Waterfowl

Avery Pro Hunter Blind

Beavertail Gunner Blind

Pictured above: GHG FFD Life Size Harvester Shells
photo by swobg

Using The Best - Gets The Best . . . Results

Published: 15.12.2009 by: SWOBG

Waterfowl hunting can be a tough game. It takes it's toll on hunter, calls, apparel and decoys. If you want the best results possible, you have to use the best products available. Sure, we all have our loyalties and that's how it should be, but if you're using something that just doesn't quite finish the birds the way they should be finished, then you have to look into changing some of the tools mentioned above to give yourself the best opportunity for success.

GreenHead Gear has produced the most advanced line of decoys on the market today, not only in materials but also in design. They know geese and ducks and this translates into realism that's scary. The hunts you see on this page in the late season of 2009 will be using GHG FFD (fully flocked decoys) Life Size Harvester Shells. Usually we have snow in this region of SW Ontario by now, but this year, the weather has done a 180° turn. No snow, warm temps, etc. is making life as a waterfowler tough. Finally, ice is here, for now, and with this we've broke out the GHG shells and production has immediately taken a turn for the better. Sure, we used them in the early season with predictable success, but then also, we're working young-of-year birds so you know it's going to be easy. However, at this time of year, we hunt Jack Miner geese and if I've said it once, I've said a hundred times, these are the wariest birds in the central flyway. They've seen everything from James Bay on down and religiously evade decoyed, cut corn and bean fields to get to Miners just 45 seconds down the road so we have to give them something that looks like the real thing to be successful.

photo by swobg

As shown above, you can see the difference GHG FFD's make on the ice, now just think of how what they will look like on white snow. No comparison. Dark backs. White throats. No Shine. All vital to a realistic spread.
I hunt with champion callers and guys that have hunted Miner geese since they were boys and they know the game. They know that decoy numbers alone don't cut it all the time. Realism is the name of the game when geese are circling your spread just out of range. You don't want to sky blast these birds and educate them, you want to finish them. As these birds inspect the decoys for flaws and signs of fraud, we have to trust in our equipment and GHG gives the best available. We finish birds! Period.

Do yourself a favor and look into the GHG line of duck and goose decoys.
If you're gonna be huntin', you may as well hunt with the best as opposed to all the rest.
Below are professional photos courtesy of Tyson Keller (Photographer and Media Relations - Avery Outdoors Inc.) - seeing is believing!

live goose walking amongst GHG shells


live flock landing amidst GHG shells

Pictured above: JT Ames (young gun), Steve Branch, Rusty Heron, Eric Hodgins, Sean Drummond

Young Gun & Old Pros

Published: 15.12.2009 by: SWOBG

I love the opportunity to get a mixed bag of ducks and geese . . . rarely anything better than that. But to hunt with a mixed bag of hunters is something else. You've got your old pros and take the 'pros' literally: Rusty Heron, JT Ames (youth) and Sean Drummond are all champion goose callers and it shows in the production during hunts. Then you have Steve 'Goosinator' Branch who's a little long in the tooth and our chief guide as well as Eric Hodgins equally as accomplished in a walleye tournament as on the killing fields. Along on the hunt is our Young Gun JT Ames, a champion goose caller in the youth division and admitted waterfowl addict at 14 years of age. To see these boys interact is a laugh from start to finish. First, there is the initiation by verbal fire from the old pros levied on the young gun from start to finish and I don't think they took it easy on the colourful language one bit - JT got an earfull but enjoyed every minute of it. Then came the shooting and it came in bunches.


shown above are GHG FFD Life Size Shells and Big Foot decoys on the pond ice - the killer part of the spread for the day

It's been said time and time again that our youth are hunting's future and to see the old pros guide the young guns, I think we'll be in the fields for a long time to come. Decoy education, where to place sleepers, sentries, feeders - when to do it depending on changing weather conditions - when and how to call to flocks, singles or small groups - how to swear every third word and still sound you know what you're talking about and making sense. We had it all and all day long. It was a beautiful thing!


shown above are Eric Hodgins, Rusty Heron and Sean Drummond reworking the decoy spread

JT learned how to scold geese that didn't react well to his calling. He learned how to take out a mallard cripple and then some (and we won't go into that one). JT found out that it's also a vital part of pit hunting that you act fast in shouldering your gun for the shot because if you're more than a second late, you get to watch birds drop without taking a shot - but then you also get to save on shells for next time, which by the way is usually a repeat of the first time unless you've learned your lesson.

