Pawpaws and Pirogues with Blake Ittmann

Emily Ann Bosler for SPLIT REED

We’ve seen a recent resurgence in vintage fashion- from rope hats to wire-rimmed glasses, to plaid shackets that look fresh off your Granddaddy’s coat rack. Yet below the surface, especially in the emerging hunting community, it seems “Pawpaw culture” has been lost in translation. How does one define “Pawpaw culture” and how does it apply to waterfowl hunting? Well, in a culture that constantly pushes the “more is better” mentality, it is the complete opposite. It emphasizes using every part of the bird, harvesting only as much as you can consume or share, honoring traditions, and respecting the land around you. Blake Ittmann, a Louisiana native, ship pilot, and avid sportsman is someone who shares my passion for seeing a revival of the “don’t waste” mentality of days past. “It was something I was just surrounded by from the time I could walk. It was ingrained in me very early” said Blake, being a lifelong witness to duck camp culture. The lifeblood of his family’s Pillottown camp is a true reverence of the birds, the marsh, and the sport.

As most Split Reed followers know, we are major advocates of duck plucking and recipes that incorporate the whole bird. This is an ideal Blake, too, holds. “My Pawpaw and my Dad taught me that you pluck your ducks, don’t breast your ducks out. To them, that was looked at as a sin. I see young kids toss their ducks in the bottom of a mud boat, forget about them for hours, then snatch the breasts out and toss the rest. This new mentality of gotta make this huge pile, and not take your time cleaning it properly. Not utilizing the whole bird. Tossing usable meat in the gut pile, and breasts forgotten in the freezer has to go.”  As Blake stars in Season 2 of Duck Camp Dinners, I was obviously eager to hear his go-to waterfowl recipe. “My favorite thing to do with ducks is smoke ‘em whole. Brine ‘em, stuff ‘em with some oranges, apples, and onions, throw a good rub on them and cook ‘em slow to a good medium rare. When they finish, I slice ‘em thin and dip them in honey, orange, and soy dipping sauce” Blake divulged.

Good eating aside, cleaning birds properly is such a crucial component of camp culture. “For me, it’s part of the tradition. It was always getting back to the camp- you two are on the pluckers, you two are handpicking the wings, and you two are gutting and washing ‘em.” Blake notes. Of course, someone was also tasked with fixing the cocktails. If you’ve ever spent much time in a duck camp, the scene Blake painted above fills you with a nostalgic warmth. Tired, soggy, barely dethawed from the day’s hunt, yet the cleaning assembly line has begun. “It’s part of the comradery of it all. It’s not just about killing 6 ducks, or 12 ducks. It’s about learning from the generation before you” Blake added. Smoke, stories, and feathers fill the air, and the camp’s greatest characters begin to cut loose. Blake’s favorite camp character? Uncle Dilly. “Uncle Dilly was totally nuts, and he was always the gut guy. When I started coming to camp, I became Dilly’s gutting partner. We were the self-proclaimed gut masters. Now when my friend’s come to camp, I check their birds and throw the birds right back at ‘em if I find a piece of meat they missed,” Blake joked. While we laughed about how every group of hunting buddies has one guy crazy enough to chew on a lightbulb, we take seriously the gut master legacy continuing. Another generation dedicated to whole-critter cooking is a win for the entire waterfowl hunting community.

What other aspects of hunting are being passed over by newcomers to the sport? In Blake’s hometown of Venice and the Mississippi Delta, the traditional methods of hunting and scouting have been pushed aside by those who prefer convenience. “Scouting, for example. In our area, folks run mud boats through every pond and the pond they scare the most birds out of is where they hunt. When I’m scouting, I pull up to the edge of the marsh and sit quietly for hours watching ducks through binoculars. I figure the birds out, but I also get to enjoy the quiet of the marsh- which is the most beautiful place in the world to me” said Blake. Pirogues, small canoe-like boats that are traditional to this area, have been replaced with mud boats that tear through the marsh, destroying both tranquility and grasses along the way. “Mud boats are abused where I hunt. They have created total laziness amongst younger, fit kids who should be getting in the mud pushing a pirogue. The most difficult hunts are the most memorable. The rewarding part of working hard to achieve a successful hunt has disappeared” Ittmann added. Pushing birds offshore into the gulf, making spaghetti trails of uprooted vegetation, and lack of physical exertion once built into the hunt are all factors that led Blake to declare “as long as I’m physically able you’ll find me in the mud pushing a pirogue.”

Whether you were introduced to waterfowl hunting later in life, are brand new to the sport, or you were born into it- we can all cling a bit tighter to the traditions that are deteriorating as quickly as the marsh. “There is a generational thing that happened at some point where the traditions have been lost. The aspect I cherish the most is the whole process, from scouting to cleaning to cooking, not just the hunt” Blake said.  “My Pawpaw was very particular. He wanted to shoot drake pintails and drake canvasbacks only. He picked the biggest, best-eating bird out of the flock and laughed at all of us while we missed gray ducks and teal. His laugh was so big it went all the way down to his shoulders. On my last hunt with him, he picked his gun up only once and shot the biggest canvasback of the day” Blake recalled. Every one of us can benefit from being a bit more like Pawpaw. Take only what you need, use it all, and leave the rest just as it was. Make the effort you put into each hunt great enough to merit the reward you reap. Cherish the characters of the camp, and be hungry to hear their stories, even the crazy ones… especially the crazy ones.

For more of Blake, his camp, and especially his german shorthaired pointer, Bella, tune into Duck Camp Dinners Season 2 episodes 3, 4, and 5.