I am putting my spread in order and would like to talk shop with someone knowledgeable on west Texas hunting. I plan on hunting type 2 land and maybe a couple private farms and sections. If anyone can give me pointers they would be much appreciated as this will be my first season.

I have never been on a guided goose hunt. All my goose hunts have been on public. Both field and water mostly west Oklahoma Almost completely self taught by trial and error Therefore I am no expert, but my number one suggestion is to have good calls. Know the different calls to make with them. When to make those calls and when not to. Limited to a public field, your not always on the X and trying to pull geese in headed someplace else. A public field can also become competition hunting. A good caller can command the field and draw those passing geese. The rest of the answer to your question would fill a book BTW.

FWY. If you find geese and need help this season just ask. I'm retiring at the end of the month. I have around 75 mixed Canada decoys. 3 or 4 hundred white geese decoys. And 75 Sandhills. If not already hunting or not hunting too far away, I should be able to load up and hit the road short notice.

darn good advice.

Seeing a flock a mile or so off headed somewhere else, hitting the call, and watching that flock turn and head to poppa is one of the best thrills a hunter will experience.

It truly is. I once was complained on to an area game warden/biologists by other hunters on a public refuge because our blind called in all the geese coming into the refuge. We were the only blind that killed geese that morning and we limited out on Canadas with a few bonus white geese.

My take on decoys related to your question. Some days every decoy in you spread will be no better than your worst decoy. Most days it is all about numbers. For Canadas a few lifelike decoys will sometimes be the ticket, but again most of the time it is numbers that make a difference on public and pressured areas IMHO. So for public areas were you can't drive into or around a field, a good cart is a must. Decoys are no good to you if you can't get them all onto the field in time to set them up. I make use of silouettes and sillosocks for filler and to get more decoys into the field with less help so I can get more decoys out and make a bigger footprint. I use silouettes around my layout to help hide me as well as a flyer on a short pole at the head of the blind for even more cover. Goose flags work. Have them and like calls know when to use them and not. White geese on public and pressured areas, forget it. You will not have enough decoys unless you have lots of friends to contribute decoys or go with a guide outfitted for it. I do add white geese to my Canada spread when I am seeing some white geese with the Canadas. Match the hatch like flyfishing sort of thing. I keep a notebook for making notes from every public goose hunt. I sketch how I did my spread, wind direction, location, how we did, etc. It has become a valuable tool for me as I can reference it the evening before a hunt for matching conditions and set accordingly.



No White faces period. One white face will ruin your hunt.

For little geese you're going to want as many decoys as possible and the most efficient way to do that is silhouettes and sillosocks. Afford what you can off the bat and then build every year. After a few years you will have plenty. When we hunt lessers we run between 20 and 40 dozen typically.

out west don't be afraid to knock on a few doors or talk to a farmer, some friendly folks out that way. good pointers given so far, i've got on the ducks and cranes good out west but other guys on this forum know the goose game better. best of luck out there! get a good wind proof jacket.

All great info that I WILL take to heart. Sniper I will PM you as I make plans to head West. I have a Manns Eastern Shoreman that I can make sound ok. Does anyone have suggestions on affordable calls? How about shells? I can shoot 3.5inch but have read many saying that its unnecessary. I have about 3 dozen full body decoys and will order some silhouettes soon. I saw a pkg 5 dozen. Other than that I may buy a flapper and that will be my all in... I hope... for this season.