HUNTING SNOW GEESE IN 2003! By DENNIS HUNT The conservation or spring snow goose hunt is almost upon us and let me tell you how I would hunt these “white devils” if I were hunting in the Midwest. Hunting snow geese in the winter or spring has changed dramatically the past 5 years. Most of these wary birds might not ever be killed by a hunter. There could be 100,000 different flocks of snow geese and 90,000 of these flocks will not fly close to a decoy. Why should they? They don’t trust them! Let me tell you how I would hunt them and where I would go. STRATAGIES. You must get in the FLIGHT PATH of the migrating snow geese. Most of them will be following the Missouri river as they fly north. The geese coming out of Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee will fly near the Mississippi river until it meets the Missouri River. When the 2 rivers meet, most of them will follow the Missouri and fly northwest until they end up in central Nebraska. From that point, they will fly north until they reach the tundra. When the winds blow FROM THE SOUTH, the migration will be on and the flocks of migrating snow geese will be looking for open water. You must be hunting over or near – OPEN WATER. The migrating geese will be tired and will be looking for a body of water where they can get a drink and some rest. If you have open water and are in the flight path then, you should get some good shooting. If the migrating snow geese stop in your hunting area, their stop will be a SHORT ONE. They are stopping to rest, get a drink from some open water and a free meal in a field that has food. You must move quickly by scouting, securing a place to hunt and going after them. They might migrate further north by the time – you decide to hunt them in a couple of days. Check the FOOD SUPPLY! They will be looking for corn in fields. However, corn will be scarce in cornfields because deer, crows, other geese, ducks, pheasants, quail, small animals etc. have been eating in these same fields since last fall. Know where there is a supply of corn in fields and wait for the geese to find these fields. Watch for STRONG WINDS. If there are geese feeding between fields in your area, get between them by laying in a ditch, under some bushes or trees and wait for them to fly over you. This is a PRODUCTIVE WAY to hunt these geese. DECOYS AND DECOY PLACEMENTS. Trying to hunt snow geese by using decoys is usually a waste of time. If you insist on decoying snow geese during this special hunt, I would bring 8 to 20 dozen North Wind windsocks. I would spread them out in a cornfield and say a few prayers. Using a fancy spread might be a waste of time. You might not be able to drive out onto the fields so you will have to have some decoys that are easy to carry. I am going to use my ROUGH RIDERS from Blackwater Decoy Co. It is a new full body decoy that is very lightweight. I will snap a dozen of them on my belt and walk out to my field. I will take a couple dozen windsocks in a poncho as well. The wary snow geese will not decoy so you don’t need a large spread. The dumb snows will decoy to anything. Another method would be to set up 70 to 80 windsocks in a farmer’s stock pond or a body of water less than 8 acres. Place the decoys close together on the shoreline and in the water. The migrating geese will be looking for open water and should drop in! CONCEALMENT. You are hunting SURVIVORS so you cannot be seen. If you will be using decoys, I would have a Final Approach Eliminator blind with me. Otherwise, use a rock pile, tree line, under a bush, tree or in a ditch. CONCLUSION. The geese you see are veterans that have seen every decoy ever manufactured and heard every call. They will not be fooled and you have to be patient and wait for strong winds, fog or a blizzard that will put the odds in your favor. Don’t plan on decoying any snow geese because the odds are stacked against you. The electronic calls are almost obsolete because most of the geese have caught on to them. Hiring an OUTFITTER or GUIDE is not the answer because I don’t believe you will get a fair hunt! Greed has come into play and many guides and outfitters are looking for SUCKERS and are not concerned with your safety There is a guide from Des Moines, Iowa that calls himself -THE GOOSE GURU. He took out 16 goose hunters, charged them $200.00 per day each and set them in 8 bale blinds that were in a drainage ditch. They killed 3 geese. A guide from Boscobel, Wisconsin who calls himself -THE GOOSE GOD took 11 hunters out, charged them $175.00 each and they ended up “sky busting” 5 geese. You are better off trying to do it by yourself. WHERE TO HUNT? ILLINOIS. They will migrate into your state between Paducah and Cairo. The areas around Marion, Mt. Vernon, Carlyle Lake should be good hunting. They will be flying northwest from these points as they head into Missouri and then onto Nebraska. MISSOURI. Follow the Missouri river to DeWitt. At that point, some will take a shortcut and fly to Swan Lake NWR and points northwest. Others will follow the Missouri river and fly to Squaw Creek NWR near Mound, Missouri. Over 1 million snow geese might end up near this area. NEBRASKA. Fairfield, York, Davenport and Clay Center will attract most of the snow geese. However, hunting pressure will be tense and you will have to move quickly and wait for poor weather and strong winds. IOWA. The southwest corner near Riverton is the best as the snow geese are flying from Squaw Creek and heading for central Nebraska. Some will follow the Missouri river up to Sioux City but most of them will end up in central Nebraska. SOUTH DAKOTA. The area around Lewis and Clark Lake on the Missouri river will hold most of the early migration. They will follow highway 81 north as they head towards Sand Lake NWR near Aberdeen. This area usually attracts over 1 million snow geese during normal weather conditions. Follow highway 81 north and 20 miles east and west and you should find thousands of snow geese as they fly northwest. MINNESOTA. You will find a few pockets of migrating snows near Worthington, Montevideo and Morris. Beware! They might only stop for a drink and you will have to move quickly. NORTH DAKOTA. The areas - north of Ludden and Kulm are in the flight path the snows usually fly over. They will be migrating north from Sand Lake NWR in South Dakota. Ellendale, Jamestown, Carrington and Churches Ferry usually end up holding geese for a few days. The geese will be on the move while they go thru North Dakota so HURRY!