Ducks v. Canadian Geese v. Snow

[big drift]

Which do ya prefer.

I used to be a goose fanatic then kids came and was really into ducks. Now I am going back to the other way on geese again. What is the question? Well what is your favorite and why and how do you like to hunt.

I am asking this because I am considering writing a book or two on diffrent aspects of waterfowling in Minnesota and I am nosy.

Later

big drift

[Eric Wettschreck]

Well Mr. nosey britches, I'll take a flock of mallards over any other hunting every day of the week.

Don't get me wrong, I love waterfowling, all parts of it. I have to think there are people out there that think I'm seriously weird. Get up way early on my day off, pile on layers of clothes, load up a ton of stuff, sit in a swamp in the rain or snow, be cold, be hungry, be wet, smell wet dog all morning, smell LIKE wet dog all morning......all of this just for a CHANCE at a couple of shots at birds flying around me at 3 times the speed of sound. Fellas, to me it doesn't get any better than that. Others would think I need professional help.

Early season goose is fun. But to me it's just a warmer upper for the ducks to come. It's hot, skeeters all over the place, did I mention hot???? It's way fun, but not near as fun as trying to get a teal on a passing shot.

We scout for deer. We kinda (I said kinda) know their patterns. We know when a gaggle of geese are coming cuz we can hear them like 10 miles away. When ducks show up, if they show up, it's like..."Where did they come from?!?!" and the scramble is on!!!!!

I've read in these fourms about guys who consider waterfowling a passion. To me it's an obsession. Good times in the the swamp with good friends and, for the last couple years, my boys.

Nuff said. Go write your book.

[Sartell Angler]

variety is the spice of life...I like everything waterfowling has to offer. One of my favorite events in any given season is shooting a new species of waterfowl. This year I got my first bufflehead and goldeneye (have assisted on others in recent years but these were all me). Still looking for a canvasback, snow goose, ross' goose, specklebelly, lesser canadian goose, pintail, and ruddy duck.

My favorite is probably late season on the river as it is icing up, hunting honkers, greenheads, and whatever is left of the diver migration. Can't beat that!

SA/wdw

[MattKeller]

I love variety as well BUT I would pass up some of the best goose hunting to hunt mallards like we did this fall.

The first time we hunted this particular corn field this fall there were no less than 10,000 mallards using it. After watching enormous flocks of greenheads land all around you it would be pretty tough to take anything else...

We're just fortunate to have the opportunity to be picky up here I guess.

[Guest]

I think everyone should stick to just duck hunting For me it's take what you are given. I like being able to chase those geese before during and after duck season. If the ducks just aren't around, like most of this season, it makes for a great hunt. Watching those big old birds maple leaf down into the spread is great as well as the opprotunity to flag and call a passing flock into the spread. I remember when getting or seeing a goose up here was something kind of uncommon. I spent my first many years hunting ducks over water so now I really enjoy the field goose hunts.

On a side note that I haven't figured out is why is it if you hunt until freeze up your considered "hardcore" but you give people a little heat and a few skeeters on early goose it's considered miserable?

[fishingmike0770]

I have been hunting since i was 8 years old. So almost 8 years now. I recently started hunting with my friends and there is nothing better then doing it your way. We usually head out to a metro lake and in the late season, the canadians sit way back in the corner by a canal. We cruise on back there in our little 5h, 14 ft flatbed. Hearing all those geese get up, the honking, splashing and the occasional quack, there is nothing better and at that time there is not where else that you would rather be.

I am a big fan of both waterfowling, and goose hunting. I have not yet ha the chance to experience a snow goose hunt but have only heard the best and wildest things about them. I basically just like getting out in the woods, field, swamp, on the lake, wild rice pond or whatever.

Having a hunting partner by your side makes it all the better too. Whether it be your dog, one of your parents, a buddy or someone that you just recently met and both share and equal passion or obsession for chasing natures creation.

