Greenhead presents the 2022 Executive Q&A featuring a panel of executives sharing their must-haves, top tips and favorite memories in the field.
Gardner Lile
Executive Broker
Lile Real Estate Inc.
Number of days you hunt a season? Forty to 50.
Where do you hunt? Our family farm on the south side of the Bayou Meto WMA near Reydell.
Club name? Grassy Lake/Round Cypress.
What kind of gun do you use? Semi-auto.
Favorite duck call? P.S. Olt D-2 Round Hole.
Fields, reservoir or timber? I enjoy hunting all environments, but my favorite is timber.
Rainy, nasty or bluebird sky? Without a doubt, bluebird days with an 8-10 mph wind.
Favorite hunting story/memory? My parents acquired the farm where our camp is in the fall of 2012 and we are fortunate to have a small block of green timber on the northeast portion of the Round Cypress farm. The opening morning of the 2012-2013 season we hunted the woods and it was just my dad, brother, sister and myself. The ducks had found our woods and we had a very special first hunt on that farm that included landing multiple large groups of 50-plus in what we call the Big Hole.
If you have kids, do you take them hunting? Highlights? My wife, Leah, and I have a little girl, Leighton, who just turned 1 in June so she is still a little young to go. Leah likes to duck hunt though, and Leighton was actually a duck hunter for her first Halloween so I am hopeful that she will enjoy going when she gets older.
What got you into hunting? My brother and I were lucky that our dad started taking us at a young age. I started going on a regular basis when I was around 7 or 8 and Garrett was a little younger. My dad had always hunted a lot and my mom supported us going with him as long as we made church on Sunday, so we were in regular attendance at the Sunday evening Mass at the cathedral during duck season.
What is your most unusual “must have” in the duck blind? I don’t have any exciting items in my bag, but do carry two bottles of water if we are going to be calling a lot.
Where is your go-to spot for breakfast/meals on a hunting weekend? My favorite place is our camp because we are lucky that Cindy Griffin helps us entertain. She is a great cook with a wide variety of options for meals.
Which Arkansas executive calls ducks the best? I feel lucky to have hunted with several people that I deem to be great callers. My dad, Gar, and Scott Sorrells are the ones who taught me what little I know about calling and cutting [on] Olts. I would have to say they are the best in my opinion. They have different cadences, but both are very good. We hunted with the Sorrells family quite a bit when I was growing up and listening to them call together are some of my best hunting memories.
