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John N. Felsher's Goose Hunting Adventures
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They formed up beyond the horizon and zoomed directly toward our
position at high speed.
Camouflaged, heavily armed men in the trench braced for action. Most
knew what to expect. For some, this would mark their first experience.
Some buried themselves as deeply as possible into the sheltering dirt,
trying to become part of the ground. Others simply stroked their weapons
in nervous anticipation of the coming onslaught.
Rapidly, they advanced ever closer to our position. The air hummed
with a fast-paced staccato beat as they approached. Quickly, they crossed
several hundred yards of open field, desolate except for scant vegetation
that provided almost no cover.
Unseen by those approaching, the entrenched men hid their faces and
waited for orders. One man, looking through the weeds over the trench top
would order the volley as they came into range. Even the dogs remained
still and vigilant. For now, every second stretched into an eternity as they
came steadily closer to us, but still beyond effective range.
“Now! Fire,” the lookout barked.
Flame and hot steel spewed from the trench as we rose to open fire with
everything we had. Several men scored their first kills, the first of many
notches tallied on this chilly, damp morning. However, no one remembered
the cold as heat from smoking gun barrels and adrenaline fired our bodies.
After the firing ceased, several men charged from the trench to claim
their prizes and quickly dispatch cripples. As a reward, they would feast on
savory fresh meat from their kills tonight.
No, these men didn’t spring spectrally from trenches scarring war-torn
France in 1917. Instead of a battlefield, these men hid in a dry irrigation
ditch bordering a rye grass field near Lake Charles, La. Not fighting the
Kaiser, they targeted geese.
Most people think the broad-winged waterfowl should land in marshes,
lakes or other wet places. They do. However, changing agricultural
practices in the past few decades altered the habits of both specklebellies
and snow geese. Now, most geese land on dry or soggy fields of rye, corn,
wheat, millet, rice, soybeans or natural foods.
The majority of geese that visit Louisiana, winter in fields between
Lafayette and Lake Charles in the southwestern part of the state. Fields
may contain large flocks, but large flocks remain extremely difficult to hunt.
Wise old geese, veterans of many hunting seasons, don’t grow old by being
stupid.
Successful hunters must remain flexible to move with geese. They scout
areas in the afternoon and return early the next morning. Unless disturbed,
geese tend to return to the same fields to feed until they consume
everything edible in that patch of ground.
On a dreary winter day, a green rye grass field stands out to a goose
like a bowl of lime sherbet to a fat kid in July. Wintering geese depend
heavily upon rye grass because they’ve already eaten most of the waste
grain and rice stubble.
Without using blind, most goose hunters hide wherever they can, in an
irrigation ditch, or behind a hedgerow or tree line. Before shooting hours
begin, they spread hundreds of white rags mixed with some full-bodied
snow and specklebelly decoys across the field. Separate specklebelly
decoys from snow goose decoys since specks tend to remain aloof.
For the ultimate reality in decoys, use mounted geese. For much less
than the cost of a trophy mount, most taxidermists can slap together a few
standing or feeding geese rather quickly. Up close, they won’t show the
fine artistry of a quality trophy mount, but they attract geese better than
anything else. How can one improve upon what God has created?
If geese won’t come to sportsmen, sportsmen must go to them. Many
hunters “crawl” or stalk geese feeding in a field. One party of hunters
positions itself downwind of the flock and waits in thick cover. Other
hunters approach from the opposite end of the field until they close the
range and open fire. Startled geese take off and use the wind to gain
speed, which puts them directly over the other hiding hunters.
Specklebelly geese decoy more easily than snows. Specklebellies tend
to travel in smaller groups of two to perhaps a dozen, not the 15,000-bird
flocks of their white cousins. Loners or smaller groups respond better to a
few decoys. Many hunters harvest specklebellies from pit blinds along rice
field levees or at the edges of other flooded fields when duck hunting. One
or two full specklebelly decoys positioned on dry ground some distance
away from duck decoys makes an effective spread.
Unfortunately, few public areas in Louisiana offer excellent goose
hunting; almost none offer crop field hunting. For the best goose hunting,
hire a guide with access to good habitat or knock on doors of farmers tired
of seeing geese eat their profits.
position at high speed.
Camouflaged, heavily armed men in the trench braced for action. Most
knew what to expect. For some, this would mark their first experience.
