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here!
E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s”
Follow Cast and Blast Florida:
Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website
Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter?
E-mail Travis to book today . . .
Connect with the gang on social media:
Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts
In an unprecedented move, Travis records his thoughts on the commission meeting while driving TO the commission meeting.
Social science takes a beating.
Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org
Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg
Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here!
E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s”
Follow Cast and Blast Florida:
Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website
Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter?
E-mail Travis to book today . . .
Connect with the gang on social media:
Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts
In an unprecedented move, Travis records his thoughts on the commission meeting while driving TO the commission meeting.
Social science takes a beating.
Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org
Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg
Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here!
E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s”
Follow Cast and Blast Florida:
Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website
Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter?
E-mail Travis to book today . . .
Connect with the gang on social media:
Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts
Here. We. Go.
Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org
Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg
Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here!
E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s”
Follow Cast and Blast Florida:
Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website
Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter?
E-mail Travis to book today . . .
Connect with the gang on social media:
Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts New sponsors, Emily’s back, and the album drop of the year. Plus, Polk Forever Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, we wanted to take a beat and talk about the best part of Florida: Floridians. This is a story of people helping people. Racing around the state to help their fellow man. Northport. Arcadia. Ft. Myers. Kissimmee. Listen to this. If you can give, here is the link to the Volunteer Disaster Fund Thank you to all who have given their time, their talents, and their treasures for our home state. AllFla.org
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Republicans join forces with anti-hunters, the Biden administration closes the border for ducks (only deceased ones), and you can close a snook fishery without ever engaging in an FWC meeting – all of this and more on this week’s episode!!!! Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts The whole gang is back, and we revert to our time honored tradition of drafting things that absolutely do not matter – in this case, the Fall Draft! Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Emily is back, which means this is full of pumpkin updates, Halloween decorations, forgetting names, beeps – the whole 9 yards! Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts ICAST recaps, Aquatic Plant Management, HR 8167 (again), Delta awards, and more! Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts On June 22nd, Congressman Andrew Clyde, R-GA, presented the RETURN Act, a proposal that would replace hunter funding of conservation with subsidized funding from oil and gas extraction. Almost immediately, 50+ cosponsors jumped on board, including 5 from Florida (at the time of this release, Congressman John Rutherford has removed his name as a co-sponsor) Rep. Clyde’s staff reached out to us after last week’s episode and asked if he could join us to discuss his legislation. This is the unedited version of that interview. Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts On June 22nd, Congressman Andrew Clyde, R-GA, presented the RETURN Act, a proposal that would replace hunter funding of conservation with subsidized funding from oil and gas extraction. Almost immediately, 50+ cosponsors jumped on board, including 5 from Florida. This week, Travis unloads on this legislation and those who support it, as well as asks some hard questions regarding what is happening. Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Nate is back, Emily is back, and Travis is here like always! Here’s the link to the Pine Log petition Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Quick hit thoughts with Travis on bear news, officers jumping boats, commission meetings, ICAST, and more! Follow the Seminole High School Conservation Club on Instagram or Facebook Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts What happens when you take a group of high schoolers and engage them in civics and science? Magic! Follow the Seminole High School Conservation Club on Instagram or Facebook Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Emily and Travis recap Top Gun: Maverick, plus chat about the upcoming Episode 223, fishing with Nate, BHA’s Youth Archery Event, and more! Follow the Seminole High School Conservation Club on Instagram or Facebook Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts It’s been 3-4 weeks since Emily joined us, and, in that time, all the reviews have piled up, waiting for her to read them and ridicule the writers. This is her time. Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts This week, Travis is joined by his long time friend Christina Weber, and her podcast co-host, Myriaha Luzzi, as they jabber about ANYTHING except fishing! Make sure to check out their podcast Behind Fishing Lines! Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts FWC’s Commission Meeting, plus how the Invisible Hand is connected to Lake Parker Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Emily’s garden, an homage to Justin Bieber, Commission meetings of both kinds, and more! Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts A monologue, wherein Travis wrestles with himself about conservation funding, the future of hunting in our state, mythical snail kites and the forensic files, wildlife commissioners, and non-profits! Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts The Florida Wildlife Corridor Conference, a Referendum for Conservation Funding in Polk County, All Florida, wildlife photography, weather updates, and more, all with guest host Taylor Willis of the Hunt.Fish.Florida podcast! Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Lakeland works on baiting, Emily raps, Nate’s out for a few weeks, AJ’s dad, and more! Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts A different sort of episode this week, as we’re joined by our good friend AJ Stevens to share his turkey story from the past few days. I think ALL of us will be able to relate to AJ as he unpacks this delightful, and sometimes poignant, tale. Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts A mini Meateater rant, the worst list of Florida Bucket List items of all time, a miserable youth hunt, and more! Become a member of our new non-profit – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts We spend ENTIRELY too much time discussing Emily’s gardening woes, then we touch on the FWC Commission Meeting and the Scrub Jay as the state bird! Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Updated Aquatic Plant Management for Lake Apopka, the Salt Strong Apology, SB 2508, pluralistic Ignorance, and an FWC Commission Meeting! Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Huge news from one of the co-hosts! Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Super Bowl Recaps, Segregation in outdoor recreation, and new reviews . . . Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Restricted Hunting Areas are back, plus we talk Super Bowl, Mud Runs, and Accidental Carnivals . . . City of Lakeland Meeting Video Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Thoughts after duck season, from a worn out mind. Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Nate’s back, and with him, we recant Christmas, Reelfoot Lake, bad jokes, All Florida, and much much more! Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Like us on Facebook: AllFlaOrg Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Duck season is upon us, as is the National Championship game, as is Emily’s return to the mic. Plus, we deep dive into what ISN’T Hunter Harassment (hint: fishing). Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Yes, 22 is the title of a Taylor Swift song, but it’s also the new year! This week, we’ll be recapping our duck season so far, first ducks, first of species, the Commission meetings, All Florida (it’s coming!) and more! Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts You’ve long since asked for Emily, solo. Here you go! Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts A legacy of conservation – you’ll enjoy this conversation with Richard Corbett! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts A recap of Phase I Duck Season Shenanigans. Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Many a hunter has grown up with the tradition of woodsmanship and hunting. A good number of those hunters are fortunate enough to keep an heirloom from their mentors. Some country songs include a passage about granddad’s gun. We can all relate to the attraction to the guns carried by our forefathers. I, however, am not one of those lucky hunters. I do not have any heirloom guns that my ancestors used to feed my family of a generation removed. I did not count the days until I would spend frosty mornings hunting with my father, uncles, or grandfather. While my father and I enjoy hunting together now, I took him on his first hunting trip. I don’t wish to reduce the importance of those moments we share, and more importantly, that’s not who this essay is about. This essay is about the gun I call “Pop’s Rifle.” Robert Coane, my grandfather, was born on April seventh, 1943. He played football in high school and joined the Air Force with the hopes of being a pilot. He and his friend went to the Navy recruiter first, but it was closed for lunch, so they walked next door to join the Air Force. He didn’t become a pilot but instead was a radar specialist flying reconnaissance missions in a B-47. After his service, he raised a family in New Jersey before starting his “retirement job” running a beach store on Cape Cod. How does a man who never owned weapons besides those issued to him in the 60’s end up with a rifle named after him? Now is when my pedantic nature gets the best of me and creates a great essay too. I was the first grandchild, and as such, my family and I had the task of naming my grandfather. “Grandpop” or “Grandpoppy” were contenders, but it was decided that “Pop” would be easiest to say. As such, Bob would be known by everyone as Pop. As a boy, I spent my summers “working” at my Pop’s store. I sold surfboards and kayaks and stocked the shelves with inflatables and snorkels. In the downtimes and rainy days, we would read. Pop always had a stack of books from historical fiction to biographies. Of the countless authors, there was one we gravitated to: Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway’s succinct wordsmithing always left an impression on me, and his biography “Papa Hemingway” by A.E. Hotchner brought him to life. Pop and I spent the months between summers talking about Hemingway and other authors. When Pop took me to the Caribbean, we dreamed of marlin as we towed handlines behind the boat. When I grew up, got married, moved away, and started a family, I still called the house to check in with Pop and the rest of my family. Pop did not share my interest in firearms but humored me by listening thoughtfully as I talked about guns I had purchased or dreamed of owning. With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, I put visits to him and the rest of my family on hold. I pushed off flying back home until I received a call from my parents telling me I should come home to see Pop; before I couldn’t. I packed my bag and took my wife and 1-year-old son back to Cape Cod. It would be the first and last time my son would get to meet his great grandfather, and it was worth the stress of traveling with a toddler to do it. I read “The Green Hills of Africa” when we were last together and finished the book the day after receiving word that Pop had passed. Grief is a strange emotion. Sometimes less of an emotion and more a state of being. Being a few thousand miles away from Pop added to my feeling that I had no closure. I wanted or needed something to signal that a new chapter of my life had started. In a fit of “retail therapy,” I was looking at used rifles on the Cabelas website when I saw a Remington 03a3 with a Griffin&Howe scope mount. While the gun wasn’t Hemingway’s 1903, it had the same shape, caliber, and bespoke scope mount. I pulled the money I had set aside for hunting season and bought the rifle the next day. When the rifle arrived, I took a long lunch break and drove to the shop to get it. Opening the box was everything I had hoped for and more. Heavily used with deep bluing, this sporterized rifle felt right in my hands. The bolt knob and edges of the old Lyman 4x scope were nicked and missing all finish. The bolt slid back and forth as though it was on bearings. Some enterprising sportsmen had taken the time to set a small compass into the stock. Just after comb of the stock, you can tell which way is north. The steel butt plate reminded me that despite its refined exterior, it was at its heart a battle rifle. I looked up the serial number, and Remington made it in October of 1943. serendipitous that this rifle that I sought out is just a few months younger than my grandfather. Upon research, I discovered that the G&H scope mount was worth more than what I paid for the whole gun! Griffin and Howe is an American gun company that rose to fame by converting military 1903’s into fine hunting rifles. “From a sow’s ear to a silk purse” was a phrase often used. Griffin and Howe had clients like Hemingway, Clark Gable, Dwight D Eisenhower, and I’m sure more than I don’t know as they were before my time. While they will still sporterize your rifle or build one from scratch, they are best known for their scope mounts. The Griffin and Howe side mount features a mated and removable set of machined rings that lock into one position. The idea behind these locking rings is that a shooter can remove their scope to use iron or peep sights and reattach it in the field without losing zero. Besides being rugged, they are devilishly handsome. Despite the 30-06 being way more gun than I needed to hunt in south Florida, it went with me deer hunting. A wiser man would have used a lighter rifle with a brighter scope. I am not that person. I cradled my rifle as I slogged for miles in the palmetto thickets and swamps that I hunt. Sitting on the riverbank in the afternoon sun, I felt it. Covered in mud and burdocks with the five fresh Remington cor-lokts still in the rifle, I felt it. I was sitting with my stacks of surfboards and pool noodles. I was basking in the same sun that heated car roofs to oven temperatures when I tied inflatable rafts to them. I was with Pop again. There’s something indescribable about this rifle and that situation I found myself in. I know that it has no direct connection to my grandfather. But, it has some weight that reminds me that my memories are enough. Rather than end this on a night about me, I will give it to those reading this. Enjoy the sun, go to the woods, know that even in their absence, they bring you joy. Where ever they are now, the knowledge of our happiness in the woods brings them joy too. In the words of Aldo Leopold, “They live forever by not living at all.”
