Goose opener

[jdinny]

Dean is spot on with the limit thing. This is what year 3 of the 15 bird limit? Someone correct me if I am wrong. but me and the bro limited 2 years ago and last year wanna say it was in that 18-20 range. Those that think August geese are an easy limit is sadly mistaken. You can haves a 200 bird feed but if they come off fast and hard and land elsewhere in the field you can 75% of the flock before you kick em up or you can watch the rest of the flock dance around as well. As dean said some guys will prolly do it but that'll be the exception not the rule.

 

[Enslow]

There are tons and tons of geese around

 

[KDM]

I've limited TWICE on early season geese. Both times were on exceptional fields of 300+ birds and they came in groups of 5-18 birds about every 15-20 minutes for the most part. We had just enough time to gather birds and get back in the blind before working the next flock. Most of the time we get 5-8 per gun, maybe 10 if we're lucky.

 

[jdinny]

Opener went fair for us. First group came straight in 7 came in 0 left thought this could get ugly. In the end some slid left, right , juked, flat out flared etc. 4 of us finished with 42. Thank god for landowners connections every single field and I'm not shitty you here every field had 1 or more vechicles in them. Unreal. Couldn't beleive the spreads out.

 

[Trip McNeely]

yeah the pressure I saw today was pretty circus-like as well. it appears the blue platers and sconies have taken a liking to our early season now as well. F-ing wonderful. . . . . if the pressure would stay like this for a few more years we may have snow-goose like super honkers around here. . . . . forget trying to hunt them come October. these things will have doctorates in hunter detection and avoidance. by then the sconis will have there boats put away and be on to raping and pillaging ruddy ducks and gadwalls anyways and I can fish in peace.

 

[FightingSioux]

Opener went fair for us. First group came straight in 7 came in 0 left thought this could get ugly. In the end some slid left, right , juked, flat out flared etc. 4 of us finished with 42. Thank god for landowners connections every single field and I'm not shitty you here every field had 1 or more vechicles in them. Unreal. Couldn't beleive the spreads out.

Sounds like a successful hunt ! Sad to hear about all the pressure. This is why I begged my congressman not to allow out of staters in the early season.

What areas were you all hunting? I hope my hunt tomorrow is not as crowded. I didn't go out today as it was in the upper 70's.

 

[NodakBuckeye]

Had to work this weekend. Hope you guys have fun and save me a couple or three....

 

[dean nelson]

First wave slammed in for us and the two of us dropped five. After that all the birds headed of the roost in an all new direction and the ones that did come back to where they had been few by like they were snows coming off a refuge! Didn't even slow a wing beat or give a second glance. don't think we have to wait for later on for them to get their Doctorate degree I'm pretty sure they're already going for their double doctorate at this point! spreads in every field many of them very good hunters with very good decoys results same all the way across the board. we were the only group in the area that actually had a flock decoy in and that's pretty sad statement right there! think I'll wait till mid week this week when most everybody else is gone.

- - - Updated - - -

And 105 on opening day has to be a record.

 

[jdinny]

Pretty sure it is. I haven't left my A/C since I got home .

 

[Trip McNeely]

First wave slammed in for us and the two of us dropped five. After that all the birds headed of the roost in an all new direction and the ones that did come back to where they had been few by like they were snows coming off a refuge! Didn't even slow a wing beat or give a second glance. don't think we have to wait for later on for them to get their Doctorate degree I'm pretty sure they're already going for their double doctorate at this point! spreads in every field many of them very good hunters with very good decoys results same all the way across the board. we were the only group in the area that actually had a flock decoy in and that's pretty sad statement right there! think I'll wait till mid week this week when most everybody else is gone.

- - -

And 105 on opening day has to be a record.

a little frustrating for us being that we had these things patterned for 2 weeks. these birds are definitely getting smarter sooner. we had to pull out tactics we normally use mid-season just to get many of the flocks to give us 30 yd over head shots. with a good set-up wind and birds flying low off the roost it almost seemed at times like snow hunting when they started lifting around that 50 yd mark instead of dropping in.

dean, was it possible birds on the roost heard your gunshots? or did you send some of the first birds back to the roost? I'm convinced that these bastards know what to do when they hear gunshots as I've had your situation happen many times. . .. .

 

[Kickemup]

Good way to spend a Sunday morning. And it's not humidThumbs Up

And now it's raining.

 

[dean nelson]

Without question they heard us but the nearest roost birds were still a mile and a half away with some coming from as far out as three miles. Both us and the other group we knew in the next field were happy the other was there because it showed it wasn't us screwing up but instead the birds being dicks! Guy just needs to find a flock that has had less experience with hunters or at least ones that are more inbred to lower there IQ a bit.

