Ep 147 / The Great Outdoors: Hunting Tactics and Fishing Tips For Nova Scotia

Join me, Dave, and Johnny as we sit down with the incredibly knowledgeable Shan Cunningham to dive deep into the hunting and fishing scene in Nova Scotia. Right off the bat, we discover that Shan has some pretty solid hunting tactics up his sleeve for turkey, moose, elk, and whitetail deer, all while balancing his passion for fishing. It’s a laid-back chat filled with insights about the local wildlife and the unique challenges hunters face in this beautiful part of Canada. We also share some laughs over Shan’s love for fishing and camping, making it clear that the great outdoors is where it's at! Whether you're a seasoned pro or just curious about hunting and fishing up north, this episode is packed with tips, tales, and a healthy dose of humor.

Takeaways:

• Shan Cunningham shares his unique hunting tactics, including strategies for turkey, moose, and elk hunting in Nova Scotia.
• Fishing in Nova Scotia is just as captivating as hunting, with Shan detailing his favorite spots and species.
• The importance of introducing more youth and new hunters into the outdoor community cannot be overstated.
• Shan emphasizes the need to educate the public about hunting's benefits and promote conservation efforts.
• Exploring the stunning landscapes of Nova Scotia offers a remarkable backdrop for both hunting and fishing adventures.
• Shan's experiences with bear meat highlight the culinary possibilities that come from hunting, including unique recipes and cooking techniques.

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
Welcome to the WhitetailAdvantage Podcast with your host
Brett Bovin.
Thank you for tuning in andenjoy the show.
What is up guys?

(00:23):
This is Brett Bovin andwelcome to the Electronic Campfire
Campfire.
And one thing I got to say weare back for a day.
Yeah we took last we been offfor a week.
Enjoy Easter with our familyand friends and loved ones.
Hope everyone out there had agreat Easter as well.
I'm just going to leave thisbrief and to the point because I'm

(00:44):
excited for tonight's show.
Just a couple things.
We changed our name or changedthe housekeeping notes too thanks
to Johnny's new name it theten Ring no news and as of right
now we don't have any 10 ring news.
With that being said though Ido like to use a normal spiel.
We are not politically correcton this show.

(01:04):
I strongly believe hunting andbrotherhood go hand in hand.
So we invite you all to hazealong with us.
Hazing is part of brotherhood.
Brotherhood is part of a punting.
It all comes hand inand together.
Now Sundays is our round tabletype show.
It's our laidback type showsdiscussing lot of variety of different
topics.
Tuesday is our state specific show.

(01:25):
Tonight we're covering Nova Scotia.
Now one thing I want to sayput your corn in a slot machine.
Strongly believe hunting is adying sport, it's dying lifestyle.
So please get out there, helpshare the show, grow the show.
Everyone out there that's beena fan part of the show listen to
audio version Sharing the showwe appreciate each and every one

(01:45):
of you.
We love you.
We have the best fans out there.
Now last but not least, I wantto say thank you to all the men and
women in the military.
Thank you for your service.
Along with all the policeofficers, the firefighters and everyone
in public service.
Thank you for your service.
Now with that being said,Today is Tuesday, April 22, 2025

(02:08):
episode 147.
We are close to episode 150.
We are excited for it.
Now enough of me talking.
I invite you all to pull upyour chair.
Gather around the electronic campfire.
Let's talk with Shannon, ourguest tonight, Dave and Johnny.
We're gonna be talking aboutBlackhawk down for a minute because

(02:29):
I watched it last night.
I watched it for the firsttime in like four years or a long
time.
I haven't seen in a long timeand Squatch is not here tonight.
So I'm just.
I'm just going to give us around of applause for that one.
For all of us.
We're excited about thathopefully it gets all that come out
of his throat.
And let's bring everybody infor tonight.
Dave, John, what's up?

(02:53):
I just had to put it out there.
Mike's busting your balls already.
Michael's asking his squatchwith Mrs.
Bo.
We're not talking about thaton live air.
Yeah, we're gonna leave that private.
What is up, Justin?

(03:13):
Who's this right here?
This is a new one, Williamcoming from HMCS St.
John's oh yeah.
Well hello Williams.
Yeah, welcome to the show, William.
One of our Canadian naval ships.
Oh really Nice, nice.
See catching the shows here.
Make sure I got all thecomments here.

(03:33):
Michael's calling people dick.
You Michael?
Just like normal.
He's our resident 16 year oldpunk kid.
Yeah, Michael thinks he's a badass.
Yeah.
He has a bedtime so.
Yeah, leave now if you can.
William.
Just so you know Shannon, he'sgonna ask if you ever tried possum.

(03:57):
Just be aware.
Okay.
Yeah, let's just ask it now.
It.
Have you ever had possum?
I have not.
I would try it but I haven't.
I haven't.
Yeah.
So there you go Mike.
There you go.
Mike.
You can now go to bed.
Yeah, yeah.
Let me test his mom real quickand get him to bed.
Hold on.
Yeah, tell him.
Tell.
Tell her Teletubbies is on.

(04:18):
That's right.
Bitter Rook commented Squatchcome gargling.
Sounds about right.
Holy Brian going hard.
Which F likes it apparently.
Yeah, but I will say Ilistened to his podcast Sunday and

(04:39):
he released it with his wifeand it's actually really good.
Yeah, I just started episodetwo which by the way, if you're looking
for another episode outside ofWhitetail Advantage, go check out
Brian's podcast.
Twilight Hunters podcast.
I just started the second one.
William asked here Shane thePowerhouse Cunningham.
He also commented 16 passes bedtime.

(04:59):
It is 8:35 so go to bed.
Michael.
9:35 here so.
Or even later man.
Well John, do you have anyhunt, befriend or kill anything tonight
or.
No, I do not.
I have been busy with mylittle side project that I have going
on that you guys all know about.
That we don't know about.

(05:19):
That you do know about.
Oh yeah, I know what you'retalking about.
Yeah.
Okay.
So that like I got back fromspring break and that's just been
going crazy crazy with that.
So next episode I promise youI'll have it all done.
It's up to you brother, if youwant to do that segment or not.
If anyone's out there curiousI'm just gonna spill the beans on
his side project here.

(05:40):
It's.
He's, you know.
You ever seen the movie theNeighbors where they, they, they
make silicone under the dicks.
That's what he does.
So he's gotta inflituate along one because he's got a micro
penis.
You don't hear anyone denyingthat one.
Shannon, welcome to the show.
I'm sorry, yeah, we gotta sayhi to everyone watching.

(06:04):
Tune in for the show.
We gotta give the bantering.
It's.
It's an all in love inatmosphere here.
It's a, it's a brave place.
Okay, sure.
Sure enough it brings up aboutthe, the silicone one there.
My wife actually one time is a.
Gag her in a friend's order.
One of those called a clone.
A willy.
You're supposed to make a moldof your pecker.

(06:26):
So anyway, she's bugged me foryears to do it and I said never would
because I know knowing her,she'd have it into work.
You know, sword fighting withthe other girls.
Showing everybody is like nota chance.
That would not get my lightsaber.
Yeah, Squatch did it.
It looked deformed.
They would probably go.

(06:46):
You missed half of it anddidn't get stuck.
They came out like a weird Jtype thing.
A bunch of bumps andeverything all over it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That herpes sucks, man.
Oh man.
That's what I told him.
He said, yeah, it does.
The dip that keeps on giving.
That's right.
All right.

