Photo by Todd Steele - Wildlife Management, Hunting

T E X A S W I L D L I F E JANUARY 20178

H U N T I N G " S T O P - O V E R " G E E S E

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HUNTING “STOP-OVER” GEESE

Until a decade or so ago, the lion’s share of goose hunting in Texas took place on the coastal

prairies west of Houston. The Panhandle and peanut country around Knox County had traditionally held large numbers of dark geese, but the larger concentrations of light geese were always along the coast.

Goose hunting in Texas has most definitely changed over the course of the past couple of decades. The geese are still coming down their age-old migration route and many are still making their way to the coast. But large concentrations are “stopping off” and spending much of their winter on fields along the major river drainages in the central and northeastern area of the state, making for a great place to enjoy the Conservation Goose Hunting Season.

I remember enjoying my first goose hunt there back in the 1970s. We were hunting over a “rag spread” with a popular waterfowl outfitter in the area. The term “rag spread” described our method of

Article by LUKE CLAYTON

decoying the birds; we actually used white pieces of cloth propped up on sticks to lure the geese within shotgun range.

I vividly remember waiting in that wet field face down, listening to the outfitter say that 4,000 geese were rising up from their roost pond a half mile away just after daylight. The crescendo of that many geese chattering at the same time stirs a young hunter’s blood, and I remember the experience as though it occurred last year. A large number of the birds headed toward the cut-over rice field where we were hunting, and our party bagged a total of 68 geese, mostly Snow Geese with a few Ross’s Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese, also known as white-fronts and specklebellies.

This scenario was repeated thousands of times since the 1960s when hunters in the area first learned how to use big spreads of decoys to trick the huge number of wintering geese that showed up like clockwork each year. The big flocks usually began showing around the first



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of November, and by Christmas each year, the fields were solid white with greedily feeding geese. Hunting outfitters enjoyed banner years with clients coming from all over the country to hunt geese on the Texas coast.

But about a decade or so ago, the numbers of geese that wintered on the coastal prairies began to diminish. The larger outfitters who offered guided hunts seven days a week had to drive farther and look harder, scouting for concentrations of birds large enough to hunt. Many of those outfitters had to reduce their hunting to three days a week; and, as more and more of the cropland was used for non-agricultural purposes and the amount of food for the geese diminished, some now offer weekend-only hunts.

Jared Laing, Regional Waterfowl Biologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, says geese began making their shift to winter farther north about 10 years ago. Each year, the annual mid-winter waterfowl inventory flight routes along rivers such as the Trinity, Brazos, Sulphur and Navasota are showing

increasingly larger numbers of “stop over” geese, most of which are light geese.

“Many people think that migrating geese fly strictly in a north-south direction but in truth, wintering geese often fly east to west in search of food,” Laing said. “Geese feed heavily throughout the day and roost on water at night which gives them protection from predators. They are quick to move from field to field or leave an area completely in search of plentiful food. Successfully locating these “stop over” geese in late winter is all about scouting areas with plenty of green fields with water close by.

“We see large concentrations of geese in late winter widely dispersed along all of the major drainages in the area. The big farm country south of Corsicana and east of Waco has become a hotspot, as is the farmland in the northeastern part of the state near Lake Cooper. But when flying the fields adjacent to the rivers in late winter, it’s common to spot flocks of geese just about anywhere there is abundant food and water.”

Laing pointed out that not only food but hunting pressure

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dictates the number of geese in a particular area. If an area has an abundant food source such as winter wheat or rye planted as food for livestock, geese will remain in the area longer even under heavy hunting pressure.

For the past three years, I have hunted geese with Rick Hrncir in the farm country between Waco and Corsicana and observed that big flocks of geese can be hunted several times per week without spooking out of an area. Hrncir owns Family Affair Guide Service and offers goose hunts on several large farms that he has under lease. These farms are primarily pasture land for cattle and large fields are planted in wheat for winter grazing. Geese can easily spot this abundant food from the air and often set down right in the middle of a big green field rather than on the edge. They like to feed out in the open so they can watch for approaching predators.

There are a couple ways to hunt these geese. I really like the method that Hrncir uses to keep his hunters in the geese. The most basic method of hunting big flocks of Snow Geese on green

fields in late winter is to first find a concentration of birds, mark where they are feeding in a particular field and move in well before daylight to set up the decoy spread nearby. The shooting takes place when the birds come back to the field from their roost ponds.

Hrncir uses a different method to hunt these feeding flocks. Rather than set up on the feeding field, he concentrates his efforts along the shores of the big conservation lakes on the property. He hunts the roost lakes—but don’t get the wrong idea. He’s not shooting geese at first light when the geese are still on the water. Rather, he waits until around 8 a.m. after the geese have left their roost to head to the feeding fields. Then he shoots the smaller flocks as they return for water later in the morning.

