5 Tips for Tough Early Season Geese

Never stop searching for fresh, unpressured geese. Those birds will pitch into your spread when hard-hunted locals flare. Photo by Tom Rassuchine, TFL Productions.

Most waterfowlers catch on quickly to the early season goose game: scout like crazy, knock on doors, find the X, cover up and then wait for action.

Some days, that’s all it takes. Other days, those early geese — often locally breeding giants — make you want to throw your calls in a lake. That’s when you need to hunt smarter and more efficiently. These easy field hacks can help.

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QUICK COVER

Concealment makes or breaks any dry-field goose hunt. Sometimes, hunters handicap themselves by waiting until they set up to secure sufficient natural cover. Do it beforehand, or at least use tools that help expedite the job.

If you typically hunt from layout blinds, pre-cover your blinds with weeds, grasses or brush that match the field you’re hunting (oat chaff for an oat or wheat field, for example). You’ll still have to supplement your hide, but at least part of the job will be complete. If you can’t access natural cover, raffia grass or similar commercially available cover will help. The same goes for A-frame blinds. Brush in the panels as much as possible before going afield.

When setting up, use a couple of weed whackers to quickly cut grass or weeds for more cover. Or, bring a few bales of hay to stuff and scatter over your hides.

And remember, more cover is always better. When you think you have enough, you’re probably 50% there.

NEVER STOP LOOKING

Graham Greseth, owner of MaXXed Out Guides in Minnesota, pursues early season geese from the Twin Cities metro area to the prairies near Lac qui Parle. His No. 1 rule for consistent success is simple.

“Find new birds,” he said. “There are always pockets of birds out there you don’t know about. Spend some time finding them. If you’re not able to do that, remember that once we hit the season, birds are constantly shifting and moving. A feed that has 80 in it one day can have 150 in it the next. The 80 birds you have been hunting might know the game, but the 70 that moved in overnight are brand-new to the area and hungry. Don’t be surprised to have some birds flare hard if they see the same setup that they’ve been seeing, but those new birds are going to be very friendly.”

WHEN THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN

Sometimes, you can’t find fresh or unpressured birds. When that occurs, Jeremy Dersham, owner of Ridge and River Running Outfitters in southern Wisconsin, uses a lighter approach.

“Historically, I’m always looking for fresh geese — new migrators to the area,” he said. “But some days, that’s just not possible. On days I’m hunting the same birds, I leave the roost alone and try not to hunt the same field two days in a row. I’d rather run traffic on flight lines than have one great day followed by two bird-watching days. And again, it doesn’t take many north winds to move a few geese down, so I’m always looking for fresh birds when possible.”

LAZY LOAFS

Many early season goose hunters focus on field feeds but neglect loafing waters, such as stock ponds, small lakes, creek backwaters and similar spots where geese spend much of the day between morning and evening feeding flights. These are great spots to hunt because geese feel secure there.

Identify potential loafs by using mapping apps or simply through observation during scouting runs. The best areas will be close to hot feeds, where geese only have to make a short flight to get a drink and snooze.

Use a very simple setup when hunting small loafs. Set up before dawn, but don’t expect action until later in the morning. Concentrate on absolute concealment, and only use a few decoys. Ideally, post a few loafer or sleeper full-body blocks along the shoreline, and maybe toss one or two floaters in the water. If the first few geese flare, reduce your spread. Remember, geese use that spot for a reason, so you don’t need tons of attraction.

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REALISTIC AND TEAM CALLING

Sometimes, early season geese are vocal. Other days, they might set their wings in silence or after uttering just a few soft moans. Your calling should reflect that.

“A lot of people want to call, but do you really sound like a real flock, or are you just calling as loud and fast as you can?” said Chad Belding, host of The Fowl Life. “You really want to sound like the honkers in that decoy spread.”

And that includes working well with fellow hunters. Calling in tandem can be tougher than you think.

“It’s like two bird dogs,” Belding said. “They have to respect each other. They don’t get on top of each other. If my buddy is moaning, I’m going to cluck. If he’s doing a murmur, I’ll do hard clucks. The more I hunt with them, the more our timing gets on key.”

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