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Hunting when snowing, I always carry a car broom to dust off the accumulation of snow on the decoys. 36 clean decoys are worth more then 200 ones with 1 inch of snow on them.
- Jocelyn (Josh) Léger |
Hunting large bodies of water late in the season could be exciting, as they usually concentrate a lot of birds while every smaller ponds and lakes are frozen. At this time of year, launching and trailering the boat could be quite challenging, we always take time to shovel the boat ramp to remove snow and we always carry some sand and gravel to spread in the boat ramp in order to insure good tire traction, and very occasionnally and also for ecological purposes we'll have to use calcium to melt ice build-up in the boat ramp.
- Jocelyn (Josh) Léger |
In late water hunting I always carry a plastic shovel, and there are many reasons for that. Plastic shovels are lighter then metal ones, they will not sink as fast if you dropped them accidentally in the water, you can use the shovel to throw some snow on the boat to blend with the winter scenery, and if the motor dies on you, you can always use it as an extra paddle ..
- Jocelyn (Josh) Léger |
When hunting 100+ days in a season, it is very demanding for my dogs to perform day after day. In order, to bring them the additional energy required for such exhausting duties, I supplement them with hi-energy puppy food, in an half-half ratio puppy food and regular performance adult food. The puppy food is very rich in nutrients and fat, and dogs synthesized fat as energy. And I usually keep this diet, up to one month after the hunting season to insure adequate recuperation.
- Jocelyn (Josh) Léger |
After a water hunt, take a minute or two, to dry the inside of your dog’s ear with paper towel, this is a great way to prevent ear infections, especially on breeds with long floppy ears, it does not evacuate moisture adequately, if necessary you can also use an ear cleaning solution available at your Vet.
- Jocelyn (Josh) Léger |
Always have a small first aid kit, in your hunting/fishing bag, it comes very handy to treat minor injuries occurring in the field, for you and your dog.
- Jocelyn (Josh) Léger |
Have a scouting log book in your vehicle, it is a great way to note your daily observations such as specific birds patterns in fields or when roosting, the amount of birds in a given area, crops the birds are using, and all other related details. And you can gather datas, that will serve you years after years, and most possibly establish some repeat patterns that will increase your field success.
- Jocelyn (Josh) Léger |
To insure well being of your hunting retriever and also to make sure he will perform well throughout hunting season, give him proper physical conditioning in the off-season, such as a daily walk, retrieving exercises, swimming, etc.. And also adjust his food intake according to his level of activity, to avoid getting to the hunting season with an over-weight dog with reduced endurance.
- Jocelyn (Josh) Léger |
When hunting snow geese, as a general rule, when it is a nice day without any wind, I will put my snow goose decoys closer together to give the day roost appearance with less motion. And on windy and cloudy days, I will put my decoys further apart and use a bigger surface of the field to set my spread, using as much motion as possible with flags and decoys on stakes, giving the appearance of a huge flock into a feeding frenzy mode.
- Jocelyn (Josh) Léger |
Choose a call to match the size and sound of the birds you are hunting but don't forget at times large birds prefer a high pitch sound and small birds react better to deep sounds.
- Bill Saunders |
Don't blow a contest routine at birds. I have seen great callers who only know contest calling struggle with killing birds.
- Bill Saunders |
Don't think you need to call like on hunting videos to kill birds. Remember we are promoting our calls a lot of times, besides would you buy a video with no calling in it?
- Bill Saunders |
At times no calling is the best method to decoy birds, this is especially true on late season or educated birds.
- Bill Saunders |
Dont think you need to make a ton of sounds to kill birds. Clucking, moaning and two tone clucks can be the deadliest sounds for Canada geese.
- Bill Saunders |
Learn to read birds. Some hunters call too much or at the wrong times.
- Bill Saunders |
Watch and listen to birds in your area to see how much calling is done to approaching birds, you will notice a lot of times very little calling is done.
- Bill Saunders |
Dont get stuck blowing the same rif, sequence or call at every flock on every hunt, mix it up dont let the birds know its you.
- Bill Saunders |
When your hide/blind isnt perfect you may need to back off birds when they are overhead or hanging on you.
- Bill Saunders |
After shooting into a flock of honkers to fast comeback calling to bring the rest of the flock around for another go or shoot straight the first time they come in.
- Bill Saunders |
Pass up a shot if you are unsure of the range. It's better to let the birds go and maybe get them in closer later in the day or later that seasson than to sky bust and educate and cripple birds.
- Bill Saunders |
When hunting with buddies, pick one person to lead in the calling and the rest to follow and fill in. This should be the guy with the most experience.
