Shows / Save it for the Blind Podcast
Save it for the Blind Podcast
Welcome to the Save it for the Blind Podcast. Dive into the world of duck hunting, conservation, and legislation. Join us for insightful discussions on preserving both tradition and nature. Our podcast isn't complete without tackling the legislative side of things. Discover how local and national policies impact hunting seasons, bag limits, and wetland preservation. Interviews with experts and policymakers will shed light on the intricate balance between hunting traditions and the need for…
Episodes
Save it for the Blind Podcast2026 Waterfowl Opener Recap
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down for a quick opening-weekend recap, breaking down how California Waterfowl properties performed across the state and…
Save it for the Blind PodcastOpening Week: Birds, Refuges & What Hunters Can Expect
With California’s balance-of-state opener right around the corner, Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down for a full preseason check-in with people who have…
Save it for the Blind PodcastHunting Dog Health with Dr. Seth Bynum
Carson Odegard sits down with Dr. Seth Bynum, avid bird hunter, outdoorsman, photographer, veterinarian, and Veterinary Communications Manager for Purina, for…
Save it for the Blind PodcastKlamath Wetlands, Waterfowl & Restoration with Dr. Karl Wenner
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Dr. Karl Wenner, longtime Klamath Basin resident, hunter, farmer, and orthopedic surgeon, for a deep conversation…
Save it for the Blind PodcastInside the Migration with Cory Overton
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Cory Overton, Science Director for California Waterfowl, for a preseason look at what hunters may see across the…
Save it for the Blind PodcastHunt Bums with Casey Hartwell
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Casey Hartwell, founder of Hunt Bums, to talk about how a passion for waterfowl hunting turned into a growing…
Save it for the Blind PodcastCWA Hunt Program Preview: 2026–27 Waterfowl Season
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard break down what’s ahead for the 2026–27 California Waterfowl Hunt Program, covering everything from dove and big-game…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 122 Klamath: The Road Forward
California Waterfowl CEO Jake Messerli and VP of Advocacy Mark Hennelly provide the latest update on one of the most critical waterfowl habitats in California…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 121 Dr. Bob McLandress on Building Early CWA
Mallard nesting at Grizzly Island, the story about CWA’s first biologist, and how research, banding, fundraising, and education all took shape Jeff Smith and…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 120 Chemistry, Calls, and Canada Geese with Chance Wadsworth
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Chance Wadsworth, owner of Quill Creek Championship Calls, to talk goose calling from the inside out—how a…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 119 Tracking the Flyway with Cory Overton
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Cory Overton for a data-driven look at what really happened during this season’s migration. Instead of relying on…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 118 Season Recap: January Averages, Year-to-Year Swings & Pintail Puzzles
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard wrap the season with a clean, property-by-property breakdown—January numbers, year-over-year changes, species quirks, and the big…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 117 Senior World Champ Duck Caller — Craig Wilson
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Craig Wilson, owner of River Oaks Outdoors and a Senior World Duck Calling Champion to trace his path from SoCal…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 116 CWA-New Zealand Hunter Exchange Program with Eben Herbert
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard welcome Eben Herbert from the New Zealand Hunter Exchange to compare notes on waterfowling half a world apart—what shocked him…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 115 Mapping the Flyway: CWA Science Director Corey Overton on Telemetry, Pintail, and the Klamath Connection
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard welcome Cory Overton, California Waterfowl’s new Science Director, for a clear, field-level look at how modern telemetry is…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 114 Uruguay Mixed-Bag Done Right: Closaway Outfitters with Dwight Jones
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Dwight Jones, founder of Closaway Outfitters (Uruguay) and CEO of Okmulgee Fields Inc., to unpack a boutique…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 113 December Property Recap: Floods, Fog, and Averages Across CWA Hunts
Carson Odegard sits down with Jeff Smith to break down December’s numbers across California Waterfowl properties—what got better, what got buried under water…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 112 Questions from the Blind: Jeff & Carson’s Mid-Season Q&A
Merry Christmas! This episode drops right before the holiday—here’s to safe hunts, full straps, and time with your crew and family. Jeff Smith and Carson…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 111 Rugged Sound for the Duck Life: DEMERBOX with President Alex Keil
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Alex Keil, president of DEMERBOX, to unpack how a garage-built, Pelican-case speaker turned into a made-in-USA…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 110 California Ducks & Modern Shotshells: A Conversation with MIGRA’s CEO
