Speak the Language Podcast

Planting Food Plots

Food plot are consistently one of the hottest topics in the whitetail hunting world. What do I plant? When do I plant? How do I plant? These are just a few of the hundreds of questions that come along with the subject. This week, we take the subject and dissect it from one end to the other, in attempts to leave no stone unturned. 

 

Have questions? email us here!

the STLpod@gmail.com

 

 

The Most Celebrated Hunt In The South

There is only one time of year where the stars align in such a way that we are able to have a big social gathering, go on a hunt, watch college football, and celebrate the kick-off of fall hunting seasons. The opening day of dove season in the southeast is arguably most popular and most participated in hunt across the whole region. In this conversation we dive into telling some of our most interesting stories from the dove field- some are good, all are entertaining, and some are just a good reminder to be safe while hunting. 

The Most Impactful Conservationist You've Never Heard Of- The Deep Dig Episodes #1

Welcome to the Dig Deep episodes, where we take a single subject and really try to dig in and see what we can learn and gain insight from. In this first episode, we decided to focus in on the incredible life of Fannye Cook. Fannye was a Mississippi native born in the late 1800s and dedicated her entire life to the natural resources of Mississippi. She is truly one of the most impactful conservationists this state has ever seen. If you have ever hunted, fished, camped, hiked, or enjoyed the natural resources of the Magnolia state, you owe this woman a debt of gratitude. 

 

"Fannye Cook: Mississippi's Pioneering Conservationist" the book:

https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/F/Fannye-Cook 

 

More history of Fannye Cook:

https://www.mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/issue/fannye-cook-pioneer-conservationist 

All That Panic Over A Target

Archery season is virtually here, and it's past time to start getting ready. I think all of us that bow hunt can agree that getting out and shooting your bow is one of the most fun and necessary things to do to get prepared. that is, unless you have target panic. This summer, I had the worst flair up of target panic that I have ever had in my life. It got so bad that I even had thoughts of canceling some upcoming hunts. Thankfully, I was able to find the resources necessary to conquer it. Shot IQ with Joel Turner is the real deal, trust me on that one. We also dive into some practice tips and routines, general bow setups, and situations you can run into while elk or deer hunting. 

 

click here to learn more about Shot IQ:

https://www.shotiq.com/home 

Untold Hunting Stories

The STL podcast might have gone away for a little while, but the hunting never stopped. After introducing the brand new Habitat Segment in the first part of the conversation, Jordan and I share a few of our favorite hunting stories that happened between the time of the podcast going dormant and now! It involves finding ourselves somehow in the middle of an entire herd of elk, and drawback on a whitetail buck that has more droptines and kickers than Jordan had arrows in his quiver. We also left a few hints about what to expect about the new Digging Deep episodes! The first will release at the end of this month! 

We're So Back

Welcome to the official relaunch party episode for the Speak The Language Podcast. We are back, and back for good! Jordan and I have some big plans for this show going forward, but to start out we want to give a full explanation of what happened in the first place. There have been so many questions about the state of show and what happened to us, and we are here to answer them! Be sure to like, commment, and subscribe! We will back with weekly episodes, including the new "Dig Deep" episodes at the end of every month! As always, thank you for listening to the speak the language podcast! 

Hope For A Native Game Bird: Quail in the Southeast Part 3

we are on the final piece of this quail in the southeast series. this is it. the last piece of the puzzle. the crossing of the finish line. the light at the end of the bobwhite tunnel. and I sincerely hope that you’ve enjoyed this as much as I have- quite frankly this is the most time and energy I’ve ever put into one topic and it’s been completely worth it. So let’s end strong, shall we? Last week we focused heavily on learning why or the many why’s I should probably say that caused us to lose our quail populations. We heard from subject experts Dr. Mark Mcconnel and Quail forever biologist john mark Curtis. they taught us more about quail habitat needs and the changes in our current landscape that gave us a better understanding as to why quail simply cannot exist here like they did in the past. This week is all about the present and the future. I think both are important to think about. This week we’ll hear from more subject experts to explain those to us and let us know how much, if any real hope there is for us to ever have a healthy population of quail again. and maybe, just maybe will hear just a little bit more from our dear friend, Jimmy Bryan. Kicking us off is Dr. James Martin- Dr. Martin is a wildlife professor at UGA- and was described to me by many as “The guy” when it comes to quail and quail research- I believe the most common sentiment was- if you’re gonna talk about quail then you have to talk to James Martin- so obviously I obliged-We start the conversation with personal story from Dr. Martin, as to how he became to be so interested and invested in quail.   

