An interview with Jason Robertson
Q: Talk a little bit about your childhood hunting memories.
A: I was eight years old when I went on my first duck hunt. We hunted out of a tree blind on Moss Lake, and my first priority was trying not to fall out of the tree. I also remember thinking the decoys were real ducks. It's pretty funny thinking back and realizing that I had no concept of what a decoy was, and that placing a plastic duck out in the water would increase our chances of killing a real one. The first duck that came in was a pintail, and it lit right in the middle of our decoys. I stood up to try and shoot my first duck, and ended up hitting only the surrounding decoys. The next thing I knew, the recoil from the gun had knocked me flat on my back. Dad eventually had to rearrange some boards from the blind to give me some extra back support just so that I could shoot my 12 gauge magnum without it knocking me to the floor.
After some minor adjustments, another pintail came in and I was able to rack my first duck. The next day Phil was guiding a group of people and he told me that there wouldn't be enough room in the blind for me to go. I begged and begged him to let me go. Finally we came to the conclusion that he would drop me off at a different blind and let me hunt by myself. This particular day was one of the coldest and windiest days that I have ever been out in the woods. My body was so cold that when the first group of ducks came in I couldn't shoot. When Phil came to pick me up he noticed ducks flying off from my spread. He asked why I didn't shoot, and all I could say was that I was too cold.
Through the years ducks really had gotten in my blood and school started to interfere with my hunting. The school would only allow a student to miss 20 days out of the year without having to repeat the grade. Every year I used all 20 of my days during duck season. I remember being dog sick in the spring and having to go to school anyway, because I had used up all my skip days. Learning to duck hunt wasn't a difficult task, I picked up most of the ins and outs from Phil. Everyday after school I also went to a roost just down the road and listened to what real ducks sounded like. I would have to say that listening to real ducks on the water is the only way to really learn how to call.
Q: What kind of terrain is your favorite to hunt?
A: Any kind of timber, although hunting on the Snake River had a mystical feeling to it. It was kind of neat to hunt where Indian burial grounds were.
Q: What is your favorite Duck Commander call?
A: I tend to favor the Duck Picker and Camo Max.
Q: What is your favorite Movie?
A: Outlaw Josie Wales is a given, but other than that it's Tombstone followed by Groundhog Day.
Q: What is your favorite food?
A: Fried Opelousas Catfish and Mustard fried Crappie.
Q: If you couldn't duck hunt, what would you do in your spare time?
A: I love to play golf and fish. I figure if I put as much time into these hobbies as I do duck hunting, I could hang with the best of them to make a living.
Q: What has been the most challenging facet of duck hunting for you?
A: I grew up shooting right handed and later figured out that I was left eye dominate. So switching from right to left handed shooting was a difficult thing to do.
Q: Talk about your job at Duck Commander and what roles you take on.
A: First off, Duck Commander is really a passion that happens to pay my salary. I would hunt and make duck calls everyday whether it pays or not. I said to my wife on our second date, "I just want you to know that nothing gets in-between me and duck hunting, so ten years from now you won't have to wonder if I am going to be gone at 4:30 in the morning." She also knows to expect me at dark, and if I'm not home by 10 o'clock call the law because something bad has happened to me.
My responsibilities at Duck Commander consist of duck call manufacturing, research and development, sales, and I also help plan the setting for the videos. In other words, I try to think of creative ways to capture the hunt. People often ask me if there are any downfalls to working at Duck Commander, and there are always downfalls to any job. It is hard to hunt everyday of the season and be on top of your game. There are times when there isn't much flying and it is very hard to get up the next day. One day I slept in after a very slow week and the rest of the guys really strapped'em good. I was so mad at myself for sleeping in that I vowed to never miss another day. If I take a look at all the downfalls of this line of work, it only takes one group of mallards to work just right into the hole to forget the hard times.
One really fortunate aspect of my life is that I'm sharing this time and camaraderie with family. Phil and I are not only father and son but also hunting buddies. When it's just the two of us hunting we don't have to say Cut'em or tell each other when to call, we know what we are thinking and react to the ducks without having to verbally communicate. There is a very special bond between Phil and I that most certainly developed hunting ducks.