Goose Hunting Dilemna (long)

[HuntinDawg]

I hunt resident Canada Geese in Georgia (more plentiful than ducks in my area) and I hunt them over water (they almost always land on water here, even if they will eventually move onto land to graze). When goose season first opened here 12 years ago they were as dumb as a mud fence (a great quality in any game animal), but they have become really difficult to hunt in the last 6-7 years. One of the problems hunting a resident flock is that they get very educated about which locations are safe and which are not. They even get decoy and call shy on certain ponds and yet are still completely fooled by them on other ponds (ponds that are very rarely hunted and where decoys are almost never used).

I used to use a larger decoy spread (up to 18 floaters and 12 silhouttes), but that seemed to lose it's effectiveness. Sometimes I don't use decoys at all because geese who want to come into my location will sometimes leave at first sight of a decoy. Other times I use just 2 or 3 for confidence and so I can call to them although that doesn't work well any more. These birds seem to know where they are going when they leave the roost in the morning and unless they see something they don't like in that destination, they are not likely to change their minds.

The main pond I still hunt on is 18 acres and about 50% of the time or better they will land in the middle where they cannot be shot from any point on land. There is nowhere to hide a boat either. I have a blind up in the headwaters and if they are loafing on that pond they will usually wind up down there sitting on a sand bar near my blind.

Here is my primary dilemna: If I put out a couple of decoys I have a better chance of having the geese try to land within range. However, if they land out of range and begin swimming toward us (they might have 150 yards or more to swim) I think they eventually notice that the decoys are not moving and they hang up out of range. Then other geese who want to come in land with the others out of range, so they actually begin pulling birds away from us. So the first dilemna is to use decoys are not.

The second thing is finding something innovative to pull them on in whether by air or by water. I've tried having a few duck dekes for confidence. I have modified my Mallard Machine (extending the arms) so that it works with goose decoys, but that doesn't seem to work too well as far as pulling them in once they land in the water. Because of the setup, I can't figure a good way to flag them and I don't know if that would work anyway once they are on the water.

I'm using old G&H floaters primarily. The heads are not flocked.

I've considered flocking the heads, jerk lines like the jerk a spreader, motorized swimmers, etc. I need something that will close the deal where normal decoys fail. Any suggestions founded on real life success would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Killer Miller]

Well, I gueess I'm the only person who wanted to read your long post. I think you could try many things. First of all, how many and what kind of decoys do you have? What kind of shape are they in? I would also look at where the geese normally swim to after landing in the middle of the water. That's where you need to be. That way if the geese normally have been swimming there anyway, you may be able to decoy and call the birds right to you, since they were going to go there anyway. Also, in this day and age, your decoys needto look better than everyone elses decoys to consistently kill birds. There are many great looking decoys out there, floaters and fullbodies, I would go with flocked head decoys too. They are much more visible and look alot better than normal heads. The flocking will need touching up once in a while, but it will be worth it. Hardcore decoys, GHG (avery), Bigfoot has new flocked decoys that look good and will hold up well, Final Approach has new decoys out too. All these companies I have mentioned are now making floaters and full bodies with flocked head. In addition to flocked heads, all these companies now have motion systems for their full bodies except Bigfoot (disappointing). I like the GHG motion systems the best. They have a cone inside the full body that lets the decoy move left and right but the stake limits the decoy to about 1/3 turn, then it will move the other direction. They work great and mimic a feeding or active (walking) goose perfectly. I think all of these companies floaters look great. Also, your pull cord idea may work too. I wouldn't call too much because geese on water are relaxed geese, so they arent going to be calling much. Anything else, just post up again.

[bullmn]

I do not do alot of hunting over water, but I do hunt over land probabally 90-95% of the time, and one thing always holds true. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION. If you are not where the geese want to be you more than likely will not have very much success. If you are seeing geese land in a specific area, you need to find a way to get to that area, or get close enough to set up a sort of ambush site. Even if you are not in the exact spot where they are wanting to land, you may still be close enough to pull a few birds in for a closer look. Also pay close attention to the birds calls. If the birds are not real aggressive in their calling, you should not be either. All you should do is listen for that lead bird and mimic his calls. If the birds are loud and aggresive you should be loud and aggressivee also. Pay attention to hoe the birds are reacting to your calling. If every thinng is going well and the birds are cooperating, back off thee calling . Let them tell you what they want to do. I hope this helps you out.

[Kelly Rees]

You may need to go BIG with your spread to change your luck. 30 decoys out here would not be considered a big spread....more like the very least you could use and be successfull. We hunt ponds with 10 - 12 dozen sill's and a couple dozen floaters and we still loose flocks.

You need to make them think that where you are is the place to be wether or not they have been there. About the only way to do that in your situation is with a large number of decoys and good calling.

[Scott Curtsinger]

one thing you might try is setting your spread on the side of the lake the birds will be approaching from, then move 60-70 yards off the water and shoot them as they are coming in. we use this tactic in ND and it works very well, especially with decoy shy honkers. i know most people want shoot them with their feet down, but if they continue to to frustrate you, get even with them.

[HuntinDawg]

Thanks for all of the replies. In answer to Killer Miller's questions, my decoys are in decent shape, but they don't have flocked heads and when the sun is really shining directly on them I think they give off a glare that is not realistic. I have pretty much decided to buy some GHG floaters and full bodies with flocked heads. What I cannot decide is whether to buy FFD's for the full bodies. I'm thinking that although the FFD's look great, the decoy spread will look more realistic if they are all the same (I know I can tell a big color and sheen difference on my G&H and Herter's decoys from a distance, so I'm guessing the same would be true with some fully flocked decoys and some with only flocked heads) and since they don't make FFD floaters, that logic would lead me to buy the full bodies with just flocked heads, not bodies too. I'm also thinking of getting a blue heron confidence decoy.

[Max4Gooser]

You might also want to ad a flag to your arsenal. The motion from a flag is often what it takes to seal the deal, the motorized duck decoy you mentioned usually scares geese off of your spread, at least in my experience. I also like the idea of using flocked heads and adding to your spread with Silos. With resident geese that have had a lot of hunting pressure, I think it is best to think outside of the box, and be different from everyone else.

[Duckpoor]

Dawg,
As I read your post I get to thinkng about what it is your needing to do. Not so much about what ya need to buy to get this done....

On a little body of water they know well and have had time to fully explore, I think I would try to paint a picture of a Little bunch of geese that have been there awhile and are Super Relaxed and Loafing.

That prob means get the majority of the floaters out of the water and make the Grass bank your friend. Shells work great for this and particularly sleepers . Silos at the waters edge and just up on the banks rim might help.

Keep the wind in mind as particularly in a tight space they are gonna want an easy in and an easy out .. Trying to Land them against trees or a high bank is gonna frustrate ya.

Them big birds are always looking for a reason not to do something. Eliminate as many as ya can.

Good luck and keep after them.

R Green

[Killer Miller]

Huntindog, go with the GHG Pro-Grade full bodies and floaters. They are much more detailed than the hunter series and will longer than the FFD's. The Pro-grades also have motion systems on the active and feeder styles. lookers look awesome too. But you don't need very many of them.

[HuntinDawg]

Pretty good info and ideas there guys. I appreciate it. I do have a flag, but haven't tried that yet. I will have to buy a layout blind and one for my dog too if I'm going to hunt from a different spot on that pond because there isn't any cover except in the headwaters...or I could try one of those hay bale blinds. I even thought about building one of those cow blinds I saw on a Primos episode since I hunt on a cattle farm.