Ep. 642 - Brook Tinsley on the Changing Landscape of Duck Hunting: Technology, and Community

In this episode of the Ducks Unlimited Podcast, host Matt Harrison welcomes his good friend Brooks Tinsley to discuss their shared passion for waterfowl hunting. Brooks shares his unique journey from California to Mississippi, detailing his 25-year evolution into a skilled waterfowl hunter. The conversation covers insights from the current waterfowl season, reflecting on experiences and observations. Brooks also touches on the intersection of hunting and business, highlighting the busy season for outdoor enthusiasts and the retail landscape during the holidays. Tune in for valuable information and camaraderie as they dive deep into the world of chasing ducks.

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Creators & Guests

Host

Matt Harrison

DUPodcast Outdoor Host

What is Ducks Unlimited Podcast?

Ducks Unlimited Podcast is a constant discussion of all things waterfowl; from in-depth hunting tips and tactics, to waterfowl biology, research, science, and habitat updates. The DU Podcast is the go-to resource for waterfowl hunters and conservationists. Ducks Unlimited is the world's leader in wetlands conservation.

Matt Harrison: On this episode of the Ducks Limited Podcast, I have good friend Brooks Tinsley join in to discuss what he has seen through the waterfowl season so far. Brooks also takes a dive into his waterfowl journey where he moved from California to Mississippi and how he has spent the past 25 years learning how to become a better waterfowl hunter. So this episode of the podcast has some great information heading your way, so stay tuned. Hey everyone, welcome back to the Ducks Unlimited podcast. I'm your host, Matt Harrison. And today we have joining us one of my really good friends, outdoorsman, entrepreneur, the whole nine, Mr. Brooks Tinsley. Brooks, how you doing? I'm doing phenomenal. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. It is a joy to be able to have you on here because me and you like to talk about the same thing that we both have in common and that is chasing ducks. Absolutely. So I'm super excited to kind of dive in just to some questions, kind of talk a little bit about the year that I've had so far, that you've had so far, what we've seen, and just kind of dive into some questions. But how have you been? How's everything been going? And you just staying wide open this time of year or what?

Brooks Tinsley: Yes, you've been blessed. You know, it's duck season and then also with our business, this is the time of year people buy stuff, you know, it's Christmas. So it's go time for me personally and from a business aspect for sure.

Matt Harrison: No doubt, no doubt. Well, if you don't mind, just kind of give our listeners a little bit about Brooks Tinsley, kind of how you got started in the industry and kind of where you are now and just kind of your over the years growth through the outdoor industry. If you don't mind, just give us a little bit of background.

Brooks Tinsley: Yeah, absolutely. So we moved to Mississippi from Southern California, L.A. when I was 16 years old. So I went on my first duck hunt in 1999 in Arkansas, and that was the first full year of the robo-duck, the Mojars. And to say that it was epic would be an understatement. It was phenomenal. And a kid coming from Southern California that has only been able to do a handful of hunts in general, to experience that, man, I was hooked from day one. And so that led me into public land hunting around where I live, which is West Point, Mississippi, home of Mossy Oak. And, you know, learning. My dad didn't know how to duck hunt, so it was trial by fire, you know, trial and error. That's how we learned. You learned the tough way. Yeah. And then, you know, hunting the Tombigbee River around West Point, and I can remember in college, this would have been 2001 or 2002, I went to the Mississippi Delta for the first time. Wow. And it brought me back to that Arkansas, and it's like, oh wow, okay, so here's where the ducks are. We found them. This is cool, you know. And a lot of super early mornings driving, you know, over to the Delta and learning how to truly hunt these migrating waterfowl. And I became obsessed. And that obsession led to figuring out how and where. And at this time, you know, there wasn't a cell phone map in your hand. It was crazy. There was a real map in your hand. There was a real map and there was like one, like Google had a map and it was old, but like you could plug coordinates from that map into a handheld GPS. Wow. And then you had to like figure out how to get to said spot. And, man, I can vividly remember finding what we called, like, the hole of all holes. We finally found it. We saw where ducks were going down, and we found it. It was almost like a treasure, you know? It was like, dude, we did it. And man, for several years, we just pounded on ducks in this spot. And people trying to figure out where we were at and how to get there. And it was, you know, truly, I would say, kind of the glory days.

