Webmaster

I'm Ryan Holler. I built this website a few years ago for Jerry Billy. He never paid me a dime to do it, and I never asked him for one. What I have instead is better. No, I'm not referring to a nice collection of Snazz Duck Calls (which I do have, by the way). I have a lifetime of memories of hunting with him, his son Bill; Larry Peebles, his sons Chip and David, and nephew Todd; Charles Naylor Mills, his sons Charles and Eric, the late Judge John Davis, my father Lynn Holler, and countless fortunate guests to what I like to call "our piece of the Cach River," which is not a geographic location so much as an insufficient name for our shared moments there.

I have considered writing something for the "Stories" section of this site. The problem is that I have too many stories and I can't pick my favorite one... or twelve. My memory is filled with hilarious stories of malfunctioning hunting equipment, confusion between "coffee beans and donkey sh!#," hunting caps judged to be "too damn bright" and therefore spray-painted on the spot, arguments over who "shot" versus who "killed the duck," and the boiling hatred Jerry Billy's dog had for Mr. Mills. No story I could write could begin to compare to having been there in person, or at least having heard it from those who were.

You've probably read all the copy about how long and hard Jerry Billy worked to develop the Snazz Duck Call, and that it's truly superior to the calls you can order out of a catalog. It's all true. But to me, these calls are iconic pieces of Cache River Duck hunting history. And I'm honored to have gotten to live part of that history.

This is me in 1969. I think I was about 18 months old. I remember watching the men named above pull into the back yard, unhook their boats, shed their muddy clothes, recount their limits of ducks, and talk about the day's hunt. Can you see in my eyes and the way I'm wearing my daddy's cap how badly I wanted to join 'em?

Ryan is a creative soul who has dabbled in almost every creative genre imaginable. He even learned to sew as a kid, stitching scraps of material together on his mom's Singer sewing machine while she was off at work. After learning this, we quickly put him to work fixing our worn hunting clothes.

Before long, we started bringing him heavy canvas and military grade straps and buckles, which he used to make ammo bags and camouflage outboard motor covers for us. And when I say "for us," I mean monogrammed!

Ryan grew up to spend the early part of his career as a graphic artist in print and web media in both non-profit communications and corporate advertising. But nowadays it seems he has come full circle, as he currently works as a product designer, specializing in athletic footwear and softgoods (backpacks, bags, outdoor gear, etc.). His products are sold under various brands at retailers from FinishLine to Walmart.

For images of Ryan's work and contact info click here.

-JB