Tyson Keller is a very accomplished waterfowl hunter, competitive shooter, and outdoor photographer from South Dakota. To his credit, he has helped Avery®/Greenhead Gear® in testing and marketing their line of snow goose hunting products. Tyson has been featured in hunts on the Zink® 24-7 waterfowl video series, most notably “Snow Storm.” Additionally, his photographs have been used in many waterfowl catalogs and magazines. Tyson now works for Avery Outdoor’s® media and public relations department.

North and South Dakota are waterfowl destinations for many hunters, what was it like growing up in the region? With all of the options for sportsmen in South Dakota, how did you end up a waterfowler?

Tyson: Growing up in Pierre, SD has truly made me the person that I am.  Fortunately, I am surrounded by countless hunting and fishing opportunities that many outdoorsmen would only find in their dreams.  At a very young age, I developed a passion and interest for waterfowl, especially geese.  As a child, I can remember looking into the sky on cold fall days searching for flocks of migrating geese.  For some reason, the birds fascinated me from the beginning and I still have the same driving passion for waterfowl as I did as a child. 

In terms of turning into a waterfowler, I guess that I basically followed my interests.  My family had some hunting background, but no one was a true avid when it came to waterfowl.  My mother’s family hunted some waterfowl as well as upland birds as my dad did the same.  My interest and passion basically instigated me to learn on my own and become self taught in terms of waterfowl hunting. I can remember my mother driving me around across the countryside as I would watch geese.  She was my hunting buddy and transportation before I could drive.  I would observe birds, their vocabulary and their flight patterns and try to put the puzzle together.  I started becoming an avid hunter at about the age of 12 and it all evolved from there.  I remember testing out every call in the sporting goods store as well as studying the decoys and gear that was available.  I can still remember the torment I put the sporting goods store employees though with all of my questions and trying out the calls!

Do you remember your first waterfowl hunt? Can you tell us a little about it – how’d it go and who was involved?

Tyson: I can remember my first goose that I shot.  My dad and I walked out on some river bluffs where the birds were passing over.  We positioned ourselves in the flight line to pass shoot.  All I remember is that a large flock of several hundred birds flew over and I pulled the trigger in front of the flock.  Although I was aiming at the front of the flock, about the 10^th bird back folded up.  I was a little behind the one I was aiming at!  The pass shooting experience not only got me hooked, but it also encouraged me to seek alternate ways to hunt the birds.  I wanted to see the birds landing in front of me, as they did with live flocks.  As time progressed, I turned into strictly a decoy hunter by the age of 16.  From then on, it was not only a learning experience each day, but it was also the best way to hunt the birds in my opinion.  No longer did I want to skybust at passing birds, I wanted them close and committed.  At the age of 16, I hunted a water spread on the Missouri River 45 days during that season.  From then on, I was a true waterfowl addict!

How many days a season do you get out after waterfowl? Do you do much traveling out of state? Outside of South Dakota, where is your favorite place to hunt waterfowl?

Tyson: As we all know, our professions take up a lot of time and limit the amount of time in the field.  It is the same way working in the waterfowl industry and just like a regular office job.  Although the daily tasks may be involved with waterfowl in some way, it doesn’t always involve hunting.  As I always tell everyone, I don’t have as much time as I used to, but I still get out quite a bit.  Growing up, I was able to hunt nearly every day since the birds were right out the back door. Through High School and College, I average 100+ days afield each season, sometimes more. When a person spends that amount of time in the field, you can truly learn bird habits and their nature.  I feel my time spent in the field has made me a better hunter, but I feel that I have lost my edge a bit the past two years, as I don’t get out quite as much as I used to.  Currently, I would say that I am able to hunt somewhere around 50 days or so per season.  I have evolved into a weekend warrior, but I still am able to slide out here and there on the side when time permits.

With my job, I have been able to travel to various areas to hunt, such as Mississippi, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Canada and Arkansas. Seeing different areas and hunting techniques can be a great way to learn more about the sport as well as the bird habits across the flyways.  My backdoor grounds in South Dakota still remain to be my favorite, but I have also developed a liking to NW Missouri as well thanks to Tony Vandemore.  There are a lot of unique areas out there and we as waterfowlers just need to find them!