(07:07):
So Brett, where's our guestfrom tonight?
Nova Scotia.
Why don't you give a littlebackground about yourself?
East coast of Canada.
So we're right over if youlook at it where the problem is.
Shaped like a boot.
So right off to the side,right east of, of New Brunswick.
And so the Newfoundland, butno small province.

(07:27):
But we have a healthywhitetail population here for sure.
Oh really?
Very nice.
And, and for whitetail, theyweren't native in Nova Scotia either.
Even a lot of people here thatdon't realize that.
So it was like late.
Oh yeah.
Late in the 1800s they wereintroduced here and.
And they gradually came infrom New Brunswick as well.
But they were introduced latemid-1890s, I think around there.

(07:49):
Man, that's white tail beingthe invasive species.
That's pretty cool.
So is it pretty popular thenover there?
Yeah, for sure.
It's.
It's probably the number 100species here.
Yeah, that, that and ducks beabout it.
The biggest.
Oh yeah.
Duck hunting is huge upespecially in Nova Scotia.
You have all those bays rightthere and everything.

(08:10):
Yeah, I, you know, you thinkin Nova Scotia, you think they're
mostly fishing?
Well, at least I do anyways.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But yeah, I'd love to get upthere and do some whitetail hunting.
Yeah.
I mean, we're almost anisland, right.
We're just joined by a littlepiece of land, so we're never in
the province.
You're less than half an hourfrom one coast to the other.
It's a narrow strip.
Man, that is awesome.

(08:31):
All right, Shannon, I knowyou're a big fisherman.
I know you love camping.
I saw on your.
Your page.
Yeah, you, you do a lot ofcamping, and I noticed that.
I can't remember the date.
I'm just going to say lastweek or so that you were speaking
at a Bass Pro event.
Yeah.
How was that?
Yeah, my wife and I, when they actually.
When they were bringingCabela's in, that's when Cabela's

(08:52):
and Bass Pro were two separatecompanies and they were going to
put a store here in Nova Scotia.
And so the corporate peoplecalled me up and wanted us to take
my wife and I out for dinnerand talk about what stuff to bring
into the store and just pickthe brains of somebody that's in
the industry a little bit.
Right.
So.
So we went out and then theyasked us to be pro staff, so we accepted.
And I think it was like theday before the store was set to open

(09:16):
or very close to it, Bass Probought out all the Cabela's.
So now they had this brand newstore full of product, and they couldn't
open it because they weretalking about closing Cabela's at
that time.
So anyway, they decided tomake it one of the first Bass Pro
Cabela's combination stores.
And so we stayed on as prostaff with them and then we kind
of do the Cabela's Bass Pro,both brands for the store.

(09:37):
And it's a great gig for usbecause it's know it's 10 minutes
from our house.
They.
They pay us in gift cards.
We, we.
We were going to buy themeverything at the store anyway for,
for our business and things,so might as well get paid to go into
talk hunting and fishing and then.
Yeah, buy it back again.
Yeah, I don't know how you do it.
That would suck so bad.
It would just.
Right.
Man, that sounds terrible.

(09:57):
I mean, as soon as this jobstarts paying a paycheck, I'm out.
Well, you'll be here forever, Johnny.
That's right.
That's right.
So now what do you do for aliving then?
We're gonna need a lot of time.
I do a lot of things, so.
So that's just, you know, juston the side for doing that.
And then we have theoutfitting business.
So we run, we run hunts andfishing trips here in Nova Scotia

(10:21):
and then we just took overmanaging a lodge over Newfoundland
for moose and bear as well.
So we do that on the side as well.
And then my full time job Iwork for Halifax Transit and so I
work on the ferries.
So we have a big harbor hereto take people back and forth to
harbor with commuter ferries.
So.
So I work on those full time job.
And then, and then I also workfor the company.

(10:42):
Book your hunt.
I know you guys are familiar.
Book your hunt.
Yeah.
And then I also help managethe sister company of that for Baker
Hulk.
So I have the two online jobsI do on top of everything else.
So you're the guy I need totalk to about a Canadian moose hunt
then.
Yep.
We even got a few spots leftfor this fall.
Oh, don't tell me that.
Do you have any kids?

(11:02):
I do.
My.
Well my boys are both grown.
I have a 29.
Okay.
Because I was just trying todo the math and you're in my head
with all the you're doing andI'm like yeah, there's no way he's
got little kids.
My oldest is 29.
My youngest son is 23, I thinkand my stepdaughter's 16.
She's still at home.
So.

(11:23):
Yeah.
Now this might be a stupidquestion, but is there a.
Is there a lot of Bass ProCabela's shops up there in Canada?
There's.
I don't, I wouldn't know thefull number but there's, there's
a lot of the provinces haven't close.
So from, from here if youdrove three hours into New Brunswick,

(11:43):
they have a big Bass Pro.
They used to have a bigCabela's there too.
But once, you know, Bass Probought them out, they closed that
store up and just kept theirbig Bass Pro shop.
But they have a big one there.
A big for around here.
Bigger than the one we have anyway.
Yeah, yeah, we got a prettygood sized one in Grand Rapids.
There's 177 bass pronecabellos in the US and Canada.

(12:03):
You go wow.
So yeah, Johnny Morris comesup to this store fairly often.
He'll come in and he likescoming up here.
He tuna fishes a lot so.
Oh, does he printer every yearand tuna fishing trips.
He does a little Bear hunting.
So William stated, commented,my kids love Shan.
It feels weird saying Shan.

(12:24):
I love it.
I love his little thumbnail.
Stay calm and look at the flowers.
That's awesome.
Dead reference.
Oh, that is pretty cool.
What's that reference to thewalking Dead?
If you don't know the walkingdead and you see that.
It's just a picture, but I know.
The walking Dead, but I don't remember.
How's that referencing thewalking dead though?

(12:45):
Because Carol, that.
That girl that's in the thumbnail.
The old lady.
Yeah.
Yeah.
She tells this little girl tostare at the flowers.
Lizzy.
And then puts a bullet in backof her head.
Yeah.
When was that?
I don't remember that.
Ah, dude.
Yeah, that was like seasonfour or five.
I think that was after herdaughter died.

(13:06):
Oh, yeah, her daughter died inseason two.
Yeah.
See again, I'm.
I'm a movie TV nerd, so I knowall this stuff.
Yeah.
Brett doesn't have a tv, so his.
Wife won't let him watch it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
As soon as the news comes on,the cartoons get shut off for Brett.
Yeah.
I got a couple of questionsfor you, Shannon.

(13:27):
The first one here is from Bitterroot.
What would a moose hunt costto come do for us for our lodge?
Our 2v1 meaning to be 200worth of guy, but it's per hunter
is 6500 US.
And then if somebody wantstheir own guy because the guides
normally guide two, twoclients at a time, so they want their
own, that is 8,500.
And what we're doing a specialright now for this season.

(13:49):
The next is usually a thousanddollars extra for a bear tag add
on.
Oh, damn.
But we're doing five.
500 US on top of the.
So seven grand you can come upand hunt moose and bear in the same
week.
Now do you flip a coin for whogets to go first when you guide for
the.
For the two guys.
Yeah.
If they get to work it outthemselves or whoever can get the
opportunity.
You just shoot the.

