WORK THE WEATHER

Bernie Boyle

Hometown: Danville, Iowa

Résumé: 2002, 2004 World Duck Calling Champion

Favorite late-season call: Bernie Boyle Timber Call

When hunting ducks, this two-time champion lets the weather dictate his calling scheme. “If it’s a windy day, you can get away with louder, more aggressive calling. If it’s a calm day, you have to be careful because they’ll be a little spookier and you’ll want to call a lot less,” says Boyle, who relies almost exclusively on three- to six-note hen calls to bring birds in before finishing them with single quacks.

Though Boyle prefers wooden calls to acrylic ones, he carries both on his lanyard and once again lets the weather be the deciding factor as to which call to blow. “I use acrylic calls on the windy days, because they tend to be louder calls with a higher-pitched, sharper tone that can pierce the air better. Wooden calls absorb some of that sound and produce a mellower call, which is what you want when it’s calm and you’re working wary birds,” he says.