# Like the Good Old Days?



## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Well this season the snows have been here in huntable numbers for well over a month. From what I have witnessed the past 4 seasons this is not the norm. For the guys that have been here all your life would you consider this to be like the good old days of hunting snows in North Dakota (with the exception of the birds being smarter)?


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Close but not quite like the old days.By the end of Sept. there were usually 100-150,000 snows on Clark Salyer.They would build up throughout Oct to 300,000 or so just on that one refuge.We hunted snows in big numbers from opening day to freezeup.


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

This year has been close to what I remember in the late 80s' and early 90's. Although it happened a month earlier than back then, but its has lasted nearly a month longer.

But, of course the pie plate and bleach bottle decoys don't work as well now... 

Hopefully the birds stick around a bit longer for the spring season too..but I know thats just wishful thinking..


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

I would say NOT. Hell, we used to set up for snows on opening day by Lakota every year. Try getting on land around lakota now, or try setting up and shooting snows the first weekend in October!! Doesn't happen anymore!!!


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

Good point dj... :-?


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## Dak (Feb 28, 2005)

Ken,

You are right. There used to be amazing numbers of birds on Salyer. They were fun to just watch...skein after skein. The water surrounding there...Lord's Lake and some big sloughs by Maxbass were always full of birds as well.


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## hammerhead (Dec 22, 2004)

I just wish I could remember the old days, but at 87 it's hard to do that. I'm just gald that they didn't stage just over the border in Canada and with the first bad weather do a flyover for 2 days.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

KEN W said:


> Close but not quite like the old days.By the end of Sept. there were usually 100-150,000 snows on Clark Salyer.They would build up throughout Oct to 300,000 or so just on that one refuge.We hunted snows in big numbers from opening day to freezeup.


That's my take as well. They used to actually stage up there, now they stop and don't get settled as much. They are really spread out this year as well.

Before the Internet we knew we could go up there for the opener in the late 80's and they'd be there. No posted fields, no hunters (at least we saw)...just birds. We'd leave the window open in the hotel room and listen to birds moving into the North and South pools at J. Clark all night (in Sept/early Oct.). God I miss those days.


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

hammerhead said:


> , but at 87 .


Wow you must use Just for Men hair products! Did not realize you were so ripe! I guess in the future I won't tell you to pick up the pace when setting up and tearing down the spread!


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Chris.....you are right in that they spread out more now.I think that the birds back then would fly non-stop to the northern refuges in ND from the tundra.Most of those birds are now dead although you still hear of some tagged birds being taken that are in their 20's.

For some reason they started to stage in Canada instead and liked what they found......food and no pressure although the 1:00 PM closeing allowed them to feed unmolested in the afternoon.In fact you could almost set your watch by them as they would start to leave the refuge at 12:55 PM.

Today's birds don't have that memory.They cross the border and roost on basically every decent sized piece of water in northern and central ND.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

I think part of the change is due to the pressure they get down here as well. Those big roosts on big water of 100K+ get busted much more than several thousand birds on a glorified slough.


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## Wood Duck (Mar 22, 2002)

How about goose behavior now vs the good old days. I hunt a little north of Nodak in Manitoba and over the last 5-10 years the snows (in October) are not leaving the roost untill sunrise. Back in the day you had birds coming in before shooting hours even on cloudy dark mornings. This is in an area that does not get the big time pressure like you see in North Dakota.


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## snowbus (Mar 7, 2007)

This was a good year and we actually had very good hunts early in the season. This was also the first year that the snows in the area we hunted were not jumpy. At one point I recall parking less than 300 yards away from snows, getting out of the truck and virtually no change in their behavior - granted this was an evening scout.

The jumping started in late, late Oct. and I think the reason for no early jumping was the lack of ducks in our area. No ducks, no hunters = no jumpers, which resulted in three solid weeks of relaxed snows.


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

snowbus I agree with your observations.

I received a call for a hunt the next morning. The guy that called me said he was parked no more than a 100 yards away from these feeding snows. They were roosting about 1.5 miles away. Well the next morning we pull into the field. I could see what looked to be a little pothole about 70 yards away. The snows were roaring. I asked the guy if there was snows in there. He said no they were roosting over the hill in a big slough. Long story short there was approx 500 snows in this little pothole. They did not move. They saw us pull into the field (it was early morning) and as the sun came up they saw us walking around fixing decoys. The still stayed put until a flock of specks came in and we shot. But the other roost was loaded so we knew we were in for a hunt in a half. But of course about 10 minutes later the posted roost that no one had permission to hunt got jumped. But my whole point is the 500 plus birds 70 yards away stayed content. It was almost like we were north of the border!


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## headshot (Oct 26, 2006)

> my whole point is the 500 plus birds 70 yards away stayed content. It was almost like we were north of the border!


That's because most guys here don't hunt white geese. I do not know of anyone else in a 200 mile radius of me that even owns a snow deke, let alone a whole spread. Farmers think I am nuts with 35 dozen dekes. I have killed snows in the same section for 5 years now, just not in the spring. In april you can't get within a mile of a snow goose and it's because of slob road hunters. IMO if you want to shoot snow geese buy the gear and put in the time cause you are just ruining it for the real hunters. I have no problem with guys pass shooting, lord knows we have all done it. These asshats that rip around in trucks taking 100 yard shots are pathetic, and I am being polite. This is one of the reasons that american waterfowlers have a bad rep, a small percentage of the population that has no respect, morals or values make it bad for everyone. I know I have no problem taking pics of these illegal activities and sending them to the authorities, it's the least I can do to strengthen our cross border relationship. :beer:


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## fungalsnowgoose (Sep 11, 2004)

I think the birds stayed longer this year but we certainly saw more than our share of Bone heads. People in posted fields we got permision on, people setting up 250 yards away in the same field as us, roost poppers, etc. Did anybody else have these problems this year?


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## cgreeny (Apr 21, 2004)

yeah with the birds arriving and staying longer so come the boneheads with them. Although the birds that I actually had a chance to hunt did decoy very well. You have to take the good with the bad I guess?


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## chris lillehoff (Jan 9, 2006)

djleye said:


> I would say NOT. Hell, we used to set up for snows on opening day by Lakota every year. Try getting on land around lakota now,


oh come on, it isnt that bad. Ive only been told no twice this year and hell, it was the same guy.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

I am not saying it can't be done, it just ain't like it used to be up there!!


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## Rick Acker (Sep 26, 2002)

djleye said:


> I would say NOT. Hell, we used to set up for snows on opening day by Lakota every year. Try getting on land around lakota now, or try setting up and shooting snows the first weekend in October!! Doesn't happen anymore!!!


I'm with you! Not the same!


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## cgreeny (Apr 21, 2004)

There is a few guys up there that will say no but I didnt have it happen except opener resident duck this year, other than that is was green light everywhere


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