It was no surprise Sunday that fresh off a seventh place finish at the 2021 World Duck Calling Championship in Stuttgart, Ark. last November, Colby Stilwell would be back on the Colusa stage to snag another state title.
Stilwell, 21, of Willows, was named California Duck Calling Champion after knocking out five other competitors for another chance to become the first California adult world champion caller since David Jayne, who won the elite competition in 1986.
Bronson Lasley, 19, of Sonoma, who won the Open Speck competition in Colusa last year, also earned a berth at the world championship competition in November after winning the Butte Sink Regional contest on Saturday.
“We are very fortunate, between the regional and the state, that we will have two representatives from California on that stage,” said announcer Steve Sherbondy.
The two-day duck calling competition and waterfowl expo, hosted by Kittle’s Outdoor and Sport Co., were held over the weekend in Veterans Memorial Park.
Kittle’s has held a pre-season waterfowl sale in August since 2000, but it was in 2010 that Stuart McCullough, considered the “Godfather” of California duck calling, agreed to let the sanctioned California competition be held in Colusa.
“There are over 55,000 waterfowl hunters in California and, from a distance, most people do not realize this diversity exists in California,” Pat Kittle said. “There is a long heritage of hunting waterfowl in this entire valley – most notably the Butte Sink – that dates back to the native tribes, depending on the influx of migrating birds followed by the market hunters that survived the gold rush by taking waterfowl and other game for a living. Today, waterfowl hunting and the local rice industry go hand in hand. Land owners get a supplemental income from the hunters, and the hunters and guides get a place to recreate, continuing decades of traditions in their families. The rice fields undoubtedly provide prime wintering grounds for all types of migrating waterfowl – hunted and protected.”
Competition calling got underway early on Saturday and Sunday, with callers competing in junior, intermediate, and adult competitions, including duck and speck calling.
Winning the 2022 California Duck Calling Championship will allow Stilwel the opportunity to compete in back-to-back world competitions in Stuttgart. As the state champion in 2020, Stilwell automatically qualified for the 2021 world duck competition after the 2020 event in Stuttgart was canceled, due to the pandemic.
He competed against 2021 Butte Sink Champion Stuart Mattos and State Champion Danile Alt, who were both knocked out in the earlier rounds.
“I needed more practice than what I put in,” said Mattos, who returned to Colusa on Sunday to judge the state contest.
Although Mattos said he is not done calling in competition, he was delighted to be able to blindly hear the caliber of callers that appeared on the Colusa stage.
“It’s definitely different on that side of the curtain,” Mattos said.
Kittle said calling in competition is not like calling ducks in the field.
“Competition calling ‘main street’ style is blowing the call in a routine to impress the judges,” Kittle said. “The call is likened to a musical instrument by hitting all the notes without a ‘squawk.’ If one can master this routine with volume and finesse, then one is ready to compete with others in and out of the field.”
Stilwell, who has been competitive calling since he was 12 years old, has regularly appeared on the Colusa stage and others held in the United States.
Stilwell said he is looking forward to his third trip to the world stage, and – with a seventh place finish – feels the world title is within his reach.
“I’m going to improve my routine from last year and change a few things up,” he said. “The more times you go, the less nerves you have, so hopefully it will go a little smoother this year and I’ll bump up a couple of places.”
The Stuttgart competition has attracted thousands of waterfowl enthusiasts since 1936, when it started as a national duck calling contest.
For their wins, Stilwell and Lansley each won $1,000 for their airfare and other prizes, including hunting gear.
Stilwell now lives in Arkansas and has started his own duck and goose hunting guide business in Stuttgart.
“That’s what I’ve been doing the last couple of months and it’s working out well,” Stilwell said.
While Stilwell and Lasley hold the 2022 regional and state titles, there are other notable callers waiting in the wings to get their shots at the world competition, including Ryan Sherbondy, Gio Depolo, Rob Decosta, and Dillion White, whose scores tied or ran neck and neck with each other through multiple rounds.
Kittle said this year’s attendance from the competitors was optimistically up in the younger categories and about the same as last year for the older groups.
“The audience was up, with lots of optimism from hunters and vendors in general,” he said. “I would say there were 400+ in attendance Saturday and about half that on Sunday.”
On both days, the Colusa Firefighters Association cooked a pancake and sausage breakfast. The Colusa Lions Club served hotdogs and hamburgers for lunch.
The event and prizes were sponsored by Kittle’s Outdoor and returning corporate sponsors , including Sitka, Fishdog Outdoors, Avery, SX Decoys, JJ Lares, River Valley Lodge, Ducks Unlimited, and California Waterfowl Association, among others. ■