The Fowl Life
What was the first duck you shot, where did you shoot it and what kind of gun did you shoot it with?
BELDING
My first duck was a Gadwall in Northern Nevada, jump shooting Boulder Reservoirs with my Dad. I shot it with an old .410ga shot gun that he gave me.
FLYWAY
What is your favorite duck or goose to hunt and why?
BELDING
I love mallard ducks and Canada Geese. In my opinion they are the cream of the crop. I love how they respond to the call and how they come into the decoys.
FLYWAY
What is one duck you haven't shot but want to?
BELDING
A Black duck in the Atlantic or Mississippi flyway.
FLYWAY
Give us a little history and background on yourself. Where did you grow up and tell us how and when you discovered your love and passion for waterfowl hunting?
BELDING
I am born and raised third generation Nevadan. I attended UNLV to play baseball, and graduated with a degree in business management. I truly fell in love with waterfowl hunting in 1997-1998 when I went on my first decoy hunt with my uncle and a few good buddies. It blew my mind to see the birds communicating and responding to the decoys and calling.
FLYWAY
You can go on a dream hunt with any 3 people. They can be family members, relatives, friends, celebrities, athletes, it doesn't matter. They can be alive or deceased. Who will you be taking on your dream hunt, where will you be going and what will you be hunting?
BELDING
I would do anything to have a few more days with my Dad, Orville Belding. Nothing would make me happier than sharing a blind with him again. I would also love to hunt with my business partner and friend Tony Cesario, who we lost last year. The third person in the blind would be George W. Bush. We would be hunting Mallard ducks on the Snake River in Idaho. After GWB drives the Go Devil to the location, we would call and kill migrating ducks as they come into the Boise valley like they do year after year.
FLYWAY
I want to pick your brain on decoy placement for a moment. Many strategize their decoy spread as though they are preparing a battle plan. They pay attention to every little detail and act as though one little mistake in their decoy placement will cost them success. Others simply throw their decoys out without any rhyme or reason and still experience success. Your thoughts?
BELDING
I prefer to scout hard and set the decoys up to look like what we saw the birds doing prior to the hunt. We try to be perfectionist in our spreads, but we do not set them all up perfectly. Now, if it is not working or something is flaring the birds, I will be the first one out of the blind to fix whatever is wrong.
FLYWAY
For your birthday this year I will be inviting 3 of your favorite singers or bands to perform especially for you at your birthday party. Who will I be inviting?
BELDING
Guns and Roses (1991), Eminem, and Willie Nelson with Merle Haggard (hopefully they are touring together).
FLYWAY
Let's talk about calling for a moment. If you were giving a seminar or teaching beginners on how to call effectively, what advice or words of wisdom would you offer to them? We all know how important practice is but let's get more specific. What are a few things that helped you develop you skills? What are some key things you would have them focus on, both for duck and goose calling?
BELDING
First, you need to apply yourself to really want to sound like ducks and geese! Next you need to take the time to learn your body, and how the different components work together to create clean pressurized air. Now you need to discipline yourself to practice air presentation, changing the air cavity in your mouth, and moving your hands on the call to manipulate different sounds. After you have married all of these elements together you can start making sounds by whispering into your call, and the lessons continue from there. I can have a beginner caller proficient on any call in 8 weeks. Check out www.bandeduniversity.com to learn more about my teaching style.
FLYWAY
What calls would we find on your lanyard right now and do you have a favorite?
BELDING
A Banded Calls Wreckin’ Ball short reed goose call in grey, a Banded Calls Crazy Train short reed goose call in Red & Black and a Banded Calls Banzai double reed duck call in white.
FLYWAY
The Fowl Life. There is no denying your success and your fan base. Give us a little insight as to the evolution of The Fowl Life. I have to imagine there were growing pains and frustrations in the beginning. Did you ever think it would become as successful and popular as it has?
