Late Season Snow Geese: Do Not Put Those Decoys Away Just Yet.
This
spring snow goose season will probably have the same problem this year as
in years past: smart birds. Each spring many avid waterfowl hunters spend
hours strategizing how to effectively harvest the alleged smartest of all
waterfowl, the snow goose. Since 1999, as hunters we have been allowed to
extend our fall hunting season into the spring. Since then we have tried
everything to outfox these wary birds. From the latest gimmicks to sheer
numbers of decoys, snow goose hunters have tried it all, all the while educating
an already veteran snow goose population. Many of the older birds have seen
more than a decade of windsocks, rags, and more recently full body decoys.
After a few days of watching flock after flock of snow geese circle just outside of shooting range, a person can get frustrated and discouraged. Believe me, I have witnessed my share of flocks skirt, flare, or all together ignore my precisely placed decoys. Many of these days are during the main flight when one can see thousands upon thousands of snows…all ignoring the decoys. By the end of the main flight through South Dakota, most hunters are tired of spending countless hours “bird watching”. I, on the other hand, keep the decoys in the trailer until the last small pockets of birds remain. In recent years I have found great success in hunting the last flocks of the migration. Many hunters forget that the season runs from February 8th to May 8th in South Dakota. Most of these late flocks are comprised of young, less experienced birds. I tend to scout for small numbers of snow geese; small being 5,000-10,000 geese. These juvenile or “juvies” tend to fly short distances to feed, most times less than two miles. Make sure you not only scout the field but the roost as well. If you cannot get permission to the exact field the geese were in during scouting, find one that is in the flight path; the closer to the roost the better. These short distances allow the birds to fly lower and are not as likely to spiral down into the decoys. These juvies have less time to look over the decoys and find imperfections in the spread. When the conditions are right, the geese set their wings and come right in.
When choosing decoys, I have found that fewer numbers of good quality decoys will work as well or better than more numbers of lesser quality decoys on these late migrating geese. Stick to wind socks, silhouettes, and full bodies; I know the rags are cheap, but it is best to go without. Remember, if it seems too good to be true, even with decoys, it probably is. Stick to the essentials, most of the unique decoys work best in ideal conditions. Your electronic caller should also be up to date. Several models are quite expensive, however cheaper homemade callers with multiple speakers spread throughout the decoys are as effective. Another tool that is worth its weight in gold is a goose flag. My favorite is a silhouette of a landing goose. The flag is mounted at the end of a long flexible pole that can be raised and lowered simulating landing geese. This can also be used to mimic geese stretching their wings by lifting a few feet and shaking the wings, then quickly setting it back to the ground. This motion will attract geese to come for a closer look.
Successfully decoying snow geese is challenging in any condition. When scouting, take careful notes of when the geese arrived, departed, and the exact location of the geese. This information will come in handy when setting up the decoys. Many patterns are used to set decoys, the most common being the X, teardrop, and circle. When choosing a pattern many conditions should be taken into consideration such as wind direction, cloud cover, and field topography. In heavy wind conditions, tightly grouped decoys set in a depression out of the wind works best. When hunting on sunny, calmer days, spread out your decoys as much as possible. This simulates relaxed birds and makes your spread look larger. Another technique I learned from a fellow hunter is to make an alley about 20 yards wide from the upwind to the downwind edges of your spread. From there, spread the decoys out and away from the alley. This will give the birds a large area to land and also eliminates the factor that snows prefer not to fly directly over decoys. I was invited on a hunt when I was initiated into this method and it worked great for snows even in the full migration.
I do understand that money is always the limiting factor,
so one may consider a local guide service to provide a quality hunt with
decoy spreads that would take a lifetime to acquire. For the cost of about
six full bodies one can enjoy hunt of a lifetime surrounded by thousands
of dollars of the latest full bodies, silosocks, and floater decoys. In
addition, blinds, e-callers, and guides are provided. For the hunter that
lacks hours to scout and access to decoys, a hunting service may be the
answer. One guide service that specializes in local spring snow goose hunts
are the guys at Outdoor Adrenaline. Visit their website at www.OutdoorAdrenaline.com
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