Spring Light Goose Hunting

[Guest]

Anyone out there going for light geese this spring or has anyone tried the years. Anyone did any good in MN.

[Guest]

Hey....I have a little proposition.. How bout a get together hunt for the fishing minnesota crew for dem snows!! How bout it boys? Post up if yer down.

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If I'm not in the duck blind or the ice house I'm thinking about it!!......maybe thats why I can't pay attention in class!

[GullGuide]

Good idea Dux,
But a couple of problems here-
1) Who has the land out west to hunt em?
2) Very few snows come through the state in the spring.
3) When they do come through, it is not for long, usually only a couple days, so it would be hard to plan anything.

So if you can think of ways to answer these questions, I'd be all for it!
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[Guest]

How bouts we go through a guide out in South Dakota or perhaps North Dakota? But the problem then would be expenses. Getting out there, liecences, ammo, guides, food, and lodging. But it does get cheaper if you stay with a couple of people because then you can split cost, but still it aint cheap. Everbody who would be up for this please post up and give some ideas or suggestions!! I think that this would be a very great time, just us Minnesota boys out there pilin' up them snows!! Plus then we could really be able to meet some new, great people and put names to faces. So if you are up for this PLEASE post up!

[GullGuide]

Not trying to rain on your idea, but the reality is that even in Dakota it is TOTALLY hit or miss, even with a guide. They only come thorugh during a very small window and no one knows when that is, so planning is impossible and there is absolutely no way to know if they will even pass through the guides fields in the first place. It is not as easy as they make it sound to be.
I guess what I am saying is that I am not about to spend almost a grand or better on something that is not a sure thing.
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[Guest]

GullGuide is right on about the "hit or miss" aspect of this game. You can increase your odds dramatically by being mobile, and willing to travel hundreds of miles into strange territory, knocking on farmhouse doors and praying real hard.
When its "on" it is really something to behold - but when it ain't.........
Last year we watched (key word "watched") the big push in early April in South Dakota - saw more geese than I've thought existed on the planet, and never fired a round. Pretty much flew right over the area we had done well in the year before. Our timing was impeccable, but the birds apparently flew hundreds of miles north before stopping.
That said, our intrepid party will be out doing our best to reduce the overpopulation of tundra-munchers - possibly as soon as this weekend.

[IceHawk]

Gullguide is right, you need to be able to go on a minutes notice. I have hunted spring snows the last two seasons in south dakota. The key is follow the migration on the SD hotline or keep contacts in the area you plan on hunting. As far as permission I have been turned down only once, and that was because the field was already taken. The farmers are more than welcome to let you in their fields as long as you respect them and their property. As far as hunting we have done great. The best thing we found is scout until you locate a feeding field, push the birds off or let them go to a watering roost and set up with decoys and prepare for a great shoot.

[Guest]

bump

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If I'm not in the duck blind or the ice house I'm thinking about it!!......maybe thats why I can't pay attention in class!

[IceHawk]

Just thought I would let everyone know the snows are really stacking up in Nebraska. They are also starting to filter in the southwest part of South Dakota. If you plan on hunting the Dakota's get ready to go soon. My personal opinion is the migration will be a short window of opportunity before they reach Canada.

[rap]

ND is very hit and miss in the spring season, it seems they just fly right over us... went out last year but it was hard to find flocks on the ground since they were all heading straight to canada and not really looking at the ground to much... the way it sounds to me, you should go to nebraska as fast as you can, it sounds like they have had tons of birds the last week and they are sticking around...... don't hire a guide either, it isn't that hard to find permission anywhere in the spring season.. i hope sask and manitoba get a big blizzard so the geese actually stay in Nd for more than a day this year...

[Guest]

Hey guys,I was just out in SD 22nd-24th,We started west of sioux falls and had birds flying right away!!! Found some big flocks on the ground!!Still only managed 2 all day!We went to mitchell to stay & then headed north SAt. Had S&B's all the way up to lake preston!!I'm not sure what this weather did to them,I might go scouting later this week!!With snows they are not predictable,Being mobile is probly the best approach!!If you have 4-6 guys try pushing them to each other or wait for them to feed into you!! I love hunting S&B's!!!!