There is no taking it easy on the novice, not in this pit. You earn your keep by working the spread, learning to flag, learning that competition calling is usually different than meat calling but at the end of the day, the novice learns to appreciate the good days and respect the knowledge of the old pros that will eventually turn him into an old pro in a few years and then to pass it on to his young gun.
I did manage to take some video for the day as seen below. More video can be seen on the swobg.com youtube channel.

I have to apologize for the camera work. I'm in the pit and trying not to bust the birds while all the time trying to put the camera over my head and between bundles of cornstalks and still get the birds on camera. It worked somewhat but then the rain started again and blotted the lens - what do ya do?! Enjoy (I hope).

Pictured above: Rusty Heron (left), Steve Branch (center) and Curtis Damphouse with the results of a drought ending hunt

The Drought Has Ended

Published: 14.12.2009 by: SWOBG

This year will be remembered in many parts of the midwest (Canada and US) as perhaps one of the least favorable weather years for hunting geese. Warm temps, little rain (when we needed it) from October through to mid-December has made for some terrible and unpredictable hunting. Now you might say that well, that's hunting, most times you would be right but it begins to weigh on you after a while after spending days in the fields with little or nothing to show for it - face it we'll complain and moan as we were spoiled last year with good snow cover and cold temps from the 'get go'. Finally, the wind kicked up and flurries filled the skies . . . as did the geese.

With a strong SW wind at our backs and four guns at the ready, we entertained flock after flock as the Canadas broke from Point Pelee on the their way to Jack Miner's. A few willing flocks thought we had looked pretty good and dropped in for a closer look only to make their stay permanent. You have to realize that birds coming from Point Pelee on our flight path to Miner's know that food is at the end of the flight and they can see the refuge from 2 - 3 miles away so bring them down into range, or better yet finish them, is a chore and no small accomplishment. From our pit to Miner's is only 1.5 km away or 45 seconds as the goose flies so we have to look and sound as realistic as possible. No half measures here.
Six geese in total were taken this day although only 4 are in the photo above as I had to leave early for an appointment. My gun wasn't missed except as the comedy relief for the day (I won't go into it). I can say that although I don't hit many geese I have hit the mark with friends that know this game and are professional champion callers, guides and all around hunting enthusiasts and honoured to be included in their midst. I have also got to thank Mr. Heater for their contribution to this sport by building a great portable heater. When the winds are humming at up to 50 km/hour and the temps are -10 to -20, any warmth on the hands is a bonus to keep the fingers nimble so you get to the trigger. The Little Buddy heater and the Big Buddy run all day in the pit and without them you're usually hunkered down and the talk is minimal - the interaction among hunters is crucial to a fun and successful hunt.

This day ended well and broke the drought from early November. A day with friends was a bonus.

Pictured above: JT Ames (right) and Steve Branch (left) after the clean-up and a great morning

Going to Work With Parent Day . . . Hunting Geese Naturally

Published: 04.11.2009 by: JT Ames

Editor's Note: JT Ames had a 'Go To Work With Parent Day' project to do, so naturally we went hunting geese. His job was to hunt and write a story about it afterwards. The following adventure is his project - enjoy and good job JT!

November 4, 2009 was a great morning for geese. We were thinking on it for a long time that for Take Your Kid to Work Day, we should go out for a nice morning or afternoon hunt. We were going to go squirrel hunting since it is still in season but I like a waterfowl hunt way better than any other type of hunt. Dad called Steve Branch to see if we could hunt at his pit blind for that morning. When he said yes we were pumped. The night before the hunt I couldn't get to sleep, I was watching the 24-7 Gone for the Season and Fowl Pursuit 2 videos out of the many that they have made. I was up 'till about eleven then I finally fell asleep.