Matt Harrison: Wow. That is so neat, too, just to kind of, you know, 1999, your first hunt. I mean, that's 25 years ago, you know, now. And just to see where you are now and, you know, the story that You had nobody teaching you. Like, you trial and error, you probably messed up a whole lot more than you succeeded at first, because I know that I did learning, too, because our dad didn't waterfowl hunt or anything like that, so it was kind of learning on our own, too. But, you know, like I said, to see where you are now, looking back 25 years ago, I'm sure it's kind of like, man, you know. Come a long way. We did some dumb stuff. Hey, but it made you the hunter that you are today. And like I said, you learn a lot in your mess ups more than you do when you succeed, especially young age like that. So that's really cool. But thank you for giving us a little bit of backstory about who you are. So now I know that you deer hunt as well. I know that you love duck hunting probably the most, I'd say, I feel like. So, kind of how has the season been for you so far? I know that you've been able to go out a couple times. I know that you've also been trying to get your daughter a deer, so kind of spent some time in the deer woods as well. But, you know, how has the season been? Kind of what have you seen so far? And, you know, just kind of give us a rundown.

Brooks Tinsley: Yeah, so like I said, you know, public land is kind of where I cut my teeth. Started in Mississippi, then started public land in Arkansas in probably 2011. And about five years ago, we bought a private piece of ground on the Mississippi River called Lost Break. And so I've been able to see like the other side of things. You know, I used to be like, man, it must be nice to have all this. all this private ground to hunt. And man, I've worked hard these past five years to manage our property and get it in a place where we can consistently have good hunts. And it's been, you know, when you hunt public land, you really just show up. I mean, you might do a little scouting, but there's not a lot of off-season stuff. So it's really became a, it's become a year long endeavor for me. And unfortunately, our place depends on the Mississippi River to be a certain level to offer us these quality hunts. And the past three years, it has been low, low. So we've been kind of forced to go back into doing some public land stuff. And we did that this year, opening day of Arkansas season. We were in the mix with everybody. Wow. And it was a madhouse.

Matt Harrison: No doubt, no doubt. It was a madhouse. Well, that's, you know, neat to see, too, how, you know, you talked about back in the day you used to look at that public, private ground and say, you know, man, that must be nice to have something like that and now seeing yourself as the land manager in that certain scenario. Now, you know, I want you to talk about this because it is something I hear a lot too. It must be nice to have some private ground. It must be nice just to be able to show up at 5.30 and throw your decoys out and drink some hot coffee. People have no idea at the management side of things. We just had Jordan Davis on the podcast, and he even talked about how they just bought some proper, and he's like, man, we spend so, so much time, and not just time, money on putting it in, you know, to make it better conservation, to make it better waterfowl habitat that produces good waterfowl hunting. And, you know, people don't see that side of things. People may just see the episode of Lost Break that you have an unbelievable hunt of mallards finishing in your face, and they're like, man, that must be nice to have proper ground. But they don't see you out there in the summer cleaning out. You know, brushing blinds, cleaning out boat ditches, you know, cleaning out pumps. You know, people don't see that. People don't see that side of things. So, you know, what are kind of some of the things that you've learned on the management side of things, kind of that you never really saw, you know, before you had that? Can you just kind of talk about what that looks like on the management side? Like, is that something that you say, hey, You know, we're going to manage it all year round. We're going to, you know, cause I know that you have some partners in on that. Is that something that y'all just a conglomerate, y'all go and y'all, y'all take time together at camp kind of how does that management side look for managing a place like Lost Break?

Brooks Tinsley: Yeah, I mean, it's a 365 deal. We're planning work weekends and doing stuff all year round from the springtime. We like to turkey hunt, but when we're up there, we're also doing stuff that is hopefully going to benefit us this winter. A lot of planning, like you said, cleanup, and blinds, and the list goes on and on. And it takes a small army. And I've been blessed with some great friends that have helped us. you know, along this journey to have what we have. But, you know, you do all that work and then here we are, no water. And it's a bitter, bitter pill to swallow.

