bad snow goose hunt

anthony m coons sr

Well-known member
This past weekend my son and I went on a guided hunted in Western New York State. On the three hour drive up there the weather was spring like in the sixties. But like the saying goes March in like a lion out like a lamb. The weather changed so fast winds came in during the night like 30-40 mph and the temps dropped down to the low 30's even hitting the 20's during the day. Add the wind to the hunt it was like 0 out there. We hunted in a pit blind with seven other nice guys. Eight hours we sat out there in the cold and the wind. But nothing was move. The guide said: the day before flock after flock was migrating in the near sixty degree weather with a nice tail wind. So maybe that's what happen to the birds. But the few birds we saw couldn't even move in this wind. Thank God for some really good food and some really nice guys. The guide was really great. I guess that why they call it hunting. Here is a picture of last years birds in our field we hunted.


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Anthony, expect that with greaters. They are the biggest pita around. In retrospect, if you REALLY get among them, it ALMOST makes up for all the other dismal days.
"You should have been here yesterday!" A common comment from all guides.
 
yeah - it was a switch a roo around here wasn't it

my wife was asking about there not being any snows around yesterday

i posted this on another board this morning

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it was near 70 late last week - today we woke to a thin layer of ice covered with several inches of snow
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as my favorite outdoors philosopher Patrick McManus once stated

"God invented March in case eternity proved to be too short"


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There are no BAD snow goose hunts for greater or lesser, unless there is a game violation, or a hunter keels over...[shocked]

All are lessons on how the hunted, and nature always have the upper hand (unless baited).

There is a thin line between Love & Hate, and no other type of waterfowl can bring that to the surface better than the mighty Snow Goose.

So lift a glass to the Hunted, and the Hunter!

May God Bless Them ALL.


Best regards
Vince

ps the most classic and time worn line in hunting & fishing is - "Ya shoulda been here yesterday."
 

The Rochester NY Democrat & Chronical newspaper has a article, photos, and video about all the Snow Geese that are now in the Montezuma NWR area.



Best regards
Vince
 
Vince

They were there last Friday when we were up in that neck of the woods. Finger lakes had a bunch also. March is so crazy the poor birds don't know which way to fly North or South. As always Vince your on Point thank you.
 
South Dakota has a pile of them right now and I'll be in Saskatchewan in a week or two. I make it a habit not to hunt them in the spring. The fall is enough for me!
 
Kyle

Do you not hunt them in the Spring because their heading back to bread. Or is there a different reason? Or you just get enough of them in the fall. Thanks for the post
 
Vince Pagliaroli said:
The Rochester NY Democrat & Chronical newspaper has a article, photos, and video about all the Snow Geese that are now in the Montezuma NWR area.



Best regards
Vince


WOW

someone still reads the D&C [;)]

Finger Lakes Magazine also had an article this month with a good photo spread
 
Rick -

I DO NOT READ IT GAWD FORBID.

I do scan the headlines on the puter. So I can see what new way NY politicians are sticking it to it's citizens.[;)]


Best regards
Vince
 
anthony m coons sr said:
Kyle

Do you not hunt them in the Spring because their heading back to bread. Or is there a different reason? Or you just get enough of them in the fall. Thanks for the post

Anthony,

I don't guide for them because in my outfitting areas in Saskatchewan on the way back up they usually bypass them straight to forest edges. So there really isn't a guiding opportunity in Saskatchewan. As far as the states is concerned I refuse to be part of the nasty rat race of leases, pits, etc that spring snow goose hunting is in SD, ND, AR, MO, etc. Definitely not my cup of tea.

As far as personally hunting them I will occasionally do it but I really don't like how wet the conditions are in the spring and I don't like the excessive cleaning time of 1000+ decoys for a few birds. The chase is N and S and N and S and N. Too much moving for me. In the Fall I get a good steady stream of birds over a several week timeframe and that's good for me. They are fun but I get much more joy out of greenheads and sandhill cranes.
 
It was pretty slow out in SD last week. Besides the late spring a number of the guides were indicating there was grain all over the ground in Nebraska. Apparently the flood waters up rooted grain bins across the state which has now deposited grain in fields and low spots all over the countryside. Geese have been sitting on the feed than just blowing straight through. Not many juveniles in the mix either.

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But we had fun, got in some good dog work and scratched out a few

??..
 
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