by Christiana Roussel
If you’ve ever flipped through one of those uber-high-end sporting magazines, you’ve probably seen pages upon pages of advertisements and stories about aspirational quail hunting trips. Showing highly-covetable destinations (from here to Argentina), there are photos of guys decked out in all the expensive gear, flanked by guides, mul-tiple canine flushers and retrievers, and shouldering gleaming shotguns.
Yes, those are great experiences to have. Some of us are lucky enough to have been on these types of hunts – with wagons and mules, seasoned guides and dogs – but honestly, a great quail hunt doesn’t have to be aspirational or break the bank. In fact, a great quail hunt is way more accessible than you might think.
Trending
Recent years have seen a serious rise in the popularity of the sport.
“Floridians should have enormous pride in the amount of recreational land we have available here,” Jon Kohler shares. “Much of that can be credited to visionaries like Lawton Chiles, T.K. Wetherell, and George Wilson.”
He goes on to give credit to present-day conservation leaders such as Shane Wellendorf at Tall Timbers, Julie Morris and Jim Strickland of Florida Conservation Group (FSG).
“FSG is instrumental in the state, buying conservation easements that allow the landowner to both monetize their property’s development value today while preserving it for the use of future Floridians,” Jon says.
Plantation manager, guide and Jon Kohler & Associates broker Brett Bryan will be the first to tell you he is seeing this increased renewed interest in quail hunting firsthand.
“You know, it is not unlike what Robert Ruark wrote about in his book ‘The Old Man and the Boy’ – it can be as simple as walking a fence line with a good dog by your side,” Brett says. “More and more people are seeing that you can return to a smaller piece of family property – even just 100 acres – and if it is well-managed, you can have a great place to hunt quail all season.”
When asked what he attributes the renewed interest in the pursuit to, Bryan shares, “Even before COVID, we were noticing more people taking up all kinds of outdoor activities. Whether it is fishing or hunting, people want the experiences of being in the places where these things happen. You may not catch a fish, but if you are out on the water with a beautiful rod and reel, it just feels great. There is something about this lifestyle that really draws people in.”
Visit Charleston in February for the annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) event, and you can tell there is a serious fever about all things related to the outdoor life. To be candid, some of these attendees may acquire the German Short-Haired Pointer and Barbour Be-dale before they ever see a covey rise. Upland hunting is a decidedly social activity, and the good news is that there is no shortage of ways to become engaged.
Plantation Optional
The truth is, the best quail hunts take place on property that is well-managed and maintained, regardless of size. The science of proper land management – through organizations such as Tall Timbers, who make their research available to everyone – is proving that out.
“One of the major setbacks to the quail population in the region was that period of time when people were afraid to put fire to the landscape,” Bryan says. “Some people grew up hearing about Smokey Bear and were afraid of fire in wooded areas, but the land, the habitat, the quail need that fire to thrive.”
And, quail are not the only wildlife that benefit from these prescribed burns – deer and wild turkey populations thrive in the same landscape as the quail. So, when you improve even a small parcel using proper methods, you reap the benefits again and again.
Removing the Barriers
Contrary to what you might see in some of those fancy hunting magazines, you don’t need much to get out there and have a great quail experience with friends and family. States like Florida and Georgia have links on their websites directing residents to their WMA resources and instructions on purchasing licenses. Through the dedicated work of so many landowners and stakeholders, the quail are here.
If you are interested in your own private spot, Bryan says Jon Kohler & Associates has clients come to them all the time seeking smaller parcels where they can get a toehold on this lifestyle. He has even had groups of friends buy property together, sharing the legacy they will create together.
And, back to the topic of dogs: while having a kennel full of well-trained pointers and flushers might be nice, sometimes all you need is a really great family dog.
As a board member of the national Quail Forever organization, Jon notes, “It is funny how people used to get a dog because they wanted to shoot quail. Now we are seeing bird hunters shoot because they want to work their dogs. A lot of great dogs were acquired during COVID. I’d say roughly 80% of our 140,000 Quail Forever members own hunting dogs.”
Reaching down to pet his own cocker spaniel, Bryan says, “This is a dog who can keep up with my 3-year-old, hang out on the couch while we watch football and still do great in the field.”
Jon adds, “It’s never been a better time to be a sportsman in Florida.”