Matt Harrison: Especially after all that time and money that you've put in, hoping that the Mississippi River is at a level that can produce water for y'all. Yeah.

Brooks Tinsley: Yep, and we put in a big pump to pump water, but it's actually so low that we can't even pump. Wow. But it is what it is. If you like to duck hunt, now's the time. And we've, like I said, went over to Arkansas and seen that. But I think more than anything, the private versus public debate, it is nice to show up at 530 and not have to worry about if you're going to have a spot to hunt. So I'm not gonna lie, that is extremely nice. But man, some of the finest waterfowling in the world happens on public land. And so, you know, we're blessed to be able to have that resource throughout our country. But, you know, Arkansas green timber, there's only so much of it.

Matt Harrison: No doubt. And, you know, like you said, you know, the time and effort that y'all put into that, it all depends on if the Lord wants it, you know, the water to raise, to give you water to hunt, that's great. But you always have that, that public ground side of things, you know what I mean? And thankfully for the resources that we do have, the opportunity to build a hunt. public ground and have it right here in our back pocket. Mississippi, Arkansas, this Mississippi-Louisville Valley whole area produces some of the best waterfowl hunting known to man. But now talking a little bit about, you say that you grew up hunting public ground, then you kind of shifted into some private, now kind of back to public now that the river's not where you need it to be. What are some of the biggest changes that you've seen? Because 25 years now that you've been hunting this certain specific area, you've seen some changes. You've seen from, like you were talking about earlier, the map system. Now you've got numerous different platforms that, man, you can just about zoom in and see a duck sitting in a hole with the new apps and things that we can now use to better benefit our scouting, to better benefit our, you know, does this area, you know, flood often, does this area, like, I mean, there's even apps now to tell you, guess the amount of water in certain areas. So, I mean, it's crazy now at the things at our fingertips that we have to find ducks easier. So, you know, you've seen that side of things. Then you look at the gear side of things, you know, from shells to guns to motors to boats to, you know, camo to the whole nine. You know, you've seen that shift of things. You've seen it, you've seen it a lot in 25 years, you know, the shift of it. So what are kind of some of the biggest things that you have seen change over your time that's kind of stuck out to you?

Brooks Tinsley: Yeah, the mapping probably being the number one. Honestly, I can remember there was a GPS app on your phone called Gaia, G-A-I-A. And I learned about this in like 2013, and it literally changed the game for us for a couple years. It was so efficient. It was like Onyx, but before anybody else had it. So if you could imagine if you had Onyx, but everybody else just had their computer at their house.

Matt Harrison: You were light years ahead of everybody.

Brooks Tinsley: Light years ahead, and man, it paid dividends. Like, I can't even begin to tell you how much it affected our hunts. You were able to scout prior to scouting. So, like, you could scout from your house. Like, I'm on my phone, and I'm mapping, well, this might be a hole right here, and dropping a pin, and maybe this is how I get into it and creating a route. But before that, I can remember hunting this public land spot in Mississippi, and this just shows you the mindset. We'd be hunting, and there'd be this boat that would go back, and they'd shoot them, and we'd be like, man, I've heard there's flooded corn back there, that they've figured out how to get to this spot or this. And no, it wasn't any flooded corn, but that's what we drew up in our mind. This was some magical place. And that's hard for people right now to understand the difference in that. And we have just, like you said, like the tools we have are so much greater, but it's also a double-edged sword. Everybody's got that tool. How do you use that to your advantage to, you know, to be successful? you know, I wish I had, you know, better advice for our listeners. It's almost like the playing field is even now. And so, you got to get up earlier and you've got to hunt smarter and not harder. One thing that I use, you know, is like, how do I get to this spot before somebody else and use that map to like plan that out? So, How do I get to that spot quicker? And you really want to do that prior to getting there. And so really, really scouting with your phone before you step foot or lay eyes on a particular piece of property.

