Snow Goose Reports?

Anyone have any snow goose reports from AR, MO, KS, or NE? I am sure there are a couple of you who just got back from trips in the last couple weeks with stories to tell.

I didn't get to make it out there this year.

I thought I found the mother load last weekend. Ended up being cow birds!!!!!

Headed North in a hurry from everyone I've talked to.

So where's the tailgate pic

We just got back from the Lonoke area in AR. We seen thousands of birds heading North. The experience was pretty cool, I've never seen so many birds in one group coming in at once. The group that I hunted with killed 27 for an all day hunt. I think we are planning on another hunt for next year.

PM sent

Headed north now. We just shut down for the night. From what I read we will be next to 1.1 million snow geese after another 8 hours driving. I shall report our findings.

I just returned from spending 10 days chasing the white devils in South Dakota. Killed birds for two days then received 5 inches of snow and all birds went south. We packed up shop and moved an hour and a half Southwest out of the snow line and found birds by the hundreds of thousands. Our spread consisted of 2800 full body 2000 socks eight rotaries and for clone decoys. Hunted the X as much as possible and stayed mobile the ten-day total was 871 dead snow Devils. Most the birds were adults with a few Judy's mixed in it will only continue to get better in South Dakota

Headed North on Thursday. Hopefully we don't have to go further than Nebraska.

There are a bunch there yet.....and a lot of juvies. Where about you headed in NE?

Not sure yet We are going with Prairie Thunder and they said to be prepared to drive to NE if needed.

There are a ton of birds along 81 and 281 right now.....

Tru2life, please post up some pics of that massive spread and some of your kills. Love to see them.
I did not get my snow goose fix this year

PLEASE DO

Tru2life with which outfitter were you hunting? We're you even using an outfitter? I am not going again unless my outfitter is willing to pick up and go. I would be willing to go as far as Canada.

I was in OH last week, business, and saw Canadas everywhere, in the city. One time I had to stop my car and let about 50 of them cross the road.

Here is a pic of the spread from the drone we flew just showing the full bodies, approx 2200 before my Iowa buddies added theirs. Out of the pic and down wind was another 1500 white rock socks. This is the "lazy Susan" design that has worked for us for years. We add the layouts when not in whites and surround them with honker decoys just years from the rotos and fliers. Works like a champ. No outfitters used just a bunch of die hard guys we have met through the years and have tagged teamed the white Devils the last few years with great success.

I think a few guys may have taken pics of a pile or two and will have them send a few and post them. I did not take any as we hunt til last possible shooting light and then spend the next 4-5 hours packing the spread and redeploying or changing it for the morning wind. We had anywhere from 4-16 guys in the spread and over the years have gotten pretty proficient at the debacle of deploying and redeploying to stay in the "x". We used to just run traffic but now chase solely the "x". It may be way more work but when your shoulder hurts from shooting it makes it all worth it.

I don't have pics of the spread from the ground showing the rotos but I do have video but photo bucket keeps telling me there is an error when uploading the vid. I'll see if the fellas have a few

Private or public?

Private. We send two guys out in the afternoon to find the biggest feeds they can and knock on doors for permission. This is easy to do up north as they don't ask thousands of dollars to hunt their land like down here. A good hand shake and respecting the property still works

I am military and station down here now and know there are birds down here.....do any of you chase them in Texas? Why make the trip up north if you can kill them local? I can relate to the "hunting trip" as it's nice to get away and hunt.....just curious I guess. If someone wants another partner to chase them here in Texas give me a shout. It's always great to meet folks who live the sport of hunting and seems to last as life time friends.

That's cool, sounds like a blast.

Yeah I have to agree, I have not hunted them much, but south of DFW area and north of Austin, I duck hunted down there and seen them all over the green winter wheat fields, and a couple days that nice pasture of green winter wheat goes to bare ground, so maybe we should open our own seasonal business, "Goose Busters", "free service!!!".

Hell in in! One would think with the devistaion they cause to the fields that the land owners would allow you to keep them in check and off their crops. I have seen the same as they can devistate a field in just two days....

And if it takes me a flat of shells every couple of days to save the tundra than so be it....ill be your huckleberry

This is just another great idea from your uncle Guy, so one of you guys need to head this up, and I offer my free service as a consultant and goose buster.

Yes..This is an effort that needs to be lead, you are da man.

I'm not an expert by any means but don't you think you could get away hunting the X with a lot less decoys? Have y'all tried using 1000 full bodies only? If y'all have, is the success rate that much better with 4000 decoys that it is worth it to set decoys for 5 hours every day? Honest questions here. I have some friends that own a lot of property and have a lot of connections around Yankton, SD and we are tossing around the idea of giving it a shot next year.

