Spring Snow Goose Hunting in Alberta

[Don Moss]

Where is a good place for Spring Snow Goose Hunting in Alberta.

[BobNewton]

Any fields with geese in them is a good start. Get permission and giver. The further east ya go. The hotter the action.

[Don Moss]

Do you have any names of Farmers that will let you hunt their properties?

[Dewey Cox]

Originally Posted by Don Moss

Do you have any names of Farmers that will let you hunt their properties?

The county map is full of names of farmers that will let you hunt their properties.

[Don Moss]

Which counties are the best to hunt in?

[Bub]

Originally Posted by Don Moss

Do you have any names of Farmers that will let you hunt their properties?

I guess this would be as fitting as anything else



P.S. Pretty sure Bob Newton had answered your question as best as anyone could.

[BenC68]

Originally Posted by Don Moss

Do you have any names of Farmers that will let you hunt their properties?

par to the course

[alacringa]

Don, I don't hunt spring geese, so I can't help you there (except that the bulk of Snow Goose migration is through SK, so try to get somewhere close to the border). I can explain what you're seeing so far on your thread. Guys who are hunting spring geese have already put a lot of miles on their trucks looking for fields, a lot of time and effort looking up and going to talk to landowners, etc. There is a sentiment that guys who come on to the forum specifically to ask for names of landowners (and without having done this work for themselves) are, for lack of a more PC term, freeloaders. I'm not trying to be accusatory...just explaining why you may not be getting the responses you expected.
I think the expectation that one does one's own legwork is a fair one.

[Diesel_wiesel]

Originally Posted by alacringa

Don, I don't hunt spring geese, so I can't help you there (except that the bulk of Snow Goose migration is through SK, so try to get somewhere close to the border).

right to about quill lakes which is about 120 miles east of Saskatoon then they are very spotty to find , I'm 4 hours east of Saskatoon and there is very few snows out here this year

[elkhunter11]

I saw a few thousand snows feeding in a field this morning, on my way out to shoot gophers. The landowner is going to hunt them in the morning.

[nube]

Had a farmer call me this morning that I hunt on his land often every fall. He said he had his quarter section of corn filled full of snows the last few days. This is Bashaw area. Sounds like Camrose has more birds than usual this year. Wonder if there is more water than normal. It seems when there is good open water I see more Snows Westward than a normal average year.

[elkhunter11]

I was East towards Killam today, and yes there is still a great deal of water standing in many of the fields . Earlier in the week, I saw a lot of snows by Daysland.

[pikeman06]

Get your permission guys...had a bunch of issues during big game season east of camrose and I know you don't like to hear it but they said it right in the local paper it was edmonton area hunters. Animals shot and left, trespassing, hunting at night etc. The local farmers might not be as welcoming. Birds are usually pretty safe bet for permission but if the fields are wet some of those zero till guys won't want you in the field for what it's worth.

[nube]

Originally Posted by pikeman06

Get your permission guys...had a bunch of issues during big game season east of camrose and I know you don't like to hear it but they said it right in the local paper it was edmonton area hunters. Animals shot and left, trespassing, hunting at night etc. The local farmers might not be as welcoming. Birds are usually pretty safe bet for permission but if the fields are wet some of those zero till guys won't want you in the field for what it's worth.

And you believe that? lol
First off if they know who it is then they would be charged right now for one.
Secondly farmers are not dumb and will realize these are not hunters but poachers.
I'd love to see something like that in a newspaper blaming Edmonton hunters doing the poaching. That would be some real bad reporting if so...
It's not hard to find a bird shoot and I have found 80 Percent of the time permission is granted.

[leo]

I seen a crap load of snow geese between Vegreville and Vermillion today.

[pikeman06]

Look it up nube. Community press and camrose booster were all over it bud. I live here, it was a bad year for landowner-hunter relations. And glad the f&w followed up on our complaints and caught a few of the buggers. Check out the past issues of those local newspapers.

[snowman160]

Guys are stupid cause they know there's not enough law enforcment to do anything.good on whoever called it in an it got delt with.doesnt happen often enough.unfortunelty I don't think it's gona get any better anytime soon.worse if anything.sad as that is to say..

[gloszz]

Hunted the last two days and tons of snows east of Edmonton, but they keep field jumping and are picky where they land. They were landing on pasture, canola and oats instead of wheat and barley... I was doing most of the things I do when hunting them in the fall and they were avoiding us with a huge arc. Something must have been wrong.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by gloszz

Hunted the last two days and tons of snows east of Edmonton, but they keep field jumping and are picky where they land. They were landing on pasture, canola and oats instead of wheat and barley... I was doing most of the things I do when hunting them in the fall and they were avoiding us with a huge arc. Something must have been wrong.

So were you hunting in fields that you had seen the geese feeding in while scouting, or were you just choosing fields in the general area, and hoping to draw the geese in?

[Bushmaster]

Saw a couple of possible shoots on my way to town today.....Cadogan area.

[Pikebreath]

Originally Posted by gloszz

Hunted the last two days and tons of snows east of Edmonton, but they keep field jumping and are picky where they land. They were landing on pasture, canola and oats instead of wheat and barley... I was doing most of the things I do when hunting them in the fall and they were avoiding us with a huge arc. Something must have been wrong.

Welcome to the world of spring snow goose hunting!!!

First waves of birds typically adult breeders with sex on their mind following the snow line as they push forward to the nesting grounds... by the time birds get back here in the spring, they have already fueled up on corn and rice in the states, so they don't need to stick around long to fuel up.
Abundance of sheetwater means they can roost on same field or close to the feed,,, often all they want is a drink, a nap and a quick bite and they flock off north.

So as you are observing what works in the fall, isn't necessarily going to work in the spring. Best success is trying to be one step ahead rather than one step behind,,,, set up and run traffic in places likely to be seen by geese that might want a quick drink or bite. Stateside,,, lots of guys hunt sheet water edges with their spreads in pastures and fields and wait for the birds to come to them.

The non breeders,,, juvies and teenagers (geese typically start breeding at 2- 4 years of age) bring up the rear and are not in the same hurry,,,, field conditions are a bit more favourable later on in the spring as well , drier with less sheetwater and then you can start hunting them like fall birds with a bit more success.

You also have to remember that these geese have had 8 months of gunning pressure by the time they get back here. That don't make them any easier!!!

[gloszz]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

So were you hunting in fields that you had seen the geese feeding in while scouting, or were you just choosing fields in the general area, and hoping to draw the geese in?

We scouted for two days and saw two huge flocks in two different fields and followed them to the roost. One field was oats and the other one was wheat.

The days of the actual hunts they got bipolar and landed on pasture and a small flock flew and tried to feed on canola. The geese have seriously gone insane.

[anthony5]

Originally Posted by gloszz

We scouted for two days and saw two huge flocks in two different fields and followed them to the roost. One field was oats and the other one was wheat.

The days of the actual hunts they got bipolar and landed on pasture and a small flock flew and tried to feed on canola. The geese have seriously gone insane.

The old saying goes, never trust a goose

[32-40win]

4wks ago I went out, still winter. another week, and the fields were running with water, the wind had blown open a few ponds, the usual roosts were solid ice, nary a bird except honkers. Two wks ago there were honkers, ducks , cranes, I 'd heard but not seen specks, heard some snows and spotted a small number. My partner had spotted enough for a shoot that AM, they didn't show again in the area that nite, he was 60 mi south of me. Had to work the Sat the next weekend, Sunday AM was a snowstorm, didn't go anywhere. My partner had located snows, could hear them on a field, too foggy to see them. This last weekend, lots of swans, few ducks, few honkers, some cranes, maybe a dozen snows This AM, I am reading that the specks have made Peace River area. I'll go look again this weekend, hard to believe that many birds blew thru already. I guess it is possible, but, maybe they don't go back the way they came down either. Or, they just jump that area in the spring. That's birds for you.