Matt Harrison: But like you said, and it kind of stuck out to me as, hunting's smarter too. Like you said, now it is an even playing field, man. Every person you know has a phone, has about three map and apps. They have the fastest boat, they have the best decoys, they have the best shotgun, best ammo. You find somebody that loves to duck hunt and puts a lot of time into it, they're gonna have the best of the best. So, it is a even playing field. You know, everybody has the same opportunity, especially if you're hunting public ground. You know, everybody has the same exact opportunities as the next guy up. So, you learn, like you said, you learn how to hunt smarter. You know what I mean? It's not, it's doing your research. It's like you said, well, how can I get to this spot? You know, I know that this is going to be tough. I may have to walk a mile and a half. If that's what it takes to get away, separate ourselves from the mass to be able to find these ducks, so be it. But hunting smarter is something that is so overlooked whenever it comes to doing your research, kind of looking for that one step ahead advantage versus the next guy.

Brooks Tinsley: Yeah, and, you know, like, I'm gonna hunt this hole with this wind or this hole with this wind. And that's something that, like, you can, man, we're just gonna hunt the same hole every day. And it's like, well, I wonder why they shot him today. Well, the wind set up better for that hole as opposed to this hole that we feel like we need to hunt every day. And that, it's the intangibles. And so, you know, I've been blessed with 25 years of learning the right and wrong way to do it. It's more than just the particular hole or the particular, it's how you set up your decoys, how to call the ducks. And man, I tell you what's really surprised me is how many good duck callers there are in the woods today as opposed to 20 years ago.

Matt Harrison: Really, it's a big incline, huh?

Brooks Tinsley: The YouTube, there's so much tutorial on how to call, and we're able to record how we sound on our phones, so I tell buddies to practice that way. But just hearing the difference in the woods, it's like, man, I can vividly remember Like, our group called really good, and we would just consistently kill more than everybody around us because we were a lot more proficient from a calling aspect. And being in the woods in Arkansas this weekend, it was like, man, everybody around us has good callers.

Matt Harrison: It really is. Like, it's crazy to think about, because even, you know, I haven't been at it as long as you have, but this makes around 12 years for me now, I believe it is. And even 12 years ago, a little over a decade, The same scenario, like you didn't see as many good callers as you do today. And I think a lot of that is to what you just said is the resources we have. I mean, you can Google now, Jim Ronquist blowing a duck call, you know, and there he is, you know, one of the best to do it. And to be able to just kind of Mimic that, be able to learn that way. Now it's, now it makes it even harder, because now you got, hey, you know, you got five groups hunting, you know, in the same vicinity. And man, they've got seven guys in there blowing cutdowns that sound really good. Now we've got to, you know, try to outdo them. But that's when I love because now it's a challenge, you know what I mean? Whenever it comes to, and I don't mean that as in like it's you versus me and hey, we're trying to do better than you, not saying that whatsoever. And this could be, you're hunting a group by yourself, the challenge. I'm not saying it's a challenge versus somebody on public ground, but what I'm saying is, is the challenge of these ducks hear a lot of good calling, okay? They hear constant people that know what they're doing when it comes to sound, but if that's when it comes to then learning how to read ducks. When to call, how much, it may be a day, and I know that you know about this, but it may be a day that, man, you don't say much at all. You know what I mean? And then there's some days that I've literally been on hunts that if you let off of them for five seconds, they're gone. You know what I mean? You got to stay on them. But that's the fun part to me is learning. And if you stop learning, that's when you're a bad hunter. Because I feel like if you're not learning something every time you go out there, you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing. supposed to be doing. But that's my favorite part. The competitive side is figuring out how to read those ducks, what they want to hear on some certain day. And I know that there's some things we'll never figure out as duck hunters, and that's what a duck wants to hear on a certain day. Every day is different. So it's crazy to see now how that has even changed, how there's more good callers, so it makes the dynamic of when to call it ducks even more important.

Brooks Tinsley: Yeah, so, you know, I've had the opportunity to hunt with a lot of really good hunters over the years, and like you said, learning from them, and I'm constantly learning. There's something to be learned every day in those woods. I would encourage people, you know, if you do end up hunting with some other people, ask them, hey, what would you do right here? Do you think there's anything we could change? Or what I like to do, whenever I'm a guest or I didn't get the spot and I might be hunting with some other people, I just sit back and just take it in. Like, again, how are you doing things? I'm watching how the duck's reacting. You know, there's a lot of time in my mind, I'm like, dang. I'd probably do something different right there. But again, that's me able to soak in and learn from other people's mistakes or take something from that person and be like, man, did you see what he did right there or how he's got this set up? And that was awesome. You know, I'm going to try to incorporate that into what I do next time. You know, I'm pretty sure.