 

[Trip McNeely]

Without question they heard us but the nearest roost birds were still a mile and a half away with some coming from as far out as three miles. Both us and the other group we knew in the next field were happy the other was there because it showed it wasn't us screwing up but instead the birds being dicks! Guy just needs to find a flock that has had less experience with hunters or at least ones that are more inbred to lower there IQ a bit.

good luck with that. we were in an extremely rural area and in some harder to access spots and it was still crawling with people. had a another posted field the landowner saved for us today and had the birds end up feeding 100 yds off the roost all morning. theyd been in our field 2 weeks and were very well patterned. gunna chalk this one up to the cold front that pushed in this a.m. for the abrupt pattern change because we didn't even fire a shot.


Ive been on a number of hunts where you pound the first group and send 2-3 back to water and then there is silence on the roost for 45 minutes before you watch them go off in an entirely different direction. usually this is on less windy or calm days though. the best hunts happen when the birds you shoot into keep going beyond you. when incoming flocks see these other groups going back to water around your spread they get skiddish.

 

[dean nelson]

Well don't know how far I will buy in on that one having grown up on a lake that acted as a roost pond for a few thousand geese. It was vary common to be sitting back there fishing with geese heading out to feed and a couple minutes later hear shots and what was left of the flock would return. The birds on the water paid little attention to you the gunfire or returning Birds.

Now if you get a little to close to the roost that a whole other thing and have seen many roost blown that way. Plus in our area there were a fare few propane canons already out in the flowers so loud booming was somewhat common.

 

[Trip McNeely]

im not talking about busting a roost. I've spent more than my share of years in the field. I know how close too close is. I'm talking when you are a mile or better from the roost and out of sight. I was raised in pothole country as well so Id consider myself familiar with Canada geese beavior. I'm not talking about a 6000 acre roost and multiple flocks using multiple fields. I'm talking a feed that has one roost of a couple hundred birds coming from the same roost.( multiple roosts in different directions of the field are ideal IMO) The old birds are a lot smarter than people give them credit. . . . and when they control the flight it could make the difference between a limit and not firing a shot. I've killed a very good amount of geese in my life and I believe if the flight is broken for some reason or redirected in a different direction for whatever reason it is most likely because some of the smarter geese have caught on to gunfire or seeing other birds return. I'm not saying this happens all the time or maybe it has not been your experience but it has mine and I believe it. in an area with canons or heavy gunfire I would imagine the birds may get complacent to loud bangs and may not be affected. What Im talking about is opening weekend on birds that have been patterned for 2 weeks and have done the same thing everyday and know how many and what birds are in the area. haven't you ever wondered why they would break there pattern on the day you decide to hunt them? even though the weather, the wind, or any other variables haven't changed? is it just coincidence then? what type of field was it? if it was barley or peas theres not a chance in hell they would just randomly switch. wheat, oats or alfalfa maybe. . . . was there another feed coming off the same roost that could have stolen your birds off the roost? I also believe birds on the roost can be sensitive to headlights coming from a field, yes even if that field is a mile or better away. Again is this always the case?. . . no, but I think some birds may feel pressure from headlights as well. esp if on a hill that's overlooking a roost.

 

[dean nelson]

Well first off the lake I'm talking about is 5 acres so not exactly huge in the field I'm speaking of is only hundred yards south of it stretching for a half mile. Anything is posable and in the end often times probable. But in the case of our lake I never saw the birds change because of gunfire. Now if a few new birds happend to drop in the night before they often would head out a different way then the rest and many times this changed the path many of the birds that had been there for awhile. This area has a number of large roost and the path our birds switched is the normal one for crisscrossing between them. In the end it may have been the shooting or the fact the wind was 180 from the morning before but in the end it was probably a combination of many of them and we will never know.

 

[Trip McNeely]

I can agree with that. . . new birds can sometimes be an "un-blessing" in disguise" I agree we will never know. Its more likely a combination of many things like you stated. Its just a theory I've been paying attention too as I've progressed as a goose hunter. and it seems like my theory proves itself true more often than not. (esp, first two weeks of season) many may see it differently or may not have similar experiences. In my never-ending quest to completely understand goose behavior in relation to hunting pressure i'm always left with more questions than answers.

