The 2009 season began with high expectations and ultimately it ended up our being our best season in Missouri and our second best overall. Our Missouri hunting started with a bang on Feb 13 with a 90 bird field as the first snow storm of the season moved through the Mound City area. We did have some slower periods as every year does but overall hunting was good. March 11 wasn’t what you would consider a typical good day to hunt snow geese. The day started out very cold. However the combination of a reverse migration of birds from the north due to a snow storm in SD and a large migration from the south sandwiched Mound City from both ends and the hunters piled them up. That day we crushed our previous high field record of 154 with a 216 bird day and a total harvest of 588 snows between all of the fields. Both of these are bests for us. The rest of the Missouri season remained good hunting until we moved to SD.
When we moved to SD we thought we were hitting it perfect. The leading edge of adult birds had already moved into ND and there were still birds scattered as far south as Missouri. Then a major snow storm hit pushing all those leading edge birds right back to us. Although there were a lot of birds in the area hunting success was below average the first several days after the storm. The second week hunting picked back up with a few above average fields. High field in SD was 80 birds.
Our 2009 total harvest was 5471 geese. Five fields approached or exceeded the 100 bird mark. Two 90’s, 145, 147, and 216 bird days. Low field for the year was a zero. We shot 22 leg bands, 3 neck collared birds, and one $20 reward band.
Missouri Snow Geese staged on the refuge
Snow goose season in Missouri
Here is a pretty average day in the field.
Micky is a friend of our snow goose guide Jim
Savannah using resting her head on a down feather pillow after a long day of retrieving snow geese.
A group from Louisiana brought a little Cajun food and treated us to a crayfish boil.
Here in another party that has been snow goose hunting with us for many years.
These are the guys that my guide Curt hunts with back home. They refer to themselves as the “Kansas Killing Crew” and lived up to the name with this 40 bird day in mid March.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. This is the son of our guide Curt Schrader’s showing dad that he is not the only one with luck by shooting this red neck collared snow goose.
This is by far the luckiest party we have ever hunted. Big day seem to follow these guys where ever they go. Here they shoot 60 snow geese.
South Dakota Snow Goose Hunts
These hunters shot 69 snow geese and a double banded on a blue goose. One regular leg band and a $20 reward band.
Lesser snow geese
Here is another 90 birds for the Kansas Crew.
Sullivan party started where they left off on March 11 with 88 more snow geese on March 12.
Hunting Snow Geese in South Dakota
This is one of the best days I have ever seen on our spring snow goose hunts. This field shot 216 snow geese on March 11, 2009. This day is often referred to as “Bloody Wednesday” because there was so many snow geese shot that day.
Owner Tracy Northup one of two blue phase ross shot in 2009. This one was a Juvy.
Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge often peaks at over one million snow geese in the spring. It is not the only place that stages large numbers of birds but it is the only place that they are so visible. There is a road all around the pool that the geese stage on that allows the public to easily view this magnificent spectacle.
Only two member of this party decided to brave the elements for the morning hunt on this snowy day but they were rewarded nicely for their dedication.
Here is another group of hunters that did well on a snowy late Feb snow goose hunt.
Owner Tracy Northup (left) and guide Billy Martin on a afternoon hunt.
South Dakota Snow Goose Hunting
Here is the Weiss party. He has hunted with us for about 10 years. They are good shots and always seem to do well. This day they shot 52 snow geese.
The end of Feb is as good as any time to hunt snow geese as show by this party of hunters with their 39 snow geese.
Up North Outdoors snow goose guide Curt Schrader with a neck collar he shot. You will not harvest any birds if you don’t stay in the field. On their last day Curt’s party decided it was too cold to hunt so he hunted by himself and was rewarded with this ross goose. He’s lucky and shoots more banded birds than anybody I know.
Another picture from “Bloody Wednesday”. This party shot 50.
Banded Blue goose
This hunt was also featured in Snow Flurries 2. It is a guides hunt and we are joined by my partner in Deadly Decoys, Inc. Damian Kuzmin. It was a big day…147 snow geese.
All of my snow goose guides have ATV’s. If you look in the upper left of the picture you can see the trucks are parked about a mile away from our snow goose decoys. You don’t need an ATV to hunt snow geese and many don’t. At Up North Outdoors we think they are a key component to putting on top notch snow goose hunts. You would too if you had to carry these 42 snow geese plus your gear all the way back to the trucks.
Here is an odd adult snow goose that is missing the black wing tip. This is only the second bird we have shot with pure white wings.
These next several pictures are taken on a South Dakota Snow Goose Hunt in which my guide was hunting by himself and had a 20 bird limit. He then got out the camera and took pictures as flock after flock of migrating snow geese worked to point blank range. Here a single hovers over the blind at 20 yards
Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge
Savannah waiting for the next flock of migrating snow geese so she can go to work. .
Husband and wife enjoy a successful hunt in early March.
Snow Goose windsock decoys
South Dakota hunting in a snow goose decoy spread
First day of our 2009 season. This group of hunters shot 90 birds Feb 13, 2009 as a snow storm roll through the area.
Most of our guides hunt when they are not guiding. This is an afternoon we had off so we hit the field. It was a good afternoon with 52 birds taken.
Here is another big field on March 11, 2009. This groups of hunters shot 145 snow geese.
February 24…another example of a great February snow goose hunting. This party shot 38 for the day…10 in the morning and 28 in the afternoon. I had hunted the morning with another party that shot 24 on their half day hunt. I then came to this field giving my guide the afternoon off and shot 28 with them. Between the two parties I ended the day with 52. February should not be overlook as it has some great hunting opportunities.
Snow goose pictures
This is the Torzy party picking with the birds shot in 2008. Our snow goose guide Curt Schrader mounted them in the off season and delivers them to the hunters when they hunt the next year. Banded Goose Taxidermy 4909 West Illinois Ave. Hutchinson, KS 67501 620-662-7909
South Dakota Snow Goose Hunting
South Dakota Snow Goose Hunting Pictures
If you have seen our Snow Flurries 2 DVD this is the group on the day they rained 28 birds from one flock. Here they are pictured at the end of the day with the 81 birds they harvested.
A group from Louisiana brought a little Cajun food and treated us to a crayfish boil.