Matt Harrison: 100%. Because there's a hundred different ways to get to the same point. You know what I mean? And being able to figure out One of my favorite things is, like you just said as well, is learning from other people. Like when you get the opportunity to hunt with somebody that you know, hey, he's done it. He's been successful for a long time. I'm going to kind of just listen to him, see what he, you know, see how he kind of, you know, treats this certain day or this certain scenario. And you can learn a lot if you'll just swallow a little bit of pride. And I'm not saying, you know, every time you go duck hunting, say I'm not going to do anything. Learning from the ones around you that's been around a while, that's been successful at it. I shared this not too long ago, but one of my favorite people to hunt with is in Southeast Arkansas, the Maxwell family. They have been successful for… probably 40 years, 50 years. Mr. Tommy's, uh, you know, getting older now, but I mean, he, he knows what he's doing. It's been, you know, it's been proven year after year after year. And yeah, it may not, when you're sitting right by him, you may be like, man, I don't sound like a duck, but you walk off 150 yards off in the woods and you're like, Is that a hand sitting over there or is that somebody calling? So, you can learn so much. And like I said, I learn something every time I go duck hunting. If you don't, something's wrong, but it's truly… A good hunter is always looking for ways to take a step forward to become a better hunter. And sometimes that is swallowing that pride and saying, hey, I'm gonna let… Little John over here finished this group of does because I've tried it the past couple and clearly it's not working with a couple of us trying to finish them. So, hey, look, you take the lead on the next bunch. Once we break them out or kind of get them locked in, you finish them. So, you can learn a lot by just, like you said, taking a step back, especially if it's something that you were invited on the hunt or this ain't your hunt. Somebody invited you to their place or invited you to this certain hunt. Take a kind of seat in the back and just see where it goes. And a lot of times too, I've learned this too, and I'm sure you have because you're a really good duck caller. A lot of times when you take that back seat, people look at you and be like, what are you doing?

Brooks Tinsley: Call. Yeah, we thought you were going to be calm. That's why we brought you. Yeah, well, you said something that definitely hit home with me, like pride. You know, I think hunters in general have a lot of ego and being able to just take a step back and just being like, I'm not the best hunter ever. And there's a lot of that. You know, there's a lot of, I'm better than you. And at the end of the day, it's you against the ducks and God's creation.

Matt Harrison: That's it. And I want you to answer this too. I got a question for you. You know, a lot of times it's the human nature, not in just waterfowl hunting, we overcomplicate things. You know, we make things harder than what they are. Do you think that even though we can, you know, have all these certain, you know, tips, certain advantages, certain things, do you think sometimes we overcomplicate it just as in, hey, you know, there was people 70 years ago with the Browning A5 and a wax canvas jacket and some boots or some uninsulated, you know, waders and they, they shot him, you know? So do you think, do you think that sometime we can make it more complicated than it actually is?

Brooks Tinsley: Yeah, I think you can. I think you're always looking for an edge, you know? I think that's what we're all looking for is like, how can we get an edge over the group next to us? And it's just like this constant, never-ending battle of trying to find that edge. But like, I would… You know, Arkansas has now the motion stuff is back. You can use spinning wing decoys now on WMAs. And I really enjoyed not having those in a little more simplistic hunt. But now that they're back, you're at a distinct disadvantage on certain days, especially sunny days. If the group next to you has out, you know, seven mojo machines and you have zero, It doesn't matter how good a caller you are. Uh, so yeah, I mean, like, I don't, you know, it's a, it's a, technology's a double-edged sword in a lot of situations, you know, like, um, in life, I think our phones are great, but at the same time, I think they're the biggest distraction ever. Uh, and I'm guilty of that as well.