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts All of our thoughts on Taylor’s re-released Red album, Jake Gyllenhaal, Duck Season Updates, Venison, and much much more! Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts In what will most likely be described as an “insane” move, we decided, for our 200th episode, to allow our listeners to have their way with Keep and Releases and, well, this is how it went . . . Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Ducks, Conversations, Ducks, Guiding, Ducks, Non-profits, oh, and DUCKS!!! Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Manatees, Panthers, and Guide’s Licenses, Oh My! Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts In this “Late night with Travis” style episode, we quick hit the Sequoia saga, what’s happening with non-profits, weather reports, and more! Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts You may not know Alexandra Freeze by name, but if you’ve spent any time in Florida Conservation circles, you’ve certainly seen her work! From the Last Green Thread to Hidden Wild to her most recent adventures with the Florida Wildlife Corridor’s Youth Expedition, Alex works diligently to communicate science with art, and this conversation is one you certainly don’t want to miss! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Nate’s back, and we chat about his recent foray (with Huck) into NAVHDA’s Natural Abilities test. Plus, FL5 craziness, Travis does one of the more insane interviews of all time, Pellet Grills, new houses, and more! Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts FWC’s October Commission Meeting was held on October 6th and 7th. Hear Travis’ solo take on Redfish, Goliath Grouper, Scrub Jays, Aquaculture of Largemouth Bass, Spraying, and more in this (hopefully recurring) recap episode! Watch Day 1 Part 1 (Opening Remarks/Goliath Grouper) Here Watch Day 1 Part 2 (Redfish/Sharks/Fisheries Councils) Here Watch Day 2 (Bass, Shooting Ranges, Scrub Jays, Public Comments) Here Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts You may not know Alexandra Freeze by name, but if you’ve spent any time in Florida Conservation circles, you’ve certainly seen her work! From the Last Green Thread to Hidden Wild to her most recent adventures with the Florida Wildlife Corridor’s Youth Expedition, Alex works diligently to communicate science with art, and this conversation is one you certainly don’t want to miss! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts By now, you’ve probably seen John Oliver’s segment on the duck stamp contest, with his hilarious entries and an auction raising almost $100k for the USFWS. Hear all of our thoughts on this segment, plus, a grill update, Commission meetings, toilet water salmon, crooked lamps, and much more! Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts In a first ever occurrence, we interview a political candidate! Lindsay has been a friend of ours for several years and has been on the front lines of a myriad of conservation issues in our state from toll roads to wildlife corridors, and we cover all of them! This is a conversation you don’t want to miss! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts New reviews, Meateater weighs in on RHA’s, and more, plus we’re joined by Cameron Bissell as he recounts his first duck hunt and asks us the questions every new waterfowler would have! Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts In this episode of Conversations, we’re joined by Lara Milligan and Shannon Carnevale, the hosts of the Naturally Florida Podcast . . . We’ll talk about their work as University of Florida IFAS Extension Agents, their goals with this podcast, and how working with the public can help conservation in every corner of the state! This is a conversation you don’t want to miss! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Audio issues derailed the Emily enchanted version of this podcast, but I didn’t want to miss two weeks in a row, so here goes a quick recap on early teal, the return of Conversations, and other stuff . . . Hear Christina Weber and Myriaha Luzzi on their new podcast, Behind Fishing Lines Hear Shannon Carnevale and Lara Milligan on the Naturally Florida Podcast Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Emily goes on a Moorhen hunt, Fall is happening, duck scouting is all the rage, plus: Hear Christina Weber and Myriaha Luzzi on their new podcast, Behind Fishing Lines Hear Shannon Carnevale and Lara Milligan on the Naturally Florida Podcast Sign up for the All Florida e-mail list – AllFla.org Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Live Show recaps, Non-profit updates, where on earth did the interviews go, Pellet Grill Problems, Duck scouting, Taxidermy, and so much more!!!! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts 2 years since the last Live Show, here it is, unedited and in ALL it’s glory, the Live Show, Live from Grove Roots Brewing Co. in our hometown of Winter Haven, Florida! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts We’re back to normal this week – Commission Meetings, Bird Dog training, Pellet grill failures, lawn mower repairs, and the Fresh Prince of Bel air. Exactly what you were expecting. Live Show tickets are available here Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Audio from the Aug. 4, 2021 FWC Commission Meeting Discussion on Restricted Hunting Areas Live Show tickets are available here Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Some weeks, you just. run. out. of. time. This was that week for us! Live Show tickets are available here Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Every year we do an ICAST Recap – this is that! Strike Lines – the company doing underwater maps Phone Buoys CBD Catch some relief lotion Live Show tickets are available here Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
What is “My Florida”? As a college student I thought my Florida was the Panhandle. It didn’t snow, there were white sand beaches and when I asked at the first gun shop if they needed to see my permit to handle a shotgun; The women behind the counter laughed and said “honey you can keep a loaded pistol in your glove box with no permit here”. What money I had left after text books, rent, and bushwhackers I spent chasing redfish in pensacola pass and kingfish from the pier. There were bears, and alligators, and old stone forts that predated our nation. This would certainly be my Florida. Moving to central Florida I thought the Ocala forest and the Harris chain of lakes were my Florida. I tended my little house and growing family there. My oldest daughter learned to catch brim and sunshine bass on the spring fed lakes. My father, my uncle, my cousin, and my best friend all put their first hogs down in the piney woods of central Florida. My passion for public lands blossomed there. I wrote passionately about it and it won me a trip from Outdoor life, years later I still keep contact with the editor and videographer from that trip. Now, still further south, the southwest Florida Everglades. Complex, beautiful and wild. Still wild in the 60s and largely taken over by the state or federal government by the 80s. It keeps secrets, it shows scars of man’s impact from dikes and locks; it shows its resiliency by reclaiming farms and hunt camps, until nothing more than openings in the forest cast sun on depressions from buildings. Roads once paved for development now fill with soil capturing prints of panthers and their prey. In the place I hunt, visions of cow hunters driving cattle across the grasslands dance in the mind as often as the hope that a mature buck will tiptoe from the dark timber. Big animals and big secrets lay beyond the flag ponds and sawgrass where only airboat or Frankensteined buggies can go. Staples of everglades transport were created and arguably perfected here. The man made canals of native stone hold tropical chichlids, snake heads, tialipia and oscars, that have formed an uneasy truce with the gators, gar and largemouth. The cypress sloughs remind me of the place I never thought I would leave. The cedar swamps of my birthplace survived wholesale logging by being to wet and too inaccessible to justify the expense. Their cool understory that shades from the sun and forms an echo chamber for the native birds. Your steps pierce the natural symphony with the characteristics of an unwelcome guest. Every thud against a fallen log or splash as your foot sinks back into the coffee colored water is a reminder that we are guests both in time and purpose. Citrus groves and tomato farms line the roads and give me some faith that despite the lust for half million dollar town homes and golfing, there may be some private land that wildlife will still be found on. I do not relish the way that the government acquired some of the land I now use . . . families lost their camps, farms, and homes . . . water management and focus on single species have made some of these areas noticeably worse than they were. I hope that my enjoyment and defense of these green and brown places where woodpeckers cackle and gators bellow pays tribute to those who broke this ground and kept it safe. This place. Where the waters just south of Disney open into the ocean. Where stones of shell and lime hold ghost orchids. Where sugar, and oil, and golf, and wild birds intersect. Where the misdoings of half the state are filtered by grass and time. This place is My Florida.
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts As promised, this week will be spent unpacking the Restricted Hunting Area Rule, and what’s to come at the August 4, 2021 FWC Commission Meeting Live Show tickets are available here Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts As promised, this week will be spent unpacking the Restricted Hunting Area Rule, and what’s to come at the August 4, 2021 FWC Commission Meeting Live Show tickets are available here Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts As promised, this week will be spent unpacking the Restricted Hunting Area Rule, and what’s to come at the August 4, 2021 FWC Commission Meeting Live Show tickets are available here Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts As promised, this week will be spent unpacking the Restricted Hunting Area Rule, and what’s to come at the August 4, 2021 FWC Commission Meeting Live Show tickets are available here Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
If you look up the word “home” in the dictionary, you will find many definitions. It can be defined as a structure in which to reside, a city, state, or country of origin, or as something that strikes deeply and “hits home”. It can also be described as the place you feel most comfortable, surrounded by family, friends, and community. These definitions apply to my Florida, my adopted home. Home can also be defined as an animal’s tendency to return to its place of belonging, its ability to sense a deep connection to their place, their land, and home in on it time and time again. Recently someone looked at me and told me that they could see me returning to the place of my birth, the Pacific Northwest. They meant well and were recognizing a love for that land that runs deeply within me. However, what they do not know is that while I was “born and raised” and come from generational stock, I was never really allowed to be at home there. You see, in my family, dysfunction and abuse are handed down like some family’s hand down fine china. By the time I had inherited the china, it was full of chips and cracks, missing key pieces, and all in all, it was just safer and more practical to buy a whole new set. My Florida is a rebirth. It was a chance to start over, to shed layers of pain, to experience pure joy. An opportunity to build a new community. A chance to give my children a future free from the abuse they would experience in the Pacific Northwest at the hands of those who were supposed to have their backs. My Florida is a major step in breaking the cycle. Before I go on, let me clarify: I love my family and am proud of my roots, but it’s complicated. I understand them and know why they are the way they are. It took strength, courage, and commitment to settle the west. It also took a toll. This cycle of abuse was born out of struggles to survive a migration in covered wagons. It was born out of weathering blizzards and ice storms in one room shacks. Truthfully, people can only handle so many deaths, still births, miscarriages, diseases, fires and other setbacks that leave them poor, hungry, and broken. To numb the pain many start to self-medicate with alcohol, drugs, self-pity, blame, and abuse. Once they go down that road, you cannot fix what is broken for them. They must do it themselves. My family cannot seem to do this, so I must love them from afar. This personal history drives me to connect to Florida the way I do. It is why I’ve set out to meet generational Floridians and study the history of this state. I know that pioneer families are tough, that they have invested a lot and survived many personal hardships to be here. I know it has not been easy, and I am acutely aware that I have adopted a home that they’ve built. I once heard former Commissioner of Agriculture and current CEO of Ducks Unlimited Adam Putnam say “Florida is a gift people give themselves for a life well-lived elsewhere.” I agree, that happens in many instances, but also acknowledge that not all people had lives “well lived” in some other place. Florida has always been a refuge to those who found themselves spiritually or physically homeless for various reasons; whether fleeing war or persecution, or simply a need to provide a better future for their families, many early Floridians were driven to seek new land. While I cannot see myself ever returning to the Pacific Northwest, I miss knowing every nook and cranny of a place. So, in the 11 years I have lived here, I have made it a point to experience all she has to offer. In addition to wanting to know my new state intimately, I also want to insure her future. After all, I chose this new life for myself and my children, and I want them to grow up appreciating the outdoors. I have always found solace and peace in the outdoor world; in fact, I am much less afraid of bears, snakes, (and even alligators!) than I am of people. In my experience, animals are more trustworthy. During my formative years, as those around me were embroiled in drama and anger, I would often slip out the door into the woods and go for a long walk or take my book and plant myself in my favorite tree near the river below my house and escape to a different world. Being outdoors provided me an unfathomable gift and many lessons, not the least of which is that all animals struggle to survive. This made me feel less alone. To this day, whenever I feel a bit off-kilter, I step outside, shed my shoes, and just stand barefoot in the soil and feel the sun upon my face. I breathe the air deeply and inhale the scents around me. If I have time, I seek a river, lake, or the ocean. Water especially feels like home, which is why I fight so hard for improving Florida’s waters. Not only is it necessary for physically surviving, but water is also healing. When you encounter me barefoot in a prairie, or wading through the surf or a puddle somewhere, know that I am in my happiest place. If I seem out of sorts, grab me and drag me outdoors! While many people move to Florida as a reward, my adopted Florida is a respite, a new beginning I am passionate about. If you have deep roots here and have shared your Florida with me, please know that I am eternally grateful for the gift you have given. I will continue to strive to honor the lessons you have taught me. You make a difference in my life that I struggle to explain, but it is strong and important. A simple thank you does not cover the depth of my love and appreciation for many of you. My Florida is not one hammock, spring, river, or wetland; my Florida is all of her, from the panhandle to the Keys. My Florida is an appreciation of her beauty, her struggles, her history, and her strength. My Florida is her people, and your willingness to embrace me and my family, making us a part of your community, and providing respite from another life. My Florida is home. Nyla Pipes is the Executive Director of One Florida Foundation, an organization dedicated to working with all Floridians to make our water better. When she’s not advocating for water quality and better waste management, she can be found working on her art or barefoot traipsing around some Florida swamp!
