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Stories and Articles
- Authored by Jason
A four step plan to decoy more geese
Decoying geese doesn’t have to be complex. You don’t
need an expensive truck and big trailer stuffed to the gills with full
bodied decoys to be successful – though I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt either.
I’m going to outline four steps or phases that you can use to up your odds
of having a successful hunt.
1. Location.
You obviously can’t shoot any geese if there aren’t
any in the area. If possible it’s best to do some scouting before you
hunt, however that’s not always possible. In some cases you can find
on-line scouting and hunting reports. Local game wardens are usually more
than happy to point you in a direction. The most ideal location is a
field that the geese have been landing and feeding in already. That’s
about as slam dunk as you can get in goose hunting. The next best thing is
to get in an area that the geese have been flying over regularly.
2. The presentation.
Once you have selected the field your going to hunt
it’s time to decide on the exact location within the field to setup. I
like to setup the decoy spread in a place so that geese can see my spread
from the greatest distance possible. For example, I would most likely
pick a side hill rather than setup in a gully or ravine. Pay special
attention to wind direction, always making sure to place the decoys facing
into the wind. It’s also important to create some landing zones within
your spread. The geese will often times gravitate to the zones you have
created. I like to use an X type formation (see figure 1).
It’s also important to have your spread and the
surrounding area as natural looking as possible. For example don’t set
out a big blue cooler or park you car in close proximity to your decoys.
I like to park at least a half a mile away unless there is ‘natural’ cover
to park in such as by some old abandon buildings or bunch of grain bins.
Make sure to have a call and fell comfortable using
it. I like to mimic what the geese are doing. For example if they are
really vocal, I’ll be vocal. If they only let out some intermittent
sounds, I’ll do the same. It’s a good idea if you are new to calling to
make sure you get some practice in. I’ve heard plenty of nearby hunters
trying to call in geese and they sound awful. If you are not sounding
realistic to the geese, it’s not going to help bring them in.
3. The approach.
Movements and sounds are two key pieces to the
approach. There are two kinds of movement. The first is what I would
consider ‘good’ movement, such as flagging geese, the geese should view
this as normal behavior (there are some caveats to this which I’ll mention
below). The second kind of movement is un-natural movement, such as
someone in the decoy spread trying to adjust and reposition.
When the geese are far off in the distance it helps
to have several flags for movement. As they get closer cut back on the
flagging. The last 150 – 250 yards don’t do any flagging at all. I’ve
seen hunters try to continue to flag geese all the way in. Most of the
time that is counter productive, it’s just going to flare geese. Make any
last needed movements such as taking off your glove or repositioning your
gun before the geese close within 100 yards. As the geese close in, keep
excessive movements to a minimum, ideally, additional movement would be
non-existent the last 100 yards.
4. The final lockdown period. (last 100 – 150
yards)
Your almost there, but this is the most crucial
phase. If you have done the first three steps correctly the geese are more
likely to commit to your spread. Movement on your part should be
non-existent at this point. If everyone in your hunting group is moving
around trying to get a peak at the geese, they are more likely to flare.
Keep still, have your call up to your mouth, try to keep calling to a
minimum unless the geese are extremely vocal, of course the more
experienced you become with a call the more you’ll get a feeling as to
what the geese are expecting.
You should not be trying to flag the geese at this
point. Most hunters are going to do more harm than good when the geese
are close. Try to work as a team with the other hunters in your group to
call the shot. Have the hunter with the best view call the shot. For
example if the geese are coming in on your side and you are going to have
the best view of the incoming geese, you should be the one to notify the
rest of the group when to take the shot.
Gear:
When it comes to decoys available on the market it’s
hard to beat the full bodied decoys with flocked heads, however, they take
the most room. I recommend somewhere between 4 – 6 dozen at a minimum,
more is obviously better, but unless you have a large trailer it my be
hard to get many more in your vehicle. Blinds are a great addition, if
you have the room. In our spread we have 2 dozen Carry-Lite Super Magnum
shells. Each hunter usually takes two uses them for cover.
Final Thoughts:
Keep things simple. If you follow the steps above,
you’ll be well on your way to bagging more geese.
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