Late Goose Season Tips?

[Go Big Red!]

Well, late goose is around the corner and I haven't hunted it.  Looking for tips, tricks, suggestions regarding spreads, # of decoys, calling, etc.  Would snowfall be of concern if the forecast holds true?

Share the wealth if you would.  Below is what we can do:

We have access to a cut, un-tilled corn fields approx 100 yds away and some that border the river from both the Crow River and Mississippi River.  20 full body decoys, 13 mag shells, and 8 small shells.   2 of the 3 guys are good callers.  Access to great cover and/or blinds.

Thanks for your input!!!!

[snow]

Red,do you have birds in the area? If so have they been using the field?This storm could push what birds we have left out,or at least to larger open water where they'll bunch up.My best late season hunts have been near large refuges with big water using BIG spreads,sometimes we would combine two trailer loads of dekes and put out 1200 plus dekes,50 dozen big foot's the rest would be filler's like shells and silo's,a couple good callers is a plus as long as they don't over do it when the birds commit and also flagging is a must.Might get cold in a layout this time iof year,my favorite setup late season was hunting Rochester in heated pits,man did we smoke the birds,we had land on the north side of town,right on the refuge border along the cannon river...

[Tyler Rother]

Yeah, late season, bigger the spread the better they'll decoy. I used to hunt late goose in Rosemount... That got taken away with land owner passing few years back. So many geese there. Still cutting corn in the south metro, watched geese circle a field as a combine was cutting, and as he went down the line, they would cup, and land with the tractor not more then 15 yards out. Thousands of geese in the Rosemount/Hastings area if you can find access. All is posted no hunting tho. :/

[Go Big Red!]

There are birds and the weather might change things up.  Yet, hopefully most will stick around for good action since they know there is food in the field.

I wish we had more dekes to put out but we will make due with what we have.  What deke set-up pattern do you recommend?  Should we spread them out further to make it look like a bigger flock ?  We also have a dozen silohuettes too.  Not much in gear, but we make it work.

[Tyler Rother]

When it's cold we normally hug em tighter... improvise with cheap home-aid  dekes with tire quarters painted and foam heads with a wire in em. Lots of birds today, started snowing i could hear them and not see em flying while scouting the eve.

[Go Big Red!]

Red,do you have birds in the area? If so have they been using the field?This storm could push what birds we have left out,or at least to larger open water where they'll bunch up.My best late season hunts have been near large refuges with big water using BIG spreads,sometimes we would combine two trailer loads of dekes and put out 1200 plus dekes,50 dozen big foot's the rest would be filler's like shells and silo's,a couple good callers is a plus as long as they don't over do it when the birds commit and also flagging is a must.Might get cold in a layout this time iof year,my favorite setup late season was hunting Rochester in heated pits,man did we smoke the birds,we had land on the north side of town,right on the refuge border along the cannon river...

Seriously?  That many decoys.  As I picture it in my mind, I see a full body decoy with a big $ sign in place of its head. 

Hope to get out Saturday and hunt.  Weather that has arrived isn't helping.......

[Tyler Rother]

here's another idea we use when there is snow on the ground... find a piece of foam, and put a stake on the bottom, like a foam mound kind of... And glue the hell out of it, and dump a bag of corn on it, covering it. Make a few put throughout your spread with geese "Feeding" around it. Looks like big piles of corn from above... on an all white field.

[snow]

DH.

Is on spot,in cold weather the birds bunch up tight,I'm guessing the birds in your area may have bugged out,they won't sratch for food like pheasants,more than a few "s of snow they will move on,it will help to kick the snow around and expose the ground,,food,I'm not sure if I would pile corn around the dekes,some CO's consider that baiting unless you purchase the fake plastic corn.We have a couplle 1000's birds near my work that feed twice a day in a nearby corn field and roost in a deep lake that is still open,late season birds move late morning,come back before noon and start to head out around 2pm is the norm.

[Tyler Rother]

It's only baiting if they can eat it. We had a CO come up last year and try to yell at us until he realized it wasn't an actual pile of corn, just a ''decoy.''

But I could see a CO in a bad mood pursuing it.

[snow]

DH,

Yup,they have their days,I got a email from a hunter in NoDak,said he got checked this season by a USFW agent,checked everything including his ammo,the hunter was shooting Hevi Metal,the agent told him the ammo was illegal because the shot buffer is "flax seed" and considered bait,he was dead serious,I almost fell outof my chair on this one,luckly the issue was solved quickly with a phone call.

[Go Big Red!]

In asking around a few people and looking out my back window, the geese are still around.  Seem to be moving more in the mid to late afternoon to feed.  Tomorrow we scout for Sat afternoon and I think we'll be okay with the high winds moving the snow for us.

 

[Go Big Red!]

Never made it out Saturday, but why bother?   I have 300+ fly right over the house and could have grabbed a few by the throat.  Do they make camo in an "architectural shingle pattern?"

On to ice fishing I guess.......

[guythathunts]

Use those silos! Those are nice decoys. Lots of people who don't decoy hunt think that Silos are the strangest thing in the worls - until they realize that a big protion of the more respected guide outfitters in the ND and SD ONLY use silos. Trust me on this one - those are vital to the spread you have.