Legend Biography

Eli Haydel is the owner and CEO of Haydel's Game Calls, Inc., based in Bossier City, Louisiana. He has over 40 years of game calling experience. He began hunting and fishing at a very early age and started playing the saxophone and clarinet whole he was still a young man. His musical knowledge certainly became an asset as he pursued his dream of manufacturing the "perfect" call for hunters which would "blow wet."
Waterfowl hunting was has always been Eli's favorite sport and in 1975, he became interested in contest calling. Since that time he has won numerous local, state, regional, and national contests. In 1977, he won both the "Louisiana State" and the "Texas Regional Open", of which each qualified him to compete in the "World Duck Calling Contest".
In 1981, Eli started his own company and is now leader and innovator of many new products. His latest catalog contains over 100 items and Haydel products are highly sought after as well as now used worldwide.
He has hunted waterfowl from the Canadian Prairie and wheat fields to the marshes and swamps of the Gulf Coast. These qualifications prompted the National Rifle Association to ask Eli to co-author their "Waterfowl Hunting Manual" which covers game calling and decoy arrangement plus a chapter on how to get youth interested and started in waterfowl hunting.
He is in Louisiana's "Sports Hall of Fame" for championship calling and recognized for his musical ability in Louisiana's "Hall of Fame for Entertainers". Numerous stories and articles have appeared in hunting magazines regarding his expertise in the field. He has also been featured on many hunting shows with various celebrities which have been shown on ESPN, TNN, Cabin Country, GAR Outdoors, Outdoor Tops & Tales on the Outdoor Channel. Numerous companies use Eli as a pro staffer to promote their products nationwide. For example, Blackwater Decoys, Realtree Clothing, Hodgeman Footwear, War Eagle Boats, Yamaha Outdoors, etc. He is a member of the Bossier Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Shreveport Elks Club, and honorary auxiliary member of the Bossier City Police Department, a sponsor and Honorary Trustee of "Ducks Unlimited", and in 1997, he was selected as one of three finalists in the "Louisiana Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Program". In March 1999, he was inducted into the "Louisiana Sportsman Hall of Fame". This was the first year for the event and Eli was the youngest of the inductees to be selected. In the fall of 2001, he recorded his first music CD titled "Honking with Eli", and sales for this CD have been unbelievable and people are amazed at his talent. In May of 2002 at "Ducks Unlimited National Convention", Eli was presented the prestigious "Silver Teal Award" for his generous donations over the year to "Ducks Unlimited".