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 how passion turns into habitat, community, and a legacy worth passing on. From carving lessons after school to developing clubs in the Butte Sink, Mike maps the moves, mistakes, and mileposts that shaped his waterfowl life—plus why he and his wife poured so much into Chesapeake Bay retrievers and California Waterfowl.

What’s inside

• Roots & mentors: the early days that hooked him on ducks—and the carver who lit a lifelong fascination with working decoys.
• Chasing birds north: leaving the Delta for the Butte Sink, joining a club, and learning the realities of leases, partners, and pressure.
• Building ground the hard way: second mortgages, burn requirements, summer refuge negotiations, and the year-round grind it takes to keep wetlands producing.
• Dogs that do the work: how Mike and Julie went all-in on Chesapeakes, from weekend trials to national-level success.
• Decoys with stories: cross-country hunts for classic blocks, how to spot originality, and the pieces he’s still chasing.
• Why give back: on becoming a CWA Gold Benefactor, supporting hunt programs for years, and making sure the next generation has a place to learn.

If you care about ducks, dogs, and doing things the right way, this is a blueprint—equal parts inspiration and practical wisdom—for building a life around waterfowling.

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