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts As promised, this week will be spent unpacking the Restricted Hunting Area Rule, and what’s to come at the August 4, 2021 FWC Commission Meeting Live Show tickets are available here Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts This week, we’ve decided, after 260ish episodes, to explain why we do, what we do, and how we do it! Live Show tickets are available here Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Welcome to “Sabal Palm Island”, an exquisite resort community in the heart of Central Florida! Can’t you just picture it, driving south down the Turnpike, around the greater Orlando area, a billboard somewhere near the Okahumpka rest station flagging to would be vacationers and potential residents? The billboard is backdropped by a cattle pasture with some heavy equipment off in the distance. This billboard doesn’t exist, at least to my knowledge it doesn’t exist, but we can all probably envision it in some form. This fictitious community is obviously gated, has all the amenities that any resort community would have. the residents give off a kind of “Del Boca Vista” vibe* if you don’t know the “DBV” you need some more “Seinfeld” in your life, definitely worth a “google”. To some “Sabal Palm Island” probably seems like like a great retirement spot, resort community, or vacation getaway, but to me, a sabal palm island is something different. A real life sabal palm island is exactly what it says it is. They are literal islands amongst and within other ecosystems where a clump of sabal palms has formed over time on a on a hump in the landscape’s topography. To further the narrative let’s place this island somewhere in the East Central Florida area, in a hydric hammock setting, adjacent to a pasture and marsh. In this setting you’d be hard pressed to find anyone searching for a “retirement” lifestyle. Sabal palms, which from now on will be referred to as “cabbage” palms, their “real” name, are probably our state’s most ubiquitous tree outside of maybe slash pine. They are one of only a handful of native palm trees to Florida, and far more common than the pretentious “royal” palm. Most of the other palms are hedge like and exist as a ground cover, ie. saw palmetto. This “island” setting is, as we mentioned, “hydric”, or fancy name for wet, and can be in proximity to a marsh, fresh or salt, within a marsh, fresh or salt, or within a wet forest. Cabbage palm islands can exist in almost any natural Florida landscape but I’m choosing as “My Florida ” a wet setting, complete with all the mosquitos, humidity, and serpents that complete the trifecta of a nasty Florida outdoor experience. To me, a mature stand of cabbage palms, when forming an island like structure within a natural landscape, is a thing of absolute beauty. When cabbage palms get old they start to self clean and lose their “boot,” as it’s called, which yields a visually smooth and rather unassuming tree trunk. However, upon closer inspection this “smooth” tree trunk yields little, almost microscopic needle like projections on its surface, and is quite rough and prickly when you get close to it. Young kids learn pretty early to not try to climb one, and a splinter from one is harder to get out than the writer’s cramp bone in the game of operation. Since the trunk is really more like a collection of fibers, it is functionally compressible. A solid hit with a hammer would leave an indention, but good luck cutting a cabbage palm with an ax. Wood from a cabbage palm is relatively worthless by today’s standards, but there is historic value as lumber to native peoples and the European settlers before us. The fronds were used for roofs, and the “heart” of palm was invaluable in times of need. We hopefully have all tasted the tender heart when prepared as swamp cabbage, but outside of turn of the century dock posts, some tiki hut applications, and some landscaping use there just isn’t much “worth” now a days to a cabbage palm. That being said, a climbing tree stand, if a climbing tree stand could talk, would argue that there is no other tree in the woods that will give you such a good “bite” as you tighten up its cables and jump in from off the soggy ground. If “climbing trees” for huntin’, were a recognized commodity, an old cabbage palm would be top tier, grade A, the wagyu beef of the genre. Cabbage palms can get relatively tall when they’re old, and can achieve heights of over 80 feet and diameters of 25 inches. Although difficult to age, botanists believe they can live to be 200-300 years old. Throughout their entire life span they offer lots of wildlife benefit. The fruit, or drupe as it is called starts off green and turns into a purplish black date-like entity. Basically everything in nature eats the berry, including countless different birds and mammals. At all stages this tree offers cover and food for critters of many classes and orders. Hanging from a cabbage palm in September can be a real adventure. Lots of creepy crawlies and “stingin” things love to live in the clump up top, and when you bust up a wasp nest accidentally upon your ascent, it can be a real exercise in nerves and coordination to get down quickly without ending up inverted on your back and head. If and when you finally get up there and get settled in, there is hardly a more peaceful place, at least for a short while. 15 to 20 feet of elevation off the ground can give some real respite from the heat somehow, and skeeter activity seems to decrease by at least half. Right about the time you start appreciating the peace, and start getting a little sleepy, you usually start hearing the pitter patter of the resident critters. The tranquility is typically short lived, as I’m pretty sure a squirrel jumping from a live oak branch onto a cabbage palm frond is one of the loudest noises ever recorded in human history, up there with space shuttle reentry and Krakatoa, but not quite as loud as scaring a blue heron while looking for bait in the dark. Once your heart rate drops down from lagomorph back to homo sapien level, here comes your random afternoon thunder-bumper to contend with. When that wind starts to blowing 30 knots across the marsh your “peaceful” island adventure really begins. Hanging on a tree takes a literal meaning for a short while as your perfect cabbage palm climbing tree starts behaving less like a tree and more like a pool float while your kids are doing cannonballs around you. A couple cracks of that too close for comfort, almost pink colored lightening and thunder, which is only slightly less loud than a squirrel jumping into your tree, has you questioning your intelligence, and wishing you never found this island oasis. You know, the spot that was a mile further away from your truck then you were planning on? Now that you’re soaking wet and cold (“How the hell can you be cold in Florida in September you’re thinking?”), you hear something. Way more often than not, these autumn trips to cabbage palm islands end up being fruitless, harrowing nature walks more than successful hunting trips, but this sound you hear is different. This sound is calculated, yet elegant, it’s unnerving and exciting all at once, your brain registers it correctly as a footstep. You turn to look and, and there he is, all 98lbs soaking wet, chocolate horned, 2 and half year old, 7 point swamp buck of him. He’s dark, with an odd tawny brown toupee looking tuft of hair on his head. Hardly the creature of midwestern lore, its almost comical to them yankees that this creature is even the same species, (Odocoileus Virginianus) to be exact, but it’s undeniable that this animal is as praiseworthy as any mid western “booner” that has traversed a cornfield. Your thought immediately goes to a place of denial, confusion and anger. “I can’t believe this is happening – Am I dreaming?” you think to yourself. “How the hell did he get so close to me where I couldn’t see him before now?” Emotions are all over the place, he’s looking right at you but you did nothing wrong. The post storm air is relatively still and the little wind that does exist is blowing mostly in your face. How the hell does he know I’m here, you ponder, then he puts his head down and starts to nip at some beautyberry at the base of another tall cabbage palm, alas a window of opportunity. As you turn slightly to your right from seated, to get a better angle on him, the buck takes a quick few alerted steps and your confidence immediately drops from, “this might happen” to “there’s not an ice cube’s chance on the pavement of Calle Ocho in August” that I’m going to get a shot. The 3 steps the buck takes puts him right behind a baby cabbage palm, which may as well be the walls of Castillo de San Marcos to your feeble arrow. You can still see some head and tail though, and all is not lost. You start to realize there is something else catching his interest. It’s undeniable at this point that even though he might know you’re there he really couldn’t care less at this exact moment. Another noise from the opposite edge of your island confirms your suspicion. There she is, sleek, and stylish. Somehow she’s so well groomed compared to this scrubby swamp buck and you can immediately appreciate his interest. Her tail is up and flicks around a bit as she prances around the edge of your palm island and then slowly disappears into the cordgrass and wax myrtles. As quickly as you see her she’s gone, and our boy now has his head up and is tasting and sniffing the air as if there was a basket of baked goods getting wafted by his head. With a quick short snort he prances toward where he saw her enter the vast amorphous marsh and disappears with her, leaving you both defeated and awestruck at the same time. That my friends is my Florida, a cabbage palm island in Fall. My Florida is the under-appreciated Florida not made up of beaches and blue marlins, or resorts and seashells. It’s the Florida that glorifies the amazing cabbage palm, not the coconut palm of travel brochures. It’s the Florida that covets our lesser than white-tailed deer and our miserable, hot and buggy hunting conditions. It’s the Florida that for over a hundred years was to be drained and “improved” as if it had no value. Sabal Palm Island isn’t really a place I spend that much time, but I love every second of it in early autumn when I do get to hang on a palm tree out there in the middle of a marsh. I am truly lucky and blessed to be able to spend way more time on traditional islands. I live in an amazing place called Merritt Island, and my wife and I spend countless days toting our kids to the spoil islands of the Indian River Lagoon swimming and fishing and playing. Islands were formative in my life. I caught my first snapper in Key Largo (an island), my first snook on Sanibel Island, but cabbage palm islands aren’t going to get the love that the Keys and coasts will get. My Florida is going away because it doesn’t make much of an impression for a non native. It’s not a travel destination or pre-planned community on a Turnpike billboard. My Florida is like a cabbage palm, easily dismissed and removed because it doesn’t offer much value as it is, and there is plenty of “em”. Much better to change it to something that people want, a resort community for instance, or maybe a retirement village. “Sabal Palm Island” needs a story to be told and that is why a “Cabbage Palm Island” in the middle of worthless marsh . . . is my Florida.
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Nate’s Back from another well deserved vacation . . . Live Show tickets are available here, RHA’s are back, My Florida columns are stealing the show, Snook Symposiums, Lake Management Plans, Walker Hayes, Throwing Burritos, Curling Iron incidents, and much, much more . . . Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
She’s a shimmering bit of Heaven here on Earth. A beguiling beauty cloaked in her morasses and marshy soils. A fortunate few of us see through the disguise realizing that all of it only adds to her charm and we fall hard for her, captivated and spellbound. This temptress is My Florida, My Love. So many other people, most of whom have only gazed upon, objectified, and yearned her from afar, see an idealized vision of her in the same manner which they falsely assume to intimately know distant celebrities whom they’ve never met. And predictably, they succumb to their curiosity and craving for the misguided mental image flocking to her like swarming locusts. Upon reaching her and eventually discerning her true subtropical nature, they promptly set about trying to mold and shape her into something altogether different and unrecognizable; a tropical paradise, because damn it that’s what the developers and tourism industry said she was, right? How naive, how sadly mistaken and shallow-minded these lovers nouveau are to those of us who have seen her true essence and courted her as we found her, taking the bitter with the sweet. I’m part of the eighth generation among my family to be ranching here on the Florida peninsula, and therefore it’s likely to be fairly obvious that I’m most enamored and enthralled with the interior portions of our lovely state. Our ranch lands are some of the last remaining places to find wide prairie vistas dotted with scattered oak and cabbage palm hammocks, vast skies, dense stands of pine flat woods, cypress domes, and backcountry marshlands teeming with roseate spoonbills, egrets, storks and herons of all sorts. My Florida is this unpretentious, subdued place where cattle and wildlife thrive side by side on the last remaining landscapes capturing and filtering water as nature intended. She brings me dewy mornings horseback, the silence only broken by calves bawling while mama cows low back to them amid the cadence of horse hooves stomping in and out of the soggy soil. She’s given me childhood memories of skinning out of my clothes to cool off in the deep pool below an artesian flowing well, and countless winter sunsets where the hackberry trees and others loomed as stark silhouettes against the blazing western skyline. My endearing Florida has given, and continues to give me each year, unforgettable memories of sporting adventures in her backcountry. I recall my first deer hunting trip to our close friends, the Carlton’s Bull Hammock Ranch where at 13 years old I soaked up experiences every young man should come to know, from sitting around a fire pit grilling steaks while listening to the tales of men who were larger than life in your eyes to taking your first pull of moonshine from an old Mason jar beneath an inky sky filled with stars just to kill the curiosity and make you respect it. Softly, the breeze caressed the cabbage fronds overhead, as the embers grew dim and we retreated into the camp house to bed down and rest. The morning sun was just highlighting the trees in the citrus grove on the ranch when I took my first buck with the gun my dad had given me – an early 1900’s Remington pump action .25-20 rifle with the original peep sights. He was beaming with pride then, just as I did when first my daughter and then my son, both took their first deer with the same rifle. Prior to that hunt, I’d honed my hunting skills with my brothers chasing Bob White quail with a Red Ryder BB gun (back when they still packed a punch) in another Carlton family orange grove next to our house. Even now I can smell those intoxicating orange blossoms and taste those quail mama would fry up for us. That’s my dear Florida… Since then I’ve spent sweat-soaked afternoons with my Hoyt bow in hand stalking deer and swatting at mosquitoes to start deer season followed by a shift to brisk mornings cradling a cold rifle in the crease of my elbow as my warm breath hit the cold air and evaporated into the Spanish moss draping from ancient live oaks. I’ve thrilled at playing cat and mouse with Osceola turkeys alongside my brothers, friends, my wife and kids, and often right by myself. And then there were those early mornings spent listening to old men telling jokes over breakfast at the Red Rooster in Okeechobee before draining the dregs from the bottom of their coffee cup and running south of town to the ranch where we’d disperse to various sloughs and ponds lying in wait for daylight and the ducks all the other hunters were certain to scatter off Lake Okeechobee. The duck hunting on private ranch lands was splendid then; a great way to get a young boy hooked on the Southern tradition of water fowl hunting, but that was back before all the government built all the STA’s (water treatment areas). All of this is Old Florida…rural Florida… the Florida I love strongest and deepest. But, it’s not the only part of Florida that I love. The Florida I love also involves summers spent on the lake – Lake Placid specifically – and an old Flare boat. Those boats were made for towing water skiers and for the wonderfully winding Kissimmee River before they gutted her with dredges… back when she was crooked and clear. The boat was mostly white with red down the side rails and over the bow with a solid piece windshield and a 85 horsepower Mercury mounted on the transom. If we weren’t sitting in that boat watching my dad stand on the bow while popping a Heddon Tiny Torpedo lure over the lake’s surface awaiting the frenzied strike of a largemouth, we were on a tractor inner tube from the local service station behind that boat while my granddaddy did his level best to skip us across the lake like a rock. My Florida is open jalousie windows on a sticky summer night, allowing you to hear the chorus of crickets and frogs in spite of the constant humming from an oscillating table fan. It’s shelling peas with your grandparents – ones he planted in the pasture while you were planting grass earlier that summer – as The Lawrence Welk show rolls on the TV with just 4 channels and no remote control. The Florida I love and long for is an old shell road or one-lane paved roads where opposing vehicles each got half off the road without much deceleration so as to pass each other with a wave and smile; it’s learning to peel an orange in the grove while keeping the peel in one long, unbroken spiral, smoked or fried mullet, and swamp cabbage. These are not the only special characteristics that make up my love affair with Florida. We may live out here between the beaches, but that certainly doesn’t rule out us making a run to the coast whenever we get the chance. In fact, one of the great advantages for us is that we can be to the Atlantic coast in an hour and the Gulf in one and a half hours for offshore fishing or backwater action. Arts, entertainment, culture, and fun are just as accessible there too in places like the Kravis Center in Palm Beach or the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Lee County so that we can soak it up at will and then retreat back to the ranch and small town solitude. The Keys, and the quirkiness of Key West proper, are a reasonable drive away from the ranch. These are the little things that make my Florida so special; simple things that so many overlook. I grew up on the Treasure Coast and Florida’s Indian River where everyone in high school went to “pay beach” at the inlet jetty, Dynamite Point, and Little Jim Bridge, before congregating with their vehicles to circle the Searstown Plaza parking lot later that night. Small town Florida. Small town America. From fence lines to shore lines, my Florida is still a place of chivalry and graceful Southern Belles with all their endearing charm though admittedly that way of life is increasingly being pushed into more isolated pockets everyday. The Florida I love is a shaded front porch with a creaky wooden screen door on an old cracker house and generational roots in the same place, she’s SEC football and tailgating on Saturdays in the Fall, and she’s equal parts Tom Petty and Mel Tillis. Old salties on the coasts, my Seminole and Miccosukee brethren, my cowhunting comrades, and anyone else who loves and respects her wild, native ways is what Florida is to me and why I cherish her so. She’s complex yet simple like the rich cultural amalgamation resulting from the five flags which have flown over her through the centuries. My Florida can be soft and gentle like an evening rain, but she can just as easily turn around and hammer you like a hurricane. It matters not for I take her as she is and I adore her in every way…and everyone would be well served to give her a deeper look and do the same. Brad Phares is an 8th generation Floridian and cattle rancher. He’s also an accomplished artist, be it by word or by brush, and hosts our other favorite Florida podcast, Between the Beaches. You can find his work at Cowhunters Unlimited, where you can also buy the best salsa, hot sauce, and pineapple preserves on the planet!
This week, we’re releasing the audio from the February 2021 FWC Commissioner’s Meeting. What you will hear: A comment from a developer regarding Orange Hammock WMA and the desire for a buffer to be put into the WMA to “protect” homeowners A comment from a stakeholder, Mike Elfenbein, reflecting OUR sentiment regarding developers and hunting A Comment from Commission Chairman Rodney Barreto, regarding his take on the future collision of development and hunting, and how he fears it will progress in this state. Then, we have the entirety of the Restricted Hunting Area Discussion – RHA’s, for those keeping score at home: You’ll hear: FWC Director of Hunting and Game Management George Warthen presenting on RHA’s; why we need them, public sentiment, the history of the rule, etc. Vice Chairman, Commissioner Mike Sole, ask George to clarify our sign-on letter, and why the New York rule would not work in Florida Public comments from the Cast and Blast army Commissioner Barreto laughingly remind us that this is “just a draft rule” The Commissioner’s wrap up and vote, including Commissioner Nicklaus explaining why a New York rule wouldn’t work here. My editorial comments are interspersed, mainly to set the table for what you’re hearing, but the content itself is unedited.
