Contact:
Email: llemaire@cox.net
Phone: 337-839-8733
How long making calls:
Since high school
Influenced by:
Otto Abshire, Henry Braus and Alton Broussard
Working or Decorative calls:
Working
Trade Name:
Gueydan Duck Call
Email: llemaire@cox.net
Phone: 337-839-8733
How long making calls:
Since high school
Influenced by:
Otto Abshire, Henry Braus and Alton Broussard
Working or Decorative calls:
Working
Trade Name:
Gueydan Duck Call
Larry "Jacques" LeMaire
Biography:
My interest in duck calls started in grammar school in the 1940’s. We hunted in the rice fields of Gueydan, Louisiana, where I grew up. Learning how to call was necessary since I preferred hunting alone. As I grew older I became interested in making duck calls. Using material available in south Louisiana, I fashioned my calls out of bamboo, cedar and the metal sleeve from shotgun shells. I borrowed the design of Gueydan masters, Otto Abshire, Henry Braus and Alton Broussard; never having had the good fortune to meet the grand master, Noah Schexnider. For reeds we spent many hours with rasps filing down Ace hard rubber combs. Since hard rubber is no longer available, we now use mylar - an inexpensive manufactured plastic that does not need filing.
Over the years I have resisted using hard woods instead of cane to make my calls. Not only is a more mellow sound produced in the soft bamboo interior, it is important to me to continue the tradition of our Acadian ancestors.
The farthest thing from my mind when I began making calls was entering contests. However, in 1978, I was “talked” into signing up for the Lafayette Sierra Club duck calling contest. Somehow, with divine guidance, I placed first and then retired my one-in-a-thousand hand made “Gueydan Duck Call”.
Mentors in recent years include Albert Thibodeaux and Mervis Saltzman. I thank Barry Sallinger for encouraging me to continue the great tradition of Louisiana callmaking.
My interest in duck calls started in grammar school in the 1940’s. We hunted in the rice fields of Gueydan, Louisiana, where I grew up. Learning how to call was necessary since I preferred hunting alone. As I grew older I became interested in making duck calls. Using material available in south Louisiana, I fashioned my calls out of bamboo, cedar and the metal sleeve from shotgun shells. I borrowed the design of Gueydan masters, Otto Abshire, Henry Braus and Alton Broussard; never having had the good fortune to meet the grand master, Noah Schexnider. For reeds we spent many hours with rasps filing down Ace hard rubber combs. Since hard rubber is no longer available, we now use mylar - an inexpensive manufactured plastic that does not need filing.
Over the years I have resisted using hard woods instead of cane to make my calls. Not only is a more mellow sound produced in the soft bamboo interior, it is important to me to continue the tradition of our Acadian ancestors.
The farthest thing from my mind when I began making calls was entering contests. However, in 1978, I was “talked” into signing up for the Lafayette Sierra Club duck calling contest. Somehow, with divine guidance, I placed first and then retired my one-in-a-thousand hand made “Gueydan Duck Call”.
Mentors in recent years include Albert Thibodeaux and Mervis Saltzman. I thank Barry Sallinger for encouraging me to continue the great tradition of Louisiana callmaking.