BELDING
We have always believed in our ability to hunt and film, but jumping into television the way we did, we had no idea it would take off and be successful the way it has. The momentum is truly unbelievable; it is very humbling to know we are putting something out there that so many people want to be a part of. The Banded Brands such as The Fowl Life, Dead Dog Walkin’, Banded Gear, Banded Calls, Banded Hunts, and Banded University were all created to bring everyone together and share this dream we have. There have been many ups and downs on this road, but our dedication, work ethic, and vision have pulled us through it, letting us keep our eyes on the big picture.
FLYWAY
When I'm not hunting ducks and geese you will find me chasing the coyotes around. I can't get enough of it and that leads me right into "Dead Dog Walkin". I had no idea you liked to hunt coyotes! What inspired you to do this and what has the feedback from viewers been like so far? Count me in as a big thumbs up!
BELDING
My passion for predator hunting started before waterfowl. I grew up around trappers and coyote hunters as a child, and they shaped this area of my life. I was always intrigued by being able to call coyotes and bobcats from unknown distances, and get them close enough to shoot. The response from Dead Dog Walkin’ has been unbelievable, and further prompted us to continue doing what we do!
FLYWAY
In doing a little research I found something quite interesting. If you go to your website, www.thefowllife.com and click on "tips and tricks" for ducks and geese, you will find a nice little nugget from Eric Wulf. In this most interesting nugget he says that if you ever go goose hunting with Chad Belding DO NOT EVER offer to do the flagging. Expand on this a little for us, kind Sir.
BELDING
I guess it's because I take all areas of goose hunting very seriously. Sometimes guys offer to flag and their arm gets tired, or they are cutting up too much in the blind and I have to get on them about getting the flag up. Believe me, one of the best work outs you can get is to flag in the field with me; you won’t be able to lift your gun by the time I am done!
FLYWAY
Your favorite meal is.....?
BELDING
Authentic Italian, deer steaks, duck breasts and real sushi, all tied together at the top!
FLYWAY
Your favorite movie of all time and your favorite tv show?
BELDING
Godfather part 1 & 2…I know that’s two but they have to be seen together!
FLYWAY
What are a few of your hobbies besides hunting?
BELDING
I love baseball. Teaching it, talking about it, and watching it. I also love to see live music, and to hang out with my friends and family. Above all I love business. I love starting news businesses and maintaining the ones I already have.
FLYWAY
I want to touch on your television success. It looks like you and Team Maniac have a blast out there hunting and filming but there has to be some stress and frustrations at times, especially for you as a host. What are a few of the stresses and frustrations you experience that we as viewers are not aware of or privy to?
BELDING
Early on in television I got really stressed out, especially about having the best hunts possible, but as my career has progressed I have learned that we can entertain no matter what we are faced with in the field. The bottom line is that this is a business and we have a lot of expenses on the road and it’s my job to make sure the team capitalizes on all these opportunities. Some road blocks we encounter that you don’t see are Mother Nature, travel hazards, and keeping the overall moral of the team up when we are going through tough times.
FLYWAY
Describe Chad Belding in one word.
BELDING
Persistent!
FLYWAY
I like to believe we all have heroes and people we look up to. You have many fans and it's fair to say that many of them look up to you. Who are some of your heroes or people you look up to? Are there a few people within the waterfowl hunting community who have helped you along the way?
BELDING
My Dad Orville Belding is my hero. I have many mentors in the hunting community, all of who have helped me along the way. Some of which are; Tim Grounds, Tom Matthews, Shawn Stahl, John Stevens, Butch Richenbach, Joe Lares, Fred Zink, and Bill Jordan.
FLYWAY
In closing, I want to say thanks for spending some time with Minnesota Flyway. It has been a pleasure. I don't know if you have ever hunted Minnesota but if you haven't the Minnesota Flyway crew would be more than happy to take you and Team Maniac out sometime and put you on the birds!
BELDING
I truly appreciate your interest in me and the Banded Nation; it was an honor to be interviewed by you, and thank you for your support. We definitely look forward to sharing a blind with you in the near future. Please check out www.bandednation.com for links to our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and websites to see what we having coming up in the future!
Minnesota Flyway would like to thank Chad Belding for taking the time to answer our interview questions. For more information check out www.bandednation.com
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