Short Hunts, Small Spreads & Going Solo

by Mike Bard
October 16, 2008

Like many waterfowlers, I started out shooting small ponds and swamps, where I didn't need bags of equipment, a boat or even decoys some times. The hunts were usually short, before school or after football practice, for an hour or two at best. Most of these little holes required you to walk in and out longer than you actually got to hunt. On good hunts, a game strap usually held a couple wood ducks and if you were really lucky, a plump mallard or a tasty green wing teal. There was rarely a limit taken, even though at the time our limit was only three ducks each. This is how I cut my teeth in waterfowling, it was never about the number of birds, but more so about having fun with friends or just spending time outdoors.

As I have become older and worked for a living, I have accumulated a couple boats, piles of decoys, and more gear than most of the local sporting goods stores. Most of my high school buddies have long since moved away or no longer hunt; however I have made a lot of new friends across the state and around North America, so I have opportunities to travel places to hunt. Waterfowling for me has changed or evolved over the years for me and although I still very much enjoy living the waterfowling life, it has become very different than where it all started.

As the resident goose season approached this year, I had been thinking a lot about the "old" days and how much fun I used to have on those quick before school hunts with my school buddies. I decided that I wanted to find some areas close to home that I could hunt for an hour or so, before going to work and with just a small spread. I made the rounds and gained permission on a few new smaller farms close to home. Traditionally these farms don't get many migrating geese, but there were a couple family groups of residents in the area, so I figured they'd be worth a try.

The resident season has since come and gone, but I was able to follow through with my plans to get out for some short and solo hunts over small decoy spreads. I got out 2-3 times per week before work, typically solo. Most of my hunts only allotted me 45 minutes to an hour of actual hunting time, but I had a lot of fun and managed a few additional resident geese for my extra efforts. I tried a few different decoy set tactics, using anywhere from 5 to 30 decoys with my best hunts being over about 18 decoys set in 2-3 family groups. I was also able to try some notes on my call to see how the geese liked them and without criticism from my buddies.

The majority of these short hunts yielded 2 to 4 resident geese and only once was I able to manage a limit of eight New York residents in my allotted time afield. There was also one day where the skunk showed himself and I left for work soaked by the rain and goose-less. There is a special sense of accomplishment of doing it all yourself, but I also very much so missed the camaraderie that I have come to love so much about waterfowling. If you are looking for more time in the field, this was for certain a great way to do it and I highly recommend giving it a shot, if you don't already.