Gunning For Late Season Geese

By Freddie McKnight

With wings cupped, and occasionally bobbling to allow the air from under their bodies, the geese were coming to the decoy spread more than willingly. With four of us crouched in the blind, the action was just about ready to break loose.

Having shot on this field periodically over the past month, it was the first that the geese were pitching in with reckless abandon. The birds acted as though they had not been shot at all year. It was one of those hunts that you often dream about, and are glad to be part of.

When the shot echoes faded off, half-dozen birds were on the ground. There were many high fives going around the blind, and we were quickly out of the pit to retrieve our game. The scene would repeat itself a couple of more times on this morning before we decided to call it a day.

What made this late winter hunt so special? The fact that a major storm front was pushing in, plus a dusting of snow overnight made the birds want to feed. With an army of decoys spread out and all four of us calling, the birds were less wary about coming in to the spread. The wind was picking up ahead of the storm and the birds were wanting to feed on the winter wheat that we picked to hunt on this day.

Waterfowl, and in particular geese, are notorious for scrutinizing decoy spreads. The later in the season, the worse they seem to be about even looking at your layout. Having hunted with some of the best goose guides on the east coast, I have learned that the approaching weather may mean a bust for those that arrive after the storms, but for the hunts on the day or even hours prior to one’s arrival, the action can be something only dreamed of.

One of the biggest keys I have been keenly aware of is the bigger the spread, the better. Most guides will use a mixture of full body, silhouettes, and flag type decoys in the spread for various illusions. For the most part, I have not noticed any particular decoy that outdoes others, it is a matter of setup that brings them in. Placing the geese in small family groups, with plenty of space in the middle of the spread for new arrivals to land, is the key to success. Keeping the decoys facing into the wind as much as possible, and the effort to make corrections to the spread as the incoming birds’ dictate are all matters of critical importance.

One final touch to the whole set up has been the use of flagging to get the birds attention. Some hunters place their flags in among the spread to allow movement in the decoys, while others prefer to use the flags by hand to control the birds reaction and approach. Some hunters state they would rather go hunting without a call than forget their flags. That is a pretty strong statement about how useful of an attractant the motion is.

One thing about wintertime geese is that they are often not in a hurry to feed in the morning. Sometimes the noon hour is the best time to be out there. There are many theories on this, the best one being that the high noon sun may thaw the grass out a bit to allow for easier feeding for the birds. It’s about the best one that makes sense to me.

On another occasion, I had a guide explain to me that we would be hunting over a plowed dirt field in the latter portion of the afternoon. I could not figure out why we were hunting in a plowed field or in the afternoon, but he explained his theory to me and it made sense. The birds were sitting on a lake all day, on the edge of the ice that threatened to cover the lake as well as the remaining open water. With temperatures that cold on their feet, the birds seemed to like to come to the sun-warmed field and thaw their legs out.

Not only did we have excellent action on this particular hunt, we witnessed several flocks of geese that landed out of range. Glassing over the birds, I did not see one goose with its head down and feeding. All the birds seem to be standing around just getting their feet warm. It seems weird, but it was definitely the place to be hunting on this January afternoon.

As the seasons wind down, the mating urge starts to hit upon these birds. You may start to witness the break up of the flocks. Pairs of birds may start to be the normal thing, with some even getting as far as setting up a nesting area for the upcoming breeding season. You can play on this lots of times by using just a pair of decoys in those areas so as to mimic to the resident pair that other geese are trying to take over their territory. It is not a way to get a limit of birds in most cases, but it can work better than not getting any birds at all. In areas where resident birds are causing all kinds of problems, their elimination will receive many thank yous.

Winter geese will always remain wary, but if you can put all the factors in your favor, you can still have many successful outings. With resident goose seasons often running into mid-February and snow geese even later, this is an opportunity to get out hunting when most other seasons are closed. Why don’t you get out and give it a whirl.