PECAN ISLAND – Heaven on earth for duck hunters begins in a confined area, say, approximately 4 feet by 10 feet, on the water, in the marsh or in a rice field.
Kyle Broussard of Loreauville and Chad Belding of Sparks, Nevada, know that, feel that, live that. The duck hunters realize such a blissful place doesn’t end there inside a floating duck blind because it extends as far as the eye can see.
Broussard and Belding, each a respected leader in his line of work, were in heaven on earth Monday and again Tuesday during the first week of the 2022-23 waterfowl hunting season in Louisiana.
They were duck hunting together in the GatorTail Quack Shack with Broussard’s father, Blaine Broussard, 75, of Loreauville, who helped his son develop and build air-cooled “mud motors” in the early 2000s. That was the start of GatorTail Outboards LLC, a worldwide brand.
Belding, who relies on GatorTail Outboards to get around, filmed the duck hunts both days as veteran host of “The Fowl Life,” the No. 1-rated waterfowl hunting show on The Outdoor Channel. His duck hunting ventures have taken him from Canada to 17 states to Argentina. The recent show here will air next year in the 15th season.
The Reno, Nevada, native also owns Banded, a video production and merchandising company specializing in waterfowl hunting gear and accessories.
Belding, 48, has hunted ducks on shows with fighter pilots, MMA stars, four-star generals, country music singers, etc., duck hunters from all walks of life who share a common bond.
“What hunting does, no matter who you are, once you put on the waders, we’re all the same,” he said as a successful duck hunt was winding down Tuesday. “We all exist in a duck world. We think about ducks every day.
He emphasized it’s all about making memories with a common denominator.
The Broussards, Charles Judice of Loreauville, Kyle Broussard’s friend since high school, and Ricky Nicholas of Lafayette, who markets GatorTail Outboards, helped Belding make more memories Tuesday in the marsh west of Camp GatorTail Outboards near Pecan Island.
When Mother Nature turned on the light Tuesday, it barely illuminated the landscape. It was very cloudy, windy and crisply cold throughout the day.
The Benelli Super Black Eagle III 12-guage shotguns clapped like 2x4s smacking each other as shooting hours began and blue-wings and green-wings fell amongst dozens of decoys, including two MOJOs.
Later, bunches of ducks big and small appeared farther apart. As one group approached, Belding said, “We’re about to get some teal. Make it happen, Kyle. Do some of that Louisiana stuff.”
The back-and-forth banter filled the pauses between action.
“Nothing cements a friendship or partnership more than when you share time in a duck blind. What I really want to do is walk in their shoes, their hunting, what we’re doing the last couple of days, the next couple of days,” he said.
Belding looked at the younger Broussard and said, “He was in the duck blind yesterday with his young sons Owen and Max. To see both stand up … be prideful with a gun … to keep safety first … and the next day to be out with Kyle’s dad … It’s a blessed lifestyle, hunting, a specific lifestyle, that brings families together.”
And, he said, that family lifestyle has been the theme for many, many shows on “The Fowl Life.” This past week was special, he said, because he was able to take part in the Cajun lifestyle.
“I think I was made an honorary Cajun,” he said, proudly.
“Yesterday was just an amazing experience for me. We killed teal in the morning, then got to take the same boat out on the same water … used the duck carcasses and caught blue crabs. It just came full circle,” he said. “It’s kind of cool to be in the boat with the guys that did that (designed the boat and air-cooled outboard motor), to be in the boat with the originators.”
While scanning the sky and waiting for more ducks to appear, Belding discussed his relationship with GatorTail LLC and said, “I like the way Kyle does business. They have a reputation behind them.
“I got a chance to put his motor on a boat. I was up in the backwaters of the White River in Arkansas when the river got out of its banks. I fell in love with the boat that day. It’s a better experience … a smooth operation. I like the get up and go, the safety of the boat. The ability of the motor. I would bet I have driven it in more states than he (Kyle Broussard) has.”
There’s “something special” that draws the host into a duck blind with new friends and old friends.
“I love socializing and what happens duck hunting. You don’t get it in a deer hunt or a turkey hunt,” he said, quickly adding he has nothing negative to say about those outdoor sports experiences, which he has enjoyed. He just relishes the duck hunt more.
Belding has made many duck hunts in the Sportsman’s Paradise, he said, mostly in north Louisiana. He has hunted often at Honey Brake Lodge near Jonesville.
He has worked closely with the Broussards and GatorTail Outboards for many years but, until stepping in the duck blind with Kyle Broussard and his two sons before sunrise Monday, never had hunted ducks with the Broussards.
The cable television show’s host was accompanied by two veteran cameramen, Jack Orlandi and Eli Neeley, both of Reno, Nevada. Orlandi is a Chicago native while Neeley hails from Nashville.
Orlandi and Neeley drove down before the weekend with camera gear, duck hunting necessities and Axl, Belding’s beloved 5-year-old black Labrador retriever. Belding flew into Lafayette on Sunday after taking his 11-year-old daughter, Alyssa, who didn’t want to miss a Veterans Day ceremony Friday. He dedicates many of his shows to the men and women who have served in the military.
His visit to coastal Louisiana ended after the two duck hunts, then a trip to Faulk’s Game Call Co. Inc. in Lake Charles on Wednesday. As Belding left the Lafayette airport Thursday he thought about Monday and Tuesday in the marsh west of Pecan Island.
