Arkansas Goose Hunting
In the 1970s, only 2000 to 3000 white-fronted geese wintered in Arkansas each year. Populations have grown to hundreds of thousands in recent years.
DU waterfowl biologist Mike Checkett praises his Lab Elvis for a nice snow goose retrieve near Stuttgart, Arkansas. More and more hunters are pursuing geese in east Arkansas each year.
On a cold, gray day last January, while sitting in a pit blind with Mike and his constant hunting companion, a yellow Lab named Elvis, I learned that Mike had once considered a career as a chef. That changed, however, when he was offered a research biologist position with the Missouri Dept. of Conservation, where he worked three years studying giant Canada geese and mourning doves. That post eventually led him on the career path just mentioned. And it led to a lifelong love of waterfowling.
I knew most of these things about Mike before he invited me to hunt waterfowl with him on private land he leases in the east Arkansas Delta. What I didn’t know about Mike is the fact that he’s an extraordinarily good caller, one of the best I’ve ever shared a blind with. Hanging from a lanyard around his neck was a variety of callers for different species of waterfowl. The two he used most on this hunt were a specklebelly goose call and a snow goose call. In his talented hands, they both worked like charms.
Until this day, I had always wanted to kill a specklebelly, or greater white-fronted goose, but had never had an opportunity. That was one reason Mike invited me to hunt with him. He knew I wanted to bag one of these beautiful birds, and with dozens of specklebelly decoys placed in the field around his blind, he had enjoyed several good hunts here in recent days. He told me chances were good I’d get my bird, and as it turns out, he was right.
The reason for the white-fronted goose’s “specklebelly” nickname is clearly evident in this photo of Mike Checkett and his hunting dog Elvis.
It was hard to pinpoint them at first, but after a minute or two, I could make out several small flocks. They were coming our way.
The calls of the specklebellies grew in volume. Their forms grew in size. We could tell now there were several dozen, and as Mike played a perfect rendition of their call notes, several held a steady course that would soon take them over our heads.
When the geese finally could see Mike’s decoys, they cupped their wings and began swinging back and forth in the air. Too late they realized the ruse, and seconds later, on Mike’s command, Elvis bolted from the blind and retrieved our kills. I finally had my specklebelly, and before our hunt was over, Mike and I would kill several snow geese as well. It was one of the most fun and satisfying hunts I’ve enjoyed in recent years.
More and more, Arkansas waterfowlers are pursuing the plentiful flocks of snow and white-fronted geese that winter in the flat farmlands of eastern Arkansas. Goose populations seem to grow more every season, offering an excellent alternative for wingshooters wanting more winter action.
Snow goose populations began mushrooming in the 1990s as winter wheat plantings expanded in Arkansas. Today they winter here in the hundreds of thousands, and it’s not uncommon to count 10,000 geese or more in a single section of land. They’re deteriorating breeding-ground habitat in the far north and worrying Arkansas wheat farmers. In response, the Game & Fish Commission allows a very liberal season with generous bag limits that typically runs from November into April.
Elvis retrieves a nice snow goose for owner Mike Checkett.
While the geese are super-abundant, public-land hunting opportunities are not. There are rarely enough grain fields to attract geese on a regular basis to wildlife management areas, and the national wildlife refuges with decent goose populations—Wapanocca, Bald Knob, Cache, White River and Big Lake—are closed to goose hunting during most or all of the season. Therefore, most ardent goose hunters must turn to private lands for their bounty because that’s where most geese are concentrated.
Hiring is a guide is one option for private-lands hunting. Guides know the best ways to hunt these birds. They lease large tracts of land where geese are likely to be feeding during winter, so there’s no problem with access. Best of all, guides do all the work. The hunter need not spend endless hours scouting, doing the legwork to gain hunting permission and setting out/retrieving decoys. For a reasonable fee, reputable guides do all this.
Full-bodied white-fronted goose decoys helped draw birds close to the blind the author hunted from last season.
Despite the work involved, many hunters prefer hunting on their own. If you’re in that category, here are tips to get you started.
First, scout and talk with landowners. Secure permission to hunt farms you think geese will use during the coming winter. Many farmers lease fields for hunting or hunt the land themselves. But geese sometimes damage wheat crops, and if you take time to ask, many landowners will grant permission for you to goose hunt if plans are made before the season.
Obtain permission to hunt several fields if possible. You never know where geese will be each day during hunting season.
When the season opens, pinpoint goose flocks. With luck, some will be feeding in areas you have permission to hunt. If not, find out who owns land the birds are using, and see if they'll grant hunting permission.
Study goose movements throughout the season, identifying feeding places, loafing areas, roosting sites and flyways between each. Geese select feeding fields at random, but when they start using a field, they continue coming back until food is gone. If you had no luck hunting them on one area, you may get a better chance when they move to a new feeding site. Or, if they fly over or near your hunting sites when traveling between roosting and feeding areas, you may be able to lure them to your hunting area using decoys and calling.
White-fronts often associate with flocks of snow geese, so most hunters use the same decoys and decoy spreads used for snows, adding a few white-front imitations at the edge of the spread. Many prefer white-trash-bag decoys filled with rice straw, or white rags staked down with wooden pegs. Spreads of 500 or more aren't unusual, and most hunters supplement the makeshift decoys with a few wind socks, silhouettes, shells and full-bodied decoys. Space the decoys five to 10 feet apart to create the appearance of a relaxed feeding flock. This spacing also leaves room for approaching geese to land.
Snow goose flocks containing many thousands of birds are a common sight these days in east Arkansas farmlands.
No matter how you hunt them, snows and specks provide unexpected thrills at every turn. Hunting them is a great way to enjoy the outdoors this winter. So start preparing now for the season ahead.
For season dates and regulations, check the current Arkansas Waterfowl Regulations Guide available from license dealers statewide, or visit the Game & Fish Commission website at www.agfc.com.