I will share an experience which really bolstered my opinion.

opening day about 6 years ago my buddy had a pea field about a mile from a small refuge. (40 acres maybe) we had 250 or so birds using the field for a good 2 weeks. at this time it was the only feed and the only birds using this roost. no other birds within 10 miles. the day before opener about 70 birds switched to another pea field of similar distance from the roost and on the sw side of roost. our field was NW and the 2 fields were a solid mile or better apart. another group was hunting the other pea field with 70 in it for a day. we were to hunt the field with the remaining 180 that had been there close to 2 weeks. the morning we hunted would have a been a lovely day to fish or golf as there was little to no wind. the first flock bee-lined right at us and we pounded half the bunch and sent the other half back to water. we then watched as the next 3 bunches went out to the other field. they didn't decoy as well to the other guys but they chipped a bird or few from each group and sent them back to water as well. it went dead for everyone for a solid 30 minutes before we watched every bird get off the roost and run the train for 20 minutes to a wheat field on the east side of the roost. never once saw a bird use it nor did we ever see any even fly that way to check it out in the many scouting trips we had before opener. That hunt had us all scratching our heads and left us wondering what the hell happened. I believe there was at least one goose in that bunch that had us figured out after the shooting and seeing birds return. I never wanted to admit a bird with a brain the size of a penny could have the cognitive skills to pull that off but I don't know what else it could have been?

 

[jdinny]

Dean "lord of the Fowl" nelson...... when I first started reading deans post many years ago I though he provided some knowledgable answers. as I see him post more and more on ( refuge forums, nodakoutdoors, fishing buddy etc) what a social media website whore. he is coming off more an more as an arrogant dick.

instead of taking some of Trips advice, or experiences you pretty much ' wave them off" and continue to think you "hunt the most educated and hardest birds in the state"....... its no wonder you shot what 5 birds.........the most successful waterfowlers, well anything in that matter learn MORE from failures ( which a 5 bird hunt on a loaded field is lets be honest) than success. maybe go back think about what you could of did differently, rather than 'chalk it up to there just the smartest birds in the state"

that attitude makes you come off as an arrogant, ignorant ass jack that thinks he can do no wrong, and its "always the birds fault"

what the hell where you hunting an area with 8-9 spreads in ear shot anyway??? lazy ass scouter or what?

o wait my bad its never dean " the lord of the fowl' nelson fault...its the birds fault

 

[dean nelson]

First off you never saw me post on nodak and second the jackass is you. Im pointing out that what he was bringing up is a highly unlikely scenario! Where did you hunt and how did your day go. Big words for some one who has never met me. Let's see who put on more mikes scouting.

- - - Updated - - -

I can agree with that. . . new birds can sometimes be an "un-blessing" in disguise" I agree we will never know. Its more likely a combination of many things like you stated. Its just a theory I've been paying attention too as I've progressed as a goose hunter. and it seems like my theory proves itself true more often than not. (esp, first two weeks of season) many may see it differently or may not have similar experiences. In my never-ending quest to completely understand goose behavior in relation to hunting pressure i'm always left with more questions than answers.

I will share an experience which really bolstered my opinion.

opening day about 6 years ago my buddy had a pea field about a mile from a small refuge. (40 acres maybe) we had 250 or so birds using the field for a good 2 weeks. at this time it was the only feed and the only birds using this roost. no other birds within 10 miles. the day before opener about 70 birds switched to another pea field of similar distance from the roost and on the sw side of roost. our field was NW and the 2 fields were a solid mile or better apart. another group was hunting the other pea field with 70 in it for a day. we were to hunt the field with the remaining 180 that had been there close to 2 weeks. the morning we hunted would have a been a lovely day to fish or golf as there was little to no wind. the first flock bee-lined right at us and we pounded half the bunch and sent the other half back to water. we then watched as the next 3 bunches went out to the other field. they didn't decoy as well to the other guys but they chipped a bird or few from each group and sent them back to water as well. it went dead for everyone for a solid 30 minutes before we watched every bird get off the roost and run the train for 20 minutes to a wheat field on the east side of the roost. never once saw a bird use it nor did we ever see any even fly that way to check it out in the many scouting trips we had before opener. That hunt had us all scratching our heads and left us wondering what the hell happened. I believe there was at least one goose in that bunch that had us figured out after the shooting and seeing birds return. I never wanted to admit a bird with a brain the size of a penny could have the cognitive skills to pull that off but I don't know what else it could have been?

Well every year the age of the adults will grow till many of them will be 15 years plus. As they age they will and are getting smatter. If they are indeed learning that trick the early season will be all but dead and that certainly seems to be where we are headed. The main thing with the sat birds was the way they came over the field and didn't even give the spreads a second look. A guy may be better off with only a hand full of decoys

 

[Skeeter Guy]

Mmmmm. Young, stupid, tender and tasty geese. The stupid factor plays into my wheelhouse.

Tender and Tasty? Take another hit of that stuff