Cautiously Optimistic: Quail in the Southeast Part 2

Last week we took our first in depth look into the story of Quail here in the southeast. We heard from a man who has lived and  hunted quail in Mississippi long enough to recall a time when you woudn’t catch an odd look for pulling up to a Mississippi gas station with an english pointer in your truck. We also heard from a man who was born in raised in Tennessee, and grew an interest in quail mainly from the stories from his dad on how things used to be. 

Last week’s episode was meant to pull on your heart strings a tad, to possibly get you thinking about a type of hunting that maybe you haven’t tried yet. and maybe you haven’t tried it because it’s not readilly available to you like deer, squirrel, or turkey hunting is. Unfortunately, if you live in Mississippi or most other places in the southeast, it’s not readily available to you. But it used to be. 

This week we are going to dig hard into the question of why?

why did we lose our quail and what caused it

 

But first, before we dive in, I’m going to pose few questions to make you think and also get mind rolling in the right direction for what you’re going to hear in this episode.

 

If you were to hop in your vehicle and take a drive around your neighborhood, down the local highway or interstate, down and old country road maybe- if you looked out the window- what would you see? Buildings? ag fields? pasture? blocks of timber? 

Whatever you see around where you live. Have you ever stopped to think if it’s always been that way? 

I’ve come to learn that what we grow up with we tend to assume that that’s just simply the way things have always been. The Mississippi that I’ve pretty much known my entire life has been dominated by vast stretches of pine plantation- but when I stop and think about it- it can’t have been like that always. that doesn’t occur naturally. so what was there before? What was there before? and if it hasn’t always been that way, what effects did it have when we made it that way? 

A Long Lost Game Bird: Quail in the Southeast Part 1

For the next few weeks we are going to be discussing a single subject in a more in depth manner than we have ever done in the history of this podcast.but First, let me pose a few questions that may make you think. Right now, while your listening to this podcast, whether you’re in driving down the road, sitting at your desk, got your headphones on at the gym- wherever you are- take a second to think about your favorite game species- this could be your favorite animal to hunt, your favorite animal to encounter in the woods, whatever. think about that animal and then think about why that animal is your favorite. 

Maybe you had a really memorable bow hunt for a whitetail buck that just has always stuck with you. Maybe it was duck hunt on picture perfect day with good buddies, and number of ducks that came in matched the amount of laughs and stories that were shared in the blind that day. Maybe It was your first turkey hunt with your dad. 

Whatever that reason may be, I think we could all agree, as outdoors men and women that the animals we pursue mean something to us. something that transcends a single hunt for that animal.

They mean so much to us that we form conservation organizations around them to ensure they’re preservation. We hang pictures of them in our house. We talk about them nonstop with our friends. and historically, hunter’s and anglers go above and beyond to protect these animals and the places they live by prettty much whatever means neccessary. 

That’s why, I was hit with a strong dillemma back in 2016. A good friend of mine introduced to me to upland bird hunting. I’ll never forget the first time I saw a pointing dog lock up on covey quail, followed up a flush of what was at least a dozen birds that were all but under my feet. After the shotgun blasts and the retrieval of the birds, I stood there in awe and completely hooked by this new type of hunting. 

Imagine the dissapointment when I realized that at one point, we had a huge population of quail at home in southeast. It was right around that time my wheels started to spin. 

where did all of them go?

How many quail were there actually?

Can we get them back?

That’s where we pick up today.

Restoring A Native Species- The Black Bear Program

We talk with Anthony Ballard, the Black Bear Program Coordinator in the state of Mississippi about the status of black bears in the state. We learn about the history of black bears in the state, their general life cycle and ecology, and also what types of research has been done along with what is currently ongoing. In this episode we try to tackle everything that's associated with black bears- the good, the bad, and the ugly. The hope is that if you listen to this episode from start to finish, you will be left with a better understanding and appreciation of the animal, as well as an understanding to why it's so important that we continue to work hard to restore them.