[wildside2014]

Originally Posted by Pikebreath

Welcome to the world of spring snow goose hunting!!!

First waves of birds typically adult breeders with sex on their mind following the snow line as they push forward to the nesting grounds... by the time birds get back here in the spring, they have already fueled up on corn and rice in the states, so they don't need to stick around long to fuel up.
Abundance of sheetwater means they can roost on same field or close to the feed,,, often all they want is a drink, a nap and a quick bite and they flock off north.

So as you are observing what works in the fall, isn't necessarily going to work in the spring. Best success is trying to be one step ahead rather than one step behind,,,, set up and run traffic in places likely to be seen by geese that might want a quick drink or bite. Stateside,,, lots of guys hunt sheet water edges with their spreads in pastures and fields and wait for the birds to come to them.

The non breeders,,, juvies and teenagers (geese typically start breeding at 2- 4 years of age) bring up the rear and are not in the same hurry,,,, field conditions are a bit more favourable later on in the spring as well , drier with less sheetwater and then you can start hunting them like fall birds with a bit more success.

You also have to remember that these geese have had 8 months of gunning pressure by the time they get back here. That don't make them any easier!!!

My gawd, i could definitely sit and crush a cold one with you pike. A more corrent post than this has never been posted. Well said sir

[wildside2014]

Originally Posted by nube

And you believe that? lol
First off if they know who it is then they would be charged right now for one.
Secondly farmers are not dumb and will realize these are not hunters but poachers.
I'd love to see something like that in a newspaper blaming Edmonton hunters doing the poaching. That would be some real bad reporting if so...
It's not hard to find a bird shoot and I have found 80 Percent of the time permission is granted.

Its actually a true story. But a couple guys were from spruce grove

[nube]

Originally Posted by wildside2014

Its actually a true story. But a couple guys were from spruce grove

It sounded like it was all hear say when he posted that it was Edmonton guys is why i posted what i did. If they caught the guys poaching and they got in trouble i can't see farmers being uptight on letting good people who ask for permission on. I hunt around Camrose a ton and find 80% of the farmers let me on every year. Every year some permission is lost for one reason or another and other times permission is granted from those that never let hunters on before. I think a lot that has to do with it is the way you approach people. People are pretty reasonable if given the chance

[pikeman06]

There's enough b.s on here about "hearsay" nube. I don't go making statements like that up. I didnt say camrose I said things went down this fall around Killam and sedgewick area and they did. Plus I gave the source of my statement and just said make sure you ask because a lot of these guys and their families have had enough out here...might save someone from some serious issues. Lots of us have been victimized in some form just so you know.

[patriot1]

OMG that all sounds like such a pain in the ass. I'm willing to put in work but not by myself and completely clueless about where to even begin

I as well was interested in spring geese but nobody seems welcoming towards noobs. What a frigged up community I perceive this to be.

[Diesel_wiesel]

Originally Posted by patriot1

OMG that all sounds like such a pain in the ass. I'm willing to put in work but not by myself and completely clueless about where to even begin

I as well was interested in spring geese but nobody seems welcoming towards noobs. What a frigged up community I perceive this to be.

well as far people not being welcoming to noobs
its understandable really
a complete stranger asking to go out and join some guys with fire arms and
with out first proving yer up standing kinda guy
first off they don't know you from any other stranger on the street
why not put on something like a BBQ clay shoot one afternoon
so older more experienced guys will come out join you get to know you , and see what kinda guy you are,
see how you handle and act around fire arms, and get a feel of yer ethics , and morals, to many guys on here have bad experiences with noobs
to make them in welcoming
show them you are serious and show them what you have to bring to the table , 4 or five guys pool their resources together ( their gear, their knowledge or lack there of ) and soon you will have a good upstanding hunting group you can count on and trust and make it quite enjoyable
who knows you might be one of those drunken types that just wants an afternoon away from yer wife to get sloshed , or high away from the wife ,