Georgia is Pretty Tired
So I have been scouting pretty hard the last couple of days, trying to find out where the geese are feeding at and what times they have been going to feed. Normally this is pretty easy here in southwest Michigan because they have their favorite spots, however it has been fricken cold lately and all of their favorite spots are frozen…. It was pure luck that I found their roost on Monday, it happens to be right around the corner from my house on a very small river. I have never seen geese stacked in there like this, today there was close to 1000 birds. The problem is that I don’t like busting them off their roost if I can avoid it, this keeps them in the area longer and I get to hunt ‘em more. So tonight as my two daughters and I were watching them take off, I thought sweet lets see where they go, but flock after flock lifted off and then looked like the dropped back down on to the river, this river has tall trees on either side of it so unless the birds gain altitude quickly you can loose them. My daughter kept asking where they were going and I just had to look at her and say “I have no clue.” The geese have not been using any of the fields close by this year, so I was at a loss. How could this many geese just keep disappearing? So just for kicks we drove around the block to see what we could see, guess what, those sneaky bastards were getting off the river and dumping into a cut and chisel plowed corn field 100 yards from their roost. I have seen them feed close to their roost before but never this close. If I had to guess there were 500 birds sitting out there, I had to get permission for this field, i just had to. So as per the norm here in Michigan I started knocking on doors to find out who owned it, I found him, and I got a big fat NO. He first said it was leased, then he said it was private, then he just shut the door in my face. Well, what can you do? The geese are there, the season is open, you have the gear, but you can’t get permission. That my friends is part of goose hunting.
A couple of tips that we have learned over the years that usually work when seeking permission to hunt a piece of property:
Do your research if possible. Use a Plat book and know who’s field it is if possible, try not to just knock on doors.
- Go see them in person, its old school I know but its better the a phone call.
- Be calm and friendly, chat if they want to chat.
- Sometimes it helps it you ask for a one time hunt, this will prove to them that you have boundaries and lets them see what your made of before they give you permission to hunt all year.
- Talk to them about your hunting ethics and your reputation in the area for being a trustworthy hunter.
- Offer to give them a call or stop by the house each time you’re planning to hunt to get an all clear. This eases a lot of landowners minds by letting them know that even though they have given you permission they still have control over whether or not people are hunting on any given day.
- My last resort is offering to lease the property, this can get expensive and if they are motivated by money and someone can always outbid you.
You cannot always get permission to hunt for free, but sometimes you can and it’s always worth a try. Be nice, make friends, because in waterfowling its always who you know.
PT