Adding geese to the bag could complete a great hunt

Erik Rue of Calcasieu Charter Services holds up a pair of mallards and Jen Carroll shows off a pair of specklebelly geese they shot near Lake Charles. (Photo by John N. Felsher)

Before us, various decoys representing mallards, green-winged teal, gadwalls and pintails bobbed in 18 inches of water on this frosty January morning. As the sun cracked the eastern horizon, a pair of mallards prepared to land in our spread.

Behind our blind sunk to eye level in the levee separating two rice field paddies, the pothole contained mostly mudflats and shallow pockets of water. Full-bodied white-fronted, or specklebelly, goose decoys in various positions dotted the shallows. Some stood erect on the mudflats, as if watching for danger.

“It’s a common occurrence to shoot ducks and geese, especially specklebelly geese, out of the same blind on the same day in Southwest Louisiana,” said Erik Rue, who owns Calcasieu Charter Service (337-598-4700, calcasieucharters.com) in Lake Charles. “If we want to shoot both, we must plan for both.”

Throughout the day, huge flocks of boisterous snow and blue geese, really just a darker color variant of snow geese, blanketed the skies over this rice field near Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge south of Hayes. Pasted against the stratosphere, they had places to go and paid little attention to us.

“Snow geese are pretty sharp,” Rue said. “Consistently killing snow geese out of a duck blind is a hard task. If snows fly through the area regularly, we might get some to swing by if we put out a few floating decoys. If some fly over in range, we might be able to knock one or two down.”

Two waterfowlers shows off a mixed bag of birds they harvested while hunting near Gueydan. (Photo courtesy Cypress Cove Outfitters)

Periodically, the distinctive haunting, almost mocking laughter, of specklebelly geese reverberated over the soggy field. Rue began playing alluring tones on his call, inviting a lonely specklebelly to come down from nose-bleed altitude. A single load of 3-inch magnum Hevi-Shot Number 3s ended its flight.

Agricultural fields

Hunting specklebellies more resembles hunting mallards than snow geese. Like mallards, specks circle the pond until they decide to land. Although geese go to marshes and lakes, most goose hunting in Louisiana and Mississippi takes place in soggy or flooded agricultural fields. Geese routinely land on dry ground to feed. Sportsmen would most likely bag a duck-goose combo in rice fields or other agricultural properties.

“We hunt flooded grainfields, such as corn or soybeans,” said Cameron Dinkins, president of Esperanza Outdoors (662-822-0485, www.espoutdoors.com) headquartered at Linden Plantation on Lake Washington in Glen Allen, Miss. “Specks will feed with snow geese on dry land, but they always hang around open water in flooded grainfields. Often, they fly over the flooded grainfields on their way to the edges to feed on dry land.”

Unlike in tidal marshes, land managers of agricultural fields can usually regulate water levels. Many keep one side of a levee filled deeper for ducks and the other side drier for geese.

“In our fields, we try to manage the water levels so we can shoot both ducks and geese at the same time,” Rue said. “The conditions we create to consistently shoot geese might cost us a few ducks. What geese like best won’t draw in as many ducks. Early in the season, geese might come to a little deeper water. As the season progresses, geese want less water. In January, they like shallow water, dry or plowed ground with some greenery starting to pop out.”

Specklebelly goose decoys wait for action in a rice field near Lake Charles. Speck decoys will also bring in more ducks. (Photo by John N. Felsher)

Decoys

In areas known to hold both ducks and geese, many sportsmen use a combination of decoys, but keep the goose and duck ones separate. For attracting specklebellies, waterfowlers don’t need massive spreads like in snow goose hunting. A few realistic decoys in the right places should bring down both ducks and specklebellies.

“If we’re trying to get both ducks and geese, we use a different setup than when just trying for ducks,” said Brant Theunissen, who guides for Cypress Cove Outfitters (337-384-2095) and also works for G&H Outdoors Store (337-536-6751, ghoutdoor.com) in Gueydan. “We don’t want to put geese and duck decoys next to each other, except for the pintails. Pintails and specks sit together sometimes. We might mix in a couple snow goose decoys if we see a lot of snows in the area.”

With duck decoys bobbing in the water, place some speck decoys in the shallows or mudflats. Put a few on dry land at the edge of the water to simulate feeding geese. A couple floating speck decoys give ducks more confidence. Moreover, birds can spot the larger decoys from farther away. One or two floating speck decoys out in the middle of the pond by themselves could also serve as range marks.

