Sept. 1 is the official beginning of the 2022-23 hunting season. Both geese and squirrel open this coming Thursday. That is where the similarity of the two species ends. Squirrels are basically a woodland critter and geese move around a lot in their lifetime. Geese can be found on water, fields, yards and even golf courses. Pretty much anywhere there are geese one can find them close to, or on, water.

I am crazy about goose hunting. There’s something about how receptive these birds are to my goose calls. Plus, hanging out with friends and family in a freshly cut field — hunting and scouting new ground really — makes chasing geese a great way to spend September.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love spring turkey, deer and duck hunting as much as the next guy, but goose hunting has been at the top of the list for some time.

Canada geese carry a bad name among many waterfowl hunters, whether it be, “they are no good to eat” or “they are big, dumb, park birds that anyone can hunt successfully.” I feel like I have heard them all.

Anyone can throw a robo duck out on a marsh and shoot ducks, or so they say. Heck, even without the slightest bit of skill on a duck call, you don’t even need a duck call. There is nothing like watching a flock of big Canada’s do a hard bank towards your decoy spread when you grab their attention with a goose flag. Or when you give them the perfect note on your goose call and watch them drop their webbed feet into your decoy spread.

I cannot stress this enough: scouting is really key to success during goose season. During the early season, geese are not in near the numbers they are later in the season when migrating birds fill roosts.

Find your birds on their roosts. Birds during the early season will hardly ever roost-hop like they will later in the season.

Once you find the roost, locate a food source in close proximity. Not only will there be limited grain harvested during the early season, but Canada geese will also not fly far to feed. Save the corn fields for later in the season.

Get permission and do exactly what the birds are doing in the fields. Set up on fresh droppings, in the same location you last saw them. Let them leave the field naturally and back to water to roost before setting up. You can oftentimes bump ducks off a spot and have them come back, but rarely will geese do this.

While calling geese during the latter part of the season might be super critical, this is not the case during the early season. You must remember that many of these birds have never seen a decoy or heard a goose call before. Less is often more, during the early season.

Use small bunches of decoys to mimic family groups. This also seems to help keep birds from landing short. Early in the season, Canada geese are still in their family groups and oftentimes do not intermingle with other flocks of birds until the weather starts to cool off.

The regular/later season can be a very difficult and frustrating time of year for many. Here are a few things we have learned over time that might help you “limit out.”

Cool turns to cold, which soon turns to downright frigid. Lakes, ponds and marshes are frozen and the Canada geese are keeping small pockets of water open and utilizing rivers and moving waters to roost.

Fields are often snow covered, and birds have had months to figure out areas to avoid and become patterned to safe areas. Young, dumb birds have either become wise or been eliminated from their flocks.

This is when we feel it is really fun and each decision you make truly matters.

Just as early season, scouting is as important as ever. At this point in the season, hunting on private land is going to dramatically increase your chances. Odds are any public land that was being utilized by geese has been hunted and burned already.

Birds during the late season have had weeks to months to find the safe areas and fields. This can make obtaining permission difficult, as there is more often than not a reason the birds are safe in the fields they are in.

Do not get discouraged, keep scouting and you will have that honey hole for late-season goose hunting.

We use a variety of full-body decoy spreads late in the season. Usually, we go really big or really small. Most people are usually running around the same number of decoys — 50-75. The key is to mix up your spread, keep the birds guessing. This can be done by your spread layout and numbers of decoys you place out.

As the season gets later, we have had good luck mixing in a few field duck decoys into our spread. Making sure to keep them in their group but not far from goose decoys. This works well just as the local water is beginning to freeze over.

Late season is also my favorite time to hunt geese over water. Usually, once Canada geese begin migrating south, they become fairly predictable. Migrating geese love a good water spot to rest, making the action hot and heavy if it lasts.

Decoys –style, make, position and finish — are an entirely different part of goose hunting. I try to keep it simple, so much so that while scouting I watch the birds I’m hunting and attempt to imitate that with the same goose or duck decoy spread look.

Keep it simple doesn’t necessarily mean cheap when purchasing decoys. The past few years we have moved mostly to full-flocked decoys. While they are more expensive, we have found when transported properly and stored in the right environment, they can last a long time. Of course, when it comes to birds dropping their landing gear, there is nothing better than a flocked decoy spread to finish them off. Take care, boys, enjoy your season.