(14:11):
Yeah.
There could be a fight there,I think.
Especially a big bull.
Yeah.
Oh, man.
There's that rifle.
Or can I bring my bow up there?
You can do bow as well.
But the only spots we haveleft for this year are late October.
So the odds are coming to callare going to be a little slimmer
by that time.
So it makes it harder for.
For a spot and stock on them.
So I'm gonna try to do a moosehunt this year.

(14:32):
I'm booked up salad for hunts.
Yeah.
You're all over the place.
Yeah.
Usually I'm flat outSeptember, October, I'm doing bear
hunts here in Nova Scotia.
But they say we just took overthis lodge last fall so it would
be our first year in camp there.
This outfit so nice.
Yeah, better.
Can't go anywhere next year, so.
Yeah, Bitter.

(14:52):
Has to stay home next year.
Are we hunting out there withhim next year?
I gotta apply in December.
He said, oh, okay.
I'm just gonna show up.
Use my dead luxury.
Yeah, I'm gonna.
I want to try hunting Illinoisnext year.
I'm gonna wait till Idaho till next.
The year after.
There's another question herefrom Michael Shocker Shannon.

(15:16):
You ever hear of Salmon RiverBend Outfitters in New Brunswick?
Yeah, yeah, I've heard of them.
What's your point, Mike?
Yeah, what's.
What's he.
What's the problem with that?
I've never been.
I've never fished with him, so.
But I want to see what I'm.
That's all it was is they just.
Have you heard of them?

(15:38):
Yeah, season one, her daughter dies.
Yeah.
There's a couple questions here.
Here from Odyssey.
How far is Shan From ManitobaLong Brittner.
All the way across the country.
Stone throw.
Yeah, it probably.
I don't know.
By flying it'd probably be.
I don't know, I'm onlyguessing, maybe five or six hour

(15:59):
flight.
Probably not terrible.
No, no, it's.
And they have some big whitetails up there, so.
No, Canada's just jacked with them.
Fy.
Michael said he's just asking.
Okay, so now how are thewhitetail up there?
Like.
Like body size, everythinglike that.
Yeah, I mean body size.
I mean it's.
Nowadays they're.
They're getting well up over200 field dress.

(16:20):
Right.
£200.
So.
But I mean 140, 160 is reallykind of the, you know, the bigger.
On the bigger side of bucksbeing taken.
I think Nova Scotia record was 194.
195 some around that.
I think it was quite a fewyears back, but okay, it was up there.
Now are you hunting mostlylike rifle hunting with them or do

(16:41):
you bow hunt them as well?
I.
I mostly bow hunt myself, but.
Okay.
But I mean I'm so busy.
I'm so busy guiding in thefall that I don't usually get to
hunt deer until like I'd loveto hunt them in early September when
it's bow only up here, butalso bear hunting and stuff at that
time.
I'm just not getting the time.
Yeah.
So it's Usually, you know, in November.

(17:03):
I love hunting the rut for inour mid.
It's like near mid Novemberbut it's just so cold.
Especially bow hunting.
And I'm getting older so Imind sitting too long.
But you know, I hear you there.
And then I wind up, I have afreezer full of meat so I'm way more
picky and I just wind uppassing on for neuro things.
It's rare for me to even takea deer anymore now because I wind
up passing on everything smaller.
I don't.

(17:23):
I don't need the meat.
So I'm more just hunting for racks.
Yeah.
Now what style of hunting doyou do up there?
So like in the midwest, inMichigan where us three are, we do
a lot of saddle hunting.
Yeah.
Is that what you're doing up there?
So I know out west saddlehunting is either not heard of or
very few people do it or evenhang ons.

(17:44):
Anything mobile.
Yeah, yeah.
Limited.
The saddle hunting just reallystarting to catch on here.
I know, you know, half a dozenguys that are getting into it now
and they love it.
So I.
I haven't tried it myself.
Yeah.
Climber stands.
Hardly anyone uses them herewhere trees are so thick that you
know you'd have to cut so manylimbs to be able to even use one.
But you mostly ladder standsand hang on stands and.

(18:06):
Yeah, that's what I use.
Ground blinds.
But the bears love destroyingground blinds.
Yes, they do.
And that's the problem herewith baiting.
Like the majority of guys wantto bait hunt.
But if.
I mean there's bears everywhere.
So you're gonna get your baitjust full of bears.
Most, most everyone.
So do you set trail cams forthem too and they get destroyed?
Oh yeah.

(18:26):
Yeah.
I usually map my trail camshigh because I'm baiting bear sites
too.
Right.
So even my deer sites, Iusually put them 10, 12ft up and
angle them down.
Yeah.
They still get them, but notas often.
Yeah, yeah.
I don't know what it is abouttrail cams.
They just love them.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We used to, I mean we saidabout having the smell on them, but
I've had brand new cameras andworn latex gloves out the same.

(18:49):
Just curiosity.
They like to see if it's foodor not and give it a bite.
Yep.
Now are you gonna say something?
Yeah.
So up there in Nova Scotia,it's more near towards Maine and
up in Maine area of the U.S.
they don't look at likescoring wise for antlers like you
would typically in the MidwestLike Michigan, Illinois and these,

(19:11):
these other type of states.
They more go the weight.
Yeah.
Is that kind of similar up there?
Nova scoffer go Nova Scotia.
The bigger deer will get.
The guys will talk about theweights but usually his points like
a lot of guys won't go and getthem scored unless they're.
They know it's going to besomething scoring high.
Some guys will but majority ofthem are saying, you know, I got
an eight point or a 10 pointand then you know.
Yeah, you know, just go bythat for measurement.

(19:32):
And the majority of people uphere anyway.
So what are you doing to.
To harvest deer out there inNova Scotia?
Because I the, the thing Iknow about Nova Scotia is from the
show Dual Survival.
When in like season one,episode three or four or something
like that.
Cody Lundin and that.

(19:54):
No, it wasn't his brother.
It was that army Arthur dude.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
I really like that guy.
Come to find out he was lyingapparently a lot about his background.
But I liked him.
Don't get me wrong.
They went to Nova Scotia totry and survive and it looked beautiful
there.
Granted, I think it was moreof just a small piece of the island

(20:15):
of Nova Scotia if anything,but it still looked beautiful up
there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We have a lot of similarterrain to Maine.
I found.
I've gone down to Maine turkeyhunting a bunch of times and I found
it very similar.
They have a lot more ticks andMaine than we have.
But we're slowly catching up.
We have our share too.
Yeah.
But not more as bad as it wasdown there.
I've never seen ticks likethat before.

(20:36):
They're bad here in Michiganalready this year.
Yeah, I picked a few upalready this year.
But back to my question, howare you dealing?
Like how are you trying tolook for deer up there in Nova Scotia
and what are you trying to doto be successful?
Yeah, I like mixing my hunts.
Personally I've been saying,well like I usually only guide a
week a year for, for deer.

(20:56):
Usually I like gettingsomebody in that's fairly new to
it because I find for here forto bring a trophy hunter in on a
five day hunt.
You know, I don't have bigfood plots or anything like that.
I'm.
My, my lands are all forestedso I, I put some bait.
Like I have minerals out right now.
I have trail cameras on those.
So I kind of get a feel forwhat's in the area.
I'll just keep the deercoming, keep the does happy.