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts The Dog Days of Summer – Live Show Tickets go on sale (buy yours here), AJ DeRosa Follow up, My Florida, and a start of RHA Discussion leading into the August 4th Commissioner’s Meeting. Take your RHA Survey here Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
In September of 1620, Christopher Martin and his young wife, Marie Prower, arrived on the shores of Plymouth, Massachusetts on a ship known as The Mayflower. The ship left port in Essex, England and had been at sea for 66 days on this, the third attempt at crossing the Atlantic to reach The New World. Of the 102 passengers that arrived, only 53 of them survived the first winter. Only five among them were women. These survivors had grit. Christopher Martin would sign the Mayflower Compact and move to Salem, where he started his family. Over the next 160 years, the Martin’s became the Bishop’s, and the Bishop’s became the Herndon’s. William Herndon fought in the Revolutionary War and two years later, in 1778, he moved his young family further south to Greenville, South Carolina. His son, Richard J. Herndon fought in the War of 1812 and married Pinky Padgett and in 1829, the two would move to Jennings, Florida and have 17 children. This is where my history in Florida begins, some eight generations ago, with my (5x) Great Grandparents, Richard and Pinky. It’s difficult to imagine Florida almost 200 years ago. Florida was established as a territory in the 1820’s, around the time the US enacted the Indian Removal Act. Florida’s early residents fought a decades long battle with the Seminole Indians, the last of which ended in 1858, just after receiving statehood. Just three years later, Florida, as part of the Confederacy, entered the Civil War. It is amazing that anyone survived here in those times. Florida was the wildest of the wild places in America. Wars aside, when you consider the remoteness, plagues of mosquitoes, ticks, and no-see-ums, alligators, sharks, bears, panthers, Indians, bandits, pirates, smugglers, oppressive heat and humidity, and hurricanes that appeared out of nowhere, it is easy to question why anyone would want to live here! In Patrick Smith’s novel, A Land Remembered (perhaps the best piece of history on early American Florida, despite being fiction), we are introduced to the MacIvey’s. Their story starts in 1858 while traveling to, and homesteading in Central Florida. It paints a pretty harsh picture of life in Florida in those times. Fiction or not, it doesn’t take a historian to recognize the grit it must have taken to move to, and survive in Florida back then; I suppose, the same kind of grit it must have taken to board a ship bound for “The New World.” These, too, were tough people. These days, Florida is quite different in many ways. The migration of people into our great state has not stopped— although, it could be argued that the type of people moving here has changed quite a bit. From the ubiquitous, and always colorful “Florida Man,” found in the most bizarre stories in the off-color news-zines, to the über wealthy, seeking tax havens in the form of obscene, waterfront mansions, to nearly every grandparent in North America, Florida has seemingly diversified her attractiveness. People. Love. Florida. I love Florida. I was born in Sarasota in 1974, and as a kid, I lived on and off of Siesta Key. Sarasota was undeveloped back then. There were more trees and vacant lands than there were homes. There were only a few high-rises; mostly products of architects of the famed “Sarasota School.” The beaches had higher populations of gulls than visitors on any given day. Often the bike racks would be more crowded than the parking lots. It was different then. It was a more earnest version of Florida than what it has become—what it is becoming. Sarasota is not the only place that has changed. Indeed, development, and the fleecing of our natural resources, has drastically changed much of the landscape of this state, in relatively short order. Much of Florida is a shell of its natural self— not all of Florida. There are wild places here; some of the wildest in the entire United States. Some of these places are among the wildest in the world. These are my places. This is my Florida. I was fortunate to have been raised by a man who loved Florida; a wild man; a tough man. We spent our weekends in the woods, on the water, or on the water in the woods. We camped often, in all seasons, in all weather, and always primitively. Our camp weekends always included some bit of bush-craft or survival knowledge that dad either learned from his dad, learned as a Scout in his childhood, or just completely improvised to impress my little brother and I. We’d set humane, release-snares to teach some humility to the raccoons that raided our camps every night. We learned to make and extinguish fires responsibly. We set trot lines. We spent much of our time paddling canoes on lakes, rivers, and the inland bays. Almost invariably, we fished. We caught fish. We cooked fish. We ate fish. It was these experiences, more than any others, that shaped my love of Florida. From an early age, I always felt more comfortable in the woods, or on the water, than anywhere else. We’d often camp at Fish Eatin’ Creek, where we’d swim in the river in the presence of large alligators, paddle the river alongside them, and camp on the river’s edge in spite of them. It always felt right; more right than the social anxieties that would wind me up while waiting to be picked for the kickball team in grade school. It wasn’t until I brought a friend along on one those trips that I realized not everyone appreciated the wilder side of Florida. At the age of 14, dad got me SCUBA lessons for Christmas. It was, and remains, the most life-changing gift I have ever received. I was already a seasoned snorkeler and free-diver. Dad would take us to the middle Keys, where we’d hone our skills with a pole spear under the watchful eye of the resident “reef boss” ‘cuda. We’d gather lobster in the shallows on the Gulf side and keep watch for the “tax man”—a euphemism we used to describe sharks that were eager to take their cut of our bounty. Diving opened up a door to a whole new part of Florida. It was just as wild, just as dangerous, and just as beautiful as the Florida woods I loved so much. Not long after, I found myself in Navy Dive School in Panama City, Florida and had the good fortune of spending time at several other small Navy bases in Florida. I also had the opportunity to travel a good portion of the planet. I saw places in Asia that couldn’t have been more foreign to me. I saw jungles and river systems in Central America that seemed almost familiar. I saw everything in between. I missed Florida. As I’ve aged, I have had the opportunity to try a lot of new experiences in the wild places of Florida. And as I age, I continue to find myself more interested in being in those wildest of places than anywhere else in the world. It’s the only place I yearn to be. I yearn to be there almost all of the time. I’ve considered that a lot lately. I often reckon it’s in my blood. Why else would those crazy grand-parents of mine have endured those hardships if not for their innate love of wild places? It was certainly in their blood; that willingness to push beyond their comfort zone to find something unusual, something untamed, something beautiful, something wild. Perhaps it has nothing to do with my ancestry. Perhaps it is my humanity, along with experiences that have shaped my views on, and love of Florida. A young boy, whose father noses the Jon Boat up to the creek bank for an up-close look at the one-eyed, chalk grey alligator who is at least as long, and just as wide as the boat we are in. A boy, pondering whether or not to loose the pole-spear into the bizarrely shaped, but oh-so-tasty hogfish, for fear of the torpedo-sized barracuda with the shark-hook hanging from its jaw. A young man, lying alone on his back on the Gulf floor, watching a school of hundreds of Scalloped Hammerhead sharks pass quietly above. A man, solo-stalking a sounder of wild hogs through the swamps and palmettos of Central Florida, with only a bow and a knife. A father, watching his son battle a tarpon as large as he, in Boca Grande Pass. A man, casting flies at a giant school of over-slot redfish on a flat in the middle of nowhere. A husband, watching as his wife squeezes the trigger on a white-tailed doe in the deer woods of north Florida. A middle-aged man, running a skiff for hours in the backwaters of the Everglades, in the black of night, in search of pre-historic fish. A son, poling his father through the myriad of mangrove islands and skinny-water flats in Charlotte Harbor to help him land the biggest snook of his life. I’ve come to believe that Florida is more than a place. My Florida is an idea; the idea that there are places in this world that will resist the efforts of man to tame them. My Florida is a wild, diverse eco-system whose beauty is only matched by her brutality. My Florida is the fire that burns in my belly, urging me to see things few have ever seen, and to experience things beyond my imagination. It is easy to question peoples’ motives for moving here. It is easy to hold those newest of Floridians accountable for their part in her taming. But perhaps, in their own way, they too love wild places. Perhaps they come from that same stock—searching to fill that ancestral need for adventure. I don’t know for sure why people love Florida. I am not even certain why I love Florida. However, I do know this: I love Florida. My Florida is worth experiencing. My Florida is worth preserving. Josh Wynne is a friend and someone who views Florida the way we do – as a place to be protected and treasured. In his career as a builder, he’s been celebrated for incorporating environmentally friendly and Florida elements into his builds; not because of requirements, but because it’s the right thing to do. You can follow his adventures on his website, JoshWynne.com, where he originally published this piece for Father’s Day!
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts In this episode of Conversations, we’re joined by A.J. DeRosa and we unpack his roots in hunting, Project Upland and all the various spinoffs and complements to it, R3 and the hope for the future, chairing the Sportsmen for Biden committee, and so much more. This is a conversation you don’t want to miss! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts After spending all that time discussing books last week, we’re joined by Cameron Bissell to discuss Cast & Blast Florida, the Book Club . . . Why books matter, our hopes and dreams for the group, and lots of other fun discussion, from trout fishing to pellet grills . . . Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
When asked to finish the sentence, “My Florida is _____.” I initially struggled. Is it an actual location? Is it an area? Am I restricted from claiming a certain place as “My Florida” because I was not originally born there? Can I only claim the Jacksonville area because that is my birthplace? Clearly the ending to that statement did not come as easy to me as I thought it would. I have thought about an answer to this question for a several weeks now. My Florida is not white, sandy, freshly raked beaches with well-groomed palm trees. It is dirt roads, river swamps, old oak hammocks, and coastlines that have more palmetto bushes and pine trees than sand. It is the North Florida Deer Woods that are filled with the sweet sound of hounds during the Fall. It is a little unknown sandbar in the Big Bend. My Florida consists of the places that I would not have had the opportunity to discover if hunting and fishing were not part of my lifestyle. Growing up outdoors, I have been fortunate enough to see the Florida that hides off the beaten path. It is not the state that most tourists spend a small fortune to see. As a child I enjoyed these places. Now, as an adult, I still enjoy them but, more importantly, I appreciate them. The realization that I live in and get to actively enjoy a real paradise came a few years ago when heading out for a day offshore. The sky was painted by an early morning sunrise with its colors were reflected in the mirror of a smooth Gulf of Mexico for as far as I could see. It was in that moment that I realized my Florida was perfect. It was also in that moment that realized the importance of protecting it. That desire to protect the Florida I love has driven me to get more involved in the Outdoor world I love and not just use it for the activities I love. I sought out membership in American Daughters of Conservation as my first step into being really involved in the Conservation world. My involvement with ADC has opened my eyes to how hard we all need to work to save the places we love. Participation in clean-ups, monofilament collection and recycling, collecting water samples to help monitor for red tide . . . All things I did not realize were needed as badly as they are until a few years ago. Now that I do know, helping others realize how important it is to volunteer for these types of Conservation activities has become just as important as participating in them myself. Hosting clean-ups, organizing fundraisers to support projects, recruiting new women into the conservation world have all become my focus these past few years and I think I have found my happy place. My purpose. So now, when the question is asked again, I can quickly say that “my Florida is the Florida I want to protect.” Elizabeth Bland is the President of the Florida Chapter of the American Daughters of Conservation; she’s also their National Membership Coordinator. She and her husband James operate Wild Child Charters out of Keaten Beach, FL, and can be found wherever the deer are running or the red snapper are biting. Or chasing their new yellow lab pup around! You can find more information on ADC here, and you can hear our full conversation with Elizabeth here!
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts The chase for 41. In duck hunting parlance, Donny Miley is near Everest. Hear his story, from his earliest days hunting to his arrival near the peak of the waterfowling world, as one of our listeners shares his incredible quest for harvesting one of every waterfowl in North America. Just be warned – his story of near misses will have you on the edge of your seat. Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts This week, we’re joined by Todd Waldron of the Ruffed Grouse Society, Bill Cooksey from Vanishing Paradise, Nate, Dan, and Travis as we embark on the ambitious goal of recording the ultimate draft of Outdoor Books. This episode is a MUST LISTEN for anyone interested in outdoor literature, and you’ll feel like It’s hanging out with your buddies as they talk hunting and fishing and ecology and conservation! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Good states are hard to find. That’s a phrase that’s been rattling around in my head for months. We love Florida . . . it’s who we are . . . It’s part of our makeup, our DNA. From summer thunderstorms to wintering waterfowl . . . tarpon off the beaches, dolphins chasing mullet, snook under the mangroves . . . so many shellcrackers bedding that you can smell them . . . Osceolas somehow gobbling in surround sound, coming from every direction at once . . . Panthers and manatees and snail kites . . . Snapper and specks . . . Palmettos and palm trees and wild blackberries and wood ducks . . . Okeechobee and Ocklawaha, Islamorada and Istokpoga . . . Big Cypress and Appalachicola and Green Swamp . . . Sandy shores and sandy scrub and cows dotting pastures for as far as the eye can see . . . Florida, real, honest to God Florida, isn’t found in Disney or Universal . . . It’s found in the wild places that pierce our hearts and leave a scrub jay-shaped hole, one that can only be filled by finding that special connection again . . . It looks different to each of us, our souls connected to our places for different reasons, as varied as the colors in a January sunset. Which brings us to this point – for the next 12 weeks, every Monday, we’ll be sharing with you a different voice sharing where THEIR Florida is, and why it’s theirs . . . We’ve asked folks from our podcast community, from the conservation community, and friends who we know love this state, our state, their state, to answer the question: Where is your Florida?