Pictured above: the decoy spread in front of the pit

The morning of the hunt was great, we got up around 4:30 am to have our coffee and at 5:15am we left for the pit. I just think we got there a little early because Steve's lights weren't even on yet. Dad sent me out with the blind bag and other gear to put by the pit. On my way back he told me to hang around the garage to Steve know that we were there. At about 6:00am we were done putting the spread of decoys out and getting ready for the big squall of geese that was going to come our way. Steve said that usually around six thirty the ducks start flying and about forty five minutes after that the geese start to fly.

Pictured above: T. Morrison (left) and Steve Branch (right) in the pit

No ducks were flying at all so we just hunkered down in the pit. The sky was actually pretty clear no ducks or geese to speak of until our "limit flock" moved in. They came from the East because all of the birds move from Point Pelee after a good nights sleep. We went crazy on those birds with calling. As soon as they got into range, we slowed it down with clucks and moans and growls. The geese circled three times before finally wanting to come in. The wind was probably only 5 mph out of the south west, still a good wind. The birds came around and straight at us from the west now. Steve and I opened up on them before they landed, if they did, we would have been bombed by birds, and they would've landed right on top of us. We both took three shots each. We killed four and shot and crippled another (my Dads bird).

Pictured above: JT Ames (left) and Steve Branch (right) with a great take for the day

After that it seemed as if there was a force field around us because we would call and call but those birds would not come in (oh well Dad). When it started to slow down, Steve went and picked up the cripple and our hunt was done. The hunt was really great. I'm hoping I get to go there again in the winter. With the amount of fat on those birds it seems like it may be a good winter all you hunters out there. Just remember it's all for the love of the hunt. Half of the fun is setting the decoys and calling, the other half is being with your friends, shooting birds and coming back with your limit is a bonus.
Thanks for the day Steve . . . it was a blast, literally!

Pictured above: JT Ames with 2009 banded drake mallard ready for release

Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary . . .
Bird Banding Process

Published: 13.10.2009 by: SWOBG

Just the name Jack Miner, conjures up visions of thousands of Canada geese circling skies and parachuting into open stretches of sanctuary here in Kingsville, ON, Canada. The 'Goose Man' known for leading the way in goose conservation, has a process for goose inventory known as banding. Many visitors and supporters of the effort have become a part of 'the process' over the years and it's become an activity that lasts a lifetime in the memory bank. I've been fortunate enough to be a part of it a few times over the years. It's fun yet it serves a purpose as well and it's something that as many waterfowlers as possible should try at least once - it gives you a greater perspective on the sport and bird.

The process shown below is in picture form for those of you on dial-up and in video for viewers with broadband. Few descriptions are required for the visuals because, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Enjoy!

readying the landing or banding area of the pen


herding the waterfowl to the banding area

mallards, about 105 now in banding pen

catching the birds for banding by holding both wings in one hand

2009 band placed on right leg of hen mallard

birds w/o a 2009 band but having another year band now receive new jewelry

Celeste Miner releases drake mallard after a successful banding

herding the mallards into the holding pen

catching the birds for banding

Joe Vermeulen, superintendant at Miner's bands a bird

participant Dennis Colussi releases banded bird

Kirk Miner banding a good looking drake mallard

JT Ames plays bowling with ducks in releasing birds

Presently, 10,500 birds have been banded at Jack Miner's Bird Sanctuary and when that number hits 11,000, the bands will then state the sanctuary's web site 'www.jackminer.com'. Bands previous to that will now become collector items like the 2004 band year which is the 100th anniversary of Jack Miner's.
If you ever have the opportunity to take part in a banding process or activity at any local refuge or sanctuary, I completely recommend you do so - it's an activity that gives you a greater appreciation of the birds and conservation.

Pictured above: Steve Branch, left and JT Ames, right
and of course, 9 of our guests

The 'It's About Time' Goose Season Is Back

Published: 13.09.2009 by: SWOBG

Before I go any further, I hope you'll understand (and those of you stricken with the goose hunting addiction will) that I didn't get, actually didn't really want to, take the time to shoot more pictures of the hunt - I'd rather shoot geese thank you. The action was fast - the day was hot - the company was great and the result was one of the best days of goose hunting in the field.