(21:17):
If I can keep bait out withoutdrawing bears in, then I'll keep
the.
The does baited up more so.
And then.
And then I just find scrapelines and a lot of it.
I'll.
I'll set up on scrape lines near.
Near some baits, but usuallynot right over them.
And then I do a.
I mix my days up.
I'll.
I'll start off on the stand orblind now, you know, I'll do two
or three hours of that, andthen I'll get out and hike around,

(21:39):
do some.
Just.
Some.
Some still hunting or justmoving around, following scrape lines.
And especially that's what Ilove about the red.
I'll follow those scrape linesand get the.
The grunt call going.
And that's the majority ofdeer I've taken that way.
I made way more than theynoticed in.
And then I'll finish my dayoff usually back in the stand.
Get a little tired of hiking.
Yeah.
So what's the terrain like forpeople that have no idea anything

(22:00):
about Nova Scotia?
It varies.
It could be, you know, a lotof it's really boggy, thick, thick
terrain.
And we have a lot of big,clear cuts and stuff here.
So you get big choppins andthings, which the deer love, but
they're tricky to hunt becausethey'll bed down right in the middle
of them.
And you're not sneaking in onthose choppings on those deer.
Yeah, so.
So they're.
They're tough to hunt thatway, so.
But it's great.
Great for them because theyget the new shoots coming up.

(22:21):
Tons of feed for them.
So what type.
What's your archery setup like?
Mine, I have elite hunter.
There you go.
And I have a set to 73 pounds.
I think something like that.
It's a little too heavy, butthat's just what I got used to when
I started with it and juststayed at it with it since.
Yep.
Until you can't do it no more.
Yeah.

(22:43):
Brett.
And pick up a crossbow.
Yeah, I picked up a crossbowthis year.
I haven't.
I haven't hunted with it.
I only fired a handful oftimes at the.
At the.
At the range.
But I.
I like to get it out, try andshoot something.
Usually any weapon I get, Igotta kill something with it just
to say I did so.
Oh, of course.
Otherwise, what's the point ofowning it?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

(23:04):
I got two, and I'm not gettingrid of them.
What the that supposed to mean?
You have guns, right?
I got guns, yeah.
You ever kill anything with them?
It's a handgun.
You ever kill anything with it?
No.
All right.
That's what I meant by it.
I knew what you meant.

(23:25):
I know.
I have.
No, I also have a.
A Henry 22 lever action.
That's just a fun little funkand gun.
I know.
It's freaking awesome, man.
Love shooting that little thing.
The fundraiser bank we had afew weeks ago, we had a lever action
410 shotgun.
I wanted that bit.

(23:45):
It was just.
I don't ever use it for.
But it looks so cool.
You don't need a reason towhat it's for.
Oh yeah.
I think.
I think I'm squirrel hunting again.
Just like a kid again.
If I had that.
Yeah.
I just got another shotgun offmy kid because he owed me a 100 bucks
and it was his grandpa's andit was a Remington 870 Wingmaster.

(24:05):
Oh nice.
And it's in like immaculate shape.
I still have my Dad's old, old 870Y.
I mean I don't really needlike eight shotguns but I mean.
Well, I mean I.
Why not?
Every single male should ownan 870 of some sort.
Whether it be a wing Master orsomething like you have to have an

(24:26):
870 and I'm sure.
Brett, do you have an 870?
Of course not.
Well, I've got like three ofthem in my safe, so I'll.
I'll let you borrow one.
Yeah, I have.
I had the shotgun then I havea pump rifle and a semi rifle.
Yeah, I got a 7600 Remington 270.
Yeah.
Nice.
Yep.
Michael commented you never sell.

(24:48):
You just buy, buy, buy.
Exactly.
Or trade.
Yep.
Yeah.
I used to trade a lot when Iwas younger.
A lot of.
Same year.
Yeah.
And then I.
A lot of them I regret.
I look back at now and I wishI had them back.
Some of the ones I let go.
Yeah.
My glass.
If I got a Benelli, does that count?
Is it a shotgun?
I.
I assume Benelli.

(25:08):
Yeah, shotgun.
So yeah, it counts.
Yeah.
But he's got like a superblack eagle too, I think.
Yeah.
What?
Yeah, yeah, he's got.
Yeah.
What in stocker was flawless.
Anyways, now I'm waiting.
I'm just trying to see ifhe'll respond.

(25:29):
There's another question therefrom Bitterroot.
How is the timber harvest inNova Scotia?
Are there good clear cuts andedge habitat to hunt?
They vary.
They.
They do have some but most ofthe time, I mean now they're getting
more into of the biofuels andstuff so they're starting to clean
up the.
The choppins a lot more thanthey used to years ago, they just
took the heavy stuff and lefteverything else.

(25:50):
So they're, they're anightmare to try and cross on foot.
But now it seems with all thebiofuel now they're, they're mulching
all of it and taking.
Cleaning it right up.
So.
Oh, it makes it a lot easierto be able to hunt those choppins
and stuff now those clear cuts.
Now when I tried looking forNova Scotia's hunting book packet

(26:12):
online like, like all thestates here in the US have.
Yeah, I couldn't find.
Yeah, that should be.
It's online there.
Well, I went to this one pageand every time I click on the 2024
regulations, it says the sitewas closed.
Oh, you know what?
They just changed the, thesite over because they're, they have,
they're upgrading it.

(26:32):
So they just doing that herelike a week or two ago.
So I don't know they have allthe bugs worked out on it yet.
I haven't gone on it sincethey've done upgrades.
Fuck me.
I can't get any information then.
Well, we're hoping to getonline licensing here.
We still, we have for fishinglicenses finally because of COVID
but we still don't for hunting.
So you still have to go to astore physically buy a license every
time.
Oh, no kidding.
Yeah, that's a pain.

(26:55):
Go ahead, Brett.
What you just now just get itfor turkey but you haven't gotten
for deer?
Shannon?
For me?
No, we don't have turkey here.
No, but you say, you say youhave it for fishing, you just don't
have it for deer yet.
Yeah, two, two separatedepartments here in this province.
So.
So one, like I say, they kindof fast tracked the fishing one because

(27:16):
when covet hit it seemed likeeverybody and their dog suddenly
took off fishing.
So they were getting pushedfor it and you weren't allowed to
travel or go anywhere.
So they were trying to find away to get everyone out still.
So they, they started sellingthem online right then and then it's
latched on since.
But yeah, see it went totallyopposite here.
Like oh yeah, everybody gotlocked inside.

(27:36):
On the Great Lakes and go fishing.
Yeah, yeah, we were the samefor a while.
I meant as it started toloosen up.
Everyone seemed to take outfishing as they were.
They weren't traveling anywhere.
So everybody just look forsomething to do outside.
So.
Yep.
But a lot of people here, atleast I know in, in my area are rebels.
And we're like you, this Covidshit's fake.
And they'd say don't go out onyour lawn unless you have to go outside.

(27:59):
I was running around outside naked.
I don't give a.
Tell me what I can cannot dois America.
I'm free.
So like, I'm not gonna getstarted down that rabbit hole because
I'm already in the mood today.
We do have online deerregistration, though.
They did change that over time.
Oh, did they?
Well, she used to have to gointo a gas station.
What was, you know, what wasleft open.
You're hunting way out in themiddle of nowhere.

