2016 Goose hunting Frustrations

[HuntFish4life]

We are having one of the most frustrating years on record. Have fields birds there, setup they won't decoy won't even come close. we usually setup decoys in the traditional j, x, have tried lots of different ways this year.


Has anyone been having same problem, and if you are successful what have been your best decoy spreads.

Thanks all.

 

[Duckslayer100]

Layout blinds are the key to many ills. Get them out of there. Cover yourself in burlap and crop residue, then lay back under some decoys.

 

[HuntFish4life]

that's what we do we got rid of layout blinds last year and went back to basics had a good year last year. Hopefully weather change will start to make a difference.

 

[Traxion]

The goose game is certainly changing. Very few days can you kick out decoys, poorly hide blinds, and shoot birds like you could 15 years ago. Heck, even days like you say when you have good birds scouted, are hid well, things can go bad. Hunting pressure on them is real I think.

While I won't totally say layouts are a waste, I would say your hide is probably your issue. Layouts can be used in fields with good cover for sure. But, anything less than that and you are probably going to have birds not work well. I like my shots close and I hate shooting at flaring birds that saw your blind or something else wrong. I decoy to decoy, bottom line. Taking care of the hide has helped a lot, from home made ghillie blankets and other covers to simply going old school with big shell on my legs. The other thing I think helps is do something different with your decoys. Everyone has 10 dozen full bodies these days. Gotta separate from the crowd.

That said, I just got my butt kicked this morning. Warmed up quick and the birds went to a different food type. So it goes.....

 

[dblkluk]

Weather/migration is changing drastically IMO and though I'll agree that pressure has something to do with it.

Take a drive around goose country on a saturday morning and just look at the spreads that are out. 90% of them are 7 - 10 dozen full bodies all packed tight right on the crown of hill (no matter where the birds were feeding in the valley the night before) blinds sticking out like sore thumbs. one or two duck spinners, and if you watch even closer you'll see alot of 60 yard sliding or flaring shots being taken. Its really no wonder birds are getting tougher.

Hopefully it'll get really tough and alot of the bandwagon waterfowlers who have bought trailers full of decoys in the last 5 or so years of long seasons and huge limits..Will give it up.

 

[jdinny]

Weather/migration is changing drastically IMO and though I'll agree that pressure has something to do with it.

Take a drive around goose country on a saturday morning and just look at the spreads that are out. 90% of them are 7 - 10 dozen full bodies all packed tight right on the crown of hill (no matter where the birds were feeding in the valley the night before) blinds sticking out like sore thumbs. one or two duck spinners, and if you watch even closer you'll see alot of 60 yard sliding or flaring shots being taken. Its really no wonder birds are getting tougher.

Hopefully it'll get really tough and alot of the bandwagon waterfowlers who have bought trailers full of decoys in the last 5 or so years of long seasons and huge limits..Will give it up.[


I thought that would happen 5 years ago, nope keeps getting to be more and more competition. ive gotten to the age I pick the days, and if its not through networking ( landowners I personally know, or a buddy personally knows etc) I very rarely go. its that big of a shit show now.


- - - Updated - - -

sorry for my negativity on the subject but its sad to see. I hope it freezes soon and we can all ice fish together and pirate one another instead!

 

[Kurtr]

16 big foots and some silos and 4 of us have final approach blinds but there are no geese here only pheasants and deer

 

[Duckslayer100]

Next year I'm getting rid of my field decoys and buying a few dozen honker floaters.

#ROOSTSHOOT

 

[Kurtr]

why so many six floaters will do the job

 

[Duckslayer100]

why so many six floaters will do the job

You sound like my wife...

 

[KDM]

Only frustration I have is the DAMNABLE CACKLERS!!!! I HATE THEM LITTLE BASTAGES!!! As far as the deks are concerned, my decoy spread is exactly what I see the night before. If the birds are split, I split the spread. If they are spread out, my spread is open and so forth. Most of the time the spread looks like a nebulous blob of deks. No letters or numbers of any kind. Haven't had many days with birds flaring unless I'm with someone that's peeking, crappy camo on their blind, or doesn't have a blind. Most spreads in my opinion do not look like real birds. They look like fake birds trying to hide blinds that are horribly camo'd. Case in point. My nephews came to hunt and showed up with completely NAKED blinds and thought the factory camo was good enough. Tried to get them to camo them up with stubble and what they used on their blinds wouldn't have filled a 5 gallon bucket. Needless to say, we didn't have stellar hunts. Same with some buddies from Pennsylvania. Their blind camo SUCKED!!!! We shot some ducks and 3 geese for 4 days hunting. Lots of birds gave us the 80 yard eye fluck and went elsewhere. We got what we asked for as far as I'm concerned. It wasn't the birds that wouldn't cooperate.......it was us screwing up.

 

[Enslow]

It's all the pressure on the birds. They have been getting hunted since august.

 

[BotnoJoe]

used one of those A frame blinds as well as 2 tangle free panel blinds last weekend. surprisingly birds didn't seem to flare from the tall blinds. was nice to sit on a bucket and stand to shoot

 

[Enslow]

The bigger groups are tougher to decoy too. Maybe more birds means more eyes hehe.