# if the geese flare?



## sod44 (Sep 30, 2008)

if the geese flare? what are some of the possabilities be that i am doing rong? set the decoys up rong? bad calling? and i know that they didnt see us bcuz we were hidden very well. but i also do realize that these geese have been kinda shot at alot around the area so they could just be a little nervous but some tips would be nice.


----------



## hunt4P&amp;Y (Sep 23, 2004)

It could be any one or mixture of the above! It is hard to say exactly what flared them!


----------



## T Shot (Oct 4, 2002)

One thing is sure, don't do the same thing all day. If birds are flaring at a certain point, walk out to that area and take a look at the spread. If something obvious stands out, change it. If they are flaring off your calling, switch it up or (GASP) don't call at all and see what happens. Sometimes less is more. Also, there is a big difference between being hidden from ground level and being hidden from in an elevated position. You may think you are invisible from the ground, but you may stick out like a sore thumb from a goose point of view. If you are using layout blinds, be mindful of the shadows they cast. Really, the possibilities are endless.


----------



## T Shot (Oct 4, 2002)

hunt4P&Y said:


> It could be any one or mixture of the above! It is hard to say exactly what flared them!


Very insightful Waffle! :lol: 8) :wink:


----------



## hunt4P&amp;Y (Sep 23, 2004)

T Shot said:


> hunt4P&Y said:
> 
> 
> > It could be any one or mixture of the above! It is hard to say exactly what flared them!
> ...


What can I say! If I knew why they were flaring I would be a millionaire!


----------



## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

Another thing, check your buddies in their blinds... there's always someone that is jacked up that particular day and wanting to pull the trigger so their face is sticking out without having the Foiles treatment.


----------



## T Shot (Oct 4, 2002)

Glasses shining in the morning sun don't help either.


----------



## averyghg (Oct 16, 2006)

Bluebird skies and cool mornings=frost. Sun rises and melts frost turning it to water. Water makes decoys shine ridiculously bad.

This is deadly combination that always seems to kill us in the month of october


----------



## mnbirdhunter (Sep 15, 2005)

More than likely it is your blinds, so just take a little extra time to cover up some more. Standing out a ways and examining your spread can really help. Also make sure everybody in your group has their heads completely covered up and in the blinds. Maybe open your landing zone up a little more, but in this case they don't necessarily flare but just kind of slide off to one side.


----------



## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

averyghg said:


> Bluebird skies and cool mornings=frost. Sun rises and melts frost turning it to water. Water makes decoys shine ridiculously bad.
> 
> This is deadly combination that always seems to kill us in the month of october


I thought you guys were ballers and ran FFD's. FFD's dont glare dood!


----------



## BeekBuster (Jul 22, 2007)

Chaws said:


> Another thing, check your buddies in their blinds... there's always someone that is jacked up that particular day and wanting to pull the trigger so their face is sticking out without having the Foiles treatment.


That thought always crosses my mind when birds flare, if someone in the group just has to take a last peak and gets busted, or there trying to watch them the entire time and turing in there blind.. The million and one "what if's" of bird hunting, that's why i love it, always something you can do differently..


----------



## averyghg (Oct 16, 2006)

USAlx50 said:


> averyghg said:
> 
> 
> > Bluebird skies and cool mornings=frost. Sun rises and melts frost turning it to water. Water makes decoys shine ridiculously bad.
> ...


yeah but if you run 10 dozen FFD's and 2 dozen regulars those regulars can really screw all your FFDs over.

and we don't hae 10 dozen FFDs anyway


----------



## Matt Jones (Mar 6, 2002)

Let's see, what to do if the geese flare? Readjust the decoys, and look for things they might be busting you on.

If they flare again? Maybe try to do something different with your calling...brush the blinds better...shuffle a few more decoys...

If they continue to flare after that?

Pack up early and head to the bar to watch some football! 

Truth be told, somedays they are just going to flare no matter what you do. Just like there's days when they're going to come into your decoys full bore all day long...even with a guy standing up taking a leak. It's a wild bird with a brain the size of a pea. If you can figure out what they're going to do all the time, you're be accomplishing something no other hunter in history has done.


