Jeff-Widgnwhacker-Wallis
03-23-2007, 02:45 PM
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Snow Goose Spring Season Hunting Update
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The bulk of the snow goose northbound migration continues to push into the upper Midwest as warming temperatures and southerly winds are concentrating these birds from Nebraska's Rainwater Basin up into the Dakotas. Most adult geese are now north of Nebraska, with juveniles and Ross geese bringing up the rear of the migration.
On Sunday, Mar. 17, I hunted with Avery Outdoors pro staffer Doug Steinke and Todd Tyler on Tyler's farm near Grand Island, NE. Also joining us in the 30-foot long pit were my son Hampton, Ducks Unlimited president Jim Hulbert, DU Senior VP Paul Ralstin, DU Regional VP Bruce Posey and Lance Lang of nearby Kearney, NE. We'd all attended the Nebraska state Ducks Unlimited Convention the previous two days and were invited to sample the shooting on Tyler's setup, considered one of the best along the east-central Platte River area.
The decoy spread consisted of some 500 wind socks, sleeper shell decoys and full-bodies, all snow geese. The pit is dug into a shallow levy between two shallow ponds in a cornfield. Steinke and Tyler also use flags and an electronic caller to lure geese into close range during the spring conservation season.
Steinke reported that shooting had been good earlier in the week, but it had slacked off just before our hunt. The day before, they'd taken only 9 birds and speculated that the main part of the migration had already gone through.
But when we got to the pit in the pre-dawn Sunday morning, several hundred snow geese were sitting in the decoys. They took wing as we climbed down into the pit and loaded up. The weather forecast was partly cloudy with a southwest wind at 15-25 mph - good conditions for snow geese to work.
And work they did! At shooting time we fired a volley and bagged 6 geese right off the bat. Other flights followed, riding the wind as they circled lower and lower. We held fire until the birds were hanging over the spread, then we'd come up gunning. The first shots were typically close, but the geese would exit in a hurry in the stiff breeze.
We left at 1:30 p.m., with the tally of snow geese at 37. Doug and Todd stayed late, and Doug reported later that they'd wound up with 53 geese - their best day of the spring season.
Biologists with the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited and other agencies will work in the next few months to analyze whether or not the spring conservation season is having the desired effect of reducing the continental snow goose population. Biologists are worried that an over-population of these birds may wreck the fragile sub-arctic and arctic ecosystems where they nest and raise their young, eventually leading to a catastrophic crash in the population. The spring conservation season is one tool implemented back in the 1990s to keep this from happening.
Meanwhile, growing numbers of hunters are taking advantage of this opportunity. Spring, fall or winter, these birds are challenging and fun to hunt, and they're also very good to eat if cooked properly. So good companionship, sport and tablefare make great rewards for those who participate in the spring snow goose hunt. It's also a wonderful way to extend the waterfowl season.
(Photo by Doug Steinke)
© 2007 Wade Bourne Outdoors
All Rights Reserved.
Snow Goose Spring Season Hunting Update
http://wadebourneoutdoors.com/images/stories/goose.jpg
The bulk of the snow goose northbound migration continues to push into the upper Midwest as warming temperatures and southerly winds are concentrating these birds from Nebraska's Rainwater Basin up into the Dakotas. Most adult geese are now north of Nebraska, with juveniles and Ross geese bringing up the rear of the migration.
On Sunday, Mar. 17, I hunted with Avery Outdoors pro staffer Doug Steinke and Todd Tyler on Tyler's farm near Grand Island, NE. Also joining us in the 30-foot long pit were my son Hampton, Ducks Unlimited president Jim Hulbert, DU Senior VP Paul Ralstin, DU Regional VP Bruce Posey and Lance Lang of nearby Kearney, NE. We'd all attended the Nebraska state Ducks Unlimited Convention the previous two days and were invited to sample the shooting on Tyler's setup, considered one of the best along the east-central Platte River area.
The decoy spread consisted of some 500 wind socks, sleeper shell decoys and full-bodies, all snow geese. The pit is dug into a shallow levy between two shallow ponds in a cornfield. Steinke and Tyler also use flags and an electronic caller to lure geese into close range during the spring conservation season.
Steinke reported that shooting had been good earlier in the week, but it had slacked off just before our hunt. The day before, they'd taken only 9 birds and speculated that the main part of the migration had already gone through.
But when we got to the pit in the pre-dawn Sunday morning, several hundred snow geese were sitting in the decoys. They took wing as we climbed down into the pit and loaded up. The weather forecast was partly cloudy with a southwest wind at 15-25 mph - good conditions for snow geese to work.
And work they did! At shooting time we fired a volley and bagged 6 geese right off the bat. Other flights followed, riding the wind as they circled lower and lower. We held fire until the birds were hanging over the spread, then we'd come up gunning. The first shots were typically close, but the geese would exit in a hurry in the stiff breeze.
We left at 1:30 p.m., with the tally of snow geese at 37. Doug and Todd stayed late, and Doug reported later that they'd wound up with 53 geese - their best day of the spring season.
Biologists with the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited and other agencies will work in the next few months to analyze whether or not the spring conservation season is having the desired effect of reducing the continental snow goose population. Biologists are worried that an over-population of these birds may wreck the fragile sub-arctic and arctic ecosystems where they nest and raise their young, eventually leading to a catastrophic crash in the population. The spring conservation season is one tool implemented back in the 1990s to keep this from happening.
Meanwhile, growing numbers of hunters are taking advantage of this opportunity. Spring, fall or winter, these birds are challenging and fun to hunt, and they're also very good to eat if cooked properly. So good companionship, sport and tablefare make great rewards for those who participate in the spring snow goose hunt. It's also a wonderful way to extend the waterfowl season.
(Photo by Doug Steinke)
© 2007 Wade Bourne Outdoors
All Rights Reserved.