MISSOURI'S BOOTHEEL GOOSE HUNTS

The fertile Mississippi River delta country of southeast Missouri has been a major attraction to migrating geese for eons. With the changes in climate and agricultural practices over the past twenty years, the composition of migrating flocks of geese have changed as well, which is not all bad.


Billie R. Cooper

“My Bootheel goose hunting partner’s voice crackled with excitement. “Bill, you gotta hustle down here. The snow geese are pouring into the area by the tens of thousands.”
“I’ll be there in two days,” I responded. Visions of massive, cyclone swirls of snow geese danced in my head as I immediately began packing my gear for the 225 mile trip from my home in St. James.
The late evening weather report looked ominous for states to the north all the way down to south central Missouri. No bother. Goose hunters possess the dreadful habit of praying for howling winds, dropping temperatures and snow, especially for their northern neighbors in Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa. That means one thing to a Missouri goose hunter: birds moving south.
Dave Graber, the Missouri Department of Conservation’s lead waterfowl research biologist, has on numerous occasions during our conversations about waterfowl, been quick to point out that weather conditions are the key factor in determining the migrations of geese into the Bootheel in January.
The snow geese pouring into the Bootheel were coming up from Arkansas. The northern weather would push Canadas down from the north. I envisioned a goose hunters’ paradise awaiting me and my hunting buddies.
Only one thing went wrong with my great laid plans. The precipitation in central Missouri turned to ice and lots of it. The day I had planned to leave for the Bootheel, I couldn’t walk to my truck without slipping.
The ice storm fell short of southeast Missouri, leaving the delta region winter wheat, rice and corn stubble fields dusted with a powder of snow. The freeze line halted in the hills to the north, leaving open water areas in the lowlands. Thousands of snow geese continued to pour into the area from the south, while northern Canada geese winged southward in search of food and open water. A goose hunters’ heaven materialized in a matter of hours and I didn’t make it in – that time.
With 80 percent of the annual Canada goose harvest now taking place in the northern part of the state, goose hunters in southeast Missouri do hope for the worst weather up north. Freezing temperatures must reach at least as far south as St. Louis for Canada geese to begin filtering into the Bootheel from areas north. The big birds are hardy creatures and will only migrate far enough south to reach open water and an available food supply.
Giant Canadas, of which most are local birds, now make up almost 80 percent of the annual Canada goose harvest in the Show-me state. It goes without saying that when and if these birds are forced to the Bootheel for food and water, they are weather wise and hunter smart. They have already survived the early goose season of September and most of the regular goose season. All of the tricks of the goose hunting trade have been exercised against these hardy survivors and they won’t be easy prey in January.
The greatest advantage that hunters have on January geese is the fact that new arrivals are hungry and are not programmed into the dangerous areas where hunters hide. However, give them a few days and they will know where every blind and decoy spread is located. Wise hunters pray for more bad weather up north, which will bring new Canadas to the area. Changing locations in between squalls is the best tactic for bringing wise birds to the gun.
Graber noted that Canada geese are staying further north and for longer periods of time. “The southern states used to complain about Missouri short-stopping Canada geese. Now Minnesota is complaining about the Canadian provinces holding geese so long. The fact of the matter is that changing weather patterns and agricultural practices have conditioned the geese to stay north longer. The big birds are not going to come south as long as there is available food and open water up north.”
According to Graber, there are about 1.7 million giant Canada geese in the flyway. Of those, 65,000 reside in Missouri and 300,000 in Minnesota. Several other northern states harbor large numbers as well. Missouri’s goose hunters have adapted to the changes in goose behavior and do well at harvesting the resident giant Canadas.

Goose hunting in the Missouri Bootheel would be a dismal affair these days if it had not been for the explosion of the snow goose population in the early 1990’s. The light goose population, which includes snows, blues and Ross’ geese, began to grow by an annual rate of 5 percent and numbered 3 million by the end of the decade. Missouri’s light goose hunters enjoyed an added bonus from the La Perouse Bay colony, which expanded by a whopping 8 percent each year. Many of those geese migrate through Missouri each year.