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Mark Regalbuto, CEO of MIGRA Ammunition, for a straight-shooting talk on California waterfowling and the nuts and…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 109 November Recap & December Openings: CWA Hunts, Rice Blinds & Staten Highlights
Carson Odegard (fresh off dad duty) and Jeff Smith run a quick, no-nonsense update on how November hunts went across CWA properties—and what’s opening up for…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 108 From Turbochargers to Duck Calls: Inside Pardi Calls with Kevin Azzopardi & Jason Cline
This week, Jeff sits down with Kevin Azzopardi and Jason Cline of Pardi Calls (Yuba City, CA) to trace how a family machine shop that built industrial…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 107 The Life of a Waterfowl Hunter with Mike Cole
Jeff sits down with Mike Cole—CWA Gold Benefactor, rice grower, lifelong duck hunter, and serious decoy collector—for a grounded, from-the-bootstraps story of…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 106 October Recap & November Forecast: Refuge Managers Roundtable (Yolo, Upper Butte, Grizzly)
Jeff Smith checks in with three boots-on-the-ground voices to break down how California’s opener really went—and what to expect as November weather finally…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 105 California Duck Banding: Klamath Night Lighting, Pintail Nets & Why Reporting Matters
Jeff sits down with Brian Huber and Jason Coslovich to unpack this summer’s banding push and preseason pintail work—what changed with more water on the…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 104 Season Outlook 2025–26: Refuge Managers on Water, Habitat & Access
Jeff sits down with a panel of California wildlife refuge managers to lay out what hunters can expect this season—water deliveries, flood-up timelines, food on…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 103 80 Years Strong: How CWA Raises Dollars and How You Can Plug In
Director of Fundraising Jason Minsky joins Jeff Smith to break down how California Waterfowl keeps the lights on and the wetlands wet—banquets, sweepstakes…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 102 The Legacy of California Waterfowling: A talk with Conservationist Yancey Forest-Knowles Pt.6
Waterfowl historian Yancey Forest-Knowles closes the series with a tour of California’s fog belt and beyond—Humboldt Bay, the lagoons north and south of…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 101 Integrated Wetlands at Bird Haven: Mosquito-Smart Water, More Ducks
Carson and Jeff sit down with John Veon (UC Davis PhD candidate, wetlands & waterfowl) and Andy Atkinson (manager, Bird Haven Ranch) to unpack a five-year…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 100 Save It For The Blind's 100th Episode
We’re celebrating 100 episodes of Save it for the Blind with a friendly, fast-paced trivia throwdown. Our hosts Jeff Smith & Carson Odegard welcome a stacked…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 99 Working Dog Fundamentals with Karl Gunzer — Nutrition, Training & Hunt-Test Basics
Karl Gunzer, Director of Purina’s Sporting Dog Group, joins Jeff and Carson to trace his path from Montana duck hunter to California trainer to industry…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 98 The Legacy of California Waterfowling: A talk with Conservationist Yancey Forest-Knowles Pt.5
Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with waterfowl historian Yancey Forest-Knowles to unpack the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta—its island clubs, levees and…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 97 MOJO Outdoors with Terry Denmon: Big Blades, Water Motion & Smarter Spreads
Jeff and Carson sit down with Terry Denmon, CEO of MOJO Outdoors, for a nuts-and-bolts look at modern motion decoys—why the Big Blade matters, how to run…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp.96 The Legacy of California Waterfowling: A talk with Conservationist Yancey Forest-Knowles Pt. 4
Southern California Duck Country: History, Habitat, Tradition Waterfowl historian Yancey Forest-Knowles joins Jeff and Carson to map the rise and fall of…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 95 From Survey to Season: CDFW’s Melanie Weaver on California’s 2025 BPOP
Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist) Melanie Weaver joins Jeff and Carson to explain how California’s Breeding Population (BPOP) survey is flown, what…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 94 Managing Northeastern California Wetlands with Greg Heydeman
Regional Biologist Greg Heydeman (California Waterfowl Association) joins Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard for a deep look at habitat work and hunting realities…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 93 Building Southern California’s Wetland Future
A deep-dive with Chadd Santerre (Director of Wetland Programs & NAWCA Coordinator) and field-rep Chad Thomas Carson Odegard sits down with Chadd Santerre for a…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 92 Boots, Bands & Baby Ducks: Robert Jones on North Delta’s Hatchery
Jeff’s off chasing summer vacation, so Carson Odegard grabs a mic with CWA egg-salvage guru Jason Coslovich - Egg Salvage Program Coordinator, Waterfowl…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp.91 The Legacy of California Waterfowling: A talk with Conservationist Yancey Forest-Knowles Pt. 3
In this new episode—part three of our California history series—Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard close out the Klamath Basin saga and head south to the…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp.90 The Legacy of California Waterfowling: A talk with Conservationist Yancey Forest-Knowles Pt. 2
