Getting Geese to Decoy

[poutpro]

Has anyone been getting geese to decoy this time of year? I hunt Fergus Falls, and can't get them to decoy. I think there are too many birds around. Do you just need to buy 300 decoys and put them all out or what?

[Rost]

We had a bit of trouble getting them to decoy last weekend. First, there were 3 fields that geese were using with in a 2 mile radious and two of the fields were hunted that morning. The geese seemed confused. None of the flocks really committed hard (even with 80 fullbodies).

Were going to try it again Saturday.

[FishandFowl]

I hunt just east of fergus. You dont need alot of decoys but watch what the geese are doing. a group of 4 or 5 birds is easier to call in than 20 or 30. I have found that if you listen to the birds and how they are talking you can greatly increase your chances. Using only the low note on your call for instance they will often lock up when they hear it. Then listen how they talk back to your call. On the water 5 to 10 decoys is enough mixed with duck decoys in a field, corn is what you want now and in that case I would say 2 or 3 dz decoys should due fine.

The birds will let you know if they want to sitdown.

Also, this time of year you need to make sure you are really concealed. they can spot even the smallest abnormality.

Hope this helps you out.

FnF

[g'eye pilot]

I've never hunted that area, but I know several people who do... Is it possible hunting pressure has been substantial in the area? Seasoned birds are going to be wise this time of year, and obviously more challenging to hunt. That would be my first guess. Fishandfowl has some good points in trying to work smaller groups and listen to what the birds are saying.

One thing I have learned in over 20 years of goose hunting is that changing up your spread can (sometimes) work wonders. For example, if eveyone in the area is hunting over sizable spreads of full bodys, trie something totally different. Down here in Roch when the competition gets fierce and everyone has 100 big feet out, I put out a bunch of super mag shells. That type of spread looks considerably different that everyone elses, and it will really stand out from a distance. Not a guarentee, but I have had some killer results at times. If you don't have any big shells, try down sizing your spread and going with a lot of motion -flagging, motion decoys, etc. Again, listen to the birds. If they are noisy, go crazy on your call. If they are silent, call very little or not at all.

One other trick, if the birds are short-stopping your spread: If they will only come to 100 yards, have a guy or two positioned at the point where they are flaring. You still need at least one guy in the spread calling. But this little "short-stopping" trick can provide some gunning when everything else seems to not be working.

[Ray Esboldt]

I whole heartedly agree with g-eye. Get out of your spread (minus a caller) if you're getting semi-committed flocks.

Another thing that use to be a big deal was to hunt corn fields that had the disc recently put to them. It's not as big a deal anymore because farmers tend to disc them all as soon as they cut them. I really have no explanation as to why the birds prefer those fields. Maybe it's a safety issue.

I kind of disagree with the just 5 or 6 goose decoys on water deal. I will agree to it if you are hunting small water. But, if you're hunting big water, take as many floaters as you can. One of the groups I hunt with carries as many goose decoys as ducks. And, we do kill more geese with that plan than we do with a half dozen.