- Bill Saunders |
Proper use of Bill Saunders Calls will help produce more birds so remember, hunt ethically. "With great power comes great responsibility" - Stan Lee
- Bill Saunders |
Keep a jug of water and a 5 gallon bucket in your trailer or truck. When your field has sparse cover, take dirt from the field and add water to mud your blinds. This improves your hide tremendously
- Randy Southard |
Try setting your blinds off to the side of your spread so incoming birds are looking at your decoys and not your hide.
- Randy Southard |
When hunting snow I carry a small plastic collapsible shovel for putting snow around the blinds and on the blinds. I also clear the area my blind will sit so I can get it as low as possible.
- Randy Southard |
To save a field from burnout leave your decoys out after your hunt. Shoot your limit and get out immediately. Come back after birds leave or after dark to pick up.
- Randy Southard |
When hunting water that has potential to be iced up, carry along a large fishing net. After removing the large sheets of ice, this net can be used to clear out the small pieces of that that cause the hole to freeze up. It will also make the hole look much more natural to the birds.
- Chad Carlson |
Scout! Days spent scouting will bring great rewards. I would rather scout one day and have a great hunt the next, than hunt blind for two days and hope to shoot birds.
- Chad Carlson |
When you are scouting, do not only look for areas that have birds, but also try to learn the birds patterns. What time did they come to the area, which direction did they come from, and how big our the flocks. This information will help you greatly on your hunt the next day.
- Chad Carlson |
Before you call the shot on a flock of birds, take a couple extra seconds to look for bands. The reward for a little patience can be most satifying!
- Chad Carlson |
Before a hunt begins make sure that everyone in the party knows to shoot there position. The outside guys work from the ends in, one middle guy take the high birds the other takes the low ones and so on. When everyone is "on" then you will see birds raining. It will also reduce the arguments over who shot that one drake right in the middle at ten feet. When that banded bird falls on the far left, you can rule out the guys on the right
- Chad Carlson |
A lot of people spend huge amount of dollars on great decoys every year. Then they forget to keep them clean. Don't allow your decoys to become too dirty. If your looking to finish birds consistently it is important that you keep your decoys looking 'real'.
- Travis Reeser |
Spend more time hiding. Too many hunters settle for a less than average hide. Make sure you spend enough time concealing your blind. Whether it is a Final Approach or a pit blind, it is important to conceal yourself completely.
- Travis Reeser |
Put thought into your decoy spread. Don't get into the habit of placing your decoys in the 'textbook' patterns. Too many times I see the same, two feet between decoys, J hook, ordinary decoy spread. The problem is, so do the birds. Try sporadic spreads. Try giving yourself multiple 'kill holes' with in your spread. Experiment with distances between decoys. Try not to look like the guys hunting next you.
- Travis Reeser |
Get to know your population of birds. Keep in mind that different subspecies of geese react differently in the same hunting situations. Spend time observing, not just scouting, when you are looking for a place to hunt.
- Travis Reeser |
Pass up a shot if you are unsure of the range. Its better to let the birds go and maybe get them in closer later in the day or later that seasson than to skybust and educate and cripple birds.
- Bill Saunders |
Before hunting a field for the first time I like to check out the hide. If the field has birds on it, I wait for them to leave on their own before I investigate. Without disturbance the birds will likely return and by checking out the hide in advance I can locate optimal cover for blinding and avoid surprises at “O dark thirty.”
- Brad Cochran |
Start your scouting in the off season. Make a note of what’s planted in the area where you hunt and you’ll be able to anticipate where to look for birds when the season rolls around.
- Brad Cochran |
Be persistent. Don’t give up just because the hunting has been tough. No matter one’s skill level, every goose hunter experiences tough days in the field. Turn frustration into motivation to make yourself a better goose hunter. Sooner or later you will be rewarded for your efforts!
- Brad Cochran |
Make an effort to recover sailed birds right away. No matter how hard we try, we have all experienced cripples that glide on us. As time passes you are likely to lose track of where the bird went down and the bird may be covering ground on foot. Mark your line, estimate the distance to your fallen bird then get going right away and you will recover more cripples.
- Brad Cochran |
Geese are birds of habit. Weather and disturbance permitting they will often return to the same field they fed in the day before. Typically they will return at or near the same time of day. They may also return to the same field year after year often arriving at the same time of year. Knowing this will save you time while scouting.
- Brad Cochran |
Use more flag movement in the early season and on warmer days. Young birds that have just started flying do a lot of flapping early and when it's warm all the birds move more.
