Kile Jones resides in the state of Michigan, where he currently attends high school and pursues waterfowl throughout the fall and winter months. Kile is already a very accomplished contest goose caller and recently won the 2008 Jr. World Goose Calling Contest in Easton, Maryland. Kile is a member of the Avery® Youth Field Staff and Zink Calls® Field Staff.

Well, first off, I have to know… does being the reigning Jr. World Goose Calling Champ get you any credit with the girls in high school? I mean… do they find it impressive at all?

Kile: It has! Some think it can be a little weird, but a lot of others have thought of it to be impressive. Some even want to go to some competitions.

What year of school are you in? Any plans for after high school?

Kile: I am a junior at Grand Ledge High School. Yes, I plan to go to college to study to become a teacher or a wildlife biologist. I want to go to a school in Michigan, but near an area with good hunting

Do you have time for any extracurricular activities at school being a competitive caller and serious waterfowl hunter?

Kile: I do, I just choose not to. I could play baseball, football, and/or basketball, but I choose not to, mainly because if I did, I would have to make commitments to the teams instead of hunting or calling.

About how many hours a week do you spend practicing, tuning and just preparing for upcoming contests?

Kile: I practice everyday for about an hour. It all depends on when the contest is. If it’s the next week I practice 2-3 hours a day because I want to get my lung power built up.

What made you decide to enter your first calling contest? What contest was it and how did you do? Were you nervous?

Kile: My friend, Bill Hawk, who also taught me to call, told me I should do a contest. The first contest I did was the Michigan State Intermediate Goose. I took 4^th. I am actually more nervous now than I was then.

Having won the Jr. World Goose Championship in 2008. Will you be competing in more contests this year and possibly for the World Goose Championship in 2009?

Kile: Definitely! I will for sure be at worlds next year and I’ll try to be at pretty much every contest in the Midwest.

Can you share a tip about putting together a good competition calling routine with our readers?

Kile: When I look at routines, I want a routine that has power and flow. Power is more like volume and how hard the caller hits his notes. Flow is where you have that constant rhythm and creating that good picture of the geese far away, calling them closer, they flare, you call them back and you land them in your decoys. I think once you have flow and power, you can work on trick notes. Lots of callers can do all the notes, but not a lot of callers have the power and flow.

It’s great that you’ve been so successful in competition calling at a young age, but more so, in my opinion, to take up the sport of water fowling and be so successful early in life. Obviously, there has to be someone or several people who are responsible for helping you get to this level. Can you tell me who they are and how they’ve helped you?

Kile: There are a lot…Dan Mock introduced me to hunting in general; Kalen Radford introduced me to waterfowl hunting; Bill Hawk  taught me how to call and hunt geese successful; Field Hudnall has helped me out with my routines tremendously; Fred Zink who has also helped me out with my calling and has given me countless tips on calling; Shawn Stahl, who has helped me with my routines; Robbie Iverson helped me out with my routines and was the first person to help me with a routine; and of course my parents who have helped me with entry fees, travel and hotel rooms and of course support.

What was your most memorable hunt from the 2008/2009 season?

Kile: Bill Hawk, Jimmy Weiss, Adam Spedoske and I were hunting a small cornfield. The field was surrounded by rivers and ponds. We had our limit of geese early and we were waiting for the ducks. It started to snow bad and the ducks just started coming. We had 16 mallards in 30 minutes. Definitely an awesome hunt!

Besides waterfowl, do you hunt any other animal species?

Kile: I love to bow hunt deer. It’s an awesome feeling when you have a buck 15 yards away from you and all that you’re holding is a “stick and string”. I also love to turkey hunt.

Do you ever get the chance to hunt outside of Michigan? What other states or countries have you hunted? Where is your favorite place to hunt?

Kile: I have hunted in Washington State for ducks, geese, elk, deer, bear and turkeys. I am planning to hunt in Saskatchewan with Mitch Hughes and his guide service and with a couple of friends in Kingsville, Ontario.

I’ll end with a tough question for you. If you had a choice to go compete in a contest for the weekend or go waterfowl hunting, which would you choose? Why?

Kile: That is a tough question and I always get that one. I would love to go hunting, but I really want to do good in the calling contests this year, so I’d have to pick calling contest for now.

For more information about Kile Jones, visit Zink Calls® website www.zinkcalls.com