(28:21):
The time he drove out to thelocal gas station, it'd be some 16
year old girl working, youknow, now she's coming out with three
grown men, drinking beer,looking at the back of the pickup
truck at a bloody deer to seeif it was.
If it was antlered or not.
Right.
Because they had to check theback of the day.
And these stores are making,you know, two or three dollars for
every one of these they're registering.
So they just.
They're all giving it up.
There was nowhere left to thatwould even do it anymore because

(28:42):
they didn't want to deal with them.
Yeah, I had to do something.
So they went online finallyfor that.
So William commented,government not the greatest for hunters
here.
In my opinion.
Someone.
That's what you meant.
Justin commented ourforestries were full during COVID

(29:02):
when they're coming here from what?
Walkinstock.
Same during COVID I stillguided the pure puree.
Marquette river wasn'tsupposed to take people fishing.
Does done hurt anywhere how that's.
That's Dan's son, Tanner.
Is it that?
Yeah.
A whacking stack.

(29:23):
I mean.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He's a guide fisherman.
Salmon and fisherman up by Baldwin.
Oh, okay.
Okay.
Nobody was traveling, so itwas a tough time.
We had a lot of guys that werebooked in and you know, wanting to
know how they could get here.
It put us back probably three years.
Yeah.

(29:43):
Yes.
Tanner lives down in Ohio now.
Well, I think Covid, like if we're.
Let's talk about that for asecond here in Michigan alone.
I'm just going to talk about Michigan.
The hunting numbers were goingrapidly down.
Covid hit.
It went up for like a littlebit for that year and then it went

(30:03):
steadily back down like in 2020.
That Covid year was an outlierand people went outside.
I was.
Because they couldn't do anything.
So you went out and enjoyedthe outdoors.
And I'm.
I, in my opinion, let's say20,000 people got back, quote, unquote,
got back into hunting, fishingand Outdoors, in my opinion, maybe

(30:24):
a hundred stick with.
Stuck with it.
Maybe.
Yeah, I would say probably itwasn't a lot.
No.
Did you have anything similarlike that up there in Nova Scotia?
Yeah, we had.
My wife used to belong to thewomen's hunting group and they started
a mentor program and the ideawas to mentor kids coming into hunting
that might not have adultsthat you know in their life that

(30:46):
did hunt.
They wanted us to be able tostep up, volunteer to mentor.
So a bunch of us all signed upto do it.
And it turned out the majorityof the people signing up weren't
kids and stuff.
They were all middle agedfolks that just wanted to start learning
to hunt and stuff.
Never, never had the opportunity.
Right.
So that was.
The majority of the ones whowere multiple were all adults.
Which, you know, was, wasgreat because then you just made

(31:06):
hunting buddies over time too.
Right.
So yeah.
Hey, someone agree with mewhere to go?
No, they didn't.
They did whack and stack.
I agree with me.
Yeah.
Hey, Tanner, I'm telling yourdad I'm a genius.
Bit commented Covid aboutkilled the outfitting industry in

(31:27):
Canada.
It was hard to watch.
I'm glad to see you guysgetting back to normal.
Yeah, yeah, that had to berough when no one can travel.
Oh, there was, there was a lotof outfitters across the country
that went under over, butthere's a lot more springing up again
because of it.
So yeah, I had a hunt, a bearhunt scheduled to go up to Canada

(31:49):
and then covet hit and theysaid, no, you can't come here because
we're shut down.
I was like, you've got to be me.
I'm gonna be outside with nobody.
So what's the point?
Let me drive up there.
Like we can't fly.
Let me just drive in my car.
We, we had a father and sonbooked in for a bear hunt and then
covet hit and they couldn't come.

(32:09):
And then it went on for liketwo, three years of the year.
They finally loosened it upand these guys were set to come the
day before they flew up here.
They both act, both actuallycaught Covid and couldn't travel.
Not because of restrictions.
They're just both too sick.
They just, finally just pulledthe plug.
He said, look, we're not goingto make it.
I.
It was too bad.
It was four years trying toget them up here.
Wow.

(32:30):
It worked out, man, that just suck.
My, my wife, she got Covid twice.
I had a friend of mine thatcaught Covid twice.
Honestly live with my wife Ididn't never got Covid now around
my buddy when he had Covid, acouple days later found out that
he did have Covid.
I think I was one of the, theindividuals that would carry it or

(32:54):
just didn't show any symptomsof it because I never got sick.
You're ginger.
You don't have a soul.
Good point.
That is a really, really good point.
I have a soul, but it's just,it's very hard to find.
It's very small.
It's.
It's like broken in half likeDave said.
Yeah, I had it twice and Ididn't even know I had it.
I just took it because my wifesays, hey, your nose is running.

(33:14):
I'm like, okay.
I went to work anyway.
I didn't give a.
Now I wind up having it abunch of times, but that's the joys
of working around the public.
But.
Yep.
Well, the first, the firsttime we were down Reno, Nevada for
an SCI convention andeverybody that was down in that convention
come home deathly sick.
And Covid at that time wasjust starting out.
It was, it was in China, itwas parts of Europe, but it wasn't

(33:37):
really known it was in the US yet.
And.
But I mean, we were at aconvention shaking hands with thousands
of people non, you know,umpteen flights there and back, and
both of us got down deathly sick.
And everybody we knew had itand they weren't tested for it then.
It was so early on, but I knowwe had it then because there was
just no, There was nothingelse that it could have been.
Right.
So, wow.

(33:57):
Now with.
What are the tags like thenfor individuals that would want to
come up to Nova Scotia and hunt?
Did you mention that earlier or.
No, I don't think so.
So the way our province isdivided into seven zones, so they
split it all up and now eachzone has their own set of rules for
if, you know, some areantlered or antlerless deer, you

(34:18):
can take either or other onesis a lottery draw to take an antlerless.
And you know, some of them, Idon't know if they have all them.
They're, they're, they'relimited on their numbers, how many
they have per.
Per zone.
So as a non resident comingin, then you can't get an antlerless
tag unless you go to hunt inthe antlerless allowed zone.
So if it's by lottery draw,they wouldn't be able to.

(34:39):
It had to be antlered only.
So.
So the zone I'm in is lottery draw.
I put in every year for it.
I got drawn last year.
Have no intentions taking a dough.
I haven't shot a dose since Iwas a teenager.
So I just take it and I justlike, you know what, you never know
put in.
Yeah, that's true.
Yeah.
Now the regulations for yousame as like Canada for outer, like

(35:01):
somebody non resident whereyou basically have to have a guide.
Yeah.
Any non resident has to havefor hunting, fishing, you can come
in without a guide.
But hunting, you have to havea guide.
Yeah.
And, and they have a thinghere you can actually get a special
permit to guide.
So if you had a friend orrelative living here and you were
coming up to hunt for theweek, then they can go into the DNR
office and, and fill out to beable to guide you.

(35:23):
Now they can't hunt at thesame time as you, but they, they're
in charge.
You have to be in, you know,touch with you all the time.
But they can do it as long asthere's no exchange of fees.
If it's like a friend orfamily special permit, but.
And otherwise it has to be a.
Registered licensed guy, man,I sure am happy we're related.
Shannon.
I was starting to get worriedthere for a minute, man.

