COLUSA, CA (MPG) – Winning back-to-back championships in Colusa, California’s two best duck calling competitors will return to the world championship in Stuttgart, Ark., in November.
Bronson Lasley, 20, of Penngrove, once again earned his spot on the world stage by winning the Butte Sink Regional Championship on Saturday. Colby Stilwell, the 2022 California State Duck Call Champion, retained that same title on Sunday.
While Lasley and Stilwell are both avid waterfowl hunters and sporting guides, they excelled at creating competitive routines – much like music – that left impressions on a panel of human judges. One wrong note and they could have been out.
“It’s not an easy task for the judges to separate people out from the top down to see who’s moving on and who isn’t,” said competition announcer Stuart McCullough, known as the “godfather” of duck calling competition.
Stilwell, 22, of Willows, has won numerous titles in Colusa in the 13 years that Kittle’s Outdoor & Sport Co. has sponsored the California State Duck Calling Championship and Sportsman’s Expo.
Stillwel has placed high in world competition as a junior, intermediate, and adult caller. He placed fourth in the world competition in 2022, just behind older and more seasoned duck callers from Tennessee, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
“It’s the closest I’ve come at Stuttgart,” said Stilwell, who placed seventh in the world in 2021.
Stilwell, who guided goose hunters in Arkansas last year and operates his own guide service, “Stilwell Hunting Adventures,” out of Willows, said he plans to practice his call as much as he can to try and nab the world title, which has not been won by a California caller since the 1980s.
The Stuttgart competition, which is held annually the weekend after Thanksgiving, attracts thousands of waterfowl enthusiasts from all over the world. It started as a national duck calling contest in 1936.
For their wins at the Colusa competition, Stilwell and Lansley were awarded $1,000 for their airfare to Stuttgart and other prizes, including hunting gear.
The California Duck Call Championship was held at Veterans Memorial Park, Aug. 26-27, and had the largest field ever of young callers competing.
On Sunday, 14 boys and girls competed in the junior division and seven competed in the intermediate division.
“Some of these little guys, we need to watch,” McCullough said. “They’ve got moves.”
After securing his berth to the world competition on Saturday, Lasley said he was excited to judge the State Championship and the youth divisions on Sunday.
“Having the understanding of being a caller makes it easier to judge than somebody from the outside,” said Lansley, who has competed in Colusa for nine years.
Junior competitors were as young as three years old, including returning competitor Wyatt Strong, who placed second in 2022 as a 2-year-old.
Lasley said while Colusa has a strong showing of youth, the same is not true across the state and nation.
“The huge lack of appreciation for youth callers is a problem; just not here at this contest,” Lasley said. “This is one of the best contests to get kids involved just because it’s a free entry and it’s a very welcoming environment. This was my first contest I ever went to. After traveling all the way to Maryland, Louisiana, Arkansas, even down to Texas, this is still home to me. It’s very important to have that welcoming environment.”
Callers to watch in the future of the sport include Hunter Showaker, 13, of Oakley, who won the intermediate duck call contest.
In addition to Kittle’s, sponsors included California Waterfowl Association, Sitka, River Valley Lodge (Colusa Casino & Resort), Fish Dog Outfitters, JJ Lares, Avery and Hevi-Shot.
“Without the sponsors and without the volunteers, we would not be able to have this contest and keep this part of our waterfowl history alive,” McCullough said.
The two-day competition in Colusa included speck calling, two-man meat calling, and other contests, vendors, live music on Saturday night, and a sponsor dinner. Beau Brooks, a world elk and turkey calling champion, who also rocks a duck call, gave a seminar to help all callers with their techniques. The Lions Club prepared lunch for the contestants and public.