# Jed hits the big time!!!!!



## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

Rumor has it that there was a big article on Jed last Sunday in the Fargo Forum. There were two ideas, one was a snow goose hunting article and the other was a personals ad that looks for a good woman to put up with his crap........wonder which one was in the paper sunday!!?? :wink:


----------



## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

the article was in last sundays paper.


----------



## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

Damn, I missed the paper last Sunday, I thought Mcfeely told me this Sunday..............Never mind!!!!!!!


----------



## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

Short-term memory really sucks when you're getting older.


----------



## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

Man, some of us have more to do than sit on the couch all day Sunday and read the paper!!!! :roll: :lol:


----------



## Booster (Sep 8, 2003)

Jed, I was wondering if you could explain the method of the bell curve and how it relates to hunting snow geese. I am doing a term paper and I want to use you as my main reference as a professional snow goose hunter! I hope that some day you can teach me the way of the pros such as yourself, then maybe I can go hunting and shoot 20 geese instead of my usual 19.


----------



## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: Jed's the man. It was a great article. We're waiting for call........Subs are ready when ever.


----------



## Booster (Sep 8, 2003)

Subs? What is that?


----------



## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

A springtime passion
By Mike McFeely, The Forum
Published Sunday, March 06, 2005
· advertisement ·
At midweek, snow geese were gathered in big numbers in Nebraska with a few trickling northward into South Dakota. Which means Jed Fluhrer will soon be able to nourish his passion.

"Actually, it's more like an addiction," Fluhrer said.

A graduate student in natural resources management at North Dakota State University, Fluhrer is among a smallish but dedicated group of waterfowl hunters who pursue snow and blue geese in North Dakota each spring.

The birds are legal to hunt because of a special conservation season held since 1999 in an attempt by the United States and Canada to reduce the mid-continent light goose population. Overpopulation has caused the birds to damage their Arctic Circle breeding grounds.

This year's season opened Feb. 19 and will close May 8. The geese haven't arrived in North Dakota yet, but when they do, Fluhrer will begin to rack up miles on his pickup chasing them. Generally, the bulk of the birds migrate through the central part of the state. Sargent, LaMoure, Dickey and McIntosh counties are among the most popular locations to hunt, according to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

RELATED CONTENT

"Once they move into North Dakota, I'll put 300 or 400 miles on each weekend," he said. "You can put on a couple hundred miles scouting, finding a field they're using."

It can be a short but intense season. The birds' migration is dependent mostly on the weather and the snow line. Cool temperatures will hold them in the state longer, but warm weather and lack of snow means they'll fly over the state in just a few days.

Last year was a relatively prolonged migration through the state. Fluhrer said he shot his first snow goose on March 12 and his last on May 2.

"It's like a bell curve. It happens in three steps," Fluhrer said. "You have some early adult birds come through, then it peaks to where you have tens of thousands, then it slows to a trickle with some late juvenile birds."

Fluhrer hunts over decoys, meaning his days are longer and muddier than those of hunters who jump the birds or pass shoot. Fluhrer owns between 500 and 600 wind-sock and floating-style decoys and he often hunts with a group that, in total, sets out in the neighborhood of 1,500 decoys. The decoys are set out in plowed or stubble fields that, thanks to the spring thaw, are often gumbo-like.

"It can be a lot of work. It's one of those things that, if you're into it, you're into it all the way," Fluhrer said. "But it's a lot of work."

For Fluhrer, it's worth it in a couple of ways.

"It's just such a challenge. I think that's the thing that attracts me to it the most," he said. "In my opinion, snow geese are the hardest birds to hunt among waterfowl. They seem to be smarter, more aware."

Also, the hunting can be spectacular. For a single hunter shooting over decoys, Fuhrer said 20- to 30-bird days are not uncommon. One day last spring, Fuhrer said he and six other hunters shot 115 geese.

That might sound excessive, but waterfowl managers encourage the harvest. There are no daily or possession limits during the spring season.

It's estimated the mid-continent light goose population is 2.5 million, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service goose specialist Tim Moser of Denver. Biologists would like to see it cut in half.

That goal still might be decades away, even though the spring hunting seasons have pushed the total North American light goose harvest (including fall hunting) to more than 1 million birds per year.

"We've stopped the rapid growth of the population," said Game and Fish migratory game bird supervisor Mike Johnson of Bismarck. "Prior to the spring conservation seasons it was growing rapidly, but it's leveled off. We have not seen a turnaround."

A panel will be assembled in the near future to assess snow goose numbers and the effect of the special hunting seasons, Johnson said. He said it's possible other measures -- such as removing geese directly from their breeding grounds -- might need to be initiated to significantly reduce the population.

"That's not an easy situation, either," Johnson said. "There are potential problems there. It's costly. It's difficult. It's time-consuming. The use of the birds once they are removed, that's costly. There isn't a silver bullet here. Nobody should think this is a short-term task."

In the meantime, hunters will benefit. A survey by Game and Fish indicated 1,438 North Dakota residents and 942 nonresidents participated in the 2004 spring hunting season. They shot an estimated 12,924 geese.

The year with the highest harvest was 2000, when hunters shot 35,832 geese. Lowest harvest came the next spring, when just 3,547 birds were taken.

"It's gotten tougher," Fluhrer said. "The birds have learned the game pretty fast. It used to be that you'd set up your decoys and electronic call and you'd shoot some geese. It's not that way anymore."


----------



## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

Subway. The old guys bring the subs....assuming the decoys are almost set up when we get there.


----------



## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

Booster, He is referring to the deal he tried to broker with GG, GB3 and Decoyer that they would scout and find the birds, set up all the dekes, and he and I would show up with submarine sandwiches and Mountain Dews for all!!!! So far they have not agreed to our terms!!!!


----------



## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

Those terms sound fair to me, :rollin: What is wrong with kids these days :laugh:


----------



## Booster (Sep 8, 2003)

I am surprised to hear that Jed wouldn't take you up on the offer of FREE food. Anything that involves free anything Jed is the first to jump at that offer.  I'll tell you what though, I will gladly set up the decoys for you guys and you can bring me free beer and I will watch you guys from the pickup. Sound like a deal?


----------



## gandergrinder (Mar 10, 2002)

What did I do to deserve this razzing?

Red Devil (aka Booster),
I enjoy paybacks even more than free stuff.


----------



## Booster (Sep 8, 2003)

I enjoy paybacks more then you Jed. I'll give you my address so you can send me a check for driving your lazy butt around in the fall.


----------



## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

Jed
I enjoyed you article in the Forum on Sunday!
We are just having a little fun with you Celeb. Status

  

bob


----------



## mallard (Mar 27, 2002)

That was a good article Jed.


----------



## gandergrinder (Mar 10, 2002)

To bad this Celeb Status isn't paying better.

Booster,
I'll pay you back in liquid money (beer) and I promise not to get in the vehicle with you after payment. :lol:


----------



## qwakwhaker883 (Jan 19, 2005)

Great article Jed!! :beer:


----------



## bubolc (Aug 11, 2003)

Who would have ever thought that this "son of a butcher" would make it from the black desert hunting of Renville County...Minnesota, to a virtual hunting celeb. Enjoy your Fancy Italian Loafers, High class Cars and Manicures.

All in good fun buddy :lol: , I liked the article.


----------

