Flyway Highway

I can't recall specifically, but I believe the DU hunt with Ira was on public land. And I don't believe they 'slayed' the birds that day.

I've read plenty of threads from other sites that critique the latest hunting videos and there are many who seem to favor the 'whack 'n stack' vids. I don't agree, but can understand why the sponsors spend their dollars on shows like that. At the end-of-the-day it's a business and these guys want to spend the money where their biggest return opportunities reside. Sad but true.

I personally don't own a single hunting vid, simply because from my perspective, they don't represent reality. There may be some out there that do but I haven't seen one.
 
The next time any of you are at Sportsman's Warehouse, or Scheels or Cabela's or Gander, etc., take a look at the crowd around the "whack and stack" video that will inevitably be playing on the monitor in the section with all the waterfowl gear. It will be somewhere near the spinning wings and the Vortex decoys. The audience will be entranced with the slow mo images of ducks falling out of the sky to the heavy metal soundtrack, and they will be saying "allright! and yesss!"
The kind of guys that hang out at the DHBP are a small minority. The mob that likes the "In Your Face!" videos and "Flyway Highway" has lots more purchasing power than our little community. But I will also let the sponsors of FH know that I will not be buying the products that Harold and Kumar (I like that comparison) are pimping.
 
i think a good video series is the duck commander although he is too a degree a whack and stack kinda hunter he also goes deeply into the work he puts in in the off time and how everything is used= table-fare deeply devout christian man and very good roll model he is living the life I M O
Now too look from a sponcorship stand point does anyone think a show could survive with sponcoship from Delvin ,West system epoxy, for a boat building portion porter cable and rigid for a decoy carving portion and a gun manufacturer too be named later as well as a clothing manufactuer and boom you have a three way partitioned show appealing too several. Do guest spots in carving shops and boat builders shops exetra exetra. Some one pitching this idea would definantly have a shot in my opinion.you got cross marketing as a side selling point too boaters and wood workers.
Another example of how this could work would be following Tred Bartas filming style.Some of his shows never result in a kill but fun too watch none the less.
 
I think I saw the first show a couple years ago...then we started getting some other channel in our cable "package". It's called VS as in Versus...us against them type of bicycle/running etc shit. The shows that are on now are Beretta, Larry Czonka and a bunch of others. I don't watch them but my grandson is entranced by them. He tells me all about the stuff they shoot and how they set up....I tell him that it is kinda fake and he see's what I mean when we sit 4 hours in the boat and not see a bird. I'm not sure what my feelings are on these shows, on one hand...if they get young hunters interested enough to give it a go, then hopefully they will have a mentor that teaches them respect and compassion for the game and other hunters. When ever he shoots his first animal, you can bet I will be yelling and high fiving him. I don't kill animals for a reason to mourn and if I ever loose the excitement of actually getting something, and the lead up to it...I'll stay home and watch Oprah.
 
Thanks Worth for confronting those two individuals responsible for that program. Hopefully the one that was interested in the feedback will take your advice to heart.


IMO In its current format Flyway Highway need to be grounded. Granted the guys have a gig that is sucessful for them but their portrail of the waterfowler as a "Bubba" is both negative and irritating .They benefit at our expense ! I have watched portions of about 2 to 3 of their programs but end up turning it off before the end. My 13 year old son saw a portion of the show and remarked " Those guys sure are stupid" . This topic has come up on other boards and the majority feel the same - In its current format Flyway Highway needs to go.
 
take a look at the Show Archives section of Northland Adventures http://www.northlandadventures.com/

It's a regional (upper midwest) program, but I think it's just about an ideal mix of hunting, fishing, and conservation, all grounded in a perspective of outdoors ethics.
 
Northland Adventures is a good show, and the only one I know of that has continually stayed on top of conservation issues (CBM development in the west and the impact of corn-based ethanol on CRP contracts throughout the midwest are topics from the past few weeks.) The host, Dave Carlson, also profiles boat builders, decoy carvers, bamboo flyrod builders, as well as conservationists like Aldo Leopold and old duck hunters like Gordon Macquarrie. Unfortunately, if you want to see it continue you had better contact the producing station (WQOW in Eau Claire, WI) and the main sponsor (Menards, also in Eau Claire) because the show is treading on thin ice right now. I guess conservation isn't sexy.

If the preceding sounds like a promo for Northland Adventures, I guess it is. Dave is a good friend of mine and really would hate to lose the only outdoors show I regularly watch.
 
I can't recall specifically, but I believe the DU hunt with Ira was on public land. And I don't believe they 'slayed' the birds that day.

I've read plenty of threads from other sites that critique the latest hunting videos and there are many who seem to favor the 'whack 'n stack' vids. I don't agree, but can understand why the sponsors spend their dollars on shows like that. At the end-of-the-day it's a business and these guys want to spend the money where their biggest return opportunities reside. Sad but true.

