Henderson teen is state's top goose caller

Reed Sharpe is always up for a good challenge.

For this year's Christmas dinner, he's making a grilled goose appetizer.

“We got garlic, black pepper, olive oil,” he said as he lined up his ingredients. “I’m doing this myself.”

Sharpe, 17, does it all himself, from start to finish, and he takes great pride in the call and the hunt. The Henderson teen is an avid hunter and goose caller. His bedroom is filled with trophies, including the one he won the adult division for the 2013 North Carolina Goose Calling Championship.

“It was amazing – I can’t describe it,” Sharpe recalled. “It makes your heart pound. It was a shock when I won.”

Sharpe started calling when he was 11.

“It’s all about imitation, and there are a variety of calls, including a hail call, the feeding call, the comeback call, and the landing call,” he said, demonstrating each one.

His skills are mostly self-taught. Having a backyard that backs up to Kerr Lake doesn’t hurt.

“I go out there and just mess around and practice just about every day,” he said.

His parents, Cydne and Charles Sharpe, don’t hunt or fish, but they couldn’t be more proud of their son’s accomplishment. They adopted Reed from Russia when he was 5 ½-months-old.

“From Russia to redneck,” he joked.

Reed Sharpe credits his parents for the opportunity to find his calling.

"If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be doing any of this," he said. "I wouldn't be goose-calling or duck-calling or being out on this lake or hunting or anything."