(35:45):
Just the luck of the draw.
Now I have my guide light, soI guide without the special permit
anyway.
Oh yeah, that's true.
Yeah.
Yeah.
There's a question in thecomments from Mark.
Yes.
Do you like bear meat?
That's actually my cousin.
He knows I love bear meat andhe's a big time bear hunter as well.
He's.
He got into it long before Idid and you know, we, we never thought

(36:07):
we'd like bear meat, my dadand I and we, we were at a friend
of his camp one time, deerhunting and he brought in some bear
chops and he's like, you guyscook these up?
And we were both, no, I don'tlike bear.
And he said, you got to try it.
So we cooked them up and welooked at each other as soon as we
were done.
It's like we're hunting bearfrom now on.
So my cousin, cousin Mark thatjust commented, he was already got
into bear hunting.

(36:27):
So he showed us a lot of theropes and things and helped us out
and, and we learned to lovebear hunting just as much as deer
hunting, if not more.
Yeah, I heard bear meatthough, if it's not done right, it
can be very chewy and very,what's the word?
Gamey.
Well, I want to say gameybecause it's a fucking Game animal,
you dumb shit.
Her bear's here aren't at all salty.

(36:48):
Yeah.
See her bear meat here, I findit very bland.
It's.
It's kind of texture pork, butyeah, there's not a lot of flavor
to it.
The.
The fat on them is very.
It's almost like a Crisco lard.
So it was greasy more than it is.
Yeah, I was just going to sayit's very greasy, but you know, and.
Of course you got to be.
Be conscious of disease andstuff, so you got to cook it up over
165 or so, whatever it is, to.

(37:09):
To make sure you've killed any parasites.
But.
But otherwise it's delicious.
Like you just, you know,you're not going to cook a medium
rare chops or steak off it oranything like that.
But for burger and roast andeverything, it's great.
Great chili.
Oh, it's delicious.
And then my wife renders thefat down and she'll make bare fat
soap soaps and lip balms andbeer bombs and everything else with

(37:33):
it.
Johnny makes it too.
I made out of deer stuff.
So here's my.
It's a buck rub right there.
All right.
On.
It's a venison tallow, so.
Yes.
Yeah, yeah.
Justin commented, do you cookthe fat down and use the bear grease?
Yeah, as I was saying that the way.

(37:54):
And my wife does all that.
I.
I take the fat off for her andfreeze it and she does the rest after
that.
So she, she was the slow cooker.
It's the best way to do it.
Oh yeah.
Is we, we, you know, we triedfor different ways.
Ruined a lot of batches andyou try too much, you scorch it.
That.
That smell is like burnt bacon smell.
It just goes right through anyyou're going to use it for.

(38:16):
You're going to have thatscent to it.
So she uses it low and slowand renders it down to an oil.
Oh, that reminds me, Tanner, Igot a bunch of pig.
Pig fat for you off that hogyou my dad.
Your dad shot last year.
Hey, hey, hey.
Let's not have a side ofpersonal on the show, okay?
Anyway, I got it all in the freezer.

(38:37):
Go get it.
I'm just kidding.
Now what other types of bidgame do you have up there in Nova
Scotia?
Big game.
Well, we have.
We have two types of moosehere in Nova Scotia.
We have what the.
The resident moose.
I always hear or crack another beer.
I hear it.
We.
Yeah, we have the resident moose.
Now they're on the endangeredlist, so they they can't be hunted

(38:58):
or anything else.
They're protected here in the mainland.
And what we call the up inCape Breton, we call the Cape Breton
Island.
Those moose were brought inback in 1940s, I think around there
somewhere.
And they're brought in fromout west and introduced into the
Cape Breton area.
So they have a different kindof species of moose.
In Cape Breton we used to havelottery draw only for residents and

(39:19):
that just came to an end last year.
So they pulled the plug on atthe number two Dadu ferns.
And at some point they may getback to a lottery draw again.
But we'll to wait and see.
That's actually.
Yeah, I'm waiting for.
Cool.
I'm waiting for us to be ableto hunt moose here in Michigan.
We have a, we have a moosepopulation up north and we actually
got them from Canada.
Okay.
And then we have elk.

(39:40):
I mean I don't like to callthem really elk though.
They're like a little bitlarger than white tail.
They're.
Yeah.
Northern elf.
You'll just, you'll be deadbefore you get a tag, a draw.
So my UPS driver, his, hisDodge son, first year, he was 21,
got drawn for it.
What are the freaking odds of that?

(40:01):
Yeah, it's less than 0.01%.
That's just.
Well, I've never been drawnfrom moose tag here.
All the years that I've, youknow, since I was old enough to put
in, never got drawn.
My wife, I think it was herthird time putting in, fourth time
getting in, got drawn in thenon motorized and then she didn't
get a move.
So we were up in the tough nonmotorized zone and no date ATVs anything
else you're hiking in andit's, it's rugged, rugged hunt.

(40:24):
But I mean we just didn't connect.
But it's a good time.
It's weird how like somepeople just have that knack for just
being lucky.
Oh, I just threw it in.
I just said it.
And next thing you knowthey're getting their name drawn.
Here you are throwing yourname in the hat year after year.
You don't get your name pickedand it's just like, can I just have
what, 1% of that luck?

(40:44):
Yeah.
Our neighborhood problem isNew Brunswick.
Actually.
They have a good system theyjust brought in where they're.
The longer you put in yourbetter, your odds are.
So you go up over time.
So.
So you don't have somebodybrand new having the same odds as
somebody's been putting in for20 years.
So yeah, that's not a bad wayto do it right there.
Better commented.
So interestingly enough, youcan hunt moose in Nevada, but not

(41:06):
Michigan.
So you know about that.
Last year Nevada had theirfirst moose draw and it was two moose
tad set and one of them wasfrom, I want to say 12 or 14 year
old boy.
That drawn.
Yep.
Yeah.
And yeah, it was unbelievable.
So many outfitters were likeoffering to take them all out to

(41:27):
hunt.
I mean, crazy to think about.
Yeah, that's just for the factthat you're that young and be able
to do.
To be able to have that typeof hunt that's special.
Don't take that for granted.
Wackenstack.
Dad had 13 to 14 points beforehe drew bear tag in Michigan.
Yeah, he did the Lake countyone where it's up to like 14 points

(41:50):
now before you can get a.
Get one.
Yeah, see I got, I drew for up north.
I think I had like four orfive points when I got drawn for
that.
But I mean up north is prettyfairly easy to get drawn.
Yeah.
Baraga man.
I mean you can have two tothree points and be guaranteed.
Yeah, as long as I get a bear,I just don't care where I go.

(42:13):
I just don't like whatever.
Yeah, absolutely.
So now you do a lot of fishingthen, Shannon too, you said?
Yeah.
What type of fishing you do?
We got speckled trout, we gotstriped bass, smallmouth bass, chain
pickerel.
And then we have saltwaterfishing as well.
And there's yellow perch,white perch.
You know.
You do a lot of.

(42:34):
Of like offshore ocean fishingthen or.
Not really.
I do something that I justhave a small boat rib that I take
just, just out the mouth ofthe harbor.
And we do usually July andAugust when it gets too warm for.
For trout fishing and things.
Then we'll head out and dosome salt water.
We'll go after flounder andmackerel and pollock.
It's just nice, a littlecooler on the, on the saltwater side.