“Geese might sit in a U or a J formation thicker on the upwind side,” Theunissen said. “They will land on the thicker side. If we see some snow geese in the area while hunting ducks, we’ll put out a dozen or two snows. We separate the specks from the snows because they don’t mix. Putting out a few snow goose decoys will also help bring in the specks later in the year. That white gives birds some color to see and makes the decoys pop.”

Erik Rue retrieves a pair of specklebelly geese he shot while hunting in a field near Lake Charles. (Photo by John N. Felsher)

Small groups of specks

Many sportsmen use various mechanical motion decoys to attract ducks. Decoys with spinning wings create flash that birds can see from long distances. However, that flash and motion frighten geese. When geese approach, turn the spinners off.

“We kill mallards, gadwall, pintail, teal and a few wigeon, but we’ll take advantage of every opportunity to shoot any specks that come into range,” Dinkins said. “We mostly pass-shoot the geese. With specks, we’re generally shooting at smaller groups. We might be able to break off a single, a pair or small groups coming back from feeding to lay up, get some water, rise off and rest before they go feed again. We try to get the specks to pass low over the blind. Every now and then, we’ll find several thousand snow geese on one of the farms.”

Specks typically travel in small groups, pairs or singles, making them much easier to decoy and call into range. Normally, one lead goose does all the calling. Convince that goose to visit and the rest will follow.

“Calling is a conversation,” Rue said. “The right call at the right time brings birds close. Just blowing at them doesn’t work. Watch the birds. Know when to say the right things and when to keep quiet. If the birds already want to come to that spot, resist the urge to blare at them.”

Concealment

By the time ducks and geese reach the Gulf Coast, they dodged pellets for thousands of miles over months. Survivors quickly learn to spot every decoy spread and blind. Therefore, Deep South sportsmen must call better and hide better. Many field hunters use pit blinds sunk into levees surrounded by native grass.

Blind concealment is essential for bagging geese. You can never use too much brush in a blind. (Photo by John N. Felsher)

Sportsmen might get away with no roof for bagging ducks, but not sharp-eyed, wary geese. From above, geese can easily see inside even the deepest pit blind without a roof. Nothing spooks ducks or geese more than a human face peering out of some vegetation. Let the most experienced person serve as “blind boss” and call the shots.

“Blind concealment is absolutely essential for bagging geese,” Theunissen said. “Geese are very smart and they can see very well. We can never use too much brush in a blind. We put the brush across the top as well to cover the blind completely so it blends in with the surroundings.”

In a combination duck-goose hunt, one never knows when they might pull the trigger on a green-winged teal or a big specklebelly. Number 2 steel, or Number 3 or 4 Hevi-Shot or bismuth works great for both ducks and geese. When just hunting geese, use BB size shot or larger.

Hunting public land

Most Louisiana and Mississippi sportsmen hunt geese on private lands, but some public properties hold geese. Near Lake Charles, people hunt parts of Sabine and Lacassine National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) for ducks, but might bag a few geese. Many geese feed in nearby fields surrounding Lacassine and return to the refuge to escape hunting pressure.

Waterfowlers also hunt agricultural lands along the Mississippi River in northeastern Louisiana. Traditionally, the highest goose population in this area occurs near the Upper Ouachita NWR along the Ouachita River northeast of Farmerville. Catahoula Lake northeast of Alexandria and the Atchafalaya River Delta area also hold some specklebellies. At Pass-a-Loutre Wildlife Management Area and nearby Delta NWR near the mouth of the Mississippi River, sportsmen kill a few snow geese. East of the Mississippi River, the farmlands in the Mississippi Delta Region historically hold large concentrations of ducks and geese.

“We get a lot of good birds in this area,” Dinkins said. “The Mississippi Delta Region is a major stopover area for birds in the Mississippi Flyway. “We’re between Yazoo NWR, which is a huge natural roosting area, and Lake Washington. We benefit from being close to the refuge.”

Nothing stirs the blood of dedicated waterfowlers like mallards coming feet first to a pothole or the sound of geese echoing across the lands. In the right spot, sportsmen might experience both sensations at the same time. 

About John N. Felsher 75 Articles
Originally from Louisiana, John N. Felsher is a professional freelance writer, broadcaster, photographer and editor who now lives in Alabama. An avid sportsman, he’s written more than 3,600 articles for more than 173 different magazines on a wide variety of outdoors topics. He also hosts an outdoors tips show for WAVH FM Talk 106.5 radio station in Mobile, Ala. Contact him at j.felsher@hotmail.com or through Facebook.