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Andy Billipp Podcasts
Steve Gephard is the Supervising Fisheries Biologist for Connecticut DEEP, and he joined Aric and I to talk about American shad. Shad are an ocean fish that, in late April and early May, swim up into the rivers of the east coast to spawn in fresh water. With robust numbers of shad and good, clean habitat, the Connecticut River offers abundant oppor…
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I’ve always looked at the whitetail hunting world a bit sideways. Between all the trail cams, food plots, expensive leases, and nicknamed deer, it all seemed more like a high tech circus than the immersive nature experience that I’ve always sought through hunting. But then last year, out of nowhere, a large, impressively antlered whitetail showed u…
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This episode is with my buddy Aric Kirsch. Aric has agreed to co-host the show with me, so you’ll be hearing more from him in the future. Today we’re talking about our western hunts from this past season which, though unsuccessful, were highly adventurous, educational, and enjoyable. We talk about the hunts we went on, what we learned from them, an…
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Killing your first deer is a powerful, complicated experience. Hunting literature abounds with father-son first deer stories, as the hunting heritage has traditionally been passed from one generation of men to the next. But in this story the roles are reversed, as my dad only began deer hunting last year. With my encouragement, he took the classes,…
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Todd Solek is the owner of Farm To Hearth, a unique bakery in Haddam, CT. Todd makes bread the old fashioned way, with locally raised grains and all natural wild yeast fermentation, baking in small batches in a wood fired oven. Todd’s taken an unusual path in life, with a background that includes military service and professional cage fighting, and…
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The 2017 spring turkey season wrapped up a little while ago, and now begins the long wait for September. In this episode, my buddy Aric and I go over what we learned about hunting public land turkeys, the pros and cons of getting permission on small pieces of private land, my total lack of success, and his hits and misses. We also talk about our Co…
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Archery is a deep practice, requiring layers of physical and mental discipline, developed through years of concentrated repetition. We owe it to the animals we pursue to perform at our best when the moment of truth arrives, and that means mastering our equipment, and more importantly, ourselves. Butch Johnson, an Olympic gold medal winning target a…
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Nakai Northup is a member of the Mashantucket Pequot people of southern New England. He works at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research center as an educator and tribal liaison. Through subsistence hunting and fishing practices and traditional craft work, Nakai and his family are able to live with and from the land, and are helping to preserve…
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Mike Gregonis is a Connecticut state wildlife biologist, and has been working on wild turkey conservation and management for over 20 years. Besides being a veteran of one of the most successful wildlife reintroduction programs in American history, Mike is a passionate and accomplished turkey hunter. We met recently to talk about wild turkey conserv…
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This episode was actually recorded last October, when I went spearfishing for blackfish with Caleb Rose in Stonington, CT,. Caleb is a skilled fisherman, sailor, and educator, and is more at home both on and in the water than almost anyone I know. His passion for fishing and marine ecology is clear and contagious, and I had a great time talking to …
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