From murky farm ponds to pristine glacier-cut lakes and everything in between, Knox Daniels’ expertise stems from a lifelong fascination of water and the creatures that live in and around it. He recognizes and helps clients appreciate the value water features bring to a property. “My goal is to help buyers realize and sellers maximize the value different water bodies bring to a property, not only in a recreational sense, but also for social storm reasons.” After extensively traveling the country for collegiate BASS fishing tournaments, Knox graduated and worked for the Southeast’s finest fisheries and wildlife biologist, Greg Grimes. With Grimes’ company, AES, Knox managed many of the southeast’s finest private lake estate/impoundment properties, and learned the intricacies of upscale property management. Learning from Greg and other biologists, Knox honed in on the specific conditions and habitat needed for optimal gamefish growth in private lakes. He has also worked as a property manager on several thousand acres and for a commercial developer, facilitating the dirt work and builds of several apartment complexes, but his true passion has always been in the outdoors. “I’ve always had an insatiable fascination with ponds/lakes and am grateful to be able to help to place clients on the properties of their dreams and make their personal fisheries/wildlife goals reality with JKA.” – Knox Daniels
Jason has been assisting landowners for the last 28 years in Georgia and South Carolina obtain achievements the owners did not realize were possible. His degree in Biology from Georgia Southern stemmed from the desire to know how things in nature work. His plantation roots began at just 16 years old outside of Albany, GA and the last 20 years were spent in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. His entire career has been spent developing a global approach to plantation management. That plan included sales. Sales is in Jason’s blood- his mom had a 45-year career as a real estate broker. After college, he chose to pursue his passion of making properties great. In 2011, Jason sold his first plantation. Since then, he has assisted buyers and sellers with over $20 million in sales while most of that time working as a full-time General Manager of a large Lowcountry plantation. Today, he is committed to using his unique skill set and experience to guide landowners through the many challenges of plantation ownership.
Bruce Ratliff is a retired elected official (Property Appraiser Taylor County). Bruce brings years of experience in ad valorem tax knowledge. His property tax background gives JKA Associates & clients a unique insight into the complicated tax process. Bruce held several positions in the Florida Association of Property Appraisers, including member of the Board of Directors, President, Vice-President and Secretary, and served on the Agricultural & Legislative Committees for the Association. The real estate business has been part of Bruce’s life since childhood. His mother, Shirley Ratliff owned Professional Realty of Perry, Florida and his father, Buster owned Ratliff Land Surveying which Bruce was General Manager of before his political career.
Hailing from a long line of outdoorsmen, Tim learned a great deal from his father and grandfather. He saw first-hand what it means to be a good land steward. He believes land is so much more than a place to hunt, fish, and grow timber or crops. “It’s an identity, a resting place, a safe haven and a way of life, said Tim.” Tim’s family ties to Alabama run deep. During his grandfather’s first term, Governor James was responsible for signing into law Alabama’s first state duck stamp which helped to ensure funding for the procurement, development, and preservation of wetlands for migratory waterfowl habitat. He also established Alabama’s lifetime hunting license, so it is no surprise that Tim is an avid outdoorsman with a keen eye as to how best to improve habitat for the greater good of its wildlife.
With Madison County roots, Lori grew up on her family farm at Pettis Springs along the historic Aucilla River. A love of the land was instilled in Lori very early on by her father who was a local farmer. Lori understands the importance of good land stewardship and has witnessed first-hand how her own father, a former 2-term member of the Florida House of Representatives whose district encompassed many rural counties of the Red Hills Plantation Region, with a little bit of sweat equity, so lovingly worked their own family land. These are core values she carries with her today, and nothing gives her more personal satisfaction than to represent some of the south’s best land stewards.
Cole’s dedication to land management lies in his family roots. As a fourth-generation timber expert, Cole’s earliest memories were spent with his father managing timber investments. With a degree in Food Resource Economics from the University of Florida, Cole is the epitome of an up-and-coming leader. He grew up with a hands-on approach to learning land management and conservation and has spent the last 15 years learning every angle of the real estate and forest industry. Cole is a member of the Florida Forestry Association, Red Hills Quail Forever, Southeastern Wood Producers Association and he uses this platform as an advocate for landowners and their land investments. His family has dedicated the past 60 years to providing landowners in North Florida and South Georgia with professional land management services focused on improving and protecting one’s forestland and wildlife investment. In fact, their family business, M.A. Rigoni, Inc., was one of the first to introduce whole tree chipping to the Red Hills Region.
As a landowner of his own family farm, Lick Skillet, along with family land that has been passed down and enjoyed together at Keaton Beach for 40 years, Jon knows what it means to be a steward of the last best places. As a third-generation land broker with more than 30 years of experience in advising landowners in this niche, Jon is known for his innate ability to harvest a land’s unique intrinsic value. Touting several notable sales under his belt, Jon personally closed Rock Creek/Molpus – 124,000 acres of premium timberland at $142,000,000 – which was known as the largest timberland land sale in the Southeast for eight years running. He is a co-founding member of LandLeader and achieved the real estate industry’s highest honor, “2022 National Broker of the Year – Recreational Land Sales,” by the Realtors® Land Institute.