'Best' cannot be attributed to numbers of birds taken all the time. At times, it's more about the moments, fleeting as they were, that made up the day . . . and the moments were great.
Hunting with my son JT and goose addict/friend Steve Branch from our Beavertail layout blinds was, on this day, more about strategy and predictions due to the high sky, virtually no wind and soaring temps.

This was the third day of the early season and by now, many geese had been educated on where 'no fly zones' were. Nestled into a pocket just off Lake St. Clair and southern Belle River, are some of the prime feed fields for geese and ducks in the area. We were fortunate enough to have access to this area and it did not disappoint. Today was a revisit to this great field after our opening that saw my son and I take three jumbos from a bad position in the same field. The idea is to learn from mistakes and today those mistakes were remedied.

Previously, we had set up 3/4 of a mile down the field which ultimately allowed many, many birds to fly behind us into other hunter groups. This day, we set up a third of the way up the field which allowed many geese leaving roosting ponds to see us as they hit the sky. With a little flagging and calling, we brought them in, at times, from more than a 3/4 to a mile away. It's was absolutely awesome. Many of the geese committed to our SilloSocks and GHG FFD Canada Shells from hundreds of yards off which had us squirming in anticipation for long periods until the shooting started.

My hunt was made all the better by watching my son take his geese and thereby cementing more memories for his goose hunting future. The boy is now officially hooked.
Steve Branch provided his decoy setting and flagging expertise that helped pay big dividends on this, the third day of the season - a tough day, a challenging day but none-the-less, successful.

Call It A 'Ware Goose'

Published: 25.01.2009 by: Tom Morrison

Delta's Kingsville Ontario Chapter member Dean Ware, could not believe his eyes while hunting with his cousin outside of the town of Leamington Ontario. As Dean he raised is shotgun on December 27 2008, to take aim on at geese heading his way, he was taken aback by what crossed his bead, " Oh my god it's a Speckle Belly"! "It was unbelievable" said Ware. "I have been hunting for 18 years and have never seen one while hunting in Southwestern Ontario".
It turns out that during December 27,28 and 29th there was warm front sweeping the mid west which pushed these migrants northeast. Not only where there Greater-White fronted Geese(specs) but Snow Geese, Ross Geese, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall and an unprecedented number of Northern Pintails the likes which have not been seen in our area. "They were in the hundreds!" Ware exclaimed. Rest assured this bird is at the taxidermist" Ware commented.

Dean Ware had taken the time to contact the Ministry of Natural resources in Peterborough where Mr. Ken Abraham, Waterfowl and Wetlands Scientist with the MNR pretty much confirmed the identity of the goose with this determination, "It looks like "frontalis" with the pink bill. I think I would just assume it is a bird from the mid-continent population, which are "frontalis". Significant numbers of these winter and stage much farther east than people normally assume, e.g., in western Kentucky at the junction of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. That's still well west of SW Ontario, but there is an eastward swing of spring migrants."

The Goose Pit Chronicles

Published: 17.12.2008 by: Tom Morrison

Not many waterfowlers get the opportunity to hunt prime land from a goose pit (or duck pit as the case me be). That in itself is a pity as I think every waterfowler should at least once in their hunting life. I'm fortunate for my opportunities and can't thank the boys at the 'pit' for giving me these opportunities. Granted, at times I think I'm there because I miss more than I hit and it gives these boys the chance to shoot more birds. Be that as it may, I still love the experience. From start to finish, no matter what the finish, it's all good - just better when the finish includes a limit of fat migrators to carry home.

I am going to attempt to give you the insiders' look at what life in a 'goose pit' is all about. Trust me, life in the pit is not just all about shooting and high fives. No way. There's work to be done as you'll see through the pics below and the descriptions that go with them. Enjoy!

The day starts early at about 6:45 am in mid-December. Usually you're greeted with a few inches of fresh snow as seen on this day. After a hot coffee and some good jabs at each other for no special reason, mostly just because we can, it's time to hit the field and see what awaits us in terms of clean-up, dust off and pump-out.

These are a couple of undoctored photos that demonstrate the dark in which we work to 'find' the decoys and once found, to determine just what the situation is. Are they still upright? How much snow has to be removed from them? Are they frosted and require a spraying of anti-freeze to remove the heavy frost? All this and more. When you're talking a spread in excess of a hundred decoys the process is a burden but you wouldn't want it any other way. Besides this 'labour of love' means nothing once the birds begin flying.
It takes about 20 minutes to clear the dekes in -17 degrees celsius so hustle your butt and get 'er done.