Light geese are long-lived, durable creatures. Their tolerance for crowding is amazing, especially during the nesting season. They reuse the same nest site each year and need little space to raise their young. The sheer number of light geese on the tundra nesting grounds has wreaked havoc on their habitat because of their eating habits. Light geese graze both on grasses and sedges growing on the surface as well as roots and tubers underground. It is this turning of the fragile tundra soils that has led to destruction that will take decades to heal itself after the population has been checked.
In 1999 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials implemented the Conservation Order which established a long season for light geese with relaxed regulations. The goal was to reduce the light goose population by one-half.
The Conservation Order established a new hunting tradition in Missouri. Goose hunters responded to the new hunting opportunities and now kill 10 times more light geese than prior to the order. In fact, according to Graber, Missouri hunters have been the most successful in the flyway.
Missouri goose hunters enjoy the good fortune of their state being located at the right latitude at the right time of year. Gunners catch light geese on their annual migrations both north and south and there is no better place in Missouri than the Bootheel to take advantage of the swarms of snow geese passing through.
January is a prime time to hunt snows. However, many hunters wait until February first when the Conservation Order for light geese begins. “Snow goose numbers are at their peak from the first to the middle of January,” said Avery Outdoors Pro Staffer Hunter Johnson. He also owns and operates Locked Wings and Labs in southeast Missouri.
“Snow geese are hard to hunt at best,” Johnson continued. “Most hunters wait until the regular season is over and start hunting when the Order comes in. During the regular season hunters cannot use electronic calls or unplugged shotguns. Three or four guys calling with mouth calls simply cannot sound like the several hundred decoys they have set out. And snow geese are very smart. They figure things out quickly and gunners simply don’t kill many snows that way.”
At the peak of the snow goose migration in January there will be a quarter million or more snow geese using the Missouri Department of Conservation Areas at Otter Slough, Ten Mile Pond and Duck Creek. Part of the Mingo national wildlife Refuge is open to hunting as well. However, the MDC administers that program through Duck Creek headquarters.
Tommy Marshall, the wildlife biologist at Otter Slough, issued a reminder that the area is in the middle zone. While duck hunters face a closing season in early January, goose hunters generally have until the end of month to hunt.
Marshall stated that the area holds a steady population of Canada geese, but only a fraction of what once used the properties. Now a maximum of 75 birds will be the most a hunter could hope to find there.
“Richardson’s geese are beginning to show up,” Marshall said. “We sometimes get as many as 30 on the area.”
Snow geese are the birds that get the attention at Otter Slough these days. “At times we will have as many as 100,000 snows roosting on the area,” Marshall noted. “At sunrise the massive groups tornado upward and funnel out of the refuge to surrounding farm lands to feed. Hunting on Otter Slough consists primarily of pass shooting. The birds get high quickly before fanning out to the surrounding countryside.”
Marshall and his staff and contracted farmers plant approximately 500 acres of winter wheat, corn and other food plots each year. “It only takes one large group of snows one night to clean up those food sources. That usually happens in November.”
Hunters use a self check in system at Otter Slough in January, beginning at 4 a.m. Four people are allowed per party and 1 party per pool. There are over 30 pools available with some flooded and the others in moist soils. There are 5 green fields on the area, which are the best spots for January geese. These areas consist of high ground planted in winter wheat. There are no blinds available there. All hunting ceases at 1 p.m.
More and more White-fronted or speckle-belly geese are showing up in the Bootheel each year. Marshall cautioned that hunters must know the difference between them and snows. The limit on speckle-bellies is usually one or two, while the limit on snows is 20 during the regular goose season. Specs are a gray-brown goose showing a pink bill at close range. Too, they have a white patch on the front of the face and black barring on the chest. Unlike any other goose, their feet are yellow or orange.
Duck Creek Conservation Area consists of 6,234 acres of which 1,800 acres are open water used for fishing and a waterfowl refuge. The hotspots to look for are Pool 1 which is mostly made up of moist soils, while Unit A is open marsh. Pool 2 is comprised of 709 acres and offers good goose hunting at times. The west end of Unit B is normally planted in rotations of corn, beans and wheat. Eight hunting positions are available in this unit.
Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, very near Duck Creek, offers 1,200 acres of open water for goose hunting. The area can handle up to 40 hunters at full pool. However, there are no blinds available and goose hunting is limited primarily to pass shooting. Hunters need to check in at Duck Creek when wishing to hunt on the Mingo Area. These areas should not be ignored, because at the right time they will hold thousands of blues and snows and there are a growing number of White-fronted geese using these areas.
Ten Mile Pond Conservation Area located in Mississippi County is a part of the south zone. As a result, duck season runs to the end of January. Goose hunters have to face the morning draw with the duck hunters.
“No one hunts snows over water at Ten Mile,” said Rob Vinson, the area wildlife biologist. “Sneaking is the primary method.”
Ten Mile CA has fields planted with wheat, rye, corn and milo for field hunting. When duck season ends, goose hunters face first come-first-served hunting. Parties cannot check in before 4:00 a.m. and must check out at area headquarters. Regulations permit one party per field with 4 hunters per party.
Sneaking up ditch lines or other cover has become the accepted method for hunting snow geese in many areas. Marshall expressed concerns about the ethics of some hunters. “Many hunters sneak up on a bunch of geese feeding in a field and simply shoot into the flock of birds. They may kill a lot of birds like that, but they also cripple many birds. What happens after that point sometimes becomes a problem. Hunters who chase after cripples sometimes get out of their pool area into one being used by other hunters. Or, in the worst case scenario, hunters sometimes chase cripples onto private property. Then they are facing trespass problems. And, worst of all is the guys who make no attempt at all to harvest crippled birds. That becomes a wanton waste of game violation.”
All of the wildlife biologists to which I spoke at the CA’s indicated that the vast majority of the light goose hunting takes place on private properties surrounding the managed waterfowl areas. There is much more food available on private property and the Bootheel consists of tens of thousands of acres covered with winter wheat fields and harvested corn, rice, milo and soybean fields. Because of the vastness of the region, geese are less bothered by hunters than at the conservation areas.
Most snow goose hunters find where geese are feeding, then locate the landowner for permission to hunt. Landowners have been good about allowing hunters on their property because of the damage the geese do to crops. However, that has begun to change according to Hunter Johnson. “In some cases, hunters do more damage to a landowner’s crops than the geese. Usually the guys who damage fields are trespassing. They see a bunch of geese in a field, sneak up a ditch and shoot into the flock. The damage to fields happens when hunters take their ATV’s and trucks across wet fields leaving enormous ruts and damaging wheat crops. As a result of this kind of behavior, many farmers are beginning to stop allowing goose hunters on their land. Hunters need to police their own ranks to stop this insult to landowners,” Johnson said.
Johnson maintains access to 10,000 acres across four counties through his waterfowl operation Locked Wings and Labs LLC in the Bootheel. He owns about 4,000 acres and leases rights on the other properties. The lands are scattered across Stoddard, Dunklin, Pemiscot and New Madrid counties.
“In January we spend most of our time hunting White-fronted geese,” Johnson noted. “We hunt specs while duck hunting. A couple of spec decoys and one snow goose decoy added to the side of our duck spread will attract the birds. Then we begin hunting snows when the Conservation Order comes in. It is so much easier when we can use electronic callers. A few guys blowing calls during the regular attempting to sound like a thousand geese just doesn’t cut it.”
Johnson talked about an unusual set up he uses when he hunts only for specs. “Speckle-bellies are hard to hunt. You have to know where they want to go to feed or you are out of the ball game. Scouting is essential, because if you set up 100 yards from where they want to be, you are out of luck. We generally put out three decoys – 2 specs and one snow goose. It really works.”
“Specs started showing up about ten years ago,” Johnson said. More hunters are beginning to pursue them. Ninety percent of our hunting is in fields out of Avery Finisher Blinds. There is usually little cover, so we use Avery Killer Weed as a base coat of brush for our blinds. Too, Avery now has fully flocked, full body Spec decoys on a motion stake. They are awesome.”
Johnson can be reached at 573-225-3625 or on his website at http://www.lockedwings.com/.
Goose hunting in the Bootheel is still as exciting as ever even though hunting has shifted from dark geese to light geese. More good news for hunters is the fact federal authorities indicate that even though hunters have helped reduce the light goose population, their numbers are still too high. Do your part-pray for cold, miserable weather up north, pack your gear and head to the Missouri Bootheel come January.