Spring Snows

[BigKav]

Anybody ever hunt Spring Snows in the Midwest? I'm thinking about setting up a hunt next spring. Any outfit in particular you had a great experience with? Any tips? Just trying to get a feel for what we should try. Missouri looks insane...

[hdshot]

Tracy hunt up north.  Also is owner of deadly decoys.  Very good went with him 3 years in a row in SD.  He does Missouri which sounds crowded with outfitters.  Lot of the hunt depends on weather.  Pray for wind, wind, and more wind if you go.  Be ready for long days if you go to SD.  We left the hotel in the field for a solid 12 hours, clean birds, and eat which added up to about a 14+ hour day.  If the birds get with in 50 yards straight up be ready, and expect almost Nil on decoying birds.  That is just how the spring snow hunts go no matter who you pick because the birds are scared of their own shadow.

[magnus100]

Going next month to south Dakota with goose grinders. Will let you know how it goes.

[magnus100]

Well guys,
Back from my south Dakota goose hunt with Premiere flight guide service goosegrinders.com. Here is the story.
Arrived in south Dakota a week ago Sunday.  Scouted the eve and found lots of large concentrations of snows and blues about 7-10 miles south and 2-3 miles west of Frederick south Dakota.
Met up with our guide Monday morn in town and he was on foot because his truck was broken down. We were hunting a field that was walking distance from town. Wind was howling and we shoulda had a real good day but we were not in a well scouted spot. After the morning with 2 singles that decoyed, we got one and missed one, we requested we move fields and offered to help. I am 47 my brother 50 and my nephew 20 would all gladly help. Guide said he needed to talk to the guys and we left for lunch. Came back and hunted the same field and shot zip in the afternoon. Fired the guide service after the first day. slept in the next morn and scouted for Wednesday. Set my 2 dozen shells and covered up with some corn stalks in a properly scouted field and I shot 2 snows and 2 blues out of the three flocks I got to decoy. I did not have the 1500 windsock decoys or electronic calls but still shot some birds. Please pass along to any friends wishing to make this trip that Dean Tlougan of premiere flight guide service is selling a service on his web site and on the phone that is a far cry from what you get. His web site stresses location and scouting but this was not done.
His website says you will hunt over 1500-2000 wind sock decoys with 150 to 300 big foot decoys around the kill hole for added realism. This is a lie. They had all socks and not a single full bodied decoy. We have pictures to prove this.
An interesting side note is on his web site it looks like he has changed the description of the decoy spread since last week.
Thiis guy is a liar and a cheat.  Tell your buddies at DU dinners, spread the word so the next guy doesn't get taken like we did.

Mike
Mike

[Goldeneye]

Sorry to hear.  That would leave a sour taste in my mouth.  If you are ever looking at a Saskatchewan trip in the early fall I can send you towards a good guide service that has all lodging, meals & game processing included.  The first morning last year we had 96 Snows and Ross geese on the ground in about 15 or 20 minutes. 

[hdshot]

I'm sure your guide was terrible, but spring snow hunting in SD is a crap shoot.  Weather is such a key there since snows don't stage there unless the weather above holds them there.  Best thing is to be under the migration when it is moving through.  Learned real quick hunting migrating birds in is the key, not the typical canada goose style.  Also I believe hunting birds that are staged and getting fueled up to leave in a hurry can create some good hunting as well.  One of the years when I went the groups before me just slaughtered them when the snows where able to start the next big move north.  Our group got scraps afterwards.

The next year I was on the snow line with snows every where and saw the tornado's I hear about but not under the layout blind.  Hunting was still slow with no shortage of birds, just the weather was to calm.     

[h2ofowlr]

Sounds like an expensive bad lesson.  I think their are quite a few guys that have been burned by some bad experiences on the spring hunts.  Relentless scouting, lots of access to properties and weather are the ticket.  You miss a day of scouting and your out of the loop with these birds.

[hdshot]

Sounds like an expensive bad lesson.  I think their are quite a few guys that have been burned by some bad experiences on the spring hunts.  Relentless scouting, lots of access to properties and weather are the ticket.  You miss a day of scouting and your out of the loop with these birds.

The funny thing is most leave their spreads out until the birds are out of the area because there are so many birds.  Spring snow goose hunters use same method as hunting ducks on the river or traffic, trying to get set up under the best daily flight paths.  And as the flocks gets smaller the more concentrated the juvy birds become.

Running and gunning would suck because back there they don't have the circle fields like out here in e WA.