# Late season spread



## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

I hunt 20 miles east of Fergus Falls MN, and the late season is upon us. Do I need a huge spread or can I stick with the spread I ahve used all year. I hutned with a friend so our spread is about 6 dozen, a mix of sillosocks, GHG shells, FB's, final approch shells, and FB's?


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## averyghg (Oct 16, 2006)

for late season birds, i have always experienced the "more is better" concept. we usually run about 12-15 dozen full bodies and have exceptional hunting during the late season. 6 dozen will still probably get the job done as long as your on the X, but id try to spread them out more to make ur spread look bigger


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## Blue Plate (Jul 31, 2006)

I would feel naked with 6 dozen, but most guys have limits so I understand. I would personal try some different stuff: 18 fullbodies or setting 3 pockets of 18 decoys and spread them out. Late season you need to pay attention to the details, dig in your blinds . . . . all the way to the doors. I don't call much in the late season, clucks, low end chatter and moans.

I hunt Rochester a lot and you learn so much about goose hunting there in the late season. It's one thing to kill limits during the early part of the season, late season is another matter.


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## Triple B (Mar 9, 2004)

Blue Plate said:


> I would feel naked with 6 dozen, but most guys have limits so I understand. I would personal try some different stuff: 18 fullbodies or setting 3 pockets of 18 decoys and spread them out. Late season you need to pay attention to the details, dig in your blinds . . . . all the way to the doors.


"diggin" the blinds in when its 20 below and the ground is frozen 4 inches down isn't always a late season option where i hunt


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## SDwaterfowler (Mar 2, 2006)

For me, it depends on if you are on the X. If you are on the X then 6 dz. should be fine, depending on how many blinds you are trying to hide. But running late season traffic, you need big spreads. I put out all of my spread which is 12 dz fullbodies, and still feel undersized a lot of the time. But try different things. When it gets real late and birds won't even land with live birds, give them just 4 lookers that looks like 4 freaked out geese and see what happens. Whatever you do, don't give them the same thing every day.


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## itchy (Aug 15, 2006)

Hunting Rochester in late season, I have set out a dozen and limited early. With the guide services setting out huge spreads, the geese figure out big group means trouble, but I am also lucky to have fields N, S, E, and W of Rochester and a job that lets me get out and see which direction birds are flying. I've talke(and hunted) with guides in the area, good guys, and they have told me they'd love to set out just a couple dozen but clients think they need to have huge spreads.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

I'm going to go hunting this weekend and were i go the geese right now have no set pattern of fly. its really wierd. the can feed in a feild for a week and then stop or they will feed in a field for 1 day and then stop. i know where they are roosting, but its like 200 yards from where they are feeding right now. (plowed corn) should i hunt that..


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## justund223 (Aug 28, 2006)

200 yards is way too close. one shot and they will be gone and if you hunt the water, waiting to let them leave the water naturally and sneaking in there and shooting them on the way back won't work cause again there feeding too close. thats a tough situation to be in, what i would is just find some other birds to hunt, but if you can't, i would just sneak back in the pond and throw a few floaters out and hope they don't get scared when you shoot at the first flock. Hopefully you can get out of there with your limit fast enough to allow other flocks to get back in.

good luck


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

well there are other geese, but its ssuch a hit or miss. we well either limit out or not see a goose. Another question, hwo far will geese fly to reach food? Im 30 miles away from fergus falls and i think lst year we were shooting some of them.


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## SDwaterfowler (Mar 2, 2006)

If you are 30 miles from Fergus there are surely plenty of other birds to hunt. Sounds like the birds you are describing would make a tuff hunt. Even if you set up in the field you may spook them off the roost just setting up.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Yeah it kinda a lose lose situation. Everybody in hunting corn right now, but i have a plowed wheat feild that they fly over would it be worth setting up there?


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## SDwaterfowler (Mar 2, 2006)

This is just my opinion but I have not seen birds feeding in wheat fields for a while now. Once in a while I see some freaked out birds or fresh birds feeding in beans but I would say 90% of them are hitting the corn. I probably wouldn't set up to traffic in wheat unless it is your last resort.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

that what i was thinking, but there is a soybean feild next to it, but its so hard to cover up there, i had hunted it earlier and gave up because i stuck out so much. well tahts what the farmer said. any ideas of hwo to hutn soybeans.


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## SDwaterfowler (Mar 2, 2006)

Dig your blind down if the ground is not frozen yet. And spend a lot of time stubbling. Bean fields are my least favorite fields to hunt due to the hide but it can be done.


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## itchy (Aug 15, 2006)

Here is my spread for this morning, bean field, just me.1 dozen GHG motion, 1 dozen GHG shells.









Facing into the wind









The result:









Should have been 2 but made the rookie-ish error of pulling on the second without making sure the first is stone dead. Kinda cool, my first lesser outside of Nodak. Had 50 mallards buzzing me but never got within range. The horizon in the pictures is alot different than ND, too.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

thanks for the pics i will try that this weekend.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Have you ever hunted around the Battle Lake area?


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Thanks for the help with the late season spread. We went out and we got our limit of duck and geese. thats the first time we have done that this season.


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## itchy (Aug 15, 2006)

No, I hunt around Rochester, glad to hear it helped, congrats on the hunt. We did alright this weekend too.


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