As waterfowlers, the offseason seems to come too fast and last too long. We stare at the calendar and count the days eagerly waiting for opening day. If you are fortunate enough to have an early season goose season, the wait is just around the corner. Early-season honkers are notoriously finicky creatures. Rarely do they act like normal birds and patterning them can be tricky. It can at times be some of the most frustrating goose hunting you may experience, but for any diehard waterfowler, the chance to hunt early-season Canada geese is not an opportunity to pass up.
It’s an almost awkward time of the year to hunt for us northerners, as temperatures can range anywhere from the high 30s into the 90s on a given year. The large resident-born Canada geese we hunt to kick-off season in mid-August can be picky and will often act like completely different critters than their later-season counterparts. Early goose hunting is a subtle sort of hunt in my opinion. From calling, to decoying, to the hide, there are a few things to pay attention to and plan around. If you’re new to chasing early-season honkers in dry fields, here’s my run-down on goose habits and hunting tactics for the opener.
Honker Habits
Birds in the late summer and early fall are not particularly social, and this can affect your hunt in a few ways. For one, birds from one feed can be coming from a handful of roosts, often several smaller pieces of water, rather than a big gathering of geese using one home base like you’ll generally see in December or January. Because of this, you’re likely to see multiple waves of smaller family groups, singles, and pairs- which in my view, is a highlight of the early season.
Secondly, when the birds do arrive over the field they are feeding in, they will often land separate from other groups and feed in the smaller bunches they arrived in, intentionally apart from the other groups in the field. You’ll also often find many birds are much less vocal than mid-to-late season geese. So how do we take these characteristics and use what we know to put more geese’ feet down at twenty yards? For me, decoy spreads and calling techniques are key.
Decoy Tactics
I’m a firm believer that during the early season, your decoy spread should match or be fewer than the number of birds you’ve found during scouting of the field you’re hunting. Don’t plan to pull out the entire spread. If we’re hunting a feed of say a hundred birds, we’re likely to set maybe four dozen decoys. Those decoys are going to be spread loosely in family groups of six to eight, with a few pairs and singles littered about. The decoys within those family group sets should not be set tight to each other but instead, space the decoys out about two to three feet apart from each other.
Geese in August and September want space, between themselves and other groups as well. When you set your hide, play the wind to your back as usual for a frontal shot, or from out of your left or right side for a side shoot. Leave a hole in the middle of the spread in front of the hide for the next flock to aim to land in. I prefer a very wide and shallow ‘U’ shape spread with a good twenty-yard gap in the middle, about fifteen yards from the blinds to give the birds a place to key in on for landing.
Calling Techniques
The phrase ‘less is more’ holds great effect when it comes to early season honkers. It’s all about finesse and sweet talking. In the later season months, bigger groups of hungry and greedy birds might be racing each other to the feed. This is when having a handful of decent goose callers might be the ticket, but in the early season, one or two callers blowing single notes is the answer in my experience. Don’t overcall, and don’t try to sound like an angry mob.
When birds are on the approach give them a few loud single clucks, maybe mixing a double-cluck in here and there from a caller or two, but tone it down as they close within a couple hundred yards. If birds are on a line, I prefer a simple cluck here and there with a gentle moan mixed in. Read their body language. If they seem calm and are working towards your kill hole, just keep gently sweet-talking them every few seconds until they are just outside of gun range. Then go silent. They should want to land in the opening you’ve set in your spread with the intention of waddling a short distance from there to a spot to pick grain and feed. When those big black webbed feet drop, you’re in for some good shooting–so don’t miss.
Odds and Ends
A few things that come up in conversations about hunting geese in the early season are often shotshell choices, dog work, and flags, to name a few. I’m going to touch on those things quickly. Now if you ask me, shooting steel #2’s is just right for early geese. The birds have got very little down under their feathers and a well-placed shot will drop ‘em stoned. You don’t need BB or bismuth but obviously, those shells will work just fine too.
Keep in mind that if you’re bringing a dog with you, be sure to have some water if it’s a warm day. You don’t want to run your dog ragged if it turns out to be a great hunt and he/she stays busy working for you. Heat stress can be dangerous to an unconditioned dog in the early season. For more summer dog training tips click here.
Everyone has their own opinions on flags, especially during the early season. Some yell, “Put that thing away” while others might shout, “Hit ‘em with the flag a few times”. To me, flags are useful but can be overused, much like calling this time of the year. It’s an attention getter and that’s the extent they should be used for. Put them down once the birds turn towards your spread and well before they cross inside a couple hundred yards. Most early-season birds are going to go where they want to go, but occasionally a small group or pair/single set of geese can be convinced to work towards your spread with a mix of calling and flagging to grab their attention.
My final notes for hunting these early birds are to have fun, be safe, and take a kid hunting. Respect the birds and the ground you’re hunting on, and thank your landowners. These hunts can be boom, or bust, but are often decent, so get out there and give it a whirl. Check out our recipe page for some goose recipes. Best of luck out there!
