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The "Bays Call", the true wood duck call, was developed
and crafted in the late 1960's by Lewis Bays because there was no effective call available that could truly lure the elusive
wood duck. Lewis Bays spent a lifetime studying ducks. He knew their sounds, behaviors, and reactions. When hunting mallards
or other ducks, he would alternate between the mallard call and the Bays Call. He would call first on the mallard call, then
give a wood duck call, and then a widgeon call. This had a surprising effect on calling shy ducks. He made the Bays Call
for 20 years, and now his son and grandson are making the Bays Call by hand, one at a time. Each call is unique and true
to the original design.
Lewis Bays, a dedicated waterfowl biologist for the State of Mississippi, spent his life protecting,
studying, and improving waterfowl habitats in the Mississippi flyway. He was a strong advocate for public hunting areas for
hunters who did not own land or were not able to join a private hunting club. One of his major undertakings was procuring
land for "green timber reservoirs" which would attract waterfowl during peek migration times. Levees were built, wells were
drilled, and pumps were set to flood the timberland during migration. Later, the timberland was drained for the growing season.
The "green timber reservoirs" were responsible for bringing more wood ducks to the state. Also, he devoted countless hours
to building and placing wood duck nesting boxes across the South.
Lewis Bays was the Director of the Mississippi Game
and Fish Commission, Waterfowl Specialist for the Mississippi Delta Wildlife Foundation, and the creator of the waterfowl
program for Callaway Gardens in Georgia. Today, he continues his interest in waterfowl conservation and enjoys telling his
grandson about the "good old days". His grandson enjoys telling people about duck hunting, the Bays Call, and his granddad.
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