# Early season goose problems!!



## EllendaleND (Dec 25, 2011)

Ok, I know the early season geese arent the best decoyers ever but come on!! The last 4 hunts the geese will land in the other part of the field. Some fields i have scouted fore the last 3 days and the geese are in the same spot all the time, but when i come and set up decoys they all go to the different part of the field. And once one flock lands...there is no chance of decoying anything else. What do i do now? Change decoy spread? Or have 2 different groups? Flag, call tips? Any help would be appreciated.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Try running a very small spread. Try running two different spreads. Spread your decoys out, then spread them out farther. Try anything, no one has the magic answer.


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## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

sounds like they are seeing something they don't like


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## Codeman (Mar 9, 2010)

I would say that they are seeing your blinds or something they don't like. I don't know what you mean about early season geese being hard to decoy. They should be very easy. They have not been hunted at all. The fields that you can hunt in are numbered so that means the same amount of geese have generally a couple of fields they can feed in withing their area. These are all things that I have noted. As the season progresses to me they group up and there are more fields and the geese get more cautious after getting shot.

Now I will share what I have learned from my experience which is not a whole lot. I have hunted 2 early goose seasons. I have hunted geese for probably 5 years using decoys. Now not until the last 2 years have I even shot a goose in the decoys. No the last 2 years we have had good luck. We generally have shot 5 or more birds on most hunts which is not limiting out but it is well worth the work, and most of these birds generally are committing to our decoys and over half the time have been withing 5-15 yard shots with a lot of times the geese landing in the decoys.

Ok number one is scouting. And it seems like you know what you are looking for. The biggest thing is to look where the geese are coming from. The will have a roost. Now the best thing is to find a roost that is supporting a larger number of birds. Watch the roost and watch where the birds come off to feed. Usually they will go to a field close to the roost. The best bet though is finding a roost with a lot of birds because then there are more birds in the area. Make sure the field is some distance from the roost I would generally say at least a mile to prevent roost busting. Now early season the geese will be in wheat fields, or barley or stubble fields since no other crops are harvested. So that helps your field search.

Now once you have your field you will want to set up your decoys. You will want to mimick what the birds are sitting like in the field. I have had good luck using groups of birds this season.


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## Codeman (Mar 9, 2010)

This is continued from my first post the screen just kept freaking out cuz it was too long.

Once you have the decoys setup you will want to hide your blinds. I recommend hiding them as best you can. I will post up some pics of our setup last weekend. Also you can try placing your blinds away from your decoys. I have had good luck placing our blinds by the landing zone but not in the decoys. I think the geese are focusing on the decoys then and won't pick out an oditiy in the field since they are looking at the birds and the blob of your blind just looks like something in the field.

The biggest tip I have learned is change your spread. I used to never do this. But if you have a flock come in and flare off or go away move some decoys. Stand away and see if they are seeing blinds. Also make sure there is a good area to land. Make sure the decoy setup is not in a perfect u shape or stuff like that you need it to look natural. But change your decoys move your blinds. Sure you may miss a flock or 2 while your moving stuff but you may figure it out and get some shooting vs getting none when the geese just fly away.

Also keep the calling simple I have learned. If the geese are coming I just put a couple honks as long as they keep coming. My other pic of the closeup of the blind is too big to text to my email. But we used 1 large group of decoys. Then we had a smaller group to the right of the screen. The birds came from the right and landed between 2 groups.

Here are some pics.


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=99586http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=99586


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## teamshakeandbake (Oct 14, 2008)

concealment is everything IMO. Also try runnning the smallest spread possible but still be able to hide yourselves.


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

Too many decoys packed to close together is the most likely culprit. Most people want to use every bit of their decoy inventory.


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## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

set decoys in small family pods of 5-6 decoys. Leave 3-4 steps between each decoy. Then move 10-15 yards and set the next pod. In my area we have a very low population of early Geese, so I use a small spread. 2 years ago on opening day of early season, I set 16 decoys. We are allowed 5 birds a piece, we shot 5 the first time, then the same flock came back and we shot 4 morefor a total of 9. 2 hunters.


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## Blue Plate (Jul 31, 2006)

They see your blinds. Set up on the edge or in a low spot. Run your decoys 20-30 yards away from you. Don't sit in with your spread. Change it up.

What do you people say about history? If you got out 4 times and fail all 4 times why keep doing the same thing?


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## SkunkNipples (Jul 13, 2012)

I agree with Kelly family groups are the key early season. My experience has been that 40-50 decoys work great but keep em in smaller family pods around 5-6 each group. I notice that the groups cooming in are usually around the 5-6 size. Get those blinds hidden and stubbled up well. Remember it took most of us many seasons to get enough experience to figure things out. Good luck!


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