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Mobile
Goose Hunting
By T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors
I was driving a dusty dirt road when I first saw the
cloud of geese in the air. I stopped the Blazer and
reached for my binoculars, trying to determine which
way the geese were headed. It was late afternoon and
the geese were just leaving the lake for their afternoon
feeding. As the geese headed west into the wind I
jumped back in the Blazer and followed them. I took
a dirt road south and two miles later I took another
dirt road west, trying to keep the geese in sight.
Four miles later the flock began to descend, and then
landed in a chisel plowed corn field where thousands
of other snow and white-fronted geese were already
feeding.
I watched the geese for a half an
hour then drove to the nearest farm to ask who owned
the field and whether or not I would be allowed to
hunt. As it turned out the field was owned by the
farmer and he was more than glad to give me permission
to hunt, saying. "there are too many darn geese
anyhow." I returned the next morning with several
hunters.
Scouting
Prior to the goose season scout areas near goose roosting
waters to determine which fields have food sources
where the geese will. In most areas this means a corn,
soybean, wheat, or rice field. Checking the fields
before the season is especially important if you intend
to lease land, you don't want to end up leasing fields
where geese don't feed. Farmers often rotate crops
and what may have been corn one year may have beans,
wheat or alfalfa in it the next year. It pays to know
in advance which fields contain crops the geese feed
on.
If you are hunting a new area and don't have a chance
to scout before the season you should scout the area
until you find where the geese roost at night. You
can then follow the geese out in the morning or evening
to learn where they feed. I prefer to follow geese
in the evening and wait until the next morning to
hunt them, setting up in the same field where the
fed the night before.
Flight Patterns
While you are looking for hunting fields be sure to
take into account the prevailing wind patterns, and
the normal flight patterns of the geese. When geese
leave their roosting area they often fly out into
the wind and keep going until they find a field in
which to eat. Local geese establish patterns and often
fly out the same way each day and feed in the field
same fields until the food is gone. Then they find
the nearest available field and feed in it. This pattern
continues until the food sources are exhausted, or
until a major wind shift causes the birds to fly out
in a different direction. Migrating geese new to the
area often follow local flocks to feeding fields but
may go off on their own.
The best way to determine where the geese are feeding
is by scouting the night before you plan to hunt.
Follow a flock as they leave the roost and note the
field where they land, but do not hunt them that night.
If they are not hunted that night, and if the food
is not gone, and there is no major weather change,
the geese often return to the same field or near it
the following day. Once you locate the feeding field
ask permission to hunt from the landowner. If the
land is leased, someone is already there, or the farmer
doesn't allow hunting try to get the nearest available
field. I usually try to get a field that is closer
to the roost, and shortstop the geese before they
get to the field where I can't hunt.
When choosing a field take into account what I call
the "angle of dispersal." Even though the
geese may all come from the same area they tend to
fan out as they leave, spreading themselves out. The
farther you get from the roost or refuge, the greater
the angle of dispersal, the less geese you see, and
the less geese you have a chance to decoy. Try to
stay close to the refuge if the geese are willing
to come in. In areas with a shooting line around the
refuge geese often fly high to avoid hunters. In this
case the geese may not land until well away from the
refuge line. It may be best to place your decoys farther
from the refuge, where the geese are willing to come
down.
Hunting Rights
With goose hunting becoming more popular it is becoming
harder to find land to hunt on. If you know of a traditional
feeding area try to secure hunting rights well in
advance of the season. By offering to help the owner
with his farm work he may give you exclusive rights
to hunt the land, or at least permission to hunt with
him. Dropping off a few geese every time you leave
is a nice gesture.
Sometimes the only way to get access is to lease the
land. If the price is high you may want to get a group
of friends and secure a lease with an option for the
following year. With more hunters every year a long
term lease may be the best. If you don't secure hunting
rights well in advance someone may outbid you and
you can lose the property. I've found that a combination
of a written lease, the present of a few geese or
a gift certificate for dinner for the landowner and
his wife, and the offer to help with the farm work
goes a long way.
Be sure to find out if you can post "No Hunting"
signs, if you can dig pits if you agree to fill them
in; which fields to stay out of; if you can drive
on the fields; and where the buildings and livestock
are. Be considerate. Driving on wet or muddy fields
and crops can ruin them, and relations with the landwoner.
Be sure to close all gates, pick up all trash and
shotgun shells, and don't leave decoys or blinds in
the field after the season where the may get wrecked
by farm equipment or wreck farm equipment.
Because you want to attract the geese to your decoys
choose a hunting site where the geese feed. The best
way to get geese to come to you is to be in a place
where they feel secure, are used to, or are going
to. Then choose a location in the middle of the feeding
site if possible, on a hill or away from cover. Visualize
where your shooting position is in relation to the
decoys. Geese often land short of the decoys and you
may want to sit downwind, then if the geese swing
or land downwind they may be in shooting range. On
windy days you may have to sit as far as fifty yards
from the decoys.
Concealment
Pits are by far the best means of concealment. They
allow you to be completely hidden with no profile
for the geese to detect. I personally don't like pits
because I have a hard time seeing the geese, and if
I can't see them I don't know how they are reacting
to my call. The major drawback with pits is that they
are not very mobile. If the geese don't fly over the
field that day what good are the pits. I prefer to
be mobile.
There are many portable blinds available. I prefer
low profile blinds but have seen four foot high blinds
used on the Platte River in Nebraska and Colorado.
When you are choosing a blind be sure it is portable,
compact, lightweight and sets up easily if you want
to be mobile. There are also decoys blinds that you
can sit in. I have used five foot goose decoys and
have seen cow decoys. While these work on less hunted
geese, they are heavy and hard to transport. Personally
I prefer low profile goose hunting with plenty of
mobility because I want to be able to go where the
geese are.
Camouflage
To be mobile and avoid detection, you need proper
concealment, clothing or some type of blind. Dr. Cooper
says that geese can see color, so be sure to choose
a camouflage that matches not only the pattern of
the surroundings but also the color of your surroundings.
If you are hunting in green wear a green camo, if
you are hunting on dirt wear a dark camo of brown
and gray. When hunting corn, stubble, grass, rice
or other crops wear a tan colored camouflage with
a dirt colored background like my Field "Stalker"
design or Cornfield available from Herter's. When
hunting on snow covered ground wear all white clothing
or Snow Field "Stalker' also available form Herter's.
While laying in the field use some of the vegetation
around you to help break up your outline. When hunting
snow geese I wear a white suit, and knowing this works
I sometimes wear dark gray clothing when hunting for
canada geese. I lie on the ground and pull four 42
inch shells around me, looking like a large decoy
in the suit as I rest my head on one of the shells
so I can see the geese.
If you are interested in more waterfowl
hunting tips, or more waterfowl biology and behavior,
click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.'s
Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you have questions
about waterfowl or waterfowl hunting log on to the
T.R.'s Tips message board.
This article is an excerpt from the
Duck & Goose Addict's Manual ($14.95 + $5.00 S&H),
by T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain
Outdoor Products catalog.
T.R. Michels is a nationally recognized
game researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor writer
and speaker. He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk,
Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's Manuals. His
latest products are Hunting the Whitetail Rut Phases,
the Complete Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2005 Revised
Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2005 Revised
Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For
a catalog of books and other hunting products contact:
T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors,
E-mail: TRMichels@yahoo.com
Web Site: www.TRMichels.com
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