Let’s talk specifically about snow geese for a moment, as snow geese have become a passion of mine over the last few years and I know they are for you as well.  How long have you specifically been hunting snow geese? Do you hunt them just in the spring or fall too? What are the most snow geese you’ve ever harvested in a single hunt? How about a season? 

Tyson: My true passion is hunting lesser Canadas and Canada geese.  I grew up hunting them in my area and I truly have it in my blood.  I guess you could say that geese in general turn my gears and snow geese were another species to target and learn more about.  My interest in Snows started at the beginning of the conservation order and I saw it as an opportunity to hunt geese after the regular season had closed.  Hunting geese in the spring was another way for me to get out in the field and target the birds that I love to hunt.  It was another open door and another goose species to chase. Although I hunted mixed snow/Canada flocks in the fall, I really did not get serious about the snows until the spring seasons started.  I started hunting snows seriously the first year of the conservation order and have been doing so ever since.  The main reason I developed a passion for snows is due to the nature of the bird.  Snows are truly amazing when you think about the amount of miles they travel each year.  Flying from one end of the continent to the other with constant hunting pressure not only makes for a weary bird, but also a bird of surviving habit. The thing that fascinates me the most is the average age of a snow goose where most birds in the flock are averaging a decade in age. These are truly smart birds and are overpopulated for a reason.  Learning their behaviors, habits and nature of the birds were challenging and figuring out ways to fool them and be a successful hunter was the driving force behind my passion. In my opinion, if you can be successful with snow geese consistently, you have accomplished a tedious task.  In terms of harvesting birds, I really don’t feel that the number of birds is the top component of rating the hunt.  Some of my best and most memorable days have been days of less harvest.  I guess good hunts truly depend on the eye of the beholder.  As for numbers, my best day ever was an afternoon decoy hunt where we harvested 365 birds and still to this day I have not seen any other hunt like it.  Our group’s best spring season brought a tally to nearly 4,000 snows in a little over a month’s time, all over decoys.  With the amount of birds harvested, one might ask what is done with all of the birds.  Our group took pride in local food bank donations, game feeds and also gave birds to pre-arranged needy families.  Not only were the hunts fun, we also were able to give back to those in need as well as make some great meals for ourselves.

Going a few years back now, how did it come about for you to team up with Tony Vandermore and others, to hunt spring snows for a solid month and test/promote the Greenhead Gear® full body snow goose decoys?  Did you ever imagine that you’d be so successful day in and day out?

Tyson: Well, the spring test hunts with Tony and I basically started with a notion to market the Full Body Snow Goose Decoys for GHG.  Tom Matthews, President of Avery, basically wanted to find some qualified men to test a grand experiment and also test the traditional techniques of snow goose hunting. Basically, Tony and I got together via e-mail and started talking about plans and ideas several months before the spring season began. After corresponding through e-mail, we felt as though we would make a good team and our combined knowledge would prove to be successful.  Each of us brought knowledge components that were essential to our overall success.  After our plans were set, I traveled to Missouri to start our test hunts.  We spent countless hours in the field testing decoy numbers, spread arrangements, calling sounds, motion systems and everything else known to man.  It was an amazing experience, but it was an extreme amount of work and devotion to make it happen.  No one would ever think that hunting would be work, but with 2-3 hours of sleep a night with non-stop setting and picking up decoys, it was like basic training every day.  We started out successful, but we custom tailored our techniques daily to adapt to changing conditions and bird response.  As we followed the migration from Central Missouri to Northern South Dakota, we learned a lot about each other, our group and most importantly consistent snow goose success components. After 3 seasons of chasing the weary snows, I feel that we innovated hunting techniques into a new age of hunting.

Greenhead Gear® T&T 5/8^th Snow Goose shells; does the “T&T” stand for Tony and Tyson, Tyson and Tony, or are they just dynamite? What involvement did you have in the design and testing of these decoys?