- Kalin Smith |
After the first of the year start breaking your spread into quads and pairs on warmer days. Birds starting to pair up and move in small groups.
- Kalin Smith |
Try to train your dog in areas that are similar to were you hunt. It can make the transition from training to hunting go much easier.
- Kalin Smith |
When hunting a young dog for the first time try to have only one shooter and yourself. That way you can focus your attention on your dog.
- Kalin Smith |
Teach your dog to stop on his way back from making a retrieve with the bird. Works well when birds come in when your picking up shot birds.
- Kalin Smith |
Make sure to match the overall flock appearance of your decoy spread to the
hunting situation. For instance, I prefer to cover sandbars with resting
and sleeping decoys, with fewer floaters than some folks in a river hunting
situation. I think too many folks dont take the time to think about this.
Also, think about these resting and sleeping decoys around pond edges too.
One of my pet peeves is to have feeders around water edges. I realize that
these will mimic birds that are watering, but too many looks unnatural to
me.
- Bob Farrell |
Always carry a few different tuned goose calls with you in the field, I like to carry a deep call (Saunder’s Double B or Guide Series Original) a medium pitch call (Saunder’s Reload or Goose Pimp) and a high pitched call (Saunder’s Traffic or the I5-KLR). You never know what the geese will want to hear on a particular day or if the conditions change while you are a field having more than one choice to throw at them is key.
- Todd Dillon |
When practicing calling try to sound like live geese not a person on a call, realism is key on trying to finish highly pressured birds. Try not to fall into a rut with your calling sequences, avoid that “broken record” sound.
- Todd Dillon |
Remember on pressured birds most times less calling is the way to success. Too much calling may indeed give away your hide. Give the birds just enough noise to keep them interested and on a string but not enough to pin point your blind location.
- Todd Dillon |
If the birds surprise you and are headed towards your rig DO NOT call right away. Cover up and see how they react, they may finish with out a sound needed.
- Todd Dillon |
With the popularity of flags today one must really pay attention to what they do with a flag in the goose rig. Over the years I have found myself to be flagging less. I try to flag when the geese are at distance of 300 yards or more and only flag inside of that as they are on the corners. If you are not careful when you flag the geese will pick apart your hide and slide off.
- Todd Dillon |
Take the extra time to really make sure your hide BLENDS. Not just covered, but actually becomes part of the background. I think this is the biggest mistake most waterfowlers make…..myself included. The extra effort will be rewarded with more geese finishing in tight over the hole.
- Todd Dillon |
Layout blinds are almost standard equipment for most goose hunters today. Most if not all of these blinds have sharp linear edges that scream DANGER. When grassing these blinds pay special attention to all these linear edges. Make sure that you break these sharp edges up with vegetation.
- Todd Dillon |
When I hunt with a silhouette rig I make sure I leave plenty of room between each decoy when I set the rig out, I prefer 4-6 paces. And I always use at least 4 dozen decoys when using silhouettes preferably twice as many.
- Todd Dillon |
Makes sure when placing your rig out that you leave comfortable size holes for the birds to finish in. The larger the average size flock you will be working should dictate how large the pockets will be. Geese do not like to be crowded as they finish….so make it easy for them.
- Todd Dillon |
Clean decoys are a MUST! Dirty decoys are much less effective especially when attempting to run traffic.
- Todd Dillon |
I highly recommend the use of a face mask or face paint when waterfowl hunting, particularly for the new hunter.
- Todd Dillon |
Take the time to pattern your waterfowling shotgun, choke and non-toxic load. Knowing what your gunning system is doing breeds confidence with it in the field, which in turn yields more birds brought to the bag cleanly.
- Todd Dillon |
Always remain versatile in your approach to hunting these fantastic birds. It’s the hunter who is willing to try new things who will be successful. Innovate and overcome!
- Todd Dillon |
Dedicate yourself to spending time in the field working geese and not shooting. Pay attention to when you would have called the shot on flocks to test your abilities and make improvements. Observe how the geese on the
ground interact with your decoys and each other. Weeks of doing this can equal years of experience otherwise. It's fun to do, your competitors aren't willing to do it, and it can reward you with some nice neck collars.
- Dave Smith |
When setting up in a field geese are using, the first thing to look for is any kind of cover to help break-up the profile of your blinds. The next consideration is the wind direction- you want to keep it at your back if at all possible. Other factors include the direction of the sun and the roost. Those these are not as important, in an ideal situation you would have the roost in front of you and the sun behind you.
