Stay ConnectedListen to the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast, hosted by Matt Wyatt. We’ll dive into fascinating conversations about Mississippi’s rich outdoor life, where each episode brings new knowledge about wildlife, the outdoors, and unique local experiences. Join us for diverse stories all aimed at shaping the state’s cultural outdoor narrative.
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Copyright: © Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
Hunter Farrior started Spring Legion Turkey Hunting in 2019 from a trailer in Learned, Mississippi — no internet, no warehouse, no plan. He joins the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast to tell the story of how it all happened.
Hunter talks about accidentally publishing his first book during quarantine, accidentally selling his first hat before he even knew how to ship it, and somehow ending up with an 18-wheeler dropping pallets at his residential address. He explains what separates turkey hunters from everyone else, what woodsmanship really means, and why he hunted the same turkey 83 times.
Spring Legion now ships gear, apparel, and books to turkey hunters across all 50 states and beyond — and it all started because Hunter wanted to preserve the heritage and tradition of turkey hunting in a digital age. Great episode for any turkey hunter who's ever felt like the obsession is a little out of control.
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MDWFP waterfowl biologists Houston Havens and Darren Hardesty joined the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast during the final weeks of the 2025-26 season to explain what was driving conditions across the Delta. It was a dry year, and these two break down exactly what that meant for bird movement, habitat availability, and hunting pressure on public lands.
The conversation covers aerial waterfowl surveys, the freeze-thaw cycle, GPS research on mallards, the 50th anniversary of Mississippi's state duck stamp, and how the flyway connects Mississippi hunters to breeding habitat in Canada. If you hunted this season and wondered why things played out the way they did, this episode has your answers.
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Henry and Lakisha Woodard of Halo Hunting join the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast to share their family’s journey into the woods. From Lakisha’s first spring turkey hunt to creating traditions like the Mississippi Shuffle and the Family Slam, they talk about how hunting became a shared way of life for their entire household.
They also discuss filming hunts together, building Halo Hunting as a brand, and launching the Halo Bridge Outreach Foundation to introduce inner-city youth to the outdoors, firearm safety, and hunting education.
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Ryan Jones, Assistant Chief of Fisheries at MDWFP, joins the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast to explain what makes Ross Barnett Reservoir such a strong bass and crappie fishery. He breaks down how water levels, native vegetation, and long-term management all work together to support consistent fishing year after year.
The conversation covers frog fishing in the pads, invasive plant threats like giant salvinia, how anglers can help protect the resource, and the behind-the-scenes work it takes to manage one of Mississippi’s most heavily used reservoirs.
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Super Bowl champion and former NFL linebacker Swayze Bozeman joins the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast to talk about life after football and the perspective that comes from spending time outdoors.
Swayze walks through his journey to the NFL, winning a Super Bowl, and what came next. He explains how hunting and time outside helped him slow down, reflect, and redefine success beyond the game. The conversation connects discipline, faith, and patience learned in football with the same qualities required in the woods.
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MDWFP deer biologist Carmen Campbell joins the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast to explain a new way scientists are detecting Chronic Wasting Disease — without relying on a dead deer.
The conversation breaks down what deer scrapes are, why multiple deer use them, and how soil collected from scrapes can be tested for signs of CWD. Campbell explains how this method can detect the disease earlier than traditional hunter-harvested samples and why that matters for managing deer herds.
Matt and Carmen also discuss how scrape testing ties into Mississippi’s three-mile CWD tag program, giving hunters more opportunity while helping biologists monitor the disease. It’s a fascinating look at how science, hunters, and wildlife management intersect to protect Mississippi’s deer resource.
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Joey Buchanan and his son Joe join the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast to talk about traditional bowhunting — making their own bows, building their own arrows, and hunting at distances most people never experience. Joey explains how he started crafting bows in the late 1980s, while Joe shares what it meant to grow up around the tradition and recently harvest a deer with a bow he built himself from wood taken off their hunting land.
They discuss close-range deer and turkey hunting, the discipline and ethics required with traditional equipment, and why the traditional bowhunting community is so close-knit and welcoming. It’s a great conversation about craftsmanship, woodsman skills, and a father-and-son tradition built in the Mississippi woods.
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In this episode of the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast, host Matt Wyatt sits down with former national baseball player of the year and College World Series MVP Tanner Allen to talk baseball, banana ball, and the outdoor life that shaped him long before he became an SEC legend.
Tanner explains why he considers himself “an outdoorsman who plays baseball on the side,” and shares stories of growing up hunting and fishing with his dad and grandfather in south Alabama. He talks about the first hog hunt that hooked him, offshore fishing at Dauphin Island, how the outdoors kept him out of trouble in high school, and why he still sees the woods and the water as therapy.
The conversation also covers:
• His upcoming season with the Savannah Bananas
• The adrenaline connection between hunting and hitting
• Duck hunting with teammates
• Influencing young people through sports and the outdoors
• Chipper Jones, childhood baseball memories, and becoming a left-handed hitter
• Balancing baseball with his obsession for fishing and hunting
It's an honest, funny, and meaningful conversation with one of Mississippi State’s most beloved athletes — now using his platform to inspire people to get outside.
Mississippi Outdoors is produced by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks.
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In this episode of the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast, host Matt Wyatt sits down with Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Executive Director Lynn Posey for a wide-ranging conversation about how Mississippi manages wildlife, deer, parks, law enforcement, licensing, and conservation efforts across all 82 counties.
Posey shares how he went from growing up in Union Church to serving in the Mississippi Senate, to the Public Service Commission, and eventually being appointed director of MDWFP. He explains what the job looks like day to day, how the agency is structured, and why strong communication with the public and lawmakers is essential.
The conversation covers major topics, including:
• How Mississippi manages the largest deer population ever recorded
• Chronic Wasting Disease and why managing does is critical
• Mississippi’s state parks upgrades, funding, and rebuilding projects
• How hunting & fishing licenses fund MDWFP
• Keeping conservation officers through pay raises and career ladders
• The challenge of maintaining facilities like Sky Lake
• What MDWFP’s Commission does and how decisions are made
• The history of youth hunting weekend and conservation legislation
• Posey’s own journey as a sixth-generation landowner passing down outdoor traditions
Mississippi Outdoors is produced by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks.
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In this episode, Matt Wyatt sits down with wildlife biologist Luke Pearson of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to explore one of Mississippi's most fascinating and misunderstood creatures: the alligator snapping turtle. Mississippi holds some of the highest populations in the entire world, especially in the Delta region, where food-rich rivers help these reptiles grow to extraordinary sizes — sometimes 150 pounds or more.
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