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Lee Grove is a Fisheries Biologist. While working with the team on Lake Trafford in Southwest Florida, Lee and his colleagues collectively tossed around the idea of using Mussels to improve water quality in freshwater lakes. This is that story. Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts What we’re doing this summer, in draft form! Plus, Congressional trips and new reviews! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Megan Johnston is on a mission. A first generation rancher, she is making waves in Florida’s oldest industry – hear her story, from how she came to be a cattle rancher to where she dreams of taking Riverbend. This is a story we loved telling, and a brand you want to support! Find Riverbend Cattle Co. here . . . Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts You asked, we answered: ranking our favorite hot sauces. Plus – Blair Updike Paintings, behind on Patreon shows, new reviews, Live Shows, Jovan McNeil, and much more! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Jovan McNeill is a man on a mission. To make an impact on someone’s life is hard. To make that impact on so many kids, kids from broken homes and tough situations, over years, and to see these young men flourish, and to do it all using hunting and fishing as the backdrop? That’s powerful. Learn more about CloudNine Outdoors here Jovan and Travis discussed the tarpon tag in the episode, but his program is funded by the Wildlife Foundation of Florida Tag (the “Deer Tag”); you can order this tag here, and check out the other license plates they have available and the types of programs they support. Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Nate’s back, Emily’s out – and do we cover a lot of ground – fish fries over Christmas, jumping out of trees, ticks are bad, the Ethical component to wildlife management, fishing reports, and a whole lot more. Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts When the cat’s away, the mice will . . . talk too much and say things they shouldn’t on podcasts? With Nate fishing, and Em distracted, I managed to ramble on for 30 minutes about stuff you may or may not want to hear about, but will, including Doge, Rockets falling from space, spraying, RHA’s, alligator hunting, steel traps, and picking invasives . . . Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts John Culclasure and Mark Lance both work for Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation, an organization dedicated to staying on top of sportsmen’s best interests when it comes to legislation. Hear how they got to this organization, and how CSF is impacting each of us in so many positive ways! Links: 30×30 website: https://www.huntfish3030.com/ Tracking the Capitols (legislative tracking service): https://congressionalsportsmen.org/legislative-alerts/login The Sportsmen’s Voice (newsletter): https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001iby_iqM37oDn_NNuVPmxQST6NQwOK4FdNFAPHVzby-5MKPi1r_qRHmOS5faAh858H3wDqfurDLGxxhnD9IapVVnb7_2xAAhHCEHUPjGumWc%3D Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts On most radio shows, they offer some sort of option where folks can call in and give their thoughts on a topic. This is the opposite of that. Where we call people and just see what they’re doing. Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts For the past 6 years, RC Gilliland has made a name for himself as one of the top charter captains on Florida’s Southwest Coast. In this conversation, we’ll unpack his story, plus do a deep dive on How To Fish for Tarpon Book a trip with RC a GForce Charters Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts We don’t even know what “Yeeting Bobcats” means, but we’re so happy to be back together we run wild through a million different topics, including: Bird Dogs, Red Tide, Spraying, Rewilding, Beall’s and Reel Legends ripping off our shirt, Turkeys, How Turkeys Reproduce, and much, much, MUCH more! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
In April of last year when the Covid-19 pandemic was still relatively new, I decided I needed a project. I certainly could have painted the bathroom, or fixed the shelving in the garage, but I wanted one that would keep me entertained. As luck would have it, sportsman’s guide was having a sale on “You Finish” style muzzle loaders. I already had a healthy supply of powder, shot, and primers between gifts and horse trades I’d previously made. For less than half the cost of a complete rifle, I had an IKEA version of a 50 caliber Kentucky long rifle. Deciding I “needed” the black powder rifle was easy. With the early muzzleloaderseason and some special muzzleloader-only quota hunts, I knew I would have plenty of opportunities to use it. Besides, I needed to practice for the dream hunt of Sambar deer on St. Vincent island. The Kentucky long rifle is a catch-all term for full stocked long rifles produced by primarily German settlers in Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Normally, these long flintlocks had barrels of 25 to 40 caliber, but were gradually bored out in larger caliber as the rifling wore out. Rifles of 40-plus caliber gained popularity during the westward expansion to take down buffalo and bear. Percussion cap rifles weren’t introduced until the 1820s. So many old flintlocks were modified to use the newer faster ignition system. The “original” Old Betsy was a 40ish caliber flintlock with double set triggers in curly maple. Amazingly, this rifle survived the centuries and is on display at the Alamo museum. If you want to build a black powder rifle, there are varying degrees of intensity. Makers like Kibler make exquisite expensive rifles and come in kits requiring a high degree of wood-working and metal-working skills. On the other end of the spectrum, Traditions makes kits that require much less knowledge and investment with about 80 percent of the build complete. These kits require some hand tool use, sanding, and finishing metal. The kit arrived in a plastic blister pack with sparse instructions. I would recommend finding a few good YouTube videos for more clarity. This kit doesn’t come with any tools or finishing chemicals. For this build, I used an X-acto knife, mill file, and sand paper. Ok full disclosure – I lost patience at one point and brought out the orbital sander to expedite the work. The wood requires some minor work to get the trigger and lock in place. Mine actually required some shimming with washers to pull the lock back to plumb. The external wood required some serious removal. One of the cost-saving features of this rifle is its two-piece stock. This allows the company to use smaller blanks of wood, which reduces material and labor costs. You’ll pay for this with some extra sanding to get the two pieces of wood to fit flush. The fittings on the rifle are all brass and come straight from casting, so they have some sprue and rough spots. Don’t fret too much about your metal pieces early on since an occasional draw from a file or sander can be buffed out later. There are a variety of ways to color or protect the barrel. In my naivety, I had thought I could use birchwood Casey “cold blue” like I had for smaller projects. The barrel was way too long for the fast-acting compound. First of all, it came out uneven. And second, it didn’t even blue or blacken. In hindsight, I could have done a second coat, but the brassy look grew on me. Itold myself many rifles of the period gained a patina over time, so my half-done job was more than fine. After getting the gun together, I took it to the range. With a patched ball and 50 grains of 3f, I put multiple shots into a fist-sized hole at 50 yards. Grateful to still have all my fingers, I figured she was ready for hunting. I just needed to seal her up. For a wood finish, I chose boiled linseed oil for a traditional feel. I applied three coats and let them dry before heading out to try my first muzzle loader hunt. Three coats of oil were not enough. That entire weekend was pouring rain. Not only were three coats not enough, but I had failed to seal around the lock, trigger, or ramrod housing. The rifle swelled up like an engorged tick. It was so bad, I had to leave it next to my water heater for a week to reduce the swelling to where I could even get the ramrod out. Then I took her apart, oiled the metal, and sanded the wood down again. This time, I sealed her with an ebony wood stain and waterproofing. This combo makes the brass pop and hides any gaps I may have left in my work. I’m too young to have grown up with Fes Parker but it doesn’t stop me from humming the theme song while walking in the woods. For most Florida hunters, a shorter Hawken rifle would be a better fit for the scrub or tree stand hunter. Even at its length, however, the Kentucky carried well and has that colonial America character you can’t help but enjoy. I have not yet harvested any game with my rifle, but I hope to change that soon on some wild pigs. Until then, I’ll keep my powder dry, and I’ll see you in the field
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Mike Elf is a name everyone in the Florida Hunting Community knows. Turkeys. Or maybe you know him from his time on the SFWMD WRAC. Or from his work on Western Everglades Restoration. Or his speaking at FWC Meetings. Or any of the million other things he works on to make our state better. Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts This week, we’re recapping one of the more unlikely turkey seasons a family has had in recent memory. Listen in as our good friend Eric Orlando recants the season as his wife, daughter, and son all harvest their first birds! Here’s the very first episode we ever did with Eric . . . Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
There were so many doves out there that the power lines were sagging My Uncle Kenneth could spin a yarn. My grandpa passed away when I was 11 . . . his brother, my Uncle Leland, filled that surrogate role for me . . . His farm was an enchanted place full of cows and turkeys and deer and buffalo (seriously) . . . And, when we visited, it was also full of Uncle Kenneth, another great-uncle (in both the familial sense AND the storyteller sense) of mine. As a young boy in the Deep South, those family get togethers were marked by Jeep rides, and huge Sunday dinners, and stories. Uncle Kenneth was the one who told the stories that sifted into legend. As a soon to be teenaged boy, well on his way to being indoctrinated into the religion of Florida, his stories pierced my heart – deer the size of elk. Black panthers around every corner. Catching so many catfish the Ford pickup bottomed out. Doves so thick it got dark outside. This was mist. It was vapors. Every hunt, looming just around the corner, were packs of coyotes and panthers and bears, every movement was some monstrous deer everyone KNEW was hidden in the swamp. Every dove shoot would be the day it would happen, so many birds Hitchcock would find it unbelievable. ________________________________________________________________________________________ I grew up a baseball fan. My dad worshipped the ground Willie Mays walked on. Sports and reading were two of my passions, and I consumed books on baseball history. Mays. Musial. Williams. DiMaggio. The books would have fuzzy pictures, or you may catch a flashback during a rain delay on the Game of the Week, but most of the gaps of these heroes were filled completely in my mind. In short – I could envision how fast Cool Papa Bell was (like lightning), or how strong Babe Ruth was, or how other-side-of-the-pillow cool Joe Dimaggio was . . . I didn’t see them. The only contact I had with them was through lore, and written words, and fleeting images. ________________________________________________________________________________________ When my kids were both at the right age, I encouraged them to read the Harry Potter Books. Olivia read them on her own, and I read them along with her so we could discuss what was happening. Will, on the other hand, was so desperate to read them that every night for 2-3 years, I read a chapter or two to him in bed. Someone, somewhere, once told me not to let your kids watch the movies until they were done with the books. And we did exactly that. I wanted the world to exist in their mind, to exercise it and wrestle with it before we allowed Hollywood to put skin onto it. ________________________________________________________________________________________ What does ANY of this have to do with hunting? For many of us, our outdoor pursuits were incubated in legend, in our imaginations . . . The way hunting got into our hearts was through the romance of lore and mythology in these quests. We heard Uncle Kenneth’s yarns, and yearned to experience any of those things, all of those things, one of those things, just one time . . . As superfluous as it may have seemed, as farfetched as it may have been, we sought those quests on faith . . . To this day, I jokingly tell my clients about the “Duck-o-meter” – a blatant ripoff from the Clauseometer in the Will Ferrell Christmas Classic “Elf.” “If,” I’ll tell them, “we have faith that the ducks will fly . . . they WILL fly . . .” There’s a disconnect in this narrative that may be at the heart of hunting’s PR problem. In legend, our fathers and grandfathers never told of bad placed shots, of the misses, the unrecoverable game . . . We never heard about the shut outs and empty-handed hunts. We heard the laughs of boats nearly sunk and memories of tricks played . . . and the shadows of bucks and boars and bobcats we couldn’t believe, yet we did . . . We talk about Michael Jordan, and not Ron Harper, for a reason. One is the legend. It’s been written about many times, the disconnect between modern man and our food. But I think that stops short of the true disconnect, which is modern man and imagination. ________________________________________________________________________________________ I think it’s worth noting, at some point, that the greats of the past had great wordsmiths telling their tales. Ruark. O’Connor. Townsend. Capstick and McManus and Grinnell and Hill and Norm Maclean. And. The list is long, and always incomplete. Much like Uncle Kenneth, they made the way the sportsman held his rifle or chose his mark or selected his brandy into an art; every activity was a quest, and every comment a verse of prose. The internet has given us the ability to inform, but, in some ways, has taken away our ability to captivate. ________________________________________________________________________________________ We live in a time where virtual reality is on the cusp of becoming mainstream . . . The perfect scenario, in any scenario, can be experienced at any time by any one. We can click on countless Youtube channels and see clouds of mallards descending into the hole, gobblers acting like teenaged boys, nutrient loaded bucks that would look more at home in the Forbidden Forest. What we’ve lost is the notion of legend. And this matriculates into our movements . . . R3 has recently come under fire (R3 is the hunting recruit/reactivate/retain movement, an ideal aimed at encouraging more folks to spend time experiencing the hunt) . . . Do we need more hunters, do we need more habitat, are we overcrowded, where is the representation? But our product, if we can call it that, is neatly tied with a bow, readily available for consumption to anyone with an internet connection. We look at demographics and wonder why hunting fails at diversity . . . But I’m wondering if part of that reason is that we no longer have those stories, that mystery, that notion of the romance of hunting? Or, at the very least, I wonder if we no longer tell that part of the story? After all, I can click on 27 podcasts that dispel your notions of black panthers, whitetails really can’t get to be the size of an elk, calculating out the volume of a standard pickup bed with the weight of an average bream means that could NEVER happen . . . ________________________________________________________________________________________ That leaves us, in our quest for better, we’ve somehow lost our faith, our imagination, our sense of wonder at what could be over the next hill, or behind the next tree, or under the next cast. For many of us, that still exists, but more quietly now . . . Folklore sits on shelves these days, instead of worn on our sleeves . . . As Bret Michaels once crooned, “Sometimes I wish to God I didn’t know now, the things I didn’t know then” and it gives me pause, in this day and age, to dream a little, to simply let my mind drift, a little melancholy that the people who need it most, the people who we need most, can’t connect with this thing we love the way we’ve been able to, simply based on the death of mythos. No one enjoys watching a baseball game when the infield overly shifts, making it impossible for the giant lefthanded batter to do anything beyond pull the ball into the teeth of the defense . . . It may be a better strategy, but it’s not more fun to watch. We need to think about this more if we want R3 to succeed . . . Hunting and fishing tips and techniques are great, but there HAS to be something less clinical, more heart than head, in developing our deep and abiding love for wild things and wild places . . . A faith and a hope that those chances exist, that maybe, just maybe this once, our hopes will surpass the recipes and how-to’s and the next chance will be our chance to experience the lore we want so badly to believe exists . . .