Tyson: The Snow Goose shells evolved from an office idea at the Avery Corporate headquarters.  In our hunts, we knew that full body decoys were an essential component to our success as well as the motion offered with them.  Our only obstacle was getting our spreads into ultra-muddy fields, which are sometimes common in the spring.  We put our heads together to try and develop a decoy with the appearance of a full body along with the motion.  Our main goal was to have a decoy that would be more transportable in larger numbers.  With the T&T shells, we could transport 30% more decoys per load on the 4-wheeler each time we went into the field.  That meant less trips in and out and less time spent churning the mud.  Both Tony and I tested the prototype shells before they went on the market.  Not only did we take part in the design, we also took part in making a decoy that was more transportable, less costly and better suited muddy conditions.

So outside of waterfowl, do you hunt any other game? Really, how good is the pheasant hunting in South Dakota?

Tyson: Well, I do spend almost all of my time hunting geese, but if I am not hunting geese I am hunting pheasants.  South Dakota is the pheasant capital of the world and it is for a reason.  Our habitat in the state is nearly perfect for upland birds, especially pheasants.  Many farmers/landowners also manage their property specifically for the birds, which also makes the birds more plentiful.  It is truly amazing how big pheasant hunting is in SD.  Hunters travel from across the world to hunt here and many residents have made hunting a way of life in terms of business with the pheasants as well.  Believe it or not, the largest component of revenues brought into the state is done so through pheasant hunting!

Now I’ve read a few articles that have had shooting tips in them from you and acknowledged you as being a competitive shooter.  What kind of competitive shooting do you do?

Tyson: Well, I used to shoot a lot while I was growing up.  I can remember years where I would shoot as many as 8,000 registered targets per year on the sporting clays course.  Summertime was a time for my dad and I to travel and shoot across the country and we had a lot of fun doing it.  We would travel to all major surrounding states’ tournaments as well as the larger zone shoots.  From 1996 to 2001, we also made it a yearly tradition to travel to San Antonio for the nation sporting clays championship as well.  I found great satisfaction and drive/competitiveness while on the course.  I always wanted to be the best shooter I could be, so I strived to do so through shooting clays. My last big year of shooting was in year 2002, but I still like to shoot when I can.

What are some of your competitive shooting accomplishments?   

Tyson: Besides smaller scale competitions, I was Zone 5 & 7 class champion,

SD State Sporting Clay Champion 1995 – 2001, on the SD All-State Shooting Team, and a 3^rd, 5^th and 7^th class finisher in National Sporting Clays Championship.

I heard that you are an avid walleye fisherman too. Does South Dakota have good walleye fishing in general or is it just something you like to do?

Tyson: Walleye fishing is my second passion besides waterfowl.  I have a lot of people ask me if I were to choose between waterfowl or walleyes, which would be my favorite?  My answer depends on the season.  Living just one mile from Lake Oahe, the Oahe Dam and Lake Sharpe (all holding reservoirs along the Missouri River), I am very close to some premier walleye fishing.  Some may state that our area is one of the best in the nation for walleye fishing and I personally believe it.  Walleye fishing has been a hobby/lifestyle of mine since a very young age.  In fact, at the age of 15 I started guiding for walleye fishing on Lake Oahe at one of our area’s largest lodges.  I was an outfitter for 9 years, being on the water 80 to 100 days each summer.  I also fished about every chance I had on my days off too. My summer guiding job basically got me through college before I started full time with Avery during spring of 2007.   Since I live so close to the water, I currently try to get out an evening or two a week as well as on the weekends. Fishing is a getaway for me where I can relax and open my mind even though I am a pretty intense fisherman.

What time of year are you fishing for walleye usually? Do you ever ice fish for them? What is the biggest walleye you’ve ever caught?  

Tyson: Walleye fishing takes place year around in my area.  Whether it is out of the boat or through the ice, there are always fishing opportunities.  In the past growing up, I really looked forward to ice fishing since the goose season typically ended after Christmas.  Now, with goose seasons extending into mid-February and spring conservation seasons immediately following, I hardly ice fish any more.  My favorite time of year to fish is the month of June.  During that time, walleyes can be found in many areas and can be caught using a variety of presentations.  I personally like catching walleyes by pitching jigs and minnows into the shallows.  Early June can be a great time to do that as well as live bait fish them.  Although Oahe does not have fish averages like Lake Erie, we do get some nice ones.  My biggest fish caught was 33” long and weighed over 13 lbs.  Each year, I probably catch an average of a half dozen or so ranging from 27-30”.  Our average sized fish range from 17-23” which are great for frying as well. They are delicious.

