By Chris Jennings. For many waterfowlers, hunting spring snow geese represents a great opportunity to extend the season. But for true light goose fanatics, this special season isn’t a sideshow—it’s the main event. The regular waterfowl season was only a warm-up. When the curtain opens on enormous flocks of snows and blues working a decoy spread, the spectacle can be unlike any other in waterfowling.
But make no mistake—these wary birds don’t come easy. You have to pay your dues if you want to be successful hunting spring snow geese. The sport is gear-intensive and hunting strategies can be highly specialized.
Following are 10 expert tips and products to help you make the most of spring light goose hunting opportunities in your area.
1. BUILD A REALISTIC SPREAD
Tony Vandemore, co-owner of Habitat Flats in Sumner, Missouri, has been hunting spring snow geese since the inception of the Light Goose Conservation Order in 1999. The veteran guide says that over the years spring snows have become a lot more decoy-shy. This has led him and other hunters to respond by deploying bigger and more realistic decoy spreads.
“In the beginning, our spreads were small and simple, consisting of 150 to 250 Texas rags,” Vandemore says. “Today we set out between 700 and 800 full-body decoys on motion stakes. This combination of full-bodies and motion gives us the kind of realism we need to finish wary birds.”
Vandemore arranges the decoys in an elongated teardrop pattern—60 to 80 yards wide and up to 250 yards long. “We really spread the decoys out downwind, stringing them in small family groups about 10 yards apart,” he says. “This allows decoying geese to follow the feeding line all the way to the layout blinds, which are upwind of the main body of decoys. Snow geese are aggressive feeders, and they want to get to the front of that line. This setup plays to that behavior, and the full-body decoys really get the birds to commit.”
Hard Core Full-Body Ross’s Goose Decoys Add movement and realism to your decoy spread with these full-body Ross’s goose feeder decoys from Hard Core. The decoys come with TruMotion bases and feature lightweight DuraMold construction, which makes them easy to carry and sturdy enough for the long haul. www.hardcore-brands.com