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Cordell Jeter’s story is one that will resonate with so many people. A scholarship athlete who was involved in a terrible car crash, Cordell has sought to live his life in a way that inspires all those who meet him. This week, we’ll be chatting about his passion for getting people opportunities to experience the things we love – the outdoors of Wild Florida . . . Florida Disabled Outdoor Access Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Injuries from outdoor recreation like hunting, fishing, and hiking are usually less common than those of team or Olympic type sports. However, the very nature of what we do in the outdoors can lead to accidents that could quickly become dire if not treated quickly. As with any emergency situation, your best tool is your brain. Make a plan, tell people where you will be, and trust your gut. If a situation looks to steep, wet, or choppy find another path. The framework here is simply a guideline and basic overview. Take time during the off-season to learn and practice these skills. Accidents and tragedies rarely happen, but you want to be prepared when they do. The first step is to take a basic CPR and first aid class. With an aging demographic, both in our state and sportsmen in general, CPR can keep blood flowing to someone in cardiac arrest, which greatly increases the likelihood of survival. In adults and teens, chest compressions with a speed of 100 compressions per minute and a ratio of 30 compressions to two breaths is ideal. The Bee Gees’ song “Stayin’ Alive” is 103 beats per minute—singing that to yourself will help keep you at the right speed. As someone who has had to do this, you may hear ribs pop, but it’s worth it to keep someone alive. For basic wound care such as burns, cuts, and nicks—whether from pocket knives, underbrush, or campfires—a basic first aid kit with small bandages and antiseptic will be sufficient. For bleeding, remember to control the pressure and elevation. The first is more important than the second. If you don’t have a first aid kit, a clean rag and duct tape can serve as a replacement. For burns, use water or burn cream. Do not use butter or mustard or any condiment you have left over from lunch. Most of those will trap heat and potentially lead to more damage. In the case of a second degree burn that causes blistering, do not pop the blisters. Wrap the affected area in a dry dressing and pop a few Tylenol for the pain. Should the burn happen on a hand or foot, take extra care to keep the fingers or toes wrapped separately. This will reduce the rubbing and the resultant skin damage. In the case of a larger laceration or a gunshot wound to the arms or legs, you will need more significant bandages and packing. A tourniquet can save a life when properly administered. They are not the cheapest item in your medical bag, but when it comes to bleeding there is no better way to stop a lower limb bleed than with a tourniquet. Take care with any major injury like this to record the time it happened. Tourniquets left on too long will starve the lower extremity of circulation and run the risk of killing the tissue. Most, if not all, will have a spot on them to write a time so that doctors can make the decision of when to remove the tourniquet or the limb. Maybe it was a submerged log you didn’t see or a rock on the jetty that didn’t look as slick as it was, but falls and slips will happen. Most of the time a slip will result in wet clothes and a good laugh. Sometimes it can end with a sprain or break. Pain is subjective and without an x-ray, it’s hard to determine the true extent of an injury. Visual inspection is probably the best tool to determine a break. However, if the limb is shortened, deformed, not rotating correctly, or in the case of a compound fracture breaking the skin—you’ve got a broken bone. If you suspect someone has injured their back or neck, DO NOT attempt to move them unless absolutely necessary. Moving a person with a neck injury could result in paralysis. Call or send for medical help and keep the person as flat and still as possible. With a limb break, splinting the joint or bone won’t “heal” them, but will make moving them out of the woods more comfortable and reduce the risk of injuring nerves or blood vessels. Aluminum splints are lightweight and don’t take up much room, but if you haven’t brought that many medical supplies, any straight object like a fishing rod or stick can serve as a splint. Two splints—one for either side of the break—is a better tactic. Secure the splints using whatever is available: belts, tape, or even strips of clothing can work in a pinch. Remember, this isn’t a tourniquet. It should be enough pressure to keep the break from shifting, but not enough to cut off circulation. A common injury that is not often life threatening, but certainly cringe-worthy is being snagged by a fishhook. Since many hookings happen in the hand, you can decide whether to go to the clinic or remove it yourself. I personally hooked myself in the joint of the thumb and elected to have a doctor remove it instead, since my thumb is pretty valuable to me. The two options for hook removal are the “string yank” and “advance and cut.” In cases where there is minimal barb or a treble hook, the string yank is preferable. Wrap the shank closest to the bend with strong line or twine, push down on the eye of the hook (giving the barb some room in the wound) and yank that sucker out as hard as you can. While this option sounds gruesome, you reduce the number of punctures and the potential for infection down. If the barbs are too aggressive, the hook is already running close to the skin (or in your ear or nose), or there is no clear way to yank it out, use the Advance and Cut method. You will need a set of pliers to cut the shank of the hook. As smoothly as possible “set” the hook so the barb completely breaks the skin. Cut off the barb and withdraw the now smooth hook shank back through the wound channel. Between rusty hooks and fish slime, hook injuries can get infected quickly. Be sure you treat the wound with any available antiseptic and quickly see a doctor for antibiotics and possibly a tetanus shot. This was a short list, but covers some the most universal of injuries and treatments. If everyone took a few hours for a first responder class, there could be a dramatic reduction in accidental deaths. This isn’t meant to scare you, but hopefully you and other outdoorsmen will behave safely and carry the items you’ll need to prevent tragedy. As always—stay safe and I’ll see you in the field.
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Fire. Since the dawn of time, man has been fascinated with fire – how it works, how we can use It . . . In this episode, we are joined by Mary Nell Armstrong of Southern Fire Exchange to discuss prescribed fire and how this tool is being used to benefit our ecology across the southeast! Check out Southern Fire Exchange Sign up for SFE’s newsletter Listen to Friends of Fire podcast Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts When Nate and Emily are away . . . Well, that means imminent disaster, with Travis left alone at the podcast! Quick hits on Mosaic (the Piney Point Spill), Everglades Restoration, the Indian River Lagoon, Turkeys, Live Show potential, and more! Here’s the link to Dan Daniels’ Rio de Ais piece on the Indian River . . . Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
April,1513 AD. She was paddling fast with her toddler and baby swaddled as tight as possible in their deer skin blankets, the children stowed down in the boat, but placed towards the bow of the dugout canoe to keep the balance even from bow to stern. The water was gin clear, but only ankle-deep shallow, so the weight of the three together plus their supplies made for a tough go of paddling. The exposed mud bank to her east was the problem forcing her haste. The cool northerly breezes that preceded this week’s weather had dropped out, switching to stiff southeast, and exposing a vast mud flat. It only took a few days for the hatch of salt marsh mosquitos (Aedes taeniorhynchus) to become unbearable. The lack of winter rain and the return of southeast winds left the shore line muddy and dank. It was time, time to get off the beach and move back to the summer time ridges inland where many of her people will already be camped out. Such was life for the Ais people, migrating multiple times every year due to the changing meteorological tides, temps, and trade winds. Winters on or near the beach, summers on the sandy dry ridges to the west to get some respite from the swarms of proboscis equipped arthropods. Paddling was easier now, having distanced herself from shore quite a bit, the ankle-deep sticky mud bottom gave way to an immense underwater pasture of submerged shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) that she paddled through with ease. The bugs were not present here in the middle of this mosquito lagoon, but she was concerned of what might be in store for her when she had to cross another strip of land to her northwest. How would she have known that, just a few weeks from now, in or around April of that year, Juan Ponce de Leon would set foot on the same beach she just spent her winter on? This will happen only 70 miles south from where she was today. Life for her people, and that lagoon would be forever changed. How would she have known that simply looking left, some 500 years later, private space programs would be launching rockets from the fabled launch pad 39a? That super structure that we see today when we paddle or push pole our boats while chasing ducks or looking for tailing redfish on this historic stretch of lagoon? It still seems to me as foreign now as the thought of it would’ve been to her. How would she have known that the water she paddled through that day, which teemed with life, life that sustained her people, would someday experience algal blooms, manatee deaths, and immense fish kills on an unprecedented scale as we read this now? As she reaches the west side of the mosquito lagoon, she makes quick portage of a particular small isthmus of land. She knew exactly where to cross, a narrow flat ridge of land separating these two fabled bodies of water. Interconnected today, the mosquito lagoon and northern Indian river lagoon were separated from each other for thousands of years. 3 centuries after she crosses this bay with her canoe and kids, a canal will be cut just a few hundred yards north of where she finds herself pulling over. The pre-cut rolling logs and layered palmetto leaves make the pulling fairly easy but its warm today and the sweat and heat is becoming more tangible as she nears the other side. In her day, there was no Haulover Canal, there was no hydrologic connection to the northern Indian River Lagoon from the mosquito lagoon. For millennia these two water bodies were separate and different, and today they still have their subset of significant differences. Differences which matter when we talk about ecology and water quality. Jumping back into her canoe after her drag, with kids in tow and now repacked, she doesn’t pay attention to the shell midden to her south. The smell is foul, the clam (mercenaria spp.) shell pile is, essentially, the landfill of her time and it’ll still be a few weeks before the shells dry out and become, in essence, reduced to flat smooth rocks. It was time to resume her paddling. She’s in different water now, different enough to know she’s closer to her camp, and a longer paddle was to come. The shoal grass is spotty here but the dense wigeon grass (Ruppia maritime) was a clear indicator that these two waters were uniquely separate. The headwaters of this river lay a few miles north, at present day Turnbull Creek, and they were some of her favorite spots to hunt, fish, and pick clams. It was also where her people grew crops due to the predictable irrigation sourced from the cool, clean, fresh water flowing in the creek. Thinking about crops made her hungry, but her favorite food was clams. She always liked clams more than oysters, clams were smooth and easy to foot around for, not sharp and prone to cut you when not paying attention to where you step. Simply throwing a few clams on some the smoldering coals of a fire made them open up with ease, and the sweet meat seemed to always satiate her. At one point, in the late 1900’s, Indian River clams would be renowned across the nation for their taste. She was getting hungry and thirsty now, while addressing the hunger would have to wait, she knew it was time to look for the manatees. As she paddled southwest aiming for a point of land where the river narrows, she kept her eyes studious of the waters ahead. Manatees, to her, were like a 500-pound rotund divining rod; find the manatees, she would find fresh water. She knew roughly about where the submerged spring would be, a spring that would roil an emerald green water directly into the lagoon, and sure enough, the smooth grey backs of several of the giants were seen on the horizon ahead of her. About 10 minutes of paddling later, with a quick dip of both hands into clear green water her thirst would be quenched. The home stretch was now in reach. At about the present-day Nasa Causeway was the the tribe’s makeshift marina. It was a stretch of sandy beach with exposed coquina rock and and over hanging live oaks, where dozens of canoes were pulled upon the shore. A quick hike up the sand dunes to the east would put her back with her people. Nestled between beautiful “Rio De Ais” lagoon to the east as the Spanish named it, and the menacing marshes of the St. Johns River to the west this place would be home for the next 6 months. The sand ridge is still noticeable there today, and these weren’t the first humans to call this place home. Distant relatives, The Windover People, who predated her by 7000 years, also once dwelled in this land. This place offered protection from rival tribes and respite from the swarms of mosquitos that chased her off the beach earlier this day. It’s no wonder why the area has been occupied in some way shape or form for nearly 10,000 years. Her story is not unique, as it was a story that most likely could be shared by the many thousands of Amerindians that lived in “La Florida” before European contact. I can’t say that we or I know what her lagoon exactly looked like back then either, but we don’t have to imagine. We can use Jonathon Dickinson’s writings from 1696 during his time with these inhabitants to paint a picture of what this stretch of the lagoon was like. We can read the journals from the American merchants traveling south after Florida became a state in 1845. We can simply talk to our friends and family who lived here during the Apollo era of this place. While her story may not be unique, what is unique is the water she traversed. While the Indian River isn’t the only estuary in Florida, it is special and different, and it is important to understand that the Northern IRL is an ecosystem within an ecosystem. As such, the current ills of the lagoon today are also uniquely different than the problems that are faced on the lagoon’s southern stretches. Failure to recognize this cheapens the discussion when addressing how can we make things better. The Timiquan, the Calusa, the Mayaca and the Jaega, and the Tequesta all had their water, that they loved as their own. Still today there is a human fidelity to the water that you “grew up” on. I don’t cry, I simply sigh when I hear about a fish kill or a brown tide bloom at this point in my life. Similar to when I worked in the local trauma department and ER, we become a type of “numb” to the bad stuff. However, I find myself more frustrated than ever when some “event” does happen, like our recent manatee die off, and the national media and talking heads all of a sudden care. “Where have you been” I think to myself? Internally, I become frustrated more with the lack of understanding of how this stretch of lagoon works and, what makes it uniquely what it is. Newsflash, our issues here aren’t “Big Sugar” and Lake Okeechobee discharges. This state, our home, “La Florida,” is different, with different issues throughout its peninsular landscape. This area “El Rio De Ais” as the Spanish called it, is a closed estuary with little to no tidal inputs. It is like an immense shallow aquarium that has its own distinctive issues. It’s a landscape and ecosystem that is worth saving. There is no catchy slogan or hashtag that can do that. We will never get back to what our Ais natives once enjoyed, but as recently as 2005 we had recovered a significant amount of seagrass that had died off during the point source discharge times of the 60’s through 80’s. Finally, we realized the folly of dumping untreated wastewater directly into our lagoon, yet it still took until the 1990’s for us to stop that practice. The northern IRL can recover if we fundamentally take care of the water. After our discontinuation of these “point” discharges, we actually recovered an immense amount of seagrass to the lagoon. At one point, in 2005 we recovered over 80 percent of the seagrass compared to a 1943 aerial assessment. These problems predate any recent changes to the Clean Water Act, the recent delisting of the manatee, and the decades long vilification of “Big Ag”. Yes, there are legacy issues in this stretch of lagoon, but the vast majority of these issues stem, simply put, from our existence here. I am the problem, because I live here. Our problems are not from a dairy in Arcadia, a sugar farm in Clewiston, or aquatic plant management in Lake Okeechobee. They’re not due to the “Savings Clause” or Lake Okeechobee water levels. We have an anthropogenic nutrient enrichment issue stemming from years of storm water and waste water inputs surpassing the ecosystems capacity to handle said inputs. There is no debate on this matter. Tagging on the details of who is to blame is pointless because it is not addressing or fixing root causes. We are all the problem. I’m asking anyone who reads this to please show this area the respect it deserves. “Send it South” doesn’t save the manatees in Merritt Island or Titusville. Blaming an agency or water management district that doesn’t have jurisdiction of our county’s water only serves to obfuscate and minimize the potential for fundamental positive change. These creatures, this water . . . Water that you say you want to save – it needs uniquely calculated and fundamental long-term fixes. The undeniable reality for this area is that decades long human storm and wastewater issues are the root cause of the northern IRL’s...