Matt Harrison: No doubt. No doubt. Because, you know, Yep, they're great. And like you said, you look for that edge. And a lot of these things that we have offers that edge, you know, especially in certain scenarios. So, for sure, you know, from that aspect. But, you know, how… Now, kind of shifting back to kind of where we started, you know, I know that you're trying to get your daughter a deer. We talked about that a little bit. I'm sure you're going to find your way back in the duck woods here soon. But what are kind of, you know, what have you seen? Do you think it's going to be… Do you think it's going to be a good year? Do you think it's going to be a little bit slower of a year? I know that you're a little bit dry where you need to be at y'all's place. You would like a little bit more water, but what are some things that you've seen that you've kind of felt? What's kind of your predictions? And I know we don't have any science-based numbers to say, hey, this is what it's going to be. You've been around it for a while. What are you seeing?

Brooks Tinsley: Yeah, you know, we've had a little bit colder weather in early December, and that's pushed some ducks down maybe a little bit earlier than they should normally be. You know, you hear photo period based on the timing more so than the weather. And we have those early migrators, you know, the November or Halloween ducks. But we've had a little bit of push. I know Mississippi has struggled early. I know some people that have had success, but the vast majority have not. And similar to Arkansas, we had some really good hunts opening weekend, and then it tapered off. But there's been a cold front here a couple days ago, and we had some snow in Missouri. And so I'm very optimistic, weather, weather. weather patterns, there's a direct correlation between weather and harvest. So, I say if you have those weekly weather patterns that consistently shift ducks around, get them out of whatever patterns they have. People hate refuges because it's like, man, they're holding all the ducks and we ain't killing nothing. Well, when there's a weather change, it mixes those ducks up. Our success this year will be based on those weather shifts and weather changes, whether it's a cold front out of the north or even a warm front with the 20 mile an hour south wind and rain, it will just change up the landscape.

Matt Harrison: Huh, that's neat to think about, you know, whenever it comes to those patterns and whenever we have a major shift or something like that. So, whenever it comes to patterns, what are you, you know, let's just make up some scenarios here. What are some Brooks Tinsley's favorite scenarios, let's say for a week long, you know, are you wanting that 32 degrees, of course you love, everybody loves the, you know, bluebird sky, north wind, but, you know, some days you may have that and it may not be a good day at all, you know what I mean? You have those mornings, but, you know, what are some, what gets you excited whenever you look at your weather app and you say, okay, for the next week we're about to have X, Y, and Z, what gets you excited? What gets that blood flowing a little bit because you've had success in those certain scenarios?

Brooks Tinsley: I would say to everybody listening, go when you can, first. But beyond that, what would really get me fired up would be a crazy cold front with Lowe's and the teens for three nights in a row. It concentrates ducks because water's frozen, and finding open water has ducks in said open water. So that, last year in January, we had that. And everybody I talked to had some of the best hunts of their lives during that. So, but those hunts are hard on your body, on your equipment. And it's almost like, man, that was a lot of fun, but I'm glad it's over. So like it, but, but if I could pick a day, it would be, uh, after that, that front when it's 32 degrees and sunny and a Southeast wind, that would be my ultimate day. That's it. That's it.

Matt Harrison: No doubt. Yeah. No doubt. And that's that's funny because you know every duck hunter is different everybody. Of course you like that big cold snap that like you said for three nights in a row it's down in the teens and When it's middle day, you're only getting up to 35, 36. That's when you can really have some of the best waterfowl hunts that you have. But before we hop off here, I do want to shift back to talking about some public ground hunting, because I've had some people come up to me recently and say, hey, listen to the podcast. And there's some younger demographic waterfowl hunters. You've been around it a long time, you've learned the things to do, you've learned the things not to do, you've learned a lot. So, we have listeners that I'm sure are seasoned waterfowl hunters that they've been around for a long time, they have their system, it works. But how would you encourage some people, and when I say some people, maybe the younger demographic that… Hey, they may not have every resource that they need to be successful. Same as you. You moved from California, you moved to Mississippi, and you just started going out, and you started finding your way. You started learning certain areas that, hey, this area has ducks, and hey, this area don't have ducks. So how would you encourage those listeners that, hey, they may not have everything at their disposal and they want to learn more about it. How would you kind of encourage them and what are some things that you would tell to them that, hey, you can do these few simple things to become a better duck hunter?