Over the last couple years you’ve been working for Avery Outdoors® full-time in their media and public relations department. How did you go from being a member of the pro-staff to a full-time employee with Avery?

Tyson: I started Pro-Staffing for Avery in 2001 and tried to involve myself in a variety of tasks.  I guess you could say that I was a self promoter and tried to be involved with a variety of activities involved with Avery such as working events, conducting seminars, helping with product design, partaking in writer hunts and TV hunts, photography and etc.  I guess I found my niche in photography and went full force to try and help out any way I could.  I worked hard and made it a point to let key individuals know that I had interest in working for Avery.  I can remember two years before I was hired, I drove to work an event at Mack’s Prairie Wings and stopped by Avery’s office on my way back through, while riding with Fred Zink.  I met Tom Matthews and told him that I had interest in working for Avery since I was already so involved with many things.  From then on, I basically went to work and still to this day, I try to be multi-faceted and work across a variety of tasks with many responsibilities.

Now a common myth that many believe is that the guys who work in the industry have all the time in the world to hunt. I’m not a believer of that one, but can you set me straight? Do you have more opportunities/time to hunt now or prior to being employed in the waterfowl industry?

Tyson: Working in the hunting industry is just like any other corporate job.  It has its ups and downs. I can honestly say that I spend far more time in my office than I do outside.  Some weeks will only be 40 hours in the office where as some other weeks will be as many 80 hours.  Working in the hunting industry has a lot of demands and is quite fast paced believe it or not.  I can say that my job is involved greatly with hunting, so I feel like I am around hunters daily. I deal with job responsibilities that are directly correlated to my love for hunting and waterfowl.  My job has changed my hunting lifestyle substantially because there is always some form of work to do even when you do get to hunt.  It is not bad or negative, just different when it comes to hunting. I am fortunate to be doing something that is involved with my passion.

Not totally related to what we’ve been talking about, but on top of being a great outdoorsman, your photographs have been seen in several magazines and catalogs.  What prompted you to get into hunting with your camera?

Tyson: Photography is another thing that I have been interested in since a very young age.  I can remember taking photos of geese at our local park when I was in elementary school.  My main photography interests were spurred at about the age of 15-16 when I got a Canon film camera for a present.  From then on, I took the camera with me everywhere I went and burned a ton of film.  I learned by trial and error with film and that helped me greatly when I moved onto digital in 2002.  I love taking photos of wildlife and landscapes as well as people.  My involvement with Avery has also been largely composed of photography as well.  Through time, the greatest amount of my satisfaction derived from capturing unique moments on camera.  I feel great fulfillment out of capturing images that only occur once.  Each time afield offers unique settings and I enjoy taking advantage of those opportunities.

Are you usually able to get the photos you need/want during hunts or do you do a lot of photo shoots? What are the benefits/drawbacks of taking photos and the photos you get during each scenario?

Tyson: Most of my action style and live bird photos come directly from good hunts.  We all know that some days are amazing…the days that the birds bomb into the spread and nothing bothers them.  Those are the days where the best hunting photography takes place.  Great hunting makes for great photo opportunities. As for product photography or specific photo assignments, it is almost impossible to capture those shots while hunting.  A photographer’s agenda must directly reflect the environment and actions.  If a person goes out to hunt and take a few photos on the side, it usually does not pan out.  If you go out to hunt and take photos, it usually works.  I have been able to capture great photos under each circumstance.  I would say that the best photos of people take place under staged environments.  Staging photos allow complete control of what is going on.  Staging the photos also allow a person to shoot photos under favorable lighting periods most times as well.

Thank you and best of luck to you the rest of this season.

 

For more information about Tyson, check out his biographies on the Avery website.You can also see Tyson in the Zink Calls 24-7 Video Series.