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Cody Jarrett is a pro staff on Whitetail Freaks
Welcome to another episode of Whitetail Rendezvous. This is your host Bruce Hutcheon. We’re headed out to West Virginia, we’re headed out to coal country today, and we’re going to connect with Cody Jarrett. Cody Jarrett is a pro staff on Whitetail Freaks. Now Cody’s one fortunate, young man because through hard work, dedication he’s been able to connect up with Whitetail Freaks, Don and Kandi Kisky and he’s on their pro staff and so Cody welcome to the show.
Cody: Hey thanks a lot Bruce, I appreciate you having me bud.
Bruce: Well let’s just jump right into the show and I’m going to ask you this question because we have a lot of listeners across North America, that are really interested in finding out okay “How do you get on Whitetail Freaks?” Whitetail Freaks is syndicated, what channel is it on?
Cody: Whitetail Freaks is on the Outdoor Channel Monday nights at 7:30 eastern time.
Bruce: All right folks so Cody’s going to spend the next few minutes just talking about his journey to Whitetail Freaks. Cody, take it away.
Cody: Thanks. Well, it started back when I was 12 years old probably 2000, 2001 I had missed a deer. In my head this deer was a giant, it was a big ten- pointer with brow tines [inaudible 0:01:24] and I went home, tail tucked between my legs, upset. I looked at my dad and I told my dad that I would never buy anything less than 100 acres.
At 12 years old I started saving for that 100 acres. I sold firewood, I cut grass, I pushed snow, anything I could do to save money. When I was 21 years old I bought 140 acres in Northern West Virginia.
Then through that me and my best friend filmed everything we did from building tree stands out of two by fours to planting food plots. We filmed as many hunts as we possibly could, then I had met Alex Gyllstrom from Scent Lok and Alex and I hit it off and we became really good friends and we’re still best friends to this day.
Then a couple of years ago he introduced me to Don and Kandi Kisky and my film partner now Cody Butler from Nebraska, him and I, we’ve been filming for the last four years together so Alex introduced Cody and I to Don and Kandi, they kind of liked what we were doing and asked up to join their team.
It’s been a heck of a road, a long road, a tough road, but it’s been a blast and I wouldn’t change anything for the world.
Bruce: You mentioned a bunch of things in there, so I’m just going to recap. So you saved enough money, you went to work, said “I’m going to buy some land.” and then you and your partner started filming everything you did on that piece of property getting prepared for hunting, taking care of the land, building the tree stands and then actually filming the hunt. Is that basically how it went down?
Cody: Yes sir. We tried to document everything we did because everybody loves a good story, how and where you did it, how you did it, which route you took, so we try to document everything we do.
Bruce: What kind of cameras do you use?
Cody: Well last year we switched over and started filming solely with DSLRs and it’s…you can get an awesome cinematic look out of them, but it’s a little difficult, I mean it takes a lot of practice, so we switched back to a regular video camera, a Panasonic. We’re going to film a majority of the hunting part of the stuff with the video camera and then all the B roll and the extra stuff like playing [inaudible 00:03:58] checking trail cameras, all the things like that, we are still going to film all that with DSLR’s.
Bruce: What’s the brand, what’s the model of the Panasonic HD that you’re using and believe in?
Cody: I use a DSLR [inaudible 00:04:18] it’s a Panasonic GH4, we use that for all the B roll, food plots just the cool stuff and for the actual hunt we are using, this camera just came out this year, it’s a Panasonic HCX1000. We just got it a couple of weeks ago and so far so good. It’s been an awesome camera. The footage with the DSLR and the footage with this regular video camera it mix and matches really, really well.
I’m excited to lay some stuff down. I actually leave here in two weeks…I’m sorry not two weeks, I leave here in like six days to head out to Nebraska, they open their season September the first. I am pretty excited to get out there, maybe get one my first velvet it will be my first [inaudible 00:05:01] if it all comes together.
Bruce: They’re out there, that’s for sure. We’ve got so much forage, as you know I live in Colorado, and this is the greenest I’ve seen in my neighborhood and I’ve lived here seven years in this particular home. It’s just lush, it’s so lush that my wife planted zucchinis in our garden, which we don’t water much too often, and she’s starting to get her zucchinis coming up, so there’s plenty of forage out there this year.
Cody: That’s awesome, that’s awesome. The last few years it’s been really dry, all the farmers had to irrigate all summer. But this year irrigation’s been at a minimum because the rain it comes at the right time. They’re getting the sun when they need it and their getting the water when they need it. The forage is at its peak this year. You know as well as I do, you get that good spring rain you’re talking big bucks come fall. You know all the natural browns they could have plus all the crops. I’m really excited for this year. I’m kind of thinking it’s going to be a good year because of all of the rain, so keep my fingers crossed and we’ll see what happens.
Bruce: You and about 11,000,000 other people including me.
Cody: Exactly.
Bruce: This is the time, I’ve been getting pictures pretty steadily from Wisconsin, from Iowa that’s where I’m going to be this year. Unfortunately I don’t have a… I didn’t throw a bow tag in Iowa, but I’m still going to the farm and hanging out for a few days and..
Cody: Well you have to, especially in Iowa. I got lucky this year [inaudible 00:06:38] tag, so I’ll be out there end of December, first week of January. Oh man am I pumped about that one.
Bruce: Yeah you should be because our average is way above 140. Last year in December muzzle loader, one gentleman from Kentucky took a 192 Bruce Parsley, took a 192 and heck of a little story. I want listeners to think about this is that he was in dock woods blind sitting on a food plot and the deer came out about a 180 yards away from him. He let that 190 deer walk within about 80 yards and he neck shot him. The deer never even knew he was hit.
Obviously that man knew what he was doing but the lessons learned when Mr. Wonderful comes out, just take a breath, just relax because he’s coming to check things out, I mean it’s like the deer was on a string. When they’re coming to you, let them come to you whether you are duck hunting, elk hunting, Mueller hunting it doesn’t matter let the deer…if they’re coming to you, then they have no clue that you’re any place around, they’re mind’s on something else and let them come in just like a string.