A lot of people dont like the early season "kid's day". I think this is one of the best things. I am to old for this now but u can bet that i will be bringing my kids someday and letting them set up the dekes their way, let them call in the flock of greenhead, see the smile on their face when they bag their first bird. Its a way to get away from the lines and crowds at the boat launch opening morning. The people that take shots at the ducks that got their wings set and know their comin in. It shows them the essence of hunting and tranquility of being out on a lake at 4:30 am.

It just dont get any better then that.

[eyepatrol]

Well, I've been hunting for about 22 years now. Spent 12 years growing up on the lake we hunt on. It's an awesome hunting lake for just about anything. Geese, mals, teal, gaddies, widgeon, woodies, and nearly all the divers (except for goldeneye...very few come through here).

I'm also one of those guys who, and I'll have to admit it, is obsessed with hunting. Competition on the lake I hunt is pretty fierce, if you want the best spot on the lake. Sometimes I'll go out at 10:00p.m., sometimes I'll head out after league bowling, and rarely do I head out any later than 3:00a.m. You can forget about getting the good spot if you're out there after 3:00a.m. Thermos full of coffee, colder than S#$%, raccoons scaring the dump out of me, listening to the wings of ducks and the honks of geese during the dark of night, seeing UFO's fly across the sky (NO JUST KIDDING!!!). I absolutely love everything about it. My brother will come along many times and we'll be out there nearly all night long. He can sleep, but I'm usually too pumped to get a wink. Coffee gone by 5:00a.m., time to pick up dad from shore and get more coffee!!

As for ducks vs. geese. Well, it's so hard to say. I mean, I'd take a day where we get a limit of ducks any day over a limit of geese. 6 ducks compared to 2 geese....I like a little more action. Benefit of hunting where I do, you almost always get action on both and come home with a mixed bag of ducks and geese. On a slow day, give me a goose! I'd much rather have one goose than one duck.

To honestly pick and choose which one I prefer, for me, it can't be done. I love them both and love everything about them. Most importantly though, I love the entire experience, ducks or no ducks. Hunting is different than fishing for me. If I don't get anything hunting, no big deal. If I don't get anything fishing...I'd rather have done something else. Because, if I can't get anything fishing, not even a sunnie, then it's been a bad day. If that happens, I'm boating around looking at nice houses on the lake.

Anyway, that's my storie and I'm sticken' to it!

[Sky Carp Blaster]

I am also addicted to waterfowling. I love both duck and goose hunting. I am 20 years old and have been hunting since I was 8. My Dad is a big duck hunter so I started out by duck hunting. As I got older and started finding friends that liked hunting, I started to goose hunt more and more. We would just pass shoot most of the time. Then we began using some shell decoys in fields about five years ago. Last year, I made a big investment and bought 2 dozen Bigfoots, and a small trailer to haul them in. I am in college, so I can't spend too much more money right now on Bigfoots, but I plan to fill the trailer up the rest of the way(another 1-2 dozen). It is tough to beat a flock of 50 honkers gliding in with their wings set from 200 yards out, 10 yards off the ground. It is a beautiful sight. So is getting out to a froze over pond at 5:30 in the morning, busting up the ice, throwing out a dozen dekes, and watching flocks of 30+ mallards circle around and around before deciding to drop down into the spread. I love it all. I still really like duck hunting, but I think I am starting to like goose hunting even more. As long as I am sitting in a field or a pond and there are birds in the air, I am happy. I am even happy putting thousands of miles on my truck and spending hundreds of dollars on gas to try to find areas birds are using. I love anything that has to do with waterfowling. This year will be my first year snow goose hunting. We will see what happens.

[Nova]

I too started out duck hunting when I was 5 years old. 35 years later I still have NEVER missed a weekend. I have been getting into the goose hunting the last 5 years and am leaning slightly that way. I like the feild hunting better and seeing a 12-20 pound bird fall from the sky is something else. I still would not trade anything for waterfowling of any kind, but I think it's easier to call geese than ducks, especially divers. .