It was another place on earth he has filmed duck hunts. It was heaven.
102_1844.JPG
"The Fowl Life" logo is imprinted on the shotgun case of The Outdoor Channel's host, Chad Belding, a Nevada native who also owns Banded,a video production and merchandising company specializing in waterfowl hunting gear and accessories as well as turkey hunting products.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
102_1809.JPG
Loreauville's Kyle Broussard blows a duck call at a small group of blue-wing teal while hunting Tuesday morning with his father, Blaine Broussard, also of Loreauville, and "The Fowl Life" host Chad Belding of Nevada.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
102_1831.JPG
In a scene that has been repeated umpteen times, Kyle Broussard of Loreauville picks up duck decoys, including two MoJos, late Tuesday morning following a duck hunt on his marsh lease west of Pecan Island. Broussard got the idea of Gator-Tail air-cooled mud motors during his senior high in college and developed it into a nationwide brand.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
102_1803.JPG
Gator-Tail LLC co-founder Kyle Broussard;'s vision has been keen ever since he came up with the design for the air-cooled mud motor that took the outboard motor industry by storm after 2004. His passion for duck hunting never waned, which is why he was in his duck blind Monday and Tuesday in the marsh west of Pecan Island.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
102_1801.JPG
The Outdoor Channel's "The Fowl Life" host Chad Belding, a Nevada resident, said he has used Gator-Tail LLC boats and mud motors for years but hunted for the first time Tuesday with the company's co-founders, Kyle Broussard and his father, Blaine Broussard, both of Loreauville, to film a future show.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
P1010035.JPG
The Outdoor Channel's host of "The Fowl Life," Chad Belding, adds shredded cheese to the fry pan while cooking at midday Tuesday at Camp Gator-Tail near Pecan Island. Belding, a former collegiate baseball player who started his own video production and outdoor merchandise company, hunted Monday and Tuesday with Gator-Tail founders Blaine Broussard and his son, Kyle Broussard, both of Loreauville.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
P1010010.JPG
Charles Judice of Loreauville relaxes during the predawn hours Tuesday while riding in a Gator-Tail boat and motor driven by Ricky Nicholas. Judice, a former starting quarterback for Loreauville High School and a long-time friend of Gator-Tail LLC co-owner Kyle Broussard of Loreauville, cooked meals at Camp Gator-Tail near Pecan Island and hunted ducks Tuesday morning with Nicholas.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
PHOTOS: ‘The Fowl Life’ meets GatorTail Outboards
102_1844.JPG
"The Fowl Life" logo is imprinted on the shotgun case of The Outdoor Channel's host, Chad Belding, a Nevada native who also owns Banded,a video production and merchandising company specializing in waterfowl hunting gear and accessories as well as turkey hunting products.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
102_1839.JPG
A strap full of ducks hangs in the Gator-Tail boat powered by a Gator-Tail air-cooled mud motor designed by Loreauville's Kyle Broussard.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
102_1809.JPG
Loreauville's Kyle Broussard blows a duck call at a small group of blue-wing teal while hunting Tuesday morning with his father, Blaine Broussard, also of Loreauville, and "The Fowl Life" host Chad Belding of Nevada.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
102_1831.JPG
In a scene that has been repeated umpteen times, Kyle Broussard of Loreauville picks up duck decoys, including two MoJos, late Tuesday morning following a duck hunt on his marsh lease west of Pecan Island. Broussard got the idea of Gator-Tail air-cooled mud motors during his senior high in college and developed it into a nationwide brand.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
102_1803.JPG
Gator-Tail LLC co-founder Kyle Broussard;'s vision has been keen ever since he came up with the design for the air-cooled mud motor that took the outboard motor industry by storm after 2004. His passion for duck hunting never waned, which is why he was in his duck blind Monday and Tuesday in the marsh west of Pecan Island.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
102_1801.JPG
The Outdoor Channel's "The Fowl Life" host Chad Belding, a Nevada resident, said he has used Gator-Tail LLC boats and mud motors for years but hunted for the first time Tuesday with the company's co-founders, Kyle Broussard and his father, Blaine Broussard, both of Loreauville, to film a future show.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
102_1857.JPG
The familiar GatorTail Outdoors logo and its birthplace are shown on a sign that hangs over the door of the Broussard family's boathouse in the marsh west of Pecan Island.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
102_1876.JPG
The Camp GatorTail Outdoors sign stands proudly outside the Broussards' camp near their duck hunting lease in the marsh west of Pecan Island.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
P1010035.JPG
The Outdoor Channel's host of "The Fowl Life," Chad Belding, adds shredded cheese to the fry pan while cooking at midday Tuesday at Camp Gator-Tail near Pecan Island. Belding, a former collegiate baseball player who started his own video production and outdoor merchandise company, hunted Monday and Tuesday with Gator-Tail founders Blaine Broussard and his son, Kyle Broussard, both of Loreauville.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
P1010010.JPG
Charles Judice of Loreauville relaxes during the predawn hours Tuesday while riding in a Gator-Tail boat and motor driven by Ricky Nicholas. Judice, a former starting quarterback for Loreauville High School and a long-time friend of Gator-Tail LLC co-owner Kyle Broussard of Loreauville, cooked meals at Camp Gator-Tail near Pecan Island and hunted ducks Tuesday morning with Nicholas.
- DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN
