When do you start hunting geese?

migrant hunter · #1 08-19-2009, 04:23 PM

I"m in Southern AB(below Lethbridge), and I"m excited about my first goose season here.
Do you start on opening day? Are the geese flocked up by then? I was told they don"t taste good til later.
What does anyone think?
I have 2 friends from the uk coming 3rd week sept, hoping to put them under some geese.

Albertabowhunter · #2 08-19-2009, 04:53 PM

Sept 1 BABY!!!! September 1....

New Dog, Some new Decoys, and a bunch good 'ol huntign buddies! ITs gonna be fun, well maybe not from the goose's stand point.

migrant hunter · #3 08-19-2009, 05:01 PM

Down here they don"t open til the 8th. Starting to see some bigger groups in the evenings. Lots of crops around here too!

Albertabowhunter · #4 08-19-2009, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by migrant hunter

Down here they don"t open til the 8th. Starting to see some bigger groups in the evenings. Lots of crops around here too!

Yeah, but are they cut, if there are no cut crops.... you know what they are looking for then.....

mikeo2 · #5 08-19-2009, 07:29 PM

We start wacking birds the first day the season opens. The first morning might be the best shoot all year. Usually we limit out becasue the geese are in family groups so they come into the fields in 4's or 5's and havent been pressured at all so they come in pretty much careless. They definetly decoy the easiest on opening morning. On a side note, I was down in Taber/lethbridge working last week and there are already some half decent size flocks feeding in cut silage fields on the highway going north of coaldale.

Cowtown guy · #6 08-19-2009, 09:29 PM

Could be some good shooting around the Hwy 2 areas that were hailed out this year. They have started to swath the last couple of days. Anyone needs a partner I have gear and a blind. Let me know.

joshtar · #7 08-19-2009, 09:59 PM

Dumb question: what fields do they like best? Hay? wheat? Time to secure permission - It'll be my first year.

Thanks,
Josh

JohnB · #8 08-19-2009, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joshtar

Dumb question: what fields do they like best? Hay? wheat? Time to secure permission - It'll be my first year.

Thanks,
Josh

They love the peas.

snortwheez · #9 08-19-2009, 10:24 PM

I'll be starting on the geese Sept. 10-20 for our early season here in Ontario and then Sept. 26 along with duck will be hunting them up into the 1'st and 2'nd week of Jan.

killerbren · #10 08-19-2009, 11:41 PM

I've found that in the first couple weeks of the season you have to scout really good. I find that more often then not the geese will be pretty spread apart and in small groups making it tough, but towards the end of september it really gets good. More crops are off and seems like more geese will fly to a single field making scouting easier. I think the beginning of sept is great for field shooting ducks though, last year there were tons of them on the opener.

As for which fields they like it seems to be 1)peas 2)corn 3)harvested wheat and barley fields, and 4)silaged fields, in that order

Albertabowhunter · #11 08-19-2009, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeo2

The first morning might be the best shoot all year.

As awesome as the first morning is, I really think some of the best shoots are about 3 week of Spet to the 3 week of Oct. Thats when you have the big flocks and all 3 type of geese coming in. Cans, Specs, and whites. Nothing better that alternating flocks coming straight in wings down.... Opening day, honestly, if you find a decent field..... way to easy, heck you barely even need to call.