Chad Belding from "The Fowl Life" talks to Ultimate Waterfowl Hunting
Published: Dec. 07, 2010
Chad Belding is the host and creator of “The Fowl Life” and “Dead Dog Walkin” television shows as well as one of the most respected waterfowl and coyote hunters around. “The Fowl Life” gives viewers a unique perspective on hunting including tips for success like THE GOOSE GOSPEL and strategies including diagrams for the hunts that are seen on the show. The show follows Team Maniac which includes some of Chad’s closest friends and family members on exhilarating hunts as they chase waterfowl and coyotes throughout Canada and the 48 Lower states. “The Fowl Life” also includes the antics and “Blind Talk” that is generally only shared between the best of friends during a hunt. It has been said that “I will fish with anyone, but only hunt with a few,” and it is this perspective that gives the show so much personality as these friends let viewers into their world of hunting to make them feel as though they are sitting in the blind with them. Ultimate Waterfowl Hunting was able to talk to Chad Belding and get his thoughts on hunting.
When did you get started hunting waterfowl and varmints?
I started hunting predators in 1995 and waterfowl in 1997
Why does your waterfowl show “The Fowl Life” also include varmint hunting?
The show also contains predator hunting because of my passion for that sport. I love to call in animals and be able to get them to do what I want to. After a waterfowl hunt in the mornings we try to get out and shoot some predators during the day with the time we have. The conservation is also a big part of why we do it. The number of birds that coyotes and foxes take each year will continue to grow if we don’t help control the population of predators.
The film crews allow us to get predators within 80 yards and sometimes 20 yards on camera which makes a great shot. While you can shoot predators from 150 yards out with the crews we are trying to get them as close as possible which makes it more difficult. Unlike waterfowl you never know where predators are going to be coming from. You can set up to try and get them to what you want but they are always changing their plans and surprising you.
With the success of the predator hunting scenes on “The Fowl Life,” we have created a new show called “Dead Dog Walkin’” which focuses solely on predator hunting. You can read more about “Dead Dog Walkin’” on ultimatecoyotehunting.com
How did “The Fowl Life” get started?
I was working with Avery and Zink calls filming videos for them and was approached and asked to start my own show based around my personality. We wanted to make a show that was different from everything else out there. We started the show in July 2009 and we got lucky and started adding new sponsors which have helped greatly in making the show possible and gave us the quality we were looking for. The second season is now airing and we are currently shooting the third season. We are still learning and adjusting, trying to look for ways to improve.
What are the most important aspects to having a great waterfowl hunt?
You can’t take out all the pieces of the puzzle because they all work together. Sometimes you have to add pieces or take some away depending on the situation. The number one thing is location and being where the birds are. If you want to limit out you need a great number of birds. You can’t expect to shoot a limit where you saw 10 birds the day before. Number two is getting permission to hunt. Number 3 is hiding your blind or pits. Many people spend too much time placing decoys and not enough time concealing their blind. You need to make sure that you match your surroundings every hunt and throughout the year will give you the chance to be more successful. After that it is your decoys followed by flagging. Calling is the last thing on the short list.
What is your favorite or most memorable hunt that you’ve been on?
I’ve been on a great deal of hunts seeing some cool things; having 3000 geese land in your spread or shooting 40 mallards in 40 minutes. But the most memorable hunt I’ve been on was December 27th, 2005. I took my dad out hunting in Nevada on a foggy day and couldn’t see anything. You could hear the wings of the birds flying around you but couldn’t see them at all. All of a sudden you would see birds appear from nowhere and have to shoot. The best part was seeing my dad get so excited high fiving and cheering. This would be the last hunt that I was able to go on with my dad because he passed away in August 2006, that’s what makes that hunt so special to me.
What other types of hunting do you participate in?
I don’t really participate in other hunting because the seasons interfere with waterfowl and predator hunting. I will go on other hunts if I get offered but I stay pretty busy chasing birds. If I was a better archer I would probably do more of that, I would enjoy calling in a bull elk, but in Nevada it’s so hard to get an elk license anyways.
What gets your heart beating more, a charging coyote or cupped and committed waterfowl?
Both are exciting. I love shooting northern Mallards in Montana and Idaho and shooting big Canada Geese. Each offers a different aspect. With waterfowl you can set things up and pick locations, decoys spreads, call and get them to do what you want. You have a good idea of where they will come in from and where you’re going to shoot. Coyotes keep you thinking and adjusting. You can never tell what predators are going to do.
What do you hope to accomplish with your shows?
I like to teach people about the sport of hunting. Whether they are new to it or experienced there is always something more to learn. I love making people laugh and the entertainment aspect is very important for the show. We want viewers to keep coming back to the show with the same enthusiasm that we put into it. I also wanted the show to be instructional so we can actually show with diagrams what we’re doing, how were setting up and what we expect to happen. We added an instructional aspect to the show to help viewers become better hunters. This is something you don’t generally see on hunting shows and one more thing that makes out show stand out from the rest.
What are your favorite calls that never leave your lanyard?
The calls that never leave my lanyard are the Zink PH-2 duck call and the Zink Little Man goose call.
Do you ever get a chance to go hunting without the cameras and out of the spotlight?
Fun hunts are great and I do get a chance to get out there. But I also enjoy having the cameras out there. It is the days when you don’t’ have the cameras with that something really special happens. I’ve gotten so used to hunting with the cameras that it doesn’t bother me having them in the field.
Tell me about season three of “The Fowl Life”….
We’re currently shooting season three of “The Fowl Life” and season one of “Dead Dog Walkin.” We recently got back from Canada with some unbelievable footage that everyone is gonna love. We are adding some new things to season three and building on a solid foundation from season one and two. There are times when we have up to 16 cameras in the field and for season three we are going to have some jaw dropping footage. The kind of stuff you will never expect to see from a hunting show. I can’t wait to hear to feedback from season three.
What opportunities has the show allowed you to do?
One great thing about our opportunity as conservationists is that we have to opportunity to help control populations of wildlife while also helping others. We have been able to help feed homeless shelters, soup kitchens with the game we kill. It’s great being able to give back to those who need it. We did a initiative with the Sportsman Channel called “Hunt, Fish, Feed” where we donated harvested game to those who really needed it. We were able to give people great meals like elk tacos and help the communities around us. PETA will never be able to give back in the ways that we do.
Who do you generally hunt with on your show?
We hunt with the same groups of people on the show. We don’t like sending cameras with people all over because the quality of the show would suffer because of that. These are the guys that I’ve hunted with for a long time and that I am comfortable with. That is what makes the show so entertaining too. We are familiar with each other so you get the real hunt. While we do like to screw around and have fun, we know what we are doing, we do it ethically and we like to teach others. If you were to take people out of the equation we would turn into just another hunting show that was boring and lacking personality.
Do you always shoot your limits of birds?
No, we are waterfowl hunters just like everyone else. We rarely shoot limits. With the cameras we are looking to get great footage which generally means clean kills. I have stopped hunts before we reached our limit because we have gotten great footage. We don’t want to support pass shooting or jumping birds because I do not think that is ethical hunting. We want to get the birds close so what we shoot at, we kill and don’t lose birds.
The Fowl life airs on the Sportsman Channel at:
Sunday 9:30 PM ET
Monday 11:30 AM ET
Tuesday 12:30 AM ET
Saturday 9:30 AM ET
To learn more about Chad Belding or his shows, you can go to www.thefowllife.com or www.bandedgear.com
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