Calling Canada Geese

Decoying Canada Geese
by B.C. Maxima

A Five Part Mini-Series

  • Overview: What It Takes To Be Successful
  • Location: Finding the Perfect Field
  • Concealment: Get Down And Cover Up
  • Decoys and Calling: The Hard Facts
  • The Hunt: Tying It Together

Suppliment 1 Calling Canada Geese!

For those of you who already own and have mastered a short reed or flute call, you can stop reading this article and resume practicing. You already know the importance of Calling Canada Geese! I can’t remember how many instances I have been hunting ducks or pheasants to have a flock of geese fly by within a mile or so and because I had my lanyard on and could sound like a goose, I pulled that flock over to me on a line and got my goose without a goose decoy. I think that proves that a proper call can make all the difference if you are going to be a successful goose hunter or not. I know it can get very frustrating sitting in a spread of decoys all morning watching flock after flock fly right by and not give you a look because you are not set up where they want to be. With just the use of a simple goose call, you may be able to pull a few flocks into your spread instead of going home empty handed.

For those experienced hunters who invest a lot of time and money into their sport and are very successful hunters, you may have experienced from time to time a day where the geese get to 40 yards and flare off and you cannot figure out why. You’ve done everything as usual but today the geese don’t like it. Well, an old veteran goose hunter explained something to me that is very simple but sometimes overlooked. He simply stated “They are picking you out!” No, they weren’t spotting ME but since I was the only caller in the group, even if I could sound like 10 geese, the sound was still coming from the same hole in the ground. Therefore, every time I took a breath or missed a note or just continued calling, the birds could tell it was not the flock calling.

So what do you do to rectify this problem. That answer is as simple as the problem. You Need Multiple Callers in the Spread!!! It doesn’t matter if one hunter can call better than the other one. If three guys all get an instructional tape and the all master a different note, together they now sound like a whole flock and no matter if one guy misses a note here or there or if the other guy has to stop and take a breath, all the geese hear is “The flock calling”. Now that being said, we do need to practice. We can’t have Joey show up with his new Big River flute call that he bought yesterday and start blowing it at the first flock of geese he sees. Picking out a quality goose call and practicing it until you can make a note that actually sounds like a goose can take a month or so to master. But once you can get that first note it is all downhill. So where do we start. I recommend spending at least $40.00 on a quality call. The Tim Ground’s Half Breed Goose Call is an excellent choice. Bryan Hansen of Heartland Goose Calls also makes a very nice Delrin Call in that price range. For those with a little more money to spend, The Foiles Migrater is also a great choice. No matter which call you choose, you need to get an instructional tape to go with it and USE IT! The next step is to find a buddy who already knows how to call and ask for some pointers. And finally once you have learned to call like a goose you need to learn what you are actually saying.

You don’t want to tell a flock of geese “Hey there is a coyote over there in the bushes get out of here”. So go down to the lake by your house that has geese coming in and out all day long and sit there for a couple hours listening to them and what sounds they are making and when. Take a tape recorder with and use it as a reference later in the year after the birds have left. Knowing how to productively use a goose call is just as important as knowing how to use your shotgun as far as I am concerned. The hunter who tells you that calling isn’t important doesn’t know how to call… just ask him for a demonstration and he will prove it!

Be sure to check back next month for our final article in the “Decoying Canada Geese” series, an in depth look at The Hunt: Tieing it all together!

Suppliment 1 Calling Canada Geese!