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Good Luck with the Ducks

Purtis Creek mentored hunt provides newcomers with skills and experience.

January | February 2025 Issue

Purtis Creek Waterfowl Hunt
Photo by Maegan Lanham

Father and son Sean and Adriel Lee head out on a dark January morning to set up for their duck hunt at Purtis Creek State Park. Their headlamps illuminate the darkness. For duck hunters, an early morning start is a common part of the experience.

“Are you ready, buddy?” Sean asks. “I'm ready to get some ducks,” Adriel replies.

The Lees were accompanied by Northeast Texas Ecosystem Project Leader Chris Farrell on this mentored waterfowl hunt conducted by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, designed to introduce newcomers to the sport.

“For many people this is the first time they have ever even held a gun or bow, and some of them are pretty nervous about it. Our goal is to give them the tools they need in a very low-stress environment to be a confident, competent and ethical hunter,” says Heidi Bailey, longtime TPWD hunt coordinator for Purtis Creek State Park.

Breaking into hunting can be difficult — especially if you don't have an experienced family member or friend to teach you. TPWD offers mentored hunting programs to bridge that gap. Participants attend a one- to two-day workshop where they learn about the species they will be hunting, gear needed for the hunt, laws and ethics, and places to hunt. After the classroom portion of the course, students typically head out to the field to do some shooting and learn how to set up blinds and decoys. With the completion of the workshop, participants are eligible to go on a guided hunt at a TPWD state park or wildlife management area with a designated mentor.

For the Purtis Creek program, TPWD conducts a workshop in December and a mentored hunt in January. As the fog rises above the park's 355-acre lake, the Lees trade shots at the ducks from their position on the shore. Sean Lee offers commentary and encouragement during the hunt:

“OK, that one right there. You take it.”

“There you go. Got one. He got one.

Nice!”

“They're coming, they're coming. Shoot!”

“We're seeing a lot of action today.”

“If I was a better shot, I'd have my limit by now.”

The workshop and hunts, while available to both youth and adults, are geared toward getting adults out in the field since youth have a multitude of hunting programs available.

“We realized that some of the adults coming didn't have any more experience than the kids,” Bailey says. “My hat's off to them for taking their kid hunting, but you worry a little when you see them pulling the price tag off the brand new gun they've never shot prior to heading out on the hunt.”

Bailey saw an opportunity to provide assistance to novice adult hunters. “My goal in putting on this workshop and these hunts every year is to give hunters as full of a toolbox as we can in a couple of days time to where they have the knowledge and skills go out on their own, harvest a couple of ducks and be safe doing it,” she says.

In Sean's case, he had participated in the workshop several years earlier with his daughter, Abigail, and hoped to return with his son, Adriel.

“It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for my son and me, and we made memories that will last a lifetime,” Sean says.

In addition to Purtis Creek, several state parks and wildlife management areas conduct mentored hunts for adults, including Inks Lake, Brazos Bend and San Angelo state parks and Old Sabine Bottom and Gus Engeling WMAs. Find more information at tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/public/mentored_hunting_workshops.

Duck Pho
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Duck Pho

by Hank Shaw

Making pho is pretty time-consuming on the front end, but once you make the broth this comes together quickly. Don't try to skip the broth-making here — the broth makes or breaks a good pho, and besides, this is a perfect use for leftover duck carcasses. Once made, the broth can be frozen for months or refrigerated for a few days.

Serves: 8 people
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours

Broth

  • 3 pounds duck carcasses, necks, feet and giblets
  • 2 sliced onions
  • 6-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
  • 10 cardamom pods
  • 5 star anise pods
  • 1 Tbsp coriander seed
  • 6 cloves
  • 1 Tbsp fennel seed
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 2 Tbsp salt
  • 1/2 cup fish sauce

To Assemble

  • 4 duck breasts
  • 2 Tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 pounds pho bo noodles or Japanese soba
  • 2 thinly sliced onions
  • 4-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 pound bean sprouts
  • Large bunch of cilantro or Asian basil
  • 4 hot chiles, thinly sliced

To make the broth, put all the duck bits into a large stock pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Skim the fat that rises to the top, then turn down to a simmer.

While the broth is simmering, toast in a dry frying pan the coriander, cloves, fennel seed, cardamom and star anise until fragrant. Stir often to keep from burning.

Add the onion, ginger, spices, fish sauce, sugar and salt to the simmering broth and stir well. Move the pot off the center of the burner a little and simmer for at least two hours. Moving the pot off to the side a little allows you to periodically skim the top.

Once the broth begins to taste yummy, turn off the heat and discard all the duck bits, onion, etc. Then strain the broth through a piece of cheesecloth set in a fine-meshed sieve. Pour slowly and discard the last dregs of the broth, which will have sediment in it.

To serve, heat the broth — do not let it boil — with the 4-inch piece of ginger and sliced onions. Let this heat through until the onions are wilty, about 10 minutes.

Set out an array of condiments: herbs, bean sprouts, sliced chiles, fish sauce, hot sauce and hoisin sauce.

Boil water, salt it and cook the noodles. Traditional pho noodles (available at Asian stores) are best, but I also like Japanese buckwheat noodles, which taste perfect with the gaminess of wild duck.

Put 2 tablespoons sesame oil in a pan and get it hot. Sear the duck breasts on all sides under a very hot fire — you want a nice sear on the edges but the duck should still be raw inside.

When the noodles are done, gather up portions and put them in serving bowls. Slice the duck breast as thin as you can and lay the duck slices on the noodles.

Pick out the ginger from the broth, then pour some broth over the noodles and duck. Serve at once. Let everyone add whatever condiments they want.

Hank Shaw is a James Beard Award-winning author and chef who runs the company Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook to help people get the most out of all things wild.


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