- Dave Smith |
Use at least half a dozen super mag shell decoys in your spread. These decoys are essential for hiding field bags, extra clothing, harvested birds etc. Another handy tip with shell decoys is to turn one on it's back and put all your empty shotgun shells inside, then use the tail end to funnel the shells into a bag.
- Barry Cymbaluk |
95% of hunting is scouting. Put your time in scouting, learn the birds behaviors and tendencys, and the hunt will be that much more effective. Hunting exactly where the birds want to be is an absolute must. Just remember, there is a reason why those birds are where they are.
- Barry Cymbaluk |
Carry a field bag during your hunts. Have your bag carry items that are easily overlooked during a hunt, such as bug repellent for the beginning of the season, choke tube wrenchs, handwarmers for the cold days, extra shells, water/granola bars etc.
- Barry Cymbaluk |
If possible, don't face your blind directly into the morning sun. This will give the birds a big advantage, and you an even bigger disadvantage. It will be hard for you too see approaching birds, and direct sun on your set-up will make it much easier for passing birds to spot you.
- Barry Cymbaluk |
Clear, cold nights means frost in the morning here in Alberta. If possible, "stubble up" your blinds the night before the hunt so your blinds will blend in for the morning hunt.
- Barry Cymbaluk |
There is a lot of debate when it comes to the question "Which way do I position my decoys?" Just remember, the only time geese are facing the same direction is when they have just landed or are scared. Do you want your set up to look like scared geese or relaxed geese... face your decoys in all directions.
- Barry Cymbaluk |
Once while I was scouting a field, about twenty-five mallards landed in an empty grain field. About ten minutes later a flock of about six canada geese landed in a different section of the field, about two-hundred yards away from the ducks. Almost instantly the ducks lifted up and went to feed with the geese. Geese post look-out birds(sentry's), which stand much higher in stubble then there much smaller counterparts, to watch for danger and ducks take advantage of this. Don't hesitate to use a spread containing exclusively goose decoys on a duck hunt.
- Barry Cymbaluk |
Use silhouette decoys to help hide your laydown blinds. Don't be afraid to surround a blind with 6 or more decoys. Doing this will help break up your outline.
- Barry Cymbaluk |
If you have birds feeding in multiple spots in a field. Set up where the birds are most concentrated and use orange garbage bag(s) to stop the geese from landing where you don't want them too.
- Barry Cymbaluk |
The past couple of seasons I have been asked the same question by several hunters around our area. “How can I kill more birds?” My comment is always the same. “Do you want to kill them, or do you want to hunt them?” Anyone can go out and shoot at geese. It is the guys who make the effort to completely conceal their blinds, make the decision to throw realistic decoy spreads, pay close attention to there set up, and use the right calls and gear that are consistently finishing (landing) and killing geese. I explain to them that finishing birds leads to higher percentage shots that kill more birds, and leave less crippled, educated birds. Also, don’t be afraid to let big groups of bird’s land without shooting into them. Let them all land and get comfortable. Then get out of your blind and run them off. They will come back, usually in smaller groups. This will give you the chance to shoot into smaller groups of birds without educating so many. This will provide you a better quality hunt and also prevent you from burning out your hunt spot in one trip. Remember that hunting geese is about beating them at their own game.
- Travis Reeser |
Be mobile! Being able to move in order to find the birds or capitalize on different situations will make you a more successful waterfowler. Don’t be afraid to pick up and move if the flight just isn’t happening where you are. Go scout for an afternoon hunt or move to another area that you had seen birds in your prior scouting. If you spend enough time covering ground you will find them.
- Eric Strand |
Trust your gut! Trust the knowledge you have gained through scouting and spending days in the field to make the right choice. All to often people second guess their initial reaction to a situation and put themselves in the wrong spot or the wrong situation.
- Eric Strand |
When hunting early season fields (or where the ground is wet), it's much easier to pull out the standing vegetation or cover with its roots and mud still attached. This serves to great purposes. First, you get "all the vegetation" (longer strips) making less overall pulling for you. Second, you get to use the mud as a "stand" next to you blind, saving you from having to put it in stubblestraps of your layout blind, and it gives a more natural appearance.
- Jack Stephan |
When mudding your layout blind before the season, AVOID the face shield at all costs! It doesn't give off much glare, and you'll avoid eating dirt chips all season long.
- Jack Stephan |
When coming out of a ground blind, you have plenty of time. Take an extra half second, make a proper gun mount, and you'll be surprised how many more birds fall in comparison to quick shot without proper gun mount.
- Jack Stephan |
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