American Gun Dog

You may know Park City local Harley Jackson as the buyer and fly-fishing guide at Trout Bum 2. Or you may know him as “Daddy” to 2-year-old Summer. What you may not know is that Harley Jackson has gone birdy. And you might too, once you see his ESPN program, “American Gundog.”

Jackson has matched the pace of his life to the rhythm of the rivers he loves so much. He simply goes with the flow. A Utah native, the ruddy outdoorsman grew up bird hunting and fishing in the local mountains. Fly-fishing became a passion 15 years ago, when Jackson’s brother Steven introduced him to the sport. “Whenever I do anything, I’m kind of a freak about it,” laughs Jackson. “I do it a lot.”

Jackson decided he wanted to make a living fly-fishing so that he could “support [his] bird hunting habit.” He worked for Western Rivers as a guide for six years while attending the University of Utah. Then he helped open Trout Bum 2. How did this unassuming guy become a TV personality? It just kind of happened.

“Through the fly-fishing business, you meet a lot of people. When you go fishing with someone, you can tell who that person is. I met Chris Fischer, and we became friends. He and his wife were producing this really cool fishing show for ESPN, “Offshore Adventures.” ESPN approached Chris about doing another show on dogs and hunting. He knew that I loved to do all that and asked if I’d do the show. My first thought was that it would interfere with my bird hunting. My second thought was that I had little experience with TV. I voiced my hesitation, but Chris said, ‘Come try it for a day.’ We filmed our first show on the first day we went out hunting together.”

The 30-minute show is an appealing mixture of travel log, personality profiles, nature walk and low-key but impassioned commentary from Jackson as he tromps through sage brush and sandstone, leafy forests, wheat colored fields and along gurgling riverbanks in the company of his hunting dogs and hunting professionals (most entertaining characters). “We make a story out of each program, whether it’s a conservation message or pure entertainment,” says Jackson. At the end of each show, another Park City local, chef Iverson Brownell, prepares Jackson’s “catch of the day.”

For a guy who admits he often prefers solitude over company, Jackson makes a surprisingly confident TV host. “At first it was stressful. Chris just told me to relax and be myself. I’m to the point where I can enjoy the show now. I don’t wake up the night before a shoot panicking anymore.”

“The show is essentially about dogs that serve the purpose of hunting. Dogs in our society have grown away from serving a purpose. Not that being a pet isn’t a purpose, but dogs were bred to do certain jobs—hunting, guarding, herding. I’m fascinated by working dogs. You get to see what their ability is, whether it’s a gun dog or sheep dog.”

Jackson explains that of the different types of hunting dogs—those who flush, point or retrieve—his favorites are pointers. “I do most of my hunting in vast, open areas like the Great Basin or Mohave deserts—where the dogs are meant to cover a lot of area.” They’ll run for days at a time and live for it. When my dogs see my gun, they start flipping out because they know they get to run. My dog has held a point for up to 12 minutes. It’s simply amazing.

The dogs are an invaluable tool in terms of retrieving. The dog’s gratification is in bringing you that bird. And then they want to do it again. They don’t want a pat on the back. They know they’re a huge part of the process. I wouldn’t hunt if I didn’t have dogs. It wouldn’t even be the same to me. It’s amazing how much fun it is to walk and watch a dog.”

Jackson says he teaches his puppies to listen to just four commands: come, stay, whoa and fetch. “Then you take them and expose them to the wild birds. You allow the dog’s instincts and genetics to take over, and they teach themselves what to do.”

Jackson loves surprising viewers with the fact that Utah offers great bird hunting. “It blows their minds. It’s one more feature of Park City that people don’t understand.” Around Park City, Jackson hunts ruffed and blue grouse, chukar, quail and the occasional pheasant.

Interaction with the environment is most of the sport’s joy for Jackson. “I hike for my birds. I love chasing birds because of the landscape and where it takes me—places I wouldn’t normally go. It’s hiking with a purpose, walking and covering terrain and becoming highly involved in a beautiful and fair process. You can do everything in your human nature to obtain the bird, but it doesn’t always work out. It’s a lot like fishing. There’s always the variable of the wildness of it. I suppose that’s the addictive part—because it’s unpredictable.

How does he justify killing the birds? “Seventy percent of birds born in a year die in the first few months. They replenish themselves pretty well.

And I guess that it’s part of nature’s process. Sometimes I’m the predator. Plus, I enjoy eating all of the birds I shoot [usually grilled with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper], and I use some of their feathers to tie flies.”

So what kind of satisfaction is Jackson getting out of his newfound status as a TV personality? “I don’t know everything about dogs or bird hunting, but the show is a way to share my passion for bird hunting, and it showcases the dogs. I’ve seen really unique places that I’d never have seen, met some great people. And getting paid to hunt is pretty damn cool, too. My friends tell me I’m ‘livin’ the life!’”

See “American Gundog” weekly on ESPN. The new season starts October 2006.

The members of Kristen Case’s household have become avid fans of Harley’s show, and yes, they’re getting a puppy soon.