(42:54):
And flounder is one of the fewfish I'll actually keep and eat.
I'm not usually one to keeptoo many fish and more catch and
release fly fishing and yeah, flounder.
I'll keep everyone I catchunless they're too small.
But I love them.
They're delicious.
Yeah, I mean we got somedecent salmon here, fishing and trout,
stuff like that.
But yeah, flounder I thinkwould be so fun to fish for.

(43:17):
Yeah, we only have a handfulof rivers to salmon here and it's
all catch and release onlyAnyway for our salmon but.
Oh really?
Yeah.
Bitter asks There you go.
Do they have a spring hunt?
Not in my province.
We're the only province ofCanada has a bear season that doesn't
have a spring bear season.
So any, anyone that alreadyhas a fallout, they have a spring

(43:38):
as well.
So we, we fought hard for it.
We came close last last yearand it can write down the, the government
put it out to do a publicopinion poll online poll that anyone
could fill out.
It was close.
It was like 51, 49 or something.
It was really close.
The politicians went with withthe nays and shut it down.
But I hear it's not a donedeal yet.

(43:59):
There's a lot of issues thatbears here, a lot of nuisance bears
and things and our bearnumbers are high so they just need
more of the science to provethe numbers.
So they're doing the studiescollar bears and scat samples and
things to to show more that is needed.
Michael S.
Do you do any pheasant huntingor anything?
Shannon?
Yeah, so I I grew up in thefarming community and we had lots

(44:22):
of farmland around and I Igrew up got my teeth on pheasant.
That's what I like first forthe first things I was hunting when
I was young so I'd still goback and do it to try to get him
a few times a year anyway.
But we have some greatpheasant hunting here.
That's cool.
That is pretty sweet.
My, my dad's best friend Mikehe, he loved pheasant hunting.

(44:43):
He, he's in a huge he fishingnow but back in the day just all
he did was as a hunting.
Yeah, there used to be a lotof peasants around here though back
in the 70s and 80s now there's.
We did a lot of pheasant hunting.
That's what I'm saying Backthen they were doing it a lot but
then they just kind of likedisappeared and they just stopped
doing it.

(45:03):
Our Fez's numbers took a hitis what happened was they.
They discovered that eagleslove dead chickens.
So the farmers thrown at thedead chickens and it turned into
everybody coming out to watchall the eagles.
Well once they had that foodsource they just blew up their numbers
for bald eagles went throughthe roof and of course they're not
just eating dead chickens.
Nope, they're hunting andfishing too.
Right.
So yes, pheasants are, youknow they, they're probably on that

(45:27):
diet of bald eagles right now.
So they've.
The numbers have taken 84.
Yeah we got quite a few eaglesby us, man.
I was out in Nebraska doingsome duck hunting, and we had like
maybe 30 minutes into it andwe started seeing a couple bald eagles.
And one of the guys that wasguiding us was like, oh, we're done.
Patch it up.

(45:47):
Yeah, like what, man?
Those eagles will come in andjust take out the ducks.
You'll shoot one, they'll flydown, grab it.
No, dude, you can't even huntthem anymore.
It's not.
It's not going to be fun.
When we field on ducks that.
We'll get that a lot.
They'll start circling and they'll.
They'll know their decoysafter a bit.
They'll come down, but thenthey just hang and wait because they
know you're drawing ducks in.
And like you say, you're just.

(46:07):
You're done.
If they're hanging them ducksain't coming in.
Yeah, no, they're not.
Yeah, they're smart too.
I had like two years ago, wewere watching this lake edge that
are.
That's by our house where itwas just frozen around the edge.
My kid noticed there was bloodall over the side of the ice.
And he's like, what the hellis that?

(46:28):
And I go, I don't know.
And then the seagulls werecatching the fish and pulling them
up and eating them on there.
Well, then if you sat andwatched long enough, the eagles were
all in the trees.
So they're letting theseagulls catch all the fish.
And then they swooped down,scared the seagulls off and took
the fish, went up in the tree.
They didn't have to do anything.
They were just sitting therewaiting for them, do all the work,

(46:51):
come down, snatch their food.
Here's a fun fact.
Did you know that ThomasJefferson didn't want the.
The bald eagle to be ourcountry's bird?
It's a turkey, wasn't it?
Yeah, turkey.
Which that's still mind boggling.
Yeah, well, yeah, I reallywould hate to be able to not hunt

(47:12):
turkeys.
Yeah, that's a good point there.
Which reminds me, are you allset for Sunday?
I am going out Saturdaymorning, so I'm right.
All set for Sunday morning.
Yeah, he's his.
His starts.
He's.
He's not going Saturday.
He's going Sunday.

(47:34):
I need a gun.
I need a gun.
I got a gun.
I got.
I thought you were gonna useyour bow.
I haven't had time to get that one.
All right, I'll bring my.
I'll bring my shotgun.
Turkey.
Turkey.
Oh, right, right.
So Brett's never hunted TurkeyDave hunts turkey.

(47:54):
He was.
Him and the other guy, Squatchare using traditional bows this year.
Yep.
Or recurves.
And I'm going with the lawn bow.
So we're gonna try to do theturkey that way.
And then Brett, I guess Mr.
I don't shoot guns.
I'm gonna try to use a 12 gauge.
Pick this up here with my one.
My one turkey I've takenaround the corner.
Oh, hell yeah.

(48:15):
That's sweet.
Double beard on them.
So I guess that's a good thing.
It is a good thing.
If I get my first bird, I'mgonna do a full body.
Yeah.
I can't see it from here, butmy wife has one mounted and it's.
It's spread out like coming out.
We want it as it come down offthe roost.
And it's just huge when it's swing.
Oh, yeah.
He did the tax service.
Did a great job with it.

(48:36):
That's awesome.
The only time I've ever seen aturkey do that was early season do
or early se deer season.
I was up in the tree stand.
I got up there really earlyand went in after work, sat in and
kind of fell asleep in thetree stand.
And there's a turkey roostingright above me.
I didn't even know it.
And man, that sun came up andit crashed out of there and flew

(48:59):
down to the ground.
Scared the out of me.
My first turkey hunt gracefulat all.
Oh, yeah.
My first turkey hunt in Maine.
I'd never seen a turkey before.
We don't have him here.
Right.
And so we hired a guide, andhe's sitting a little ways away from
me.
And we're sitting therewatching this field.
And they were coming down offthe roofs.
And they were just watchingthem go down across the field, gliding
down.
I was like, are those turkeys?

(49:20):
I don't know what turkeys looklike when they.
When they fly down off the roofs.
It was news to me.
So.
Well, Shannon, we're wrappingup here with the end of the show
here.
It's called rapid fire segment.
We got six, seven questionsfor you.
Okay.
Okay.
First one.
Besides hunting and fishing,we know you love fishing.
Do you have any other hobbiesor interests?

(49:42):
I play hockey a few days aweek and.
Oh yeah, goalie.
So.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
And then I.
I do a lot of backcountrycanoeing and camping and things like
you, you just mentionedearlier there.
So.
Yeah, I saw that.
Your.
Your setup looks pretty sweet.
I will say that.
Yeah.
We have a couple wall tents,move them around.
Lots of canoes and kayaks and things.

(50:03):
Very nice.
What animal is on your bucketlist to hunt?
Oh, probably I'd love to do anelk by horseback hunt sometime.
He might probably run on theones to bucket list.
That'd be sweet.
That would be cool.
What is an animal on your.
You want to try eating?
Oh, apparently possum.

