Habitat Flats Co-Owner/Operator
I haven't talked to you since Waterfowl Training Day in Iowa. Besides the thunderstorms and tornado-like weather conditions we battled that morning, how do you think the event went and were you pleased with the attendance?
VANDEMORE
I was extremely pleased with the turn out for the event. Typically this is a weekend where all of the Pro Staffers in our area get together and look at changes and new products prior to the show season. This was the first year we opened it up to the public and I really enjoyed it.
FLYWAY
When you look into your crystal ball do you see a Waterfowl Training Day 2011?
VANDEMORE
Absolutely.
FLYWAY
I bought the "Adrenaline" from Field in Iowa and the call is awesome. I can't say enough good things about it. Do you have the "Adrenaline" and what are your thoughts on it?
VANDEMORE
I have one as well and definitely agree with you. The call has a great range of tones from low to high which I really like. I also like the speed, if needed you can get very fast on this call and still have good clarity, sharp cracks and breaks. This will likely be the first hunting season for a lot of folks to get them out in the field...but we were testing some of the prototypes last fall/winter and had great results.
FLYWAY
Let's talk about the new "Fuel The Fire" dvd. How long did it take to produce it and get it out to the public?
VANDEMORE
The Fuel the Fire dvd that is out now is the culmination of a lot of hard work. We filmed most of our management last spring/summer and most of our fall/winter hunting. To me, that is the easy part. Field Hudnall has the tough part....we literally have HUNDREDS of hours of tape throughout the course of the year. He has to go back in and import all the tapes, then go through all of them again and pick apart what he likes and doesn't like. After that he has to try to build a story line, be creative and piece it all together with music. It's mind boggling to me to know how much time the editing process takes, but Field is truly one of the best videographers/editors in the business and we are fortunate to work with him. His creative mind is always working when he is editing and the way he pieces it together and lays it all out time and again is amazing to me. To say it's a labor intensive process would be an understatement!
FLYWAY
"Fuel The Fire" is extensive and covers alot of different topics. What will people who purchase a copy of "Fuel The Fire" be getting that they didn't get with "Buried In Snows"? Tell us a few things that we will see in "Fuel The Fire".
VANDEMORE
The F5 Buried in Snows dvd was a dvd solely about snow goose hunting and a glimpse into the daily chores of what it takes to run our snow goose operation, or any snow goose operation for that matter. With Fuel the Fire, we wanted to give everybody a look into our duck and Canada goose operation. Management plays a key role in what we do at Habitat Flats and we wanted to try to give show some of the things we do and how we do them. We wanted to try to provide tips on management, duck hunting, and Canada goose hunting that people might be able to utililze on their areas or while they are hunting in the fall/winter. There is some incredible mallard footage, public land Canada goose tips and tactics, and good management tips; hopefully everybody can find something in there they like and might be able to utilize in the fall. It's 2.5 hours long and could have easily been twice as long. Looking back on a lot of great footage that isn't in there, I don't know how Field can cut it down like that when he has so much to work with, he has the toughest job out of all of us without a doubt.
FLYWAY
Where was the majority of footage shot for "Fuel The Fire"? I'm assuming Field was the man behind the camera?
VANDEMORE
The vast majority of the footage was shot at Habitat Flats. We also wanted to incorporate some good public land hunts. We often here that it's easy to get good footage at good private land spots...and that's very true.....however, we all cut our teeth hunting public land and putting forth the extra effort it takes to be consistently successful on public lands. We wanted to show some of that so guys could hopefully take some of those tips and tactics into the field with them this upcoming season. We aren't 'country club' hunters that have great private places to hunt everyday, we are just like every other die hard waterfowler out there that will do whatever it takes or go wherever we need to to try to get on birds.
FLYWAY
How are things at Habitat Flats these days? Are you keeping busy?
VANDEMORE
Things are going well for us these days, but staying busy is a big understatement! Most everyday of the 'off season' is spent preparing for the upcoming season in some way, shape, or form. There are crops to be planted, moist soil foods to be planted, water control structures to be fixed, new areas to develop, gear to fix, blinds to build and brush, etc. It's truly a labor of love for us and what we spend the vast majority of our time doing!
FLYWAY
For your birthday this year I will be inviting 3 of your favorite bands or singers to perform for you at your birthday party. Who will I be inviting?