Brooks Tinsley: Yeah, first, do a lot of scouting beforehand. If you wanna drive from South Carolina to Arkansas for your first public land hunt, do a lot of scouting before you go. Here's my plan A, B, and C, and then I'm planning on hunting this area, but if there's no ducks, I'm gonna plan on going to a completely different area that I've already got a bunch of spots marked. But then, When you go, try to make buddies. Be polite, be courteous, and try to build a network of like-minded friends that share the same passion that you do, where you can reach out to them and be like, hey man, how's it looking over there? And that comes back to a point that I was trying to make, and I'm kind of glad you went back here, but public land is super crowded. There's people racing the holes, there's people fighting over holes. And I think just as a waterfowling community, we really need to get back to the golden rule, Matthew 7, 12, do unto others as they would do unto you. And what that means is treat other people just like you want to be treated. And if you do that, if you embody that command from our Creator, then you'll reap benefit from that. And again, if we don't do that, the government's gonna impose stuff and take stuff away from us because we can't self-govern as a community. And so it's like, hey, if you don't want somebody coming into your spot and saying, we're hunting with you, we don't care if you got here first or not, then then you don't do that either. you know, and vice versa. And there's so many scenarios that I've heard and horror stories. And, you know, I'm guilty in the past of doing things that is like, I'm ashamed that I acted that way, you know. But, you know, the conviction of Christ changed me as a hunter. It's like, man, no, I'm just gonna, I'm gonna treat people like I would want to be treated.

Matt Harrison: And what's crazy with that, too, is If you start treating others that way, you know, we and me and Jim Ronquist talked about that too, is like, it starts with you. You see what I'm saying? It starts with you. It's easy to say, well, I'm going to be, you know, if he comes in here and he starts, you know, running, I'm going to be that same way. Look, and I understand, you know, we all love to hunt. We all love to chase waterfowl. But be that person that makes a difference. You know, be that person that helps somebody out. Be that person that people look to because you're an example of what a hunter should be. You know what I mean? Because, you know, we do live in a day and age that it's easy to get, you know, bad news. It's easy to talk about negative things. You know, it's easy to… to just doom and gloom, yeah, the hunting community's changed, it ain't no good. Well, look, it starts with somebody, so why not start with you? And like you said, treating other people, being kind to people. Hey, if somebody does come in and they want to hunt with you, look, man, yep, you can hunt. We'll find a way to make it work and let's enjoy this time. And if you'll treat people that way, a lot of times, hey, they may say, look, thank you so much. I appreciate that, but I'll go find another spot to hunt if you'll treat them with kindness, respect, and getting back to the way it's supposed to be because at the end of the day, we're all on the same team. We're all on the same team. We all need to leave it better than we found it. We all need to be conservationists and want this to, like you said, have this opportunity in 15 years. to be able to go out, share the duck woods, and our kids be able to share the woods with one another. So, being that light, being that difference, you know, to the others around you, I could not have said it better. Networking, finding those people that you can trust, finding those people that you can discuss, that you can call, bounce ideas off of, to make you a better hunter, because good people are out there. You know, good people are out there, and a lot of, lot of duck hunters are genuinely good people. You know, now you do have some, and that's with anything, you know, you have some old sore heads, but hey, you've, there's a lot of down-to-earth, blue-collar, would, you know, come help you change a tire in 25-degree weather in a heartbeat, if you called them, types of guys. So, yeah, being that difference, being a light, you know, is truly a great point, and I'm so glad you touched on that a little bit.

Brooks Tinsley: Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Matt Harrison: Well, Brooks, it has been an absolute pleasure to have you on the Ducks Unlimited podcast. I can't thank you enough for carving time out of your day. I know it's a busy day for you. I know it's a busy time of year for you, but we cannot thank you enough for taking time to hop on the Ducks Unlimited podcast.

Brooks Tinsley: Absolutely. It was truly my pleasure and good luck to everybody the remainder of this season.

Matt Harrison: Absolutely. We also want to thank our podcast producer, Mr. Chris Isaac. We also want to thank our Ducks Unlimited podcast listeners. Thank you all so much. Y'all take care and God bless.