I personally don't own a single hunting vid, simply because from my perspective, they don't represent reality. There may be some out there that do but I haven't seen one. I believe you are correct, I saw the show with Ira and it was far from a slaughterfest. But even though they were hunting public land, there were no other hunters in the area. It's pretty rare to find prime public hunting land so devoid of other hunters if the birds are in the area. So if they were hunting less that prime land, is it no wonder they had a slow hunt? I would imagine that embodies DU's feelings about filming hunts on public land. They don't want to have other hunters messing up their shooting and footage, and of course they want as much shooting footage as possible for the guys on the show. Tough to have both on most public land, especially in the midwest. I've certainly had my fair share of hunts like the one with Ira on DU TV, and I sure don't care to watch too many of them on TV.
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But there's the rub.....ask people what they think of the DU show and they'll tell ya, "not enough shooting", and "too much other stuff interupting the killin"......yet another example of the fact that the "average" guy doesn't want to see decoys being rig, dogs being worked, boats being built, or rigged, etc. etc....what they want to see is "whacken and stackin".....

Steve
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Didn't really think it through from that angle. I'm your oh-so-occasional outdoor channel watcher and have no need for "hunting videos". Just check the channel now and then between football games and happened to see it on... I have more personal reasons for not liking them as well since they filmed on a local spot and continued to act like idiots (from what I've heard from good sources). So there's a little "bias" in my opinion of them as well.
 
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I don't know how you could get GOOD content into a 30 minute show when 15 minutes is advertising. I realise sponsors want the biggest bang for their buck and think Cabelas could cut out 14 1/2 minutes in a show sponsorship to make up for the 400 unwanted damn catalogs that I put in the recycle bin without looking at per year. I look at the wasted cellulose from those as a real negative.
 
I thought all of you yankees acted like that. bwhahahahahah.

They aren't all about whacking and stacking. They go into the store wearing their waders, they stop for breakfast and introduce themselves as stars, they go play golf in their waders, they go get manicures and tell everyone to watch their trigger fingers. I took all of that as them being purposefully goofy, and they are REALLY good at that. I think they found a niche market, people loving to hate them. So they sell harder, act goofier, and give lots more people a reason to swear they never watch them but bitch bout them on da net. Bravo for them.

As far your kids learning about hunting from them, your kids shouldnt be learning anything about life from the tv, they are no different. Quit blaming a tv show for your kids problems. If your kids don't see those guys as goofballs, you arent spending enough time with your kids. TJ my 10 year old and I sing the flyway hiway song when ever anyone does anything stupid, or shanks a shot. He farted in the pit sunday morning, and said it came from his craig. Saying those guys are warping kids about hunting is like saying they arent good lovers cause of all the porn. Its entertainment, not education.

You guys may like carving. You might love carving. You know what carving looks like on tv. Whittling. It aint a spectator sport. Heck, I live chess, but I dont want to see it on tv.

Any of ya'lls neighborhoods look like desperate housewives? Why don't you want to boycott them for being unrealstic and giving people the wrong ideals? I dont want to see fat wimmen in moo-moos wax their hairy lips... nobody else does either. So its unrealstic, and dramatic, and silly. Its tv. Thats it.

Dick Chenny shot his friend in the face. And they tried to cover it up. Nobody tried to impeach him for making hunters look bad. And belive me a lot more people know about that than harold and craig.

All this typing has got muh trigger finger itching. travis
 
I'm glad ya'll are talking about those two idiots, I just turned off the TV after watching another exiciting episode and they were hunting on Lake Guntersville with none other than the illustrious Frank Eaton at Mallard Place Outfitters. They started off the hunt with a great pass shooting Gadwall hunt and then moved to a boat dock that Eaton has permission to tie off to and shot some big bull Cans. This is definitely not the publicity that Guntersville needs. We already have enough idiots on the lake and these two look like they fit the mold. I think Frank Eaton will be the down fall of diver hunting on Lake Guntersville due to his disregard for public safety and his love for filling limits and the money he collects from suckers who thinks it is sporting to shoot Canvasbacks from a boat dock.
 
I just saw tonights episode (saw it before, it's a repeat that was filmed last season) again and although I don't know anything about Guntersville lake, the place they shot the Cans didn't seem unsportsmanlike to me.

Unless they're shooting ducks in a park that have been hand-fed by the local children, as far as I'm concerned as long as the area is open to hunting and they aren't breaking any laws such as hunting too close to buildings or hunting without the owners permission, then where they choose to hunt is OK by me.

Tieing up to a dock doesn't seem any different than tieing up to a breakwall or hunting next to a riprap wing dam. If that's where the birds are, what's wrong with it?

IMHO the worst part of the show was the taxidermist. His Canvasback was not very good. Head was too rounded. Looked more like a Redhead than a canvasback in flight. He need to spend a little more time in the blind if he thinks that's what they look like.
 
Well, since you did not enter your full name or location I will not comment on how you hunt where ever it is that you hunt, but in Alabama if you are tied to a boat house that has a bayliner on one side and a fish feeder on the other side and you are 50 yards from a major highway, in my eyes it is unsportsmanlike. If you would like you can hunt that very same boathouse and harvest a big bull Can of your own, for a nominal fee of course. As far as the taxidermists you may just want to contact Shane Smith of Bridgeport,AL and let him know how anatomically incorrect his birds are.