----------



## sod44 (Sep 30, 2008)

well i guess after i saw them flare the first 2 times i went out there and changed the spread a little bit. BUT i almost do belive that one of my guys that was with me was peaking out for the last look or he got a liitle excited and peaked and gave his face away. one other thing that did happen is that the wind did kinda changed on us so they wernt coming in right so we changed the decoys a little bit but we did get one so it was aight. thanks for tips, if you got any more ideas tell me.


----------



## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

Ill tell you why they flared.

First off, the earth was canted just slightly off its axis the day you hunted, which caused a change in the tides. This change in water flow off the coast of Gibraltar caused a fish to miss a butterfly flying low over the water. The beating of this butterflies wings than in turn caused just the slightest disturbance in the predominant winds of that area, which carried up into the upper jetstream. This in turn.........

In all seriousness, it could have been one or more of about a million things. Thats why its called hunting. Thats why we do it.


----------



## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

I've you've looked over your decoys and you've adjusted your calling and you're all painted up, maybe think about digging your blinds in 6-8" to drop the profile and minimize the amount of shadow.


----------



## sod44 (Sep 30, 2008)

aight thanks guys


----------



## Matt Jones (Mar 6, 2002)

barebackjack said:


> Ill tell you why they flared.
> 
> First off, the earth was canted just slightly off its axis the day you hunted, which caused a change in the tides. This change in water flow off the coast of Gibraltar caused a fish to miss a butterfly flying low over the water. The beating of this butterflies wings than in turn caused just the slightest disturbance in the predominant winds of that area, which carried up into the upper jetstream. This in turn.........


 :lol:

If I had to pick a *Single* reason for flaring, it'd be concealment (I think most guys will agree). Ground blinds simply aren't as effective as they used to be. The last couple spreads I've driven by, you can see the blinds from a mile away. Get 'em low.


----------



## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

Matt Jones wrote:

If I had to pick a Single reason for flaring, it'd be concealment

This is true 158 out of 159 times. Even if there are other reasons, overcalling, overflagging, etc. those things are just bringing attention to the blinds.

Basically after every flock I see flair I say, "they are seeing something". And try to make changes based on my best judgement.

Another thing to try is don't put the blinds directly upwind of the landing geese. They get pressured into noticing blinds in front of them when they land. Try putting them on one side or the other and putting the sun at you back.


----------



## dfisher (Oct 12, 2007)

They probably see you or your blinds.

Good luck,
Dan


----------



## flockstalker (Oct 17, 2008)

another tip on the blinds is to mud them. it helps break up and blend the blind in


----------



## huntinND (May 1, 2008)

Concealment or shiny decoys seem to be the problem 90% of the time as already mentioned. All you can do is keep making adjustments until something works. I always pick up as much crop residue or grass on the way in as I can. Sometimes your blinds are the last thing you set up, then your having to walk around forever trying to scrape up enough to cover up your blinds. I purposly bought a blind with a lower profile, probably not quite as comfortable but it doesn't stick out as much as some of the giant blinds they are selling now.


----------



## waterfowler7 (Sep 16, 2008)

Its a good idea if you havent already to mud your blind


----------



## KDM (Aug 13, 2008)

I agree with concealment being the issue most of the time.I have found most of the time if the spread isn't what they like they won't finish but usually won't flare.


----------



## honker85 (Mar 12, 2008)

same thing happened to us all morning.....couldnt get flocks to finish they would hang up right at about 70 yards then go to the left and just sorta mill around in the air for a while then leave.....couldnt evene get the pairs.....clear blue skys deeks did have glare to them.....concealed very well ...mabey calleed to much ...only god knows what ........o well its days like those that make the ones where the geese seemed to be tied to a string so much better....


----------



## cgreeny (Apr 21, 2004)

averyghg said:


> USAlx50 said:
> 
> 
> > averyghg said:
> ...


Are you kididn me, your Averyghg and you dont have 10 dozen FFD's. Im just kidding, What I try to do is set up your FFD's first then wait until after the sunrise then setup the pro grades, have them set out in where you want them, but have them sitting on their backs. Or leavie them out at night so they are cold to start with. As far as flaring we had several times last weekend everything was pefect and what happened, the dog waggin his tail caught the attention of a small group of snows and they booked. And thats no BS, I forgot the dog blind and the birds picked him out at 100 yds. So like stated before it could be a number of things.


----------