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Turkeys! These birds make us do crazy things every spring . . . this week, we were able to sit down with two of the leading turkey biologists in the world to discuss what makes turkeys tick – from fire to beard rot, nesting efficacy to hunting pressure to predation to fire ants, this interview runs the gamut of turkey discussion you don’t want to miss! Connect with Mike on Instagram Connect with Bret on Instagram Connect with National Wild Turkey Federation – Become a Member – Instagram Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts In the past couple of weeks, a number of pieces about hunter numbers, their actual implications, whether or not R3 should or should not be a thing, and the ensuing rebuttals have dotted the hunting-sphere so many of us cycle through. In a rare deviation from our normal Tuesday format, this week, Nate and Travis are joined by Dan Daniels as we wade through this tangle of articles and columns and offer our takes on what this means for the future of hunting! Links: Matt Rinella’s Piece on Meateater: The Case Against Hunter Recruitment Nicole Qualtieri’s Piece on Gear Junkie: The Hunter Decline Myth Outdoor Life’s “Rebuttal” Piece: Meateater Misses the Point Outdoor Life’s “Stats” PIece: We Actually Have No Idea How Many Hunters There Are Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts American Daughters of Conservation. Just the name evokes the ideals we love! This week, we’re joined by the Florida President of ADC, Elizabeth Lybrand Bland, as we discuss ADC, her passion for hunting, why engaging in the sport matters so much, and we spend quite a bit of time discussing dog hunting for deer, fair chase, and the future of our sport! Connect with American Daughters of Conservation here Or find them on Instagram or Facebook Book a charter with Wild Child Charters here! Find Elizabeth on Facebook or Instagram Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Check out Two Fish Creative for your software solutions – no problem is too big or too small! Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Spring is a time for new beginnings, and a time for rebirths of old things . . . this week, we take you through some of the things we see experiencing a comeback . . . Plus, NWTF Turkey camps, Turkey Doctors, Sprayingassance, Congresspeople, 20 gauges, fishing, and much much more! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
As sportsmen, we like to thump our collective chests when we talk about how we “fund conservation efforts.” The fees we pay for tags and applications directly fund preservation of our state and federal lands. We support and gladly pay taxes related to Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson. For those who don’t know about Pittman-Robertson, it’s an excise tax of 11% levied on firearms and ammunition. In the 1970s, it was extended to include a 11% tax on archery equipment like bows and arrows. What makes this tax different than all the other taxes we pay is it goes directly to the Secretary of the Interior—not the treasury. This money stays with a department motivated to maintain and expand our wild places. In recent years, this taxhas generated hundreds of millions of dollars. That is in turn redistributed to states and agencies that meet certain guidelines. One of the factors that determines where the money goes is the amount hunting licenses within a state. Spending a few bucks every season for a deer tag or duck stamp can double your contribution to protecting your state’s wild places. The Dingell-Johnson (modified Wallop-Breux, aka the Sportfish Restoration Fund Editor’s shameless plug – we talk about this at length on this podcast!) act similarly increases funding for fisheries. This is a reason to strongly suggest everyone gets a fishing license, even if your state offers one for free. This simple piece of paper shifts where federal dollars end up. You don’t necessarily have to write your elected officials, but simply getting a fishing license can free up your inbox from those awful campaign donation letters. At this point, there is no comparable tax on any other type of outdoor gear. From bird watching and horseback riding to camping and rock climbing—everyone else enjoys lands maintained in part by the tax dollars of hunters and fisherman. Industries have balked at a so-called “backpack tax,” suggesting that it would make outdoor activities too expensive for their customers. Have you seen the price tag on a box of non-toxic shot recently? But fine; I’m more than happy to know the folks at the trailhead who sneer at me in my camo are enjoying the same federally preserved wilderness because of folks like us. Now here’s the part that will burn your bacon—at least some of you. Hunters aren’t even the biggest contributors to the Pittman-Robertson fund. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the casual gun owner and target shooter are the biggest contributors. New gun owners and those in the “shooting sports” buy more new guns and shoot more than most hunters. Even if you or I bought a new rifle for deer season odds, are we would zero with a box of ammo and use a few more shots during the season. During the course of a gun safety or concealed carry class, you are running boxes of ammo through your gun or guns. In 2020, there were more than 39 million NICS checks. Several news reports indicate a large number of those were new gun owners. And looking at the shop walls, it’s safe to say some of those were new guns. While hunting license sales are up, they don’t parallel the numbers of new gun sales. Just looking at those numbers alone, we as sportsmen are also benefitting from this gun ownership boom. Now I’m a staunch supporter of the second amendment. My ancestors used their guns to hunt and protect themselves. They were motivated to do so. In fact, one of them named Israel Bissell actually rode across several states letting other gun owners know the British were coming to take their guns. We all know how that went. I am aware the second amendment isn’t only about hunting, but hunting’s survival in indeed tied to its sanctity. Every Fudd who says he never needed a handgun, or every talk show host who says you don’t need an AR-15 to hunt is a direct threat to our public lands. Now stay with me as I back pedal a bit. The term “Fudd” is a derogatory term within the firearms community to disparage gun owners that use hunting as the only acceptable use of firearms. This view typically carries over to supporting bans on modern or “tactical” firearms. I could write another article extolling the uses of the AR15 for hunting. Handguns, carbines, and suppressors all have their practical uses for sportsmen as well as competitive shooters. Regardless of where we shoot, we must remember every box of 9mm range ammo or AR-15 is another few cents in the coffers of the public lands fund. While I bemoan “range toys” and look on with jealousy at some dude’s ZEV Glock; the end result is the same. Every gun owner is an unwitting conservationist. Some of my favorite ranges, dove fields, and hiking trails are paid for and maintained in part by those who would never speak a word about “where our money is going.” Consider this a thank you to those who never take to the fields. You pay for the public ranges and spend more time there than me. Your hard-earned dollars go to protecting the places I love. I will put my energy into protecting our rights. Even if we never spend a minute in the woods together, I thank you. Keep your powder dry.
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts Nate is back, which means it’s time for a Huck/Pupdate, Gabby Hoffman is coming to town, Turkeys are falling over left and right, Lake Management Plan meetings, Patreon shows, and a whole lot more! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts What makes us CRAZY this time of year? Plus, new reviews, toll road confusion, lake management plans, and the Man in the Arena Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Sportsmen are often a superstitious lot. We swear by a lure that will always catch one, or a stand that always draws in the deer. Many seasoned sportsmen carry a special item, something that conjures memories of hunts, mentors, or simpler times. I may be able to put a talisman I carry for every season. Partially emotional and partially effective, I always have a jitterbug in my tackle box. Half the time, I have one loose in my glove box or cup holder. The Arbogast Jitterbug doesn’t cast very well, it snags on everything, and the treble hooks are less than stellar, but that little top water connects me to my childhood. My summer nights would be spent paddling a canoe with my father and neighbor listening to the tell-tale “blub, blub, blub, blub” of a trolled jitterbug shaking with anticipation of a pickerel, largemouth, or mythical stocked Atlantic salmon. In the 25 years since I was taught how to fish, I’ve probably purchased enough of those poppers to pay several months of mortgage. Every time I hear that pattern stopped by a loud splash; I know it was worth it. For archery season, I carry my arrows in an old leather quiver. Odds are this thing is as old as me. When I was freshmen in high school, I was introduced to Bob. Bob was older than my dad, and worked for the town in tree management. My interest in making longbows and my family’s wood stove put us in touch. He was an archery nut and greatly amused that I was fixated on using a longbow or recurve instead of my compound for peppering the deer target we had set up in that back yard. Out of the blue one day, he dropped off the quiver stuffed with old cedar arrows. While most of the arrows have been lost or broken in the years since, every time I synch the strap of the quiver across my chest, I remember the guy who took his free time to teach some kid how to shoot with a stick and string. In muzzle loader season, my oddball camo is accented with a fleece camouflage bag that I carry. The bag and its contents were carried by a hunter before me. Richard was an old Marine who retired to Florida several years before I became his neighbor. When I first met him, Richard was in failing health. I helped him work on the outside of his house. And when ALS took his ability to move, I would lift him back into his wheelchair when he fell. After he passed, his wife gifted me an ammo can filled with old ammo ammo and a satchel full of black powder tools and components. When I take my Kentucky rifle to the field this season, it will be loaded with his powder and his lead. And this last item I carry, I would pair with general gun season; but truthfully, it stays at my side during every season. This stout skinning knife from Toledo, Spain, belonged to my friend’s father Mike. Mike was an accomplished shooter and fishing guide. As young men my friend and I soaked up any information or tale he would tell; everything from reloading facts to what type of canoe we should buy. Like many Vietnam veterans, Mike was diagnosed with cancer from any number of the chemicals they worked in and around while in country. He passed away before we ever got to go hunting together. More than a decade later, a package arrived at my door. To celebrate the birth of my son, my friend had gifted me his father’s knife. From his son’s memory, this knife was purchased at a shop in Toledo when he and Mike traveled across Europe for a family trip. When a discussion about knives or skinning would come up, he would produce this knife with a speed that made us believe it never left his side. I carry it proudly for both its quality and as a celebration of his legacy. I don’t consider myself a particularly religious person, but I do feel a spiritual connection when in nature. Call that connection of place whatever you will. I feel a connection with those who walked these woods before me, and I know I carry more than just pieces of steel and leather. I carry the memories of the men who guided me to the woods I now walk. I imagine those who have passed may look down and smile at the connection passed on a and remembered by a knife, a bag, a call, or vessel. I hope you have something of a similar collection. Someday my children will have memories of time afield with friends and family as well. So if you should see a bedraggled and antiquated looking sportsman carrying around three mud-covered children, that’s just me making memories. I’ll see you in the field.
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts We warned you last week – RHA’s were on the docket for last Thursday’s FWC Commissioner’s Meeting. And boy, did y’all show up in a major league way. If the opener for this episode doesn’t get your blood pumping, you should probably see a doctor. Seriously so proud of our team, our Community, and how it showed up . . . In this episode, we recap the meeting, explain a few things that occurred, and prep you for Lake Management Plans, dogs that hate water, Turkey season, Gender Reveal Catastrophes, and much, much more! Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Ingredients: 4 cups of chopped frozen spinach 1 Cup of diced Shiitake mushrooms 5 cloves of roasted garlic, minced ½ stick of unsalted butter ½ cup of mayonnaise ¼ cup of half and half cream ¼ cup of light sour cream ¼ cup of diced Hearts of Palm ½ cup of white wine ½ cup of crumbled goat cheese (or Feta cheese) Sea Salt and cracked black pepper 1 tsp of smoked Paprika Directions: Preheat oven to 350* Defrost spinach and squeeze out moisture Sautee spinach on medium temp in butter Add mushrooms, garlic, wine and render slightly on low heat for 5 minutes Remove from heat and allow to cool In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Mix spinach in. Oil a medium sized baking dish. Add mixture into baking dish and bake for approximately 20 minutes. You may top with shredded cheese or bread crumbs (or both) to create a nice texture balance with the creamy casserole.
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts It’s go-time for the FWC Meeting regarding Restricted Hunting Areas – That’s right, the meeting Is this Thursday, 2/25. The RHA discussion is near the end of the day on Thursday – Likely in the 3-5 pm time range. We have provided all of our supporting docs, our sign on letter, our pros/cons doc, etc, at this google drive location. You can check out our previous episodes on RHA’s here (#153) and here (#156) Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Greetings Commissioners, As you prepare for the upcoming February Commission Meeting, I wanted to take a moment and again submit the attached sign-on for your consideration regarding the Draft Rule Proposal for Restricted Hunting Areas. This is an opportunity for us to take steps to ensure a stronger future for public water waterfowling. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the extraordinary contributions waterfowl stamps have made and continue to make to public lands across our country. Personally, I only hunt public, non-quota waterfowl areas. I run programs for recruiting new hunters, programs for non-hunters, programs for teachers – all aimed at understanding how hunting fits into conservation and why it matters so much. This duck season I was on the water bodies in question in this rule nearly 100 days, between scouting and hunts and tours. You will hear some “split” conversation around this draft rule from the hunting community at large; that said, you will not hear a split perspective from those who pursue public land waterfowl as a regular passion. This is about the dads going to the local lake on a Saturday morning with his kids in tow, hoping to down a wood duck. It’s about the father and daughter more concerned with honey buns on Tampa Bay than the divers they hope mistakenly wander into their decoys. It’s about the ease of entry and understanding to a sport that’s already complex to navigate in regulations, equipment, and community. It’s about the future of public water ducks in Florida. It’s about conservation, and hunting, and it’s nexus with development, and where that falls on the doctrine of Public Trust. While our letter is strong, and representative of millions of stakeholders, we will not berate you on this issue at the meetings. We will speak concisely and, hopefully, succinctly to the reasons this rule should be revisited with a directional component added. We are firm in our resolve, as this is a topic that will both directly and indirectly shape waterfowling in our state. I have offered my e-mail address and phone number to each of you . . . I would be respectful of your time if you were willing to have a conversation about this topic beyond the 3 minutes governed by Covid and Zoom . . . This is a nuanced issue, the felt effects of which will unfold over years, a butterfly flap if you will, that I’d hope would allow for some of the same conversations as those that take place around water quality, and pythons, and snook regulations. Thank you for your service to our state, and for your time, Travis Thompson Attachment: Dear FWC Commission Signatures added-attach
I think about Florida’s dirt more than I don’t. From the sandy soils of the Lake Wales Ridge, to the mucky pastures along the labrynth of rivers, beaches and backwoods, in the wildest of places you could imagine. I love this dirt. This ground. This place that gets between the straps of your Olukai’s and rubs your feet raw. Chad Crawford (the host of “How to Do Florida”) once mentioned to me that Florida leads the nation in the export of coffins. In other words, more people die here and are shipped someplace else than anywhere in the country. This is a fun and fascinating fact, but the broader point is . . . Why isn’t this dirt their dirt? You move here to enjoy the sunsets and dolphins and tarpon. Palm trees and palmettos and pompano. But why come someplace to live without bringing your heart? Why come someplace to live without embracing it with everything you have? Most native Floridians will curse this migration – “everything was better before all of these transplants came here” . . . I’m on the flip side of that – there’s an inherent hypocrisy in criticizing the customers that buy your products and shop in your stores while counting their dollars after they leave. No. Instead, I wish we’d take it upon ourselves to show these folks our dirt. Show them why Disney is nothing compared to the blue waters of Destin . . . That Universal can’t hold a candle to a Lake Kissimmee Sunrise . . . We need to show them Scrub Jays and Osceolas and Burrowing Owls and bats at sunset and martins in the morning and the quack of a Mottled Duck and the smell of a summer rain and how nothing in the world can beat the taste of a wild blackberry . . . Cypress swamps and scrub oaks and cattle ranches and mangrove rivers . . . We need to trade out their mindset, from one of “passing through” to one of “coming home” . . . It’s then that they’ll understand this dirt.