As you can see by the photo above, the dekes are clean and a few shells are placed out for good measure. As every hardcore waterfowler knows, you can never have enough decoys in the spread . . . or so it seems anyway.
Another look around to make sure none of the decoys has toppled over after bushing and you're ready to get to other work.

At this point a few minor adjustments to the pit are in order. In this case, a layer of white batting is placed over the pit lid to blend into the new snow, or at least try as best we can. Windows are cut in the batting for viewing ports. The visibility is pretty good but as with all waterfowlers, discussions are under way to reinvent the wheel on pit lids for optimum performance.

Now most of the hard work is done and we can survey the spread for deficiencies. While some do this, others get to pumping out the water level in the pit that seems to fluctuate daily. This takes about 5 minutes.
Everything looks good to go and now it's time to hurry-up and wait.

While the wait is on, it's time to get back to jabs, pokes and nastiness but all in good fun. As you can see by the coffee cup in the foreground, Timmy's isn't far away and one or more of their cups always seems to find a way into the pit.
Over the next couple of hours the hunting is hit and miss. Sometimes the flocks come our way and other times they head straight to the Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary about 1.5 minutes flight time to our west. On this day the flocks kept south of us by Lake Erie for the most part, until one flock got to thinking that our spread looked better than those around us and since the wind was right, what the heck, they came over to take a look. Unfortunately for them, they got a little too close, like within 20 yards in front of us and about 30" off the deck. It's shots all around and once the noise was done, there lay 6 honkers in the snow in various degrees of death throws. The day could have just as easily finished with nothing to show for all the hard work but sore butts and frozen hands. Call it luck. Call it karma. One thing for sure, without the pit, the job would have been almost impossible.
It's said by Steve Branch, head executioner of the East Branch Goose Hunting Club, that "we live and die by the wind". Over the last week and a half, we did more dying than shooting but this was one of those days when finally it all came together for a few minutes and that's all it takes sometimes.

As you can see above, the rewards are on the deck for all of our efforts. Two mallards that didn't know when to stop and 6 Canadas that got a little too tired at the wrong (or right) time.
Life is good this day in the pit. Tomorrow? Who knows? But guaranteed we'll be back and do it all over again with hopes of reliving today.
If you ever get the chance to do some pit hunting, take it. It's an experience that can't be beat and made all the better with good friends and good times.

Filling Your Goose Tote

Published: 16.12.2007 by: Tom Morrison

Kingsville, Ontario has a great, long tradition and reputation of serving up some of the best waterfowl hunting in southern Ontario. This burgeoning little town is home to the Jack Miner Goose Sanctuary, a name and place synonymous with all that is Canada geese. Goose and duck bands that denote Jack Miner information and the ever present scripture quote, are prized all around North America and even show up on Ebay occasionally by hunters looking to cash in on their popularity. Although, why anyone would want to part with one is beyond me and a great many other waterfowl enthusiasts.

Two adages I learned a long time ago were to 'never settle for second best' and 'never be satisfied, it breeds complacency'. If your family was anything like mine, those messages were pounded into you throughout school and beyond. I realized today that other families did have similar rules and mottos and thank God they did, for today those life lessons brought in geese when otherwise there could have been goose eggs . . . hardly desired substitutes.

Today's hunt took place on December 7, 2007, a day that showed me just how good the following hunters are at diagnosing a problem and finding a cure for it. The day started much like any other that week, cold, frosty and full of anticipation and expectation. After all, when you're used to filling your limit about 5 to 6 days a week, why should today, Friday, be any different. With 6 guys in the pit blind and two mice to keep us amused until the geese arrived, all was good with the world. As the sun started to peek above the horizon the sound of shells being chambered into shotguns sounded like some sort of marching band. It almost brought a tear to my eye, sort of. We heard a few sporadic shots being taken a number of fields away but had yet to get any flock within a half mile. By all accounts, the boys in the fields around us were taking some geese so what was the problem with our setup?