VANDEMORE
Now that's a tough one...Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Merle Haggard!
FLYWAY
When I was a youngster I was walking through the woods and noticed this brown fury creature nestled up against a tree. I walked up to it thinking it was a cat and picked it up. It let me pet it for about ten seconds then it decided to take a nice sized chunk of skin from my left hand. It hurt like hell, I'm not gonna lie.You have to understand I was very young and not very bright at that time. I screamed bloody hell then my dad came running out and shot it. It was a woodchuck. I had to go to the U of M to get tested for rabies and was fortunate not to have them. True story! It begs the question, how much woodcould a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Your thoughts?
VANDEMORE
HA, that's a funny one! Honestly, I don't think a woodchuck could chuck much wood....all i ever see them doing is laying around sunning themselves! Now if it was a beaver, that would be a different story, them little jokers are BUSY!
FLYWAY
Brett Favre is coming back to lead the Minnesota Vikings to the Super Bowl! Are you as pumped as I am or could you not care any less?
VANDEMORE
I can't say I am a die hard Vikings fan, or any other NFL team for that matter, I prefer college football. That being said, I do like hard nosed NFL players. I like Brett Favre regardless of who he is playing for! Love him or hate him, it's undeniable that he is as hard nosed as they come, he never goes out there and gives it less that 110%. Some of the hits he takes and keeps on playing is unreal. Not to mention he isn't that different from us....grew up in swamps of LA and is an avid outdoorsman. He's one of the better ones in the game from my viewpoint. I can't stand seeing some of these pro athletes who are scrared of getting hurt because they are getting paid so much to play a GAME, he plays the game like it is meant to be played.
FLYWAY
Your favorite movie of all time is.....?
VANDEMORE
To be honest, I am not much of a movie buff. I generally don't get to spend much time watching movies or TV. Christmas Vacation is one of my all time favorites though....'the little lights aren't twinkling Clark'...that movie never gets old! Big fan of Blackhawk Down as well.
FLYWAY
Your favorite meal of all time is......?
VANDEMORE
Tough, call, I am a HUGE fan of eating, it's one of my favorite things to do! One of my all time favorites is a duck camp meal on a cold late fall night after a good late season mallard hunt.....pan fried and steamed snapping turtle, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, blanched sweet corn, homemade gravy, homemade bread.....it's duck camp favorite for us and something I look forward to every year!
FLYWAY
I'm taking up coyote hunting this year and I will conquer them with a vengeance. Do you have any coyotes that you might want me to take care of for you at Habitat Flats? I can't imagine you want coyotes roaming around Habitat Flats scaring all the waterfowl and deer away.
VANDEMORE
You are more than welcome to them, there are plenty of them running around! I've scrared several of them in my day....growing up in IL where pretty much all hunting is done with a shotgun...let's just say if I had a rifle and you were standing 100 yards away, you wouldn't have much to be worried about.
FLYWAY
What's on your to-do list before duck and goose opener? Any projects left to tend to or are you ready to get our season started?
VANDEMORE
There are always projects that need to be done! Still need to do some mowing in some of our holes and get a bunch of blinds brushed. Probably the biggest task left to do is pump water. We have to pump a TON of water every fall. It's easy with some of the electric wells, but not all of our wells are electric. Some of them we have to hook up diesel power units to, in other areas we have to pump with 16" PTO driven Crisafulli pumps. If there is one thing to be said for pumping water...if something can go wrong it generally does! Often times it's a muddy mess that results in getting a tractor stuck or breaking who knows what.
FLYWAY
In closing, I looked for you here at Game Fair and couldn't find you anywhere. Where were you? Please do your best here to come up with a valid excuse!
VANDEMORE
Game Fair is one that I have never been to, but certainly would like to someday. From what I hear it is a great event. Unfortunately, the show season is relatively short and you have alot of them going on at the same time. I usually end up working something a little closer to home while the guys up in MN end up working Game Fair. I'll get up there one of these days though!
Minnesota Flyway would like to thank Tony Vandermore for taking the time to answer another interview for us. For more information on habitit flats and to see more videos of habitit flats visit http://www.youtube.com/user/HabitatFlats?feature=mhw4 ) , www.habitatflats.com.
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