Iverson Web Journal

Thanks Tom!

Attached is a simple hunting photo, but it holds many wonderful memories.  (I only wish my ol' retired Lab, Dusky, was in the picture, too.)  Iverson duck calls have been with me in the field for years, from the famous marshes of Tule Lake and Lower Klamath country, to tiny secluded potholes in eastern Washington.  I've found wherever I have gone that Iverson speaks whatever language the ducks happen to be speaking.  The banded duck in the photo came all the way from Charlo, MT to E. WA just to hear what your Old Style Timber Call had to say.  The photo was taken in 1996, and that same call is still my only call.  Under it's beautiful exterior, I've found your call to be reliable, rugged, and oh-so effective.

Thanks for many wonderful experiences!

Tom Caine (someone who hunts more than he should, but not as much as he would like)

Ridgefield, WA

Slippery Landing!

This duck needs ice skates!

From California to Oklahoma

My Friend Robert is one of those people I really look forward to saying hello to every year at the Sacramento International Sportsman's Exposition.  He will come up to the Iverson booth and shoot the bull with Dad and me.  He is such a great person, Iverson Duck Call fan and hunter!  But he has moved to Oklahoma.  And besides having to be a Californian in Sooner land right now, it looks like things are going just fine!

Some kind words from Robert:

Around my neck are the only duck calls you need to have with you . . .Iverson World Champion Field Call and Iverson Pintail/Widgeon Whistle . . .

Thanks Robert!

Happy Hunting

Jason

This picture makes me smile

Happy New Year!

Jason, Wanted to send you a picture of a great day of duck hunting today1/2/05. George (my husband with dog) and his friend Chuck went out to a local lake and hunted, one of there better hunts this season,they had a great time, called me and had me put on the wax pot(we wax our ducks instead of picking them all) especially when they get a limit.So I got the wax pot going and they came in and we waxed , cleaned and froze them, It was a great day.And they used there Iverson calls!! of course! Shirley

Lesson Number two

Some things are not self evident to the new hunter.  Lesson one included the not so obvious:  "do not stick the barrel of your .410 into the mud like that".  Lesson Two included the confusing: "Don't go into the water above your boots" . .and response of . . "how was I supposed to know water was going to go over my boots"?

But I will tell you what IS SELF EVIDENT to the young child of the new millenium:   internet and fame.  This post is Tyler's idea.  He said, "take a picture of me pouring out my boot, put it on your website and I will be famous".  The good news is, Tyler is a savy and wise young man . . . except the part about this site making him famous.  Just the same, here's to you Tyler!  Thanks for a great and memorable hunt.

Gadwalls for all!

Happy Hunting

Jason

I love this old call

When I was a kid my brother Matt and I found this old Lohman call buried in the mud at the mouth of Novato Creek on San Pablo Bay in California.  My Dad, being the duck call genius, breathed new life into it with some tender care and new reed.  You know this thing sounds great today.  It is one of my favorites and it simply just makes me happy to hold.

I was telling this old story to my friend Ralph who loves wood and wood calls.  He went on to say how his son Joe refuses to blow an Iverson because perceives them to be a bit too fancy.  Besides, they are his Dad’s calls.   He went on to say that if he found an old Lohman or an Iverson that looked like the Lohman I had, he would consider that call the greatest in the world . . . nothing fancy, full of mud, faded, old and therefore perfect!

The conversation got me to thinking.  I told him we should make him and Iverson Teak Super Timber call, but give it an old school non-Iverson shape on the barrel and stopper and you can hide in the mud and “let him find it”.  We can see if he loves THAT IVERSON.  I told him I would do this on my dime.  My friend, ever the generous man, said he would split the cost on the “practical joke”.

So I made the call and sent it off.  Ralph and I had more than a few laughs on the phone imagining how we would dupe the teenager and how he would come around to our view of the duck call world.  Lo and behold, the morning of the hunt Ralph, sneaks off and smashes the newly made Iverson Old School call  into the mud.  As the shooting slowed down, Ralph had to nearly beg his son to go take walk.  After a couple trips up and by the buried call, nearly stepping on it, Ralph in exasperation finally says, "what is that in the mud over there”. 