Just my opinion not trying to make it yours, but when I kill a Can I like to think he came to my decoy spread and not to the fish feeder.
 
I dvr'd the show and watched it just now. I think personally IMO that it wasn't those guys fault for being tied to that dock. The guide was smiling like a mule eating briars knowing people were watching and the phone would be ringing. He chose that spot because he knew the birds were there. I would rather not hunt like that and try to ask the person who's guiding alot of questions to rule out something like this. You can learn alot from dummies, and I know Mallard place outfitters is struck off the list. These guys are just doing guided hunts, they don't scout, have boats, etc, etc. I MUST SAY "TO ME SOME OF THOSE SHOTS LOOK WAY LONG." I watch it but it doesn't mean I agree with their antics. Like I have said before it beats watching Dr. Phil. Yuck that is pure torture.
 
Well, since you did not enter your full name or location I will not comment on how you hunt where ever it is that you hunt, but in Alabama if you are tied to a boat house that has a bayliner on one side and a fish feeder on the other side and you are 50 yards from a major highway, in my eyes it is unsportsmanlike. If you would like you can hunt that very same boathouse and harvest a big bull Can of your own, for a nominal fee of course. As far as the taxidermists you may just want to contact Shane Smith of Bridgeport,AL and let him know how anatomically incorrect his birds are.

Just my opinion not trying to make it yours, but when I kill a Can I like to think he came to my decoy spread and not to the fish feeder. If what you say is true about the fishfeeder, then that changes the whole situation. That would probably be considered BAITING and IMHO is not only unsportsmanlike, it's ILLEGAL. If you can prove your accusations, you should feel compelled to call your local CO instead of spouting off about how unethical it is on this forum. Other than the baiting, I still don't have any problems with them setting up next a boat house and a Bayliner if that's where the birds are they aren't breaking any other laws. It's not my cup 'o tea and I would certainly prefer more pristine surroundings, but there's nothing wrong with hunting there if that's where the birds want to be. With all the waterfront development occuring accross the country, I believe we are all gonna hafta get used to a lot more unconventional hunting spots such as this boathouse. In the northeast U.S. it's already pretty common to hunt near waterfront mansions.
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You sound like you may be part of some of the "run and gun" Georgia hunters that have seemed to have taken over Lake Guntersville. But, since you remain diguised by only initials I guess I can't be sure. I guess my idea of ethics and yours may be a good bit different, maybe it is that I have some, because I do not see "selling" out ethical hunting just because you say "I believe we are all gonna hafta get used to a lot more unconventional hunting spots such as this boathouse." If that is your idea of adapting remind me never to ask you to come to Alabama from where ever it is you are from. Maybe I should not be that way, I know of a jam-up spot on the lake where a kid has been feeding ducks loaf bread all summer, I may just take your advice and adapt and use my "wonderbread" sponsored boat to tie up and "whack and stackem."

Then again that could just be me "spouting off" again.
 
Thanks for the Youtube clip... never heard of the show.

What can I say that 60+ others haven't already other than the "market" is demanding the product that they are selling... Even homemade POS shows like that cost about $200k per episode to put together so they and their sponsors did their homework first. Remember when they put comedians on Monday night football? These stupid decisions don't materialize on a whim, really well paid people do market research and poof they appear and offend our sensibilities time and time again.

Ok, I'd pontificate even more but I have to go and see what Brittany and Paris are up to today...
 
Somebody needs to take the guys from New York that decided that this show was 'right' for its audience to task.

I had occasion to be in a restaurant in the Charlotte airport recently. The restaurant was a sports bar format and had numerous shows on its TVs. One of which was a Tred Barta hunting show. In it, he was hunting and killing wild hogs. Watched the expression on the faces of a couple of the waitresses and patrons as he killed and processed the hogs. I can tell you that many of them would, if given the opportunity, sign petitions for anti hunting legislation if the memory of that scene were fresh in their minds. and that they would NEVER turn on such a show by choice. And he was doing a reasonably good job. No wounded animals limping around. No major gore scenes. And he was reasonably well spoken.
OK, now fast forward to the flyway highway guys. I pretty much can assume that, based on what I saw in the airport lounge, the 'average' non-hunter is pretty much repulsed by 'normal' hunting scenes and shouldn't be expected to be a regular viewer of such a show. So we can narrow down the audience to people who have an interest in hunting and knowledge of what goes on in a hunt and the process and methodology thereof. The preceding thread should demonstrate that we as a community find these guys offensive. So who do these 'experts' believe their target audience is?
Now, if we (the average hunting community) are the REAL audience, what are we looking for in a show? Do these guys demonstrate things that we find useful or interesting? Do they go to neat places that we haven't had the opportunity to go to (i.e., Argentina, Baikal, stuff like that?)? No, they go to Alabama, Missouri, pretty much places on the Mississippi Flyway. Do they demonstrate boat building, decoy carving, taxidermy? THe only example I've seen is Shane Smith on the Alabama show. The other shows that I've seen have include them going to restaurants near where they met the guide, etc.
 
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