Some buried themselves as deeply as possible into the sheltering dirt,
trying to become part of the ground. Others simply stroked their weapons
in nervous anticipation of the coming onslaught.
Rapidly, they advanced ever closer to our position. The air hummed
with a fast-paced staccato beat as they approached. Quickly, they crossed
several hundred yards of open field, desolate except for scant vegetation
that provided almost no cover.
Unseen by those approaching, the entrenched men hid their faces and
waited for orders. One man, looking through the weeds over the trench top
would order the volley as they came into range. Even the dogs remained
still and vigilant. For now, every second stretched into an eternity as they
came steadily closer to us, but still beyond effective range.
“Now! Fire,” the lookout barked.
Flame and hot steel spewed from the trench as we rose to open fire with
everything we had. Several men scored their first kills, the first of many
notches tallied on this chilly, damp morning. However, no one remembered
the cold as heat from smoking gun barrels and adrenaline fired our bodies.
After the firing ceased, several men charged from the trench to claim
their prizes and quickly dispatch cripples. As a reward, they would feast on
savory fresh meat from their kills tonight.
No, these men didn’t spring spectrally from trenches scarring war-torn
France in 1917. Instead of a battlefield, these men hid in a dry irrigation
ditch bordering a rye grass field near Lake Charles, La. Not fighting the
Kaiser, they targeted geese.
Most people think the broad-winged waterfowl should land in marshes,
lakes or other wet places. They do. However, changing agricultural
practices in the past few decades altered the habits of both specklebellies
and snow geese. Now, most geese land on dry or soggy fields of rye, corn,
wheat, millet, rice, soybeans or natural foods.
The majority of geese that visit Louisiana, winter in fields between
Lafayette and Lake Charles in the southwestern part of the state. Fields
may contain large flocks, but large flocks remain extremely difficult to hunt.
Wise old geese, veterans of many hunting seasons, don’t grow old by being
stupid.
Successful hunters must remain flexible to move with geese. They scout
areas in the afternoon and return early the next morning. Unless disturbed,
geese tend to return to the same fields to feed until they consume
everything edible in that patch of ground.
On a dreary winter day, a green rye grass field stands out to a goose
like a bowl of lime sherbet to a fat kid in July. Wintering geese depend
heavily upon rye grass because they’ve already eaten most of the waste
grain and rice stubble.
Without using blind, most goose hunters hide wherever they can, in an
irrigation ditch, or behind a hedgerow or tree line. Before shooting hours
begin, they spread hundreds of white rags mixed with some full-bodied
snow and specklebelly decoys across the field. Separate specklebelly
decoys from snow goose decoys since specks tend to remain aloof.
For the ultimate reality in decoys, use mounted geese. For much less
than the cost of a trophy mount, most taxidermists can slap together a few
standing or feeding geese rather quickly. Up close, they won’t show the
fine artistry of a quality trophy mount, but they attract geese better than
anything else. How can one improve upon what God has created?
If geese won’t come to sportsmen, sportsmen must go to them. Many
hunters “crawl” or stalk geese feeding in a field. One party of hunters
positions itself downwind of the flock and waits in thick cover. Other
hunters approach from the opposite end of the field until they close the
range and open fire. Startled geese take off and use the wind to gain
speed, which puts them directly over the other hiding hunters.
Specklebelly geese decoy more easily than snows. Specklebellies tend
to travel in smaller groups of two to perhaps a dozen, not the 15,000-bird
flocks of their white cousins. Loners or smaller groups respond better to a
few decoys. Many hunters harvest specklebellies from pit blinds along rice
field levees or at the edges of other flooded fields when duck hunting. One
or two full specklebelly decoys positioned on dry ground some distance
away from duck decoys makes an effective spread.
Unfortunately, few public areas in Louisiana offer excellent goose
hunting; almost none offer crop field hunting. For the best goose hunting,
hire a guide with access to good habitat or knock on doors of farmers tired
of seeing geese eat their profits.
Crouching sportsmen sometimes
'field' the need to bag more geese
'field' the need to bag more geese
Sam Bordelon of Big Lake Guide Service and Chuck Sellers locate a
specklebelly goose they shot in a field near Welsh, La.
specklebelly goose they shot in a field near Welsh, La.