The conversation ensues from there:

Joe:  It is an old crummy duck call
Ralph:  bring it over
Joe:  nah, it is all covered in mud
Ralph:  It might clean up and be a nice call
Joe:  Ok, but I don’t want it
Joe: (returns to blind)
Ralph:  give it a blow
Joe:  I am not blowing that thing
Ralph:  come on, wipe it off and try it.  It might be a great call
Joe (wipes call off and gives it a good few quacks):  This Call sucks
Ralph:  Sounded pretty good to me
Joe (reaches back to heave the call as far as he can)
Ralph:   WAIT!  DON’T THROW IT!
Ralph: (explains the secret plot to his son)
Joe:  wow . . . I guess it doesn’t sound that bad ("for an Iverson" . . . my emphasis :))

Lesson for us old guys:  Never ever try and get one over on a teenager. 

Happy Hunting

Jason

Do people actually hunt ducks in California?

I have lived in California, Washington and now Texas.  Since leaving California, do you know what the most common question I hear after people get to know about my hobbies? 

Do people actually hunt ducks in California? 
As if we all sit around in circles, smoking hookah's and eating granola.

To set the record straight:

Total Duck Harvest by State (03-04)
1.  Louisiana    1.3 million
3.  California    1 million
5.  Texas            816,000
Not in top ten Oregon or Washington

Duck Harvest per hunter (03-04)
1.  California    23
9.  Oregon        14
Not in top ten Texas or Washington

STATS by povided by US Fish and Wildlife Service via Ducks Unlimited Magazine

Here's to granola bars and duck hunting!

Viva California!

Jason

I will anwer the phone today

It was a pretty thick fog as we left the boat ramp on the Washington side of the Columbia River.  GW had to use his Garmin GPS to run due south and a little east to reach our destination island that has a hidden rock formation on the north western side.  We found the opposite shore and motored West for a couple minutes to find our island.  We quickly set up our rig and settled onto the natural sage brush blind at the very western edge of the island.  After about a dozen ducks made their way into our bag, things settled down, the fog lifted and the sun came out.  Like all hunters will, we relaxed a bit and started talking.

Now some guys are really good and some guys are just plain lucky.  My friend GW is probably the best hunter I know.  This year GW was just plain lucky.  Out of now where a single hen mallard makes her way into our decoy spread on the north west side.  GW takes a single shot that brings her down.  Ubu makes a nice retrieve.  Paul says not so casually, "it has a band . . no it has TWO BANDS!"  As GW jumps up and down like a school girl after being asked to her first dance, he notices that one of the bands has a little green on it and reveals a $100 reward.  And my yearly trip to hunt birds in Eastern Washington with my buddies begins with a bang and a dance.

You bet I am jealous!

Happy Hunting

Jason

Duck Calling Genius in the Making

Not since I coached a U8 soccer team a couple years ago have I had as much fun. My friend Jeff put together a Father-Son duck calling night at his house last night. Kids mostly 8, and one 4 year old came to learn how to call ducks . . . from me! Now I have done many a duck calling seminar in my day . . .but never to 10 kids! But I have to tell you it was a great time! I had them eating out of my hand right up to the point I gave them each an Iverson Teak Super Timber . . . then the WHEELS CAME OFF! Through the craziness and calling, I was able to give them a basic introduction to calling by teaching them the single quack. I told these kids and hoped their dad's were listening as well that the single quack is the most important call to learn and practice for a long time.

I also inserted a couple other things I hoped their dad's heard as well. i asked them what was their favorite part of hunting. I told them my top 3 from last to first. I like shooting. But I love calling and working my dog Jack more. But most of all, I have mostly loved hunting with my Dad the most. I told them a couple stories about hunting with my Dad and hoped their Dad's got the message . . . make time to take your kids hunting!

I would do this again in a heartbeat!

Jason