As the morning progressed, more and more flocks were on their way to Miner's fields. They'd show momentary interest in us with the odd loner coming in a little too close, about 30 yards worth, and ending up staying for dinner, but still no larger groups of 10 or more. Perplexing as this was to the boys the worst part was their interest in circling a couple of times and then putting on the after burners to get away from here. A discussion on the problem ensued and the decision was made to move a few sleepers around and maybe extend the flock out to about 60 yards to draw in some lonesome honkers who would in turn, draw in a few more on their own. After a half hour, the shooting was still sporadic but even worse. The geese that did come in were staying past the outer markers and mostly out of range. Maybe this will end up being a pass shooting day as many hunters were relegated to in the past. I remember those days. Shooting from the hedgerows lining corn fields was about the only way to take geese back in the day with any regularity if you didn't have access to a blind.

Now, at 9:30am, out shooting had all but ceased and the collective experience in the pit was that all shooting will virtually be over in about one hour and no limits will be realized if a remedy to the problem isn't found quickly. Everyone had an opinion on what to do, except for me of course. This is definitely not my area of expertise. I'm at the mercy of these guys and their 50+ years of experience in the fields and I'm still having a ball. My trust in them hasn't waned one bit as they've always seemed to find strategies to satisfy what the geese wanted. Steve Branch stepped out of the blind for a minute and took a long look at what has happened over the course of the morning and the placement of the "deekes". You could see the light come on and a look of "why didn't I think of this before" came over his face.

"We've been so intent on seeing the problem in front of us that we've totally missed what is behind us" Steve said. "They've (geese) come over us and circled but for the most part, they've stayed behind us and we've always thought there wasn't enough room in front of us for them to land, but the geese have been looking to land on the other side of the pond behind us but there aren't any deekes out back for them to feel safe enough to do that" to which Rusty and Shawn Drummond said "Let's do it. That's it." A major scramble took place before the next flock came in. As pictured above, you can see just about a dozen decoys were placed on the opposite side of the pond where at first light there had been none.

Greg yelled at the boys to get back in the blind as a flock was coming in from the north about a quarter mile out. The "talk" from the calls was kept to a minimum as was the flagging. Just a few greetings was all it took to bring the geese in close enough to take a look and as luck would have it, they obviously liked what they saw. After circling twice they felt comfortable enough to set the landing gear for the dozen or so deekes behind us. We took them at 10 yards as they passed over us with their wings locked. PROBLEM SOLVED! A quick 4 birds were taken from that group of about 8 and there were more on the way. The repositioning of the decoys worked like a charm. More flocks came in and looked to settle into the grouping which suited us just fine. It wasn't more than half an hour before we went from a measly couple of birds to a limit. So why did the geese react so drastically to the change of the decoys in the spread? The boys had as many reasons for the change in attitude as we had geese, but still, it was mostly surmising what was wanted. No one really knows what the deal was. Greg recounted a story about having geese landing in the middle of a ploughed field that showed virtually no food present and in addition, the field was split and spotted with high tension towers all around. No one could have sensed that coming just as no one could see this happening today.

Rusty and Greg said after the hunt that "if all you had to do was sit and shoot what was given you, even if it's only one bird, that it's really not hunting, it's shooting. When you hunt Miner geese you have to work at trying to figure out what they want and serve it to them until you get it right. These geese see hundreds of spreads on their migratory tour and what works today isn't necessarily what works tomorrow. You have to constantly consider the spread and the calling. Some days you "talk" very little while other days you can't shut up for a minute or the geese lose interest or become suspicious. By listening to the flocks as they pass overhead you should be able to gather if they're talking a lot or a little and adjusting your calling to match. Today, we saw geese come in but not lock up. Things just weren't right with the spread and that was obvious. Steve took a chance with his decision to welcome them in behind us and they bit on it. That's hunting!"

We've all been on hunts when limits seemed to come easy. After today, I'll thank the birds for those easy hunts, but I'll thank the boys of the East Branch Goose Hunting Club for this hunt. Their expertise was evident and their willingness to adjust their strategies and not settle for what was offered to them made this a memorable hunt for sure. They beat the "Miner geese" this day. The Miner geese may beat them tomorrow. That's what makes this hunting and not shooting.