In this new episode and part two of this series, Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard dive deeper with Yancey Forest‑Knowles to unpack decades of waterfowling history…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 89 The Legacy of California Waterfowling: A Conversation with Historian & Conservationist Yancey Forest-Knowles
This week, Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with California outdoors legend Yancey Forest‑Knowles—a waterfowling and conservation icon with over 70 years…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 88 Carvers, Collectors & the Culture of the Flyway
In this episode of Save it for the Blind, Jeff and Carson sit down with Jim Burcio and Rob Capriola—two pillars of the Pacific Flyway Decoy Association—to talk…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 87 From the Blind to the Bush: Jeff in New Zealand Pt. 2
In Part 2 of our Save it for the Blind: New Zealand series, co-host Jeff Smith is back from the bush and sits down with his brother Colby Smith—his travel…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 86 Drones, Ducks & Developing the Next Generation: A Conversation with Dr. Kevin Ringelman
In this episode of Save it for the Blind, hosts Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Dr. Kevin Ringelman—Associate Professor of Waterfowl Ecology and…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 85 From the Blind to the Bush: Jeff in New Zealand
In this unique episode of Save it for the Blind, co-host Jeff Smith checks in live from the hills of New Zealand as he takes us through the first week of his…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 84 Dialed In: Federal’s ULTRASTEEL, Sub-Gauge Trends, and the Future of Waterfowl Loads
In this episode of Save it for the Blind, hosts Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Joshua Vickers, Shotshell Product Line Manager at Federal…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 83 Legacy in the Marsh (Part 2): A Conversation with Dr. John Eadie on Mentorship, Waterfowl, and What Comes Next
In Part 2 of this special two-part series on Save it for the Blind, hosts Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard continue their conversation with UC Davis professor and…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 82 Legacy in the Marsh (Part 1): A Conversation with Dr. John Eadie on Mentorship, Waterfowl, and What Comes Next
In Part 1 of this special two-part episode of Save it for the Blind, hosts Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Dr. John Eadie, UC Davis professor and…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 81 Pintails, Wood Ducks, And Million Milestones: A post season deep dive
On this episode of Save it for the Blind, hosts Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with two of California Waterfowl’s leading waterfowl biologists—Brian…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 80 Fish and Game Commission Recap & Waterfowl Regulations
In this episode of Save it for the Blind, host Jeff Smith dives deep into the latest developments in conservation policy. Joined by co-host Carson Odegard…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 79 Leading the Way: A Conversation with Austin Booth, CEO of Banded
In this episode of Save It for the Blind, hosts Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Austin Booth, the newly-appointed CEO of Banded Holdings, Inc…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 78 Advocating for change with Mark Hennelly
In this thought-provoking episode, hosts Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Mark Hennelly, VP of Advocacy for CWA, to dive into the critical issues…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 77 Behind the Brand: Chene Gear's Rise in the Hunting World
In this insightful episode of Save It for the Blind, hosts Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with an all-star lineup of Chene Gear legends—Field Norris…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 76 The Rise of Tanglefree Waterfowl with Corey Foskett
In this episode of Save It For the Blind, hosts Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Corey Foskett, the President of Tanglefree Waterfowl. From the…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEP. 75 Championing Conservation: Paul Bonderson, Jr. on Preserving California’s Hunting Heritage (Part 2)
In this special two-part episode of the Save It for the Blind Podcast, Jeff and Carson sit down with Paul Bonderson, Jr., the esteemed chairman and past…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEP. 74 Championing Conservation: Paul Bonderson, Jr. on Preserving California’s Hunting Heritage (Part 1)
In this special two-part episode of the Save It for the Blind Podcast, Jeff and Carson sit down with Paul Bonderson, Jr., the esteemed chairman and past…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEP. 73 Turkey Talk: Expert Tips with Joe Slaton
Join hosts Kevin Vella and Carson Odegard in this feather-ruffling episode of the Save It For The Blind Podcast as they sit down with the legendary Joe Slaton…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 72: Questions from a hat and late goose recap
In this episode of Save it for the Blind, our hosts, Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard, tackle some fun random questions pulled from a hat! Sharing their…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 71: Through the Lens: A Journey in Outdoor Photography with Brandon Fien
Join hosts Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard in this riveting episode of the Save It for the Blind podcast as they sit down with the multi-talented Brandon Fien…
Save it for the Blind PodcastEp. 70: Staten Island: Farming, Wetlands, and Wildlife Conservation with Jerred Dixon
Join hosts Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard on this insightful episode of Save it for the Blind as they sit down with Jerred Dixon, Director at Conservation Farms…