Scouting, scouting and more scouting

[fish4cats]

I know that alot of you guys already know alot about what I am going to write about in this post, but I just want to rehash some important aspects of goose hunting. I have seen so many hunters in the 20 years that I have been goose hunting fall short of a successful season or shoot at birds out of range and then complain about how horrible their season was. I just want to share some successful strategies that will put more birds in your bag each season.

First and foremost is being where the birds are or want to be. This all begins in about April or May for us. We are knocking on farmers doors and getting permission as soon as we see crops being planted. Each year we lease (and sometimes get lucky and get in for free) about 1200 acres of land at about a cost of $500 total. We try and get fields within all 4 quadrants around our refuge that we hunt. Some fields are close to the refuge and others are a mile or 2 out.

Second and probably the most important is scouting. We scout from August all the way through the season. Yes we put on alot of miles, but we divide all costs evenly between our group. Being in the fields or in between the refuge and fields they are going to is key. Scouting I believe is the absolute most important thing for a succesful season.

Decoys, decoy setup, concealment and calling are all important too, but if you are not where the birds are, you might as well leave them at home.

I dont want to sound like I am preaching, but I just am tired of seeing and hearing about guys who skybust or complain about a horrible season. We kill on average about 150-200 birds a year and we put alot of work into a successful season.

GET DOWN AND COVER UP!!

Oh yeah, and bring em in close(40 yrds max)

[stretch]

i would have to agree with you fish4cats. my hunting party and i put on alot of miles just scouting for birds and in the end it pays. as of this year we have around 5 to 6 thousand acres to hunt and it ranges from big lake, becker monti, maple lake, buffalo, st. michael/albertville, corcran, and rockford. that is just from getting out their and asking the farmers. a little bit goes a long way. what i mean from that is at the end of the season send out a christmas card with a gift certificate and say thank you. just the little stuff to the farmers mean alot. my buddies and i have been doing this for a couple of years and it seems like we get more and more fields cause of this. and in the end we have shot around 250 birds so far. just keep in mind to respect the farmers fields and leave them the way they were when you showed up. it pays in the long run.

[Gordie]

strecth I'm working on a new development in monti and the geese are just unbeliveable every morning and thru out the day we see hundreds maybe even thousands fly from the river to just south of town not far from 25 I wont be able to hunt at all but just a heads up for ya.

[SJU70]

So, i saw a bunch of geese downing into a field this afternoon, and later on I went and talked to a Farmer who lived across the street, who said that he didn't own it, and that it was now part of an estate as far as he knew, and didn't know who would be good to call...Does anyone have any advice about how to figure out who the owners are?

[stretch]

ya i see them every morning when i am checking my trap line and going to school and while i am driving for work. it's crazy and the funny thing is, it happens every year around this time. hey SJU70 what fields were you looking at cause i can count quite a few around here. let me know where it's by and maybe i can help you.

[Rost]

I agree. You have to go find them.

Our group is pretty persistant throughout the year for scouting birds and our numbers showed it. Roughly 150 mallards, 120 honks, 30 snows.

[SJU70]

Stretch, Its in St Joseph as you head out of town to the interstate. The Farmer across the street said he didn't know who owned it anymore.

[Flick]

All good advice, there will be some that will just never learn. Oh well, their loss. I will have to say I'm not a big fan of leasing land. I understand it's necessary in some perennial hot spot locations but I also feel it's a trend that will ruin hunting in the future. My theory is if you just scout the few days prior to a hunt there will be more opportunities for everyone. Say you have leased fields that are stacked but you can't hunt them for a few weeks. These birds could be hunted by others and still be in the area.

What people need to do is not hunt the roost. The birds will be around all season. Providing hunting in the surrounding area.

I just feel that leasing land will eventually turn hunting into a "rich mans" sport. Taking away from the average guy. Its obviously allready happening in the Pheasant world. Now its turning to waterfowling. Sad.

[fish4cats]

Flick, I totally agree. We try and stay away from leasing as much as possible. Where we hunt though it has become very competitive to get land. The farmers have been educated over the years and now know they can get money from people to hunt there land. It is sad, but like I said, in some instances if we want to hunt a field we just have to pay in order to do so. It is a great point and I wish too that it did not have to be that way.

[stretch]

no i don't know who owns that field. i asked a few buddies and they didn't even know. i won't even lease goose hunting fields. not just because i am a poor college kid, it's because i like getting out and talking to farmers and you get to know them. and after awhile they tell their friends and they will let us hunt their also. i just think its sad when you have fields that are all leased up and then nobody even hunts them. but oh well what do you do.. just try harder.

[Jimmy from Cottage Grove]

I believe that you can look up maps of who owns the property for some counties. I would check the county HSOforum for your location!! I know this works for a lot of counties!! Alot of them show all the details of the land the acerage the owners and when they purchased the land. Alot of time it tells you how much they paid for the land!! Good Luck!!

[MIKE IN lINO III]

You can get a Plat book at the county court house that the property is in. It will tell you who owns it, how much they own and possibly where they live.

I have many Plat books from all around MN.

Good Luck,

Mike

[walleyewacker]

Great post. I am convinced that you are only as good as your scouting. You can kill more birds with crappy decoys and no blind if you are in the right field versus a $5000 spread if you cant scout. Not only finding the birds but finding the owners is half the battle. I cant even begin to explain the meaning of scouting, especially the way we do it out here. I have plat books for eight or nine counties and a phone book that never leave the pickup. We will cover anywhere from milbank to desmet to south of madison and into MN mostly. Sometimes you have to call the neighbor to get their brothers number to get someones cell but its what you have to do. Personally, I enjoy getting out and watching birds because it gives me a chence to learn birds and meet some people. I am sure its different near refuges and high pressure areas where everything is leased because you cant do much about it but thats a different topic. I hear what you are screamin flick, and the dakotas are about as good as it gets. I guide for a lodge and we get guys that come from places like Missouri and the east coast and they are just amazed at the fact how we can just knock on doors and and have good success when they only grew up around duck clubs and leased ground. Our group (four guys), ~250honkers(190 in september), and about 150ducks roughly with only a few not being greenheads, school full time and work 30-35hours/week. You really need a few guys willing to put the time and money into it or its really tough for anyone to shoot birds

[Jimmy from Cottage Grove]

I can't agree more!! I just started hunting this year!! All I have is a few hand me down decoys my uncle use to own!! 36 shells!! I have the perfect spot though!! I shot about 30 geese myself this year!! One of my friends hunts not too far with 80 big foots and has only shot ten!!