Early goose season outing a success.
MEQUON The changing of the seasons are marked by certainty and surprise.
Thursday at midnight we completed our most recent transition from summer to fall, according to the meteorological calendar. No ifs, buts or maybes.
For tens of thousands of Wisconsin’s waterfowling faithful, Sept. 1 also hailed the beginning of the annual early Canada goose season.
The weather and wildlife conditions we find on the first day of the ninth month, however, are never the same twice.
“Ready for another one?” said Jerry Solsrud of Oconomowoc, my hunting partner, as we met Friday in the dark of pre-dawn. “No way to know exactly what the day will bring. But there’s only one way to find out.”
With that, Solsrud and I gathered our gear and set out on a mission of discovery.
Our efforts were focused on an agricultural field that had several acres of standing corn adjacent to strips of winter wheat. Canada geese had been using the farm heavily in recent days, primarily feeding on the tender wheat sprouts.
Solsrud, 78, and I have a tradition of hunting the opener of the early season somewhere in southeastern Wisconsin.
Solsrud was one of the founders of the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association and served as its first president; last year he was among the inaugural class of the conservation organization’s hall of fame.
Aside from spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, nothing gives Solsrud more pleasure in life than waterfowl hunting.
Now retired, he doggedly pursues his passion each fall in Wisconsin and Canada.
I, too, have always been captivated by waterfowl. Although some deride the now common Canada geese, even in southeastern Wisconsin I admire the bird’s tenacity and adaptability. To me, the sights and sounds of Canadas always project a sense of wildness.
Like any hunt in suburban areas, goosing success is largely determined by scouting and access.
Our outing actually had roots that stretched back decades, to when Solsrud first met and obtained permission from the landowner.
And this year, the hunt started in July when the property owner was contacted again.
A hunter who has repeatedly earned a landowner’s trust over many years has little trouble getting a “yes” and a signature (required in Mequon).
According to scouting reports, the field of winter wheat had a good number of birds in it Thursday morning,
About 5:30 a.m., Solsrud and I set six full-sized goose decoys in the wheat about 15 yards from the edge of the standing corn.
Then, as the eastern sky lightened through shades of orange and purple, we sat on folding stools and talked.
The air was 61 degrees Fahrenheit; the wind was east at 15 mph.
The breeze tugged at the 8-foot-tall corn stalks around us, making a wavy green-and-gold sea of leaves and tassels.
Another harbinger of fall — Green Bay Packers football — had taken center stage the previous night. As Solsrud described his appreciation for the apparent depth at the team’s quarterback position, a distant voice interrupted.
“He-onk!” Four Canadas appeared from the east and began to circle the field.
We pulled on our facemasks and positioned our chairs one row deep in the corn.
The early September season is an important part of Wisconsin’s Canada goose management program.
The season offers hunters an additional recreational experience outside of the regular season later in fall and directs harvest pressure onto the Temperate Breeding Population (TBP) of Canada geese, formerly known as resident giants.
The season runs Sept. 1-15 with a five-bird daily bag limit.
The fall harvest of Canada geese in Wisconsin consists primarily of two groups of birds, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
One is called the Ontario nesting Canada geese population (formerly known as Mississippi Valley Population), which breeds along the southern Hudson Bay coast and migrates south primarily through Wisconsin and Michigan, and then Illinois, Indiana and western Ohio.
The second is the resident or giant race that breeds in Wisconsin, also known as the TBP.
Since some of the local birds create nuisances in parks, subdivisions and other urban and suburban areas, as well as crop damage, the early September season helps the DNR manage the TBP numbers.
Last year hunters registered 16,880 honkers in the early September season, up from 15,749 in 2015.
The early season harvest represented 31% of total Wisconsin goose registrations for 2016. The other components were the 90-plus day exterior zone season (31,820 birds) and Horicon (3,021).
The number of licensed hunters — 57,412 — also was a slight increase. Harvest records show 3,378 of the hunters were successful in taking at least one bird.
Prospects appear even better for goose hunters this fall. The statewide breeding Canada goose population estimate of 158,023 was up 22% from 2016 and 64% above the 31-year mean.
As the quartet of geese made a second aerial lap, Solsrud put his goose flute to work and urged the black-and-white flock to come closer.
On the third loop, the geese set wings and drifted into our decoy spread from the north.
Our shotguns rang out and the first two honkers of 2017 were in hand.
As we hurried to retrieve the birds, more flocks came into view. Choruses of goose music filtered in from all directions.
At least two groups veered off when they saw two-legged upright walking figures scurrying back to the corn.
The disturbance was temporary, however. At 6:15 a flock of 10 Canadas came in from the west; our individual bags doubled.
At 6:20 three flocks of honkers and a group of 10 mallard ducks worked the area.
Two of the goose groups nearly landed in our decoys and provided us with 20-yard shots.
The action continued with only short gaps until 6:39, when both Solsrud and I had our fivebird daily limits.
The early-morning bonanza included probably 350 Canadas in the skies.
It had been an opening day for the books. Two other hunters also limited out from a blind in a treeline about 300 yards to our south.
Solsrud and I picked up the six-pack of decoys and loaded the vehicle. More geese drifted into the field as we drove out at 6:50.
There’s no way to predict how many birds will fly on Sept. 1. And even if they do, whether they’ll be drawn to your decoys.
But as sure as September follows August, the hard work of scouting and cultivating good relationships with landowners will tilt the odds of hunting success in your favor.