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts This is an unconventional episode – in that, near the end of the main segment, our dog escapes and the whole show falls apart. That’s okay though – before the unraveling, we talk about pythons, youth duck day, remembering the plug, kill switches, how to avoid wind knots, the RHA Zoom Call, and much much more! Here’s the link and phone numbers to our Thursday Zoom Call – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82238290859?pwd=R0U0VnB1QWQrbDJmN1RLV0NGdFBMZz09 Topic: Restricted Hunting Areas – A Discussion Time: Feb 18, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Meeting ID: 822 3829 0859 Passcode: ducks One tap mobile +13126266799,,82238290859#,,,,979924# US (Chicago) +16465588656,,82238290859#,,,,979924# US (New York) Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 822 3829 0859 Passcode: 979924 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kevJRCZM3g Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
One of my favorite hobbies when I can’t walk in the woods is walking into a gun shop. To add an air of sophistication to my window shopping, I’ve adopted a phrase from renowned gun writer Chuck Hawks— Trophy hunting for guns. There is always low-hanging fruit on the counter, but the real thrill comes from finding a hidden jewel. As with game animals, a true trophy gun is personal definition. Are you a collector of Belgian Brownings? I found a Browning SA-22 manufactured the same year my father was born. Sure, it was more than a 10-22, but getting a gorgeous .22 with a shared vintage brings a smile to my father’s face every time he opens his safe. If squirrel guns aren’t your thing, see if you can find your favorite rifle in your favorite cartridge. A pre-64 model 70 isn’t easy to find for less than $600, but you can do it 30-06. Finding one in 300 Winchester is like finding a 10-point buck on public lands. The 300 Winchester was released in 1963, so there was only one year before Winchester dropped the controlled round feed action. If you’re a waterfowler and still a Winchester snob (then you’re my type of person, by the way) see if you can find a model 12 “heavy duck” designed to shoot the “new” 3-inch Winchester shells.a 1950s I’m sure whatever niche of firearms ownership you occupy, there is a trophy gun for you. The real trick isn’t deciding on the ideal gun, but actually getting your hands on it. Fortunately, hunting for guns happens outside deer and duck season. Hunt with the seasons, since after hunting season many folks unload their guns in hopes that buying a newer, lighter, faster gun will make next season’s freezer a little less empty. If you live in a seasonal tourist area, you’ll invariably find a glut of pawned or sold guns when the season draws to an end. This slower time also gives you a bit more negotiation power to haggle the price down a bit. For trophy locations, I would suggest looking everywhere. After a trip or two, you’ll figure out what type of establishment you are dealing with. I have found some incredible deals at hole in the wall mom and pop shops with dust on the floors. But I still wouldn’t discount the larger high-volume shops that will sometimes undervalue items out of ignorance. I recently picked up a Remington 7600 for a fraction of the going rate because it was logged as a pump shotgun! If you aren’t familiar with these obscure rifles by Remington, they are pump action rifles. Remington built these 20-gauge gun with 870 actions, so operating the gun is the same as your shotgun. Like the 870, the 7600’s barrel is free-floating from the action arms, which makes these guns uncommonly accurate. Pair that with the fast second shot and you have a deep cover hog gun no turn bolt can touch. I’ve been wanting a pump action rifle ever since reading about the Benoit family tracking bucks in the snow. And I’m well aware Florida doesn’t see much snow, but it’s still a cool rifle. Now the online gun world can hold some gems, but just like that public land buck, there will be lots of folks gunning for it as well. Keep in mind, you’ll also encounter added shipping and transfer fees. Forums can also be a good place to look, as the community can usually vouch for sellers in a way that auctions simply can’t. If you’re looking for a gun that is rarer than hens’ teeth, somecollector’s groups might be the way to go. I’ve had more luck on larger auction sights. My auction plan is two-fold. Part one is look for mislabeled or incorrectly spelled items so they won’t come up in a search. Enfield rifles listed as “Infield” tend to be cheaper. JC Higgins model 50 rifles are FN Mausers that were sold at department stores. These normally sell for much less than the same rifle actually listed as an “FN Mauser.” This is where homework will pay off, knowing your obscure or limited run items can net you a nice purchase. Part two of my auction plan is I bid my price and that’s that. This is probably like trying to set the world record tarpon landed on 5# test. You’re going to lose a lot of fish, but some day you will get the right one on your own terms. Whatever gun inspires your dreams, do your research, hide some money from your spouse, and happy hunting.
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts You asked, we answered . . . In our second installment of the Anonymous Mailbag, we chat about how to deal with hard conversations about hunting, is she the one, Kaley’s dating status, how to get more involved in meetings, mentors, dog training, new writing, Watermelon Mountain Dew, and an almost spot on Super Bowl prediction/recap. Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
C’mon, you know you thought that a duck quack didn’t echo. Apparently this urban legend was studied and proved to be false. Researchers at the University of Salford in Manchester England around 2003 actually studied this in their quest to improve acoustics in engineering. Long story short, the duck quack did echo, but it was harder to hear compared to other types of recreated sounds. How do I know, I googled it, but in case you don’t believe me Mythbusters covered it too. So what does this have to do with duck hunting in peninsular Florida? Well, I’ll tell ya. Picture this…huddled around a cranking hot Mr. Buddy propane heater inside a meticulously concealed box blind, back set on a coffee colored pond with shiny glistening ice on the edges, surrounded by flooded green timber, is a group of bearded men wearing traditional brown camo and hunkering down, while “Bill”, standing in the water, wails on that acrylic double reed pounding out, shrill but sweet notes of “wick-wick-wick” with cheeks as big as Satchmo. After a couple of swings around the pond, breaking branches while they “cup” and drop in, the group of the big “northern” green heads is in range and he gives the anticipated, “Take EM!” command. Now wake up knucklehead, you’re in Florida. You my friend are swatting mosquitos with your fitted ball cap and it’s so hot and steamy you were wishing it was mesh. You’re questioning your sanity but then you get buzzed by a dozen blue wings before shooting light and it gives you that faintest resolve to push through the onslaught of the bloodletting while the cellphone counts toward “legal”. So now that we are back to reality, lets really talk about calling ducks in Florida. First of all, outside of some panhandle areas and occasional wanderers, the “mallard” in Florida is a bit of and anomaly. Now there are some hunt-able populations of mutt mallards that can be called effectively in the traditional way, but when we are being honest, most puddle ducks we encounter in Florida will be of the whistling variety. Whether that is a resident woodie, a migrating greenwing, or an increasingly ubiquitous black-bellied tree duck, there is a good chance that duck isn’t vocalizing a traditional “quack”. Does that mean that these “quackless” ducks can’t be called in, absolutely not. That all being said don’t throw your trusty single reed in the trash bin yet. Between the bluewing hens, the mottled ducks, and the diver duck grunts I still think that a well ranged single reed is the second best call to have in Florida. So what’s the “best-est” (as my children say)? That honor would go to a good performing 6 in 1 style “whistle”. Here at C&BFL we don’t get into hawking products so I’ll just shoot you straight with some big box options. The old “buck gardner” style 6 in 1 will get you going, and they will probably be the cheapest piece of gear in your boat. For about $5-$7 you can get one. For that reason I usually have a couple laying around. In fact I’ve even passed my safety check administered by the old “marine patrol”as I wailed on that style whistle and produced a deafening high pitched noise for the officer to prove that I was “whistle” compliant. The most attractive thing about these style whistles are how easy it is to get loud projecting sounds with little air flow. A simple website search or on label tutorial will have you making solid sounds in no time. Now if we consider that type of whistle as a good to get you going option, let me recommend a couple of more advanced options. My personal favorite might be a “Wingsetter” 8-1 whistle. Now these used to be a dime a dozen and equally as cheap as any plastic whistle. I don’t know what is going on now but they are now well over $20 and getting harder to find. Don’t ask me why that is, but I’m considering going into hoarding mode for these. So, why do I like it? The simple answer is it gives you more range and more control over your airflow. With a larger airflow chamber, 2 vent ports, and a slide bar this thing can really range and give you that raspy ducky sound while also giving you quail noises and some truly cool pintail echos. The only problem with the pintail sound is there is no bead in the chamber so you’ll have to get good at fluttering your tongue a bit. Now when we get to the truly advanced and particular whistles it gets a little crazy. Some classic chaps will lean into a “maurilio” style whistle turned out of wood. I have to admit these sound amazing and the “primos high roller” and “wingsetter ez flutter” are the mass produced analogues to this classic, albeit obscure call. My “white whale” is the Herters 473 wigeon whistle. If you got one hanging around I know a guy who will take it off your hands. The infatuation with that call comes directly from aggressively hunting wigeon in my early days on the East Coast. There probably isn’t a purer sounding call for a specific duck than that 473. With a small plastic insert inset into a large wooden barrel these calls just hit that sweet spot, and with a duck as vocal as a wigeon there were many times when I couldn’t discern the call of a competing hunter and the real thing. How do I know the guy to my right was blowing a 473? Well… he probably was the guy that told me about it. I’ll leave that story for another time so as not to incriminate the not so innocent. So here is the wrap up. We’re in Florida, get yourself a dang whistle and make it your primary call. If you want to get more advanced, pick up a couple of custom duck specific calls like a teal call, or a wood duck call. I’d really like to try one of the Darkwater wood duck calls (featured on C&B Conversations episode 2.19). There are also some really cool guys messing with Blackbelly and Fulvous specific whistles. Caution, it’s easy to end up having a mess of calls dangling on your neck. As an option instead of chronic neck pain, consider running separate and different lanyards for different settings. Don’t forget a good ranging single or double reed for all of your diver calls. If you really get some deep diaphragm grunts and groans going in your traditional call you can mimic scaup, redheads, cans, etc. With a little tweaking on the tone board and reeds you can make a mass market call perform to your liking. Practice often in the blind when things are slow, but not if your noise is going to interfere with another groups hunt. Remember in Florida with regards to calling ducks it’s not going to be “traditional” like we read about in those old dusty outdoor magazines. This is truly a love the one you’re with landscape here in Florida, and the ones that we are with don’t usually quack, they whistle.
Listen on Spotify * Apple Podcasts * iHeartRadio * Pandora * Amazon Podcasts In the same vein as Kaley’s First Duck Hunt, Will’s Gator, and Stacy’s First Moorhen, we bring you Kiley’s First Duck Hunt! Kiley Strickland joined us for a post Christmas morning in the blind to give hunting a whirl . . . hear her take on the hunt . . . Plus, we weigh in on the recent Field and Stream article about the Reelfoot Lake Tragedy . . . Go to Patreon and become a friend of the show OFFICIALLY here! E-mail Fletcher with Hallett Insurance to get your quote! Double the “L’s” and Double the “T’s” Follow Cast and Blast Florida: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Website Want to experience a world class duck hunt or fishing charter? E-mail Travis to book today . . . Connect with the gang on social media: Travis Thompson – @travisthompson – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Nathan Henderson – @nhenderson77 – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook Emily Thompson – @lovedaloca – Instagram
Editor’s Note: There’s not much more traditional and wholesome and comfortable than pan fried cube steak . . . At our house, mom preferred beef, so she’d make a pack of beef cube steak and a pack of venison, and this often left my sister and I fighting over the venison. It’s that good. In this recipe, long time friend of the show Chad Rischar takes us on the perfect pan fried venison cube steak Pan Fried Venison Cube Steak Beef or chicken cube steak can be supplemented for venison (strong preference for deer cube steak) Mix together the following ingredients for the cube steak breading 1 cup all purpose flour 1 cup corn meal 1 tblsp. smoked paprika 1 tblsp. sweet paprika 1 tblsp. Filé powder 1 tblsp. cumin powder Cracked pepper and sea salt to taste Prepare an egg and milk wash for breading (2:1 / milk:egg) Lightly dredge each steak in milk/egg mixture Bread cube steak evenly and thoroughly *Ensure that the cube steak is at or near room temperature prior to breading and pan frying. Heat a cast iron skillet on medium to high with a small amount of olive or similar high heat acceptable cooking oil. Pure butter is always a solid option. When the skillet nears the correct temperature, add enough oil to have ¼ inch throughout the pan. Depending on the thickness of the cube steak, pan fry to medium rare. Remove from oil and place on paper towels to dry. Keep steaks warm in oven or grill on ~200 F. Venison Gravy Oil and drippings from pan frying make a good base for the gravy Add ½ cup of minced white or Vidalia onion and render until lightly browned. Add 2 tblsp. of minced garlic, 1 tsp of Filé powder and stir well for a few minutes Deglaze skillet with 1 cup white wine and a 1 tblsp. of white balsamic vinegar Stir well to deglaze skillet Reduce temperature of skillet to medium low Add ~ 1 cup of half and half cream or whole milk Stir gravy together to incorporate. Add flour or cornstarch if the gravy is thin. Chopped chives, scallions, and/or garlic chives can be added as garnish as well as fresh cracked pepper.