I’ve enjoyed several hunts in the same area in late season, over the course of several weeks, hunting the same roost lake. Hrncir’s practice of hunting roost lakes during mid-day for small flocks of birds returning to water appears to have no adverse effect on pushing the flocks out of the area.

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“Many of my hunters who have been on conventional goose hunts along the coast are surprised when I tell them that we won’t be setting the spread until well after daylight when the birds head out to feed,” said Hrncir. “They are accustomed to getting into the fields a couple hours before daylight and setting decoys.”

A morning hunt with Hrncir begins by parking a half-mile or so from the water and using binoculars to watch the geese. Once they have all left for the feeding fields, Hrncir loads the hunters up and pulls his decoy-filled trailer down to the water’s edge.

In about 45 minutes, the decoys are set and the speaker, speaker wires and electric caller (which are legal during the Conservation Season but illegal during the regular season) are camouflaged; lay out blinds are positioned behind the spread. The truck and trailer are then driven back out of sight and hunters leisurely get into shooting position in the blinds

Most hunters carry a thermos of coffee or hot chocolate and snacks. Usually by 9:30 a.m., flocks of five to 20 geese begin to

trickle back to the water for a drink after their morning breakfast of green wheat or rye grass.

The big decoy spread is composed of full body decoys on the shoreline and floaters in the shallow water. The relaxed hunt lasts until around 3 p.m. Rather than one huge flock working decoys in a field at first light, geese come and go throughout mid-day. It’s common to have multiple shot opportunities at the small flocks. Hrncir is a stickler for leaving the area by 3 p.m. to give the geese plenty of time to settle back on the water before dark.

Hrncir and his clients often enjoy good shooting as early as the first week of December for migrating geese that cut their migration short when they see all the green fields and water. By the time the conservation season begins, there are often flocks of geese coming in from all directions including some “new birds” from the northern states but also geese that have been in the state for well over a month that are in search of feeding fields.

Duck and goose outfitter Brett Jepsen takes his hunters to the



geese, but in the past few years, more and more of his hunts are within an easy hour’s drive of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

“We have enjoyed some excellent hunts the past few years on private land north, east and south of the Metroplex,” said Jepsen. Jepsen offers hunts for both ducks and geese and said that the large concentrations of Snow Geese are by far the wariest and most difficult to decoy.

“Not too many years ago, Snow Geese could be enticed within shotgun range with a simple ‘rag spread,’ but tactics that

worked a decade ago often prove fruitless on today’s geese,” he said. “They seem to get smarter and smarter with every season.”

Jepsen used modern technology such as recorded goose sounds on his iPhone to blast through his speaker system during the Conservation Season to trick geese.

“We download a myriad of sounds, from small flocks to the sound of thousands of geese during the Conservation Season,” he said. “We experiment on an almost daily basis to mimic the exact sounds

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often hunting one big flock that’s been feeding on a big winter green field. If things aren’t just right, they will fly right over the spread and head to live geese they see feeding nearby.”

Jepsen said he and his guides set out between 1,000 and 1,500 Silo Socks which have largely taken the place of the conventional “rag spreads.”

“These decoys are comprised of a goose head and body that flutters with the wind,” he said. “They are by far the best we’ve used to mimic a large flock of feeding geese. They are set into the ground with a stake and with just a little wind; the entire spread moves and mimics a big flock of geese on the ground.”

Another innovative and relatively new decoy system is the rotary or vortex machine. This machine mimics four to six geese flying a vortex or circle just above the ground and often proves deadly in tricking heavily hunted flocks of snows. The goose decoys are suspended by long stiff wires, connected to the motor of the machine which perfectly mimic geese landing into a flock on the ground. Jepsen says it’s very common for geese to hone in on what they perceive to be geese landing into the flock. They often actually begin flying in a circle just above the decoys as they lose altitude and approach the field.

There was a time not too many years ago when a winter goose hunt meant a long drive for many to the coastal prairies or possibly the Texas Panhandle. Thanks to the current shift in patterns, hunts for these “stop over” geese are often within a short drive for hunters in the northern and central parts of the state. I live about 45 miles southeast of downtown Dallas and on many occasions; I’ve made an early morning drive to join my guides, enjoyed a great shoot and was home by mid-afternoon. Thanks to this change in the birds’ feeding pattern, many newcomers are being introduced to the thrills of watching the geese work a properly set spread and finally make that final approach that puts them within shotgun range.

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Photo by Todd Steele - Wildlife Management, Hunting