(50:24):
Now I heard I have to try it, so.
They say it every time.
I just feel like you're eating possum.
My opinion.
What has been your favoritestate or province that you've hunted?

(50:44):
I haven't really traveled alot to hunt.
Like most of my trips are fishing.
But what's your favorite placeyou've gone for fishing?
Oh, probably Thailand.
My, my wife's.
Oh really?
My wife's born in Thailand.
So we've.
I've done a couple trips sincewe've been together and that would
be fun.
We put fishing into it everytime and it's, it's a lot of fun.
Now what are you fishing forin Thailand?
Oh, I wouldn't know.

(51:05):
Most of species go to a lotof, A lot of the places we go, we'll
go to the fishing resorts andthey're actually like, they're stocked
lakes they have, but they putall these exotic species in them.
So there's fish that you can'tcatch, you know, most places in the
world.
And you know that if you'veever seen river monsters.
River monsters.
He catches the big giant arapaima.
It's like £500 or something.

(51:25):
I fished that lake and thatairplane was still in that lake.
Really?
Everybody's after that one,this big 500 pound fish.
But you know, I've seen a fewguys hook some big ones.
They weren't that big, butthey also.
I didn't.
I.
So they got stingrays in therivers too, if I'm not mistaken.
Oh yeah, they got big, big ones.
Yeah, yeah.
When you catch them too, likethis, you know, the tail on them

(51:46):
is, you know, long and they,they get a hold of, put the big spike
on that.
So yeah, it's all catcherrelease stock lake.
Then you're going and you getread in the water with them and get
your, your hero picture withthe fish and they spray it down with
iodine and away it goes.
Because they're the f money, right?
So yeah, that would still becool to catch one.
Hell yeah.
No kidding.

(52:06):
Although me, my luck, I wouldthrow a line out there, not catch
a single thing.
I, I'm the world's worst fisherman.
The first one to say what is.
The top state you want to huntor fish in.
Getting back and say elk byhorseback, I'm thinking maybe like
Montana, somewhere aroundthere, maybe somewhere up in the

(52:26):
mountains.
I'd love to, love to try thatsometime, maybe some point.
Last two questions are kind of serious.
If you could pick anybody, youget a family member and a non family
member to go on a hunting tripor a fishing trip or share a campfire
with one time, who would they be?
Oh, I'd have to take my wife.
I'd get shot otherwise if Ididn't take her.

(52:46):
Smart man.
Now what do you think we asfellow hunters could or should do
to improve the huntingcommunity as a whole?
I think definitely gettingmore youth into it.
And like I mentioned earlier,like a lot of people that are grown
adults that never had somebodyin their life teaching them and stuff,
if we can take them out, ifthey have the interest, then we got

(53:09):
to spread this knowledgearound or it's going to be a dying
sport and won't be around forour grandkids.
No, it's already Michigan's aprime example of numbers constantly
going down and people notgetting out in the woods and not
in the outdoors.
And I mean yes, we'rewhitetail advantage.
We primarily focus on onhunting and the whitetail deer, but

(53:30):
we just love fishing, turkeyhunting and the outdoors.
And we just need to get morepeople outside as well.
I say it all the time.
People just watch their sit ontheir couch and watch the ticky talkies
and brought the brain outvideo games.
You got to convince the nonhunting public of why we do it.
And you might not convincethem to hunt, but you got to convince
them not to be against it either.

(53:51):
So that's why that's true.
You know, we show them like,you know, like here, here what we'll
do with all the meat and things.
People say, oh, you can't eatthat much meat.
Well, we make it in the mealsand donate it to the shelter here
and then show people this isbeing used like it wasn't going to
waste.
It's all going to to use.
And it's not just us eatingall this so it can benefit others.
Yeah.
Well, Shannon, thank you somuch for coming on the show, brother.

(54:13):
Yeah.
First I want to start off.
We'll end it with you, Dave.
How can people reach out toyou and follow along your journey?
You can follow me, of courseon Sundays and Tuesdays on the Whitetail
Advantage.
I'm on Instagram, Facebook andYouTube under PSE Mobile Hunter Johnny,
just like Dave.
Said you can catch me hereTuesdays and Sundays.

(54:35):
I mean, if you're a real truededicated fan.
Brett doesn't know this, but I'm.
I also hosted ThursdayWhitetail Advantage show, so go ahead
and look to that one too.
You weren't supposed to say anything.
I know, but the true kids knowit's not really on.
Come on and look on Thursday,like, where the hell is he?

(54:56):
Yeah, I'll see you on thathidden podcast.
I just look at my phone and Isee a notification.
Whitetail Advantage has gone live.
I'm like, what the.
What am I doing?
I'm gonna do that one day justto do it.
You know what, catch me there.
We're gonna have random pop upepisodes from my place of employment

(55:19):
someday.
So you know what?
I wouldn't actually be disappointed.
I just laugh my ass off if youdid that.
I know you have access.
You have access to do all this.
I know, and that's the best part.
So I'm going to one day.
So look out for it, guys.
Shannon, how can people reachout to you and follow along your
journey?
Facebook's just Shan Cunningham.

(55:40):
Instagram, shann_cunningham 17.
And I gotta look up my YouTubebecause I don't know that one right
off my heart.
It's at Shan Cunningham, 2921.
Oh, you have a YouTube?
Yeah, yeah.
So I did a lot of tutorialstuff and that's, you know, just
trying to make some videosthat way.
I gotta go, I gotta get somemore out because a few people ask

(56:01):
for them.
So what is the YouTube one again?
I'm gonna subscribe right now.
Yep.
Shan Cunningham, 2921.
There must have been more thanone Shan Cunningham on there when
I made that one.
I'm guessing.
Apparently 2920 of them.
Sorry.
I started a Grindr accountwith your name.

(56:22):
You have 820 subscribers.
Yeah, well, it was funny whenmy wife was part of that women's
hunting group, they wanted tome to teach them for field dressing.
So we had a bear one time.
We had snared one and then putit down.
So we said, this is a greattime to make a video.
So made this video.
It had no way to share it.
So that's how I created the channel.
And it's got a lot, a lot of viewings.
That's the first video I made.

(56:42):
There's a lot of views on thatone for field dressing a bear.
Who knew that, you know.
Oh, that's awesome, man.
Well, again, thank you somuch, Shannon, for coming on the
show and taking time out ofyour day.
We greatly appreciate it man.
Thanks for having me.
Yes, thanks.
Good rest of your night as well.
Nice meeting.
Well everyone, that's going toconclude an episode of the Whitetail

(57:04):
Advantage Podcast.
I want to say thank you toeveryone that's tuned in and gathered
around Electron Campfire withus tonight.
Now if this show made youlaugh, made you think, give you a
new perspective, please hitthat like and subscribe button.
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(57:25):
your feedback, tell us what wecan do better.
Improve on what you like, morefrom the show.
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Now the audio versions of ourpodcast gets released every Monday
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(57:49):
submit your request through there.
Or you can reach out to us onour social media platforms.
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everyone, thank you so much.
And that being said, werecording a slot machine and we'll
see everyone later.

(58:13):
Thank you for tuning in toanother episode of the Whitetail
Advantage Podcast.
We hope you enjoyed the show and.
We will see you next time.