Goose Hunting
Great Goose Hunting
Goose Calling
By T.R. Michels, Trinity
Mountain Outdoors
One of the biggest
misconceptions in goose calling is that geese on the ground call to geese
in the air to come down to feed. Based on his years of research Dr. Cooper
says geese do not call to other geese to come down and feed. Therefore,
you cannot call to geese in the air to come down and feed. This doesn’t
mean that calling will not attract geese, but it is not what the calling
of the geese on the ground is meant to do.
When you are calling
geese remember that the geese on the ground or water do not call to the
geese in the air to join them. They pay little attention to the geese in
the air until it looks as if the geese in the air are going to land within
the space occupied by the feeding flock. When the feeding flock does call
they are actually threatening the flying flock, letting them know that if
they land in or near the feeding flock and its food source they will be
attacked. Some hunters refer to this threatening call as the Double Cluck
Call. The Double Cluck is call should be loud and aggressive, getting
faster as the flying flock approaches. Meanwhile the geese in the air are
performing the fast “Here I am, where are you?” Contact Call as they
prepare to land. These two calls together are what flying geese are
accustomed to hearing as they approach a feeding flock. It may be that the
louder, more aggravated the calling is, the more the geese in the air want
to land!
When large numbers
of geese are feeding there is a lot of squabbling over the best food
places. Some geese perform the threat call, some the contact call and
others the feeding gabble. There are the deep sounds of the males, the
higher sounds of the females, and the broken voices of the young. All
these sounds occur together and make up the sound of a feeding flock of
geese. If you are trying to simulate the sound of a feeding flock of geese
you need to use all the sounds; the loud aggressive threat call, the
softer contact call and the still softer but deeper feeding gabble. Once
the geese get close you can begin using the landing call the “fast cluck”
as I call it. This is the sound of landing geese and may tell the flying
flock that other geese are landing and give them a sense of security.
When you are
calling, think of both the mood and action of the goose that would be
making the call, then imitate it. Remember you are not calling to the
geese, but trying to simulate the sound of feeding and flying geese under
specific conditions. The best way to understand geese, and goose calling,
is to know what each call sounds like and what it means. The best way to
do this is to find someplace where you can watch and listen to geese.
Watch the action of the geese as they
call, and watch the
reaction of the other geese to the calling. Many hunters listen but they
don’t observe. If you don’t know what the geese are doing, or don’t
understand, then you may misinterpret the call. Pay close attention to the
action of the geese while they call and you can learn.
When you are hunting
geese pay close attention to the pitch and the length of the individual
notes of the calls of the geese. Different species and even subspecies of
geese make different sounds. If your call is too low or too high, tune it,
or use a different call. While all geese may respond to the sounds of most
goose calls, there are times when a particular species or subspecies may
not respond to the call you are using. If the geese you are hunting use a
slow quick call, and you are blowing a long, drawn out call; they may not
respond. When they don’t respond, listen to the geese, and then adjust the
tempo, pitch, and length of the notes of your calling to match the calling
of the geese.
When I first see a
flock I start calling slow and loud to get their attention. As they get
closer I begin the contact call of geese in flight, the “Here I am, where
are you?” I call more excitedly as they get close and I use the double
cluck threat call. I change my hand position on the call to imitate the
sound of many different geese. At the final approach, or if the geese look
like they aren’t going to land, I imitate the fast cluck of landing geese.
If the geese swing away from the decoys I use the comeback, a long, drawn
out pleading cluck‑aaah, cluck‑aaah. I have heard geese make this
sound when coming in slowly and unalarmed. It may work as a security call.
If geese come to your call keep it up and don’t get excited. If they need
more coaxing get more excited by using the double cluck and the fast
cluck.
The first time I
used the fast cluck I had a flock come in and swing over the decoys three
times. The lead gander just wasn’t sure and finally headed back to the
lake. When he got about a quarter of a mile away I decided to try the fast
clucking of landing geese. It was just I like had put a hook in the corner
of his mouth and reeled him. He swung the flock around and brought them
right in. If you aren’t willing to try new techniques and make mistakes,
you aren’t going to learn.
On windy days I use
a goose flute or megaphone model that is loud, or use a call that has a
high pitch. Normal calls don’t carry upwind on windy days, and you have to
blow loud and often to get the attention of the geese. I have had goose
flutes echo off silos in farm country and sound like an entire flock of
geese. On days when there is limited visibility (fog, clouds, rain) call
every few minutes. The only way the geese can find you if they can’t see
your decoys, is by the sound of your call. Foggy days can be great. You
call and hear nothing, then suddenly you hear geese and they appear out of
nowhere. Usually they decoy because they can’t see anything that might
spook them, and the security of another flock of geese is reassuring. With
“smart” geese, or at the end of a long season when geese are “call shy,”
you may want to quit calling altogether; use a different call than
everyone else is using; or call softer, less often and use less or more
decoys than anyone else.
There are too many
brands of goose calls on the market to mention; most of them work. Use
your own personal preference of two or three calls; don’t rely on just one
call. Be competent and comfortable with them. I don’t feel there is any
one call that is superior to any other. Most of the good, more expensive
calls work; well made inexpensive calls also work. Not all geese sound
alike and neither do the calls. I don’t use fancy cocabola or laminated
wood calls. To me a call is a tool to be used and it may get abused,
nothing more. I am not a call collector other than I have many calls.
For calling Giant
Canada geese I use Haydel's H-81 Honker, the MH-00 Magnum Honker and the
CA-01H Cocacrylic Honker. My personal favorite is the H-81 Honker, that I
tune myself and sell in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products catalog. For
smaller species of Canada geese I use Haydel's VTH-90 Variable Tone
Honker, GF-88 Goose Flute and the BF-99 "Black Foot" Short Reed Canada
Goose (which I also hand tune for Giant's and sell). For Snow geese and
blue geese I use Haydel's B-81 Blue & Snow Goose call, the MSG-96 Magnum
Snow Goose call and the SD-97 Snow Goose Diaphragm. For White-fronted
Geese (Specklebellies) I use the CS-92 Cutdown Speck, the S-81 "Specklebelly"
Goose and the XLS-83 Extra Loud "Specklebelly" Goose calls.
My best advice on
learning how to call is to get an instructional tape or CD from Haydels or
an Ultimate Game Calling System CD-ROM, listen to it, and practice
with several calls until you are comfortable with them. All of these
products are available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products catalog at
the book of this book.
If you are interested in
more goose hunting tips, or more goose biology and behavior, click on
Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.'s Hunting Tips at
www.TRMichels.com. If you have questions about geese log on to the
T.R.'s Tips message board. To find out how the waterfowl migration is
progressing log to www.Waterfowl.com.
This article is an
excerpt from the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual ($14.95 + $5.00 s&h), by T.R.
Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products
catalog.
T.R. Michels is a
nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor writer
and speaker. He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose,
and Turkey Addict's Manuals. His latest products are the 2003
Revised Edition of the Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2003 Revised
Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2003 Revised Edition of
the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For a catalog of books and other
hunting products contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors, PO Box
284, Wanamingo, MN 55983, USA. Phone: 507-824-3296, E-mail:
TRMichels@yahoo.com, Web Site:
www.TRMichels.com
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