At one point up until a few years ago we had over a million geese come to the coastal prairie in Texas. Last year we only had 180000. It is also very difficult to knock and talk down here. In Texas it is big money for hunting rights. I can still do it around my house, but there is no point when the roost near me only holds 500 birds at best now days. I don't know your base but I have family we visit at the hood all the time.

Yankton is a great area to hunt. The birds stage along the river for sometime there. We put a bunch of dekes for this reason. When the birds stack up like that they come off the roost in large numbers 1-2 thousand at a time. Safety in numbers and drawing power is why we use that many. Also putting the socks out 2-3 hundred yards down wind shows more safety but the birds will finish at the full bodies and key in on the movement. If you just running traffic less dekes will work

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At one point up until a few years ago we had over a million geese come to the coastal prairie in Texas. Last year we only had 180000. It is also very difficult to knock and talk down here. In Texas it is big money for hunting rights. I can still do it around my house, but there is no point when the roost near me only holds 500 birds at best now days. I don't know your base but I have family we visit at the hood all the time.[/quote]

This is all a direct correlation to the loss of crops along the Gulf Coast over the last several years. Texas used to be the largest producer of rice and now Arkansas has surpassed that with well over 1 million acres planted. Farmers around Eagle Lake, Garwood, Nada and other areas are having to fight harder with the LCRA and others to get water. I can remember hunting the Katy Prairie with birds out the wazoo, even the same east towards Winnie. As a kid, we'd drive down to China and other areas, scout around and ask the farmers. I can't recall ever being told no or how much money can you pay. Not so much anymore. And as you mentioned the crazy $$$ amounts landowners want. Besides a few trips out of state to more birdy areas, I'm hanging up my Texas waterfowling.

This year will be very different there should be a lot more rice! they have water now and the price of rice is very good right now!!

I think something else to add is that not all the birds are making it this far south. Winters have not been very harsh and many birds are wintering as north as Kansas. Call it global warming, El Niño/El Ninia but times are changing. More hunters trying to take these birds = smarter birds. Which is why many target the juvies, these birds can make it to 30 years of age and have seen every tactic we have thrown at them

Had several big flocks Saturday heading back north. My house is close to the Cameron Park area in Waco and the geese fly over the confluence of the Brazos and Bosque Rivers and it never fails, they will circle the area for 5- 7 minutes while they "discuss" which direction they need to go. You'll see some branch off and start flying south, while another group circles, then they all join back up and start back north up the Brazos. Usually they maintain a high altitude, but on occasion they have been low enough, that you can hear and feel the droppings as they circle!

It would be nice to have more crops, but I'm afraid the damage is done. The old fields down Katy Hockley and east/west of there are virtually almost all houses now, or quickly headed that way. Add in above what was said about the warmer winters, the birds aren't coming any further south than they have too.

There might be more rice but that doesn't mean the geese are going to magically reappear. Is someone going to send them a text to let them know more rice is going to be planted this year?

Hunting will for sure be different in a way, we will never have the numbers that we use to. There will be no reason for them to even make this far with all the food up north but when that harsh winter does come (praying sometime we will get one)

You are right the Katy Prairie will be done in about 10 years. Trust me I know I live there and guide there, the Duck hunting is still great out here but the goose hunting is not there. The geese stay all together its not like it was were you would be laying in a spread and could watch 10 plus different roost get up. Now it is one, maybe two on a good year but that is it! I grew up out here and just watching it first handed get knocked away everyday!

Who do you guide for? I've been hunting that area for a while and the last 2 years have been just piss poor IMO for birds. To be completely honest, I didn't even hunt a single day this past season. Just about the time I'd start loading decoys or getting ready the night before I'd hear reports and talk to folks and just run put my stuff back up. I've relegated my dog to just working him with bumpers and launchers to at least keep him in shape.

I run most of my hunts with Double JJ Outfitters, I had some great hunts this year

who do you hunt with?

I hunt some with David Pruett and some other friends down around that area. I've heard of Justin and some decent reports from people who have hunted with them. Never met them personally.

David is a good friend of ours we do all our calling competitions with him! Justin is a good guy, we strive our best around this area and put in a lot of work with what we have just watching the houses go up next to some of our best spots!

Any updates from this weekend?

Just got back from Mound City. Not many birds around. Our guide was moving most of his guys up to the Dakotas with the big push of birds last week or so, but we had too many guys with travel plans that couldn't be changed, so we stuck it out in Missourri. Friday was 70 degrees, and we only had one small group finish for us. Saturday was spitting rain all day, and I don't think we saw more than 100 birds all day, it was brutal. Then finally on Sunday morning we got to shoot a dozen or so in the fog before we left. All in all it was a great trip, just not a great hunting trip.

A few had asked for pics of our hunt, so here is one of our better afternoons...