Hunting snows and specklebellies
The time is now for hunting specklebellies and snows
Mike Checkett worked as the state waterfowl biologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission from 2000 to 2003, then took a job in Memphis, Tennessee, with Ducks Unlimited, where he continues his career as the director of development for DU in Missouri and Kentucky. He is a decoy carver, layout-boat builder and avid hunter who has traveled throughout the United States and Canada in pursuit of ducks and geese.
On a cold January day, I hunted geese near Stuttgart with Mike and his yellow Labrador retriever Elvis. Hanging from a lanyard around Mike’s 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’s why 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 in recent days. He told me chances were good I’d get my bird, and as it turns out, he was right.
Elvis sat patiently beside Mike, scanning the morning sky for birds. All was quiet for many minutes, and then we heard the first melodic strains of flying geese. It was hard to pinpoint them at first, but soon we could see several small flocks. They were coming our way.
The calls of the specklebellies grew in volume, 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 the geese winter here in the hundreds of thousands. It’s not uncommon to count 10,000 geese or more on a single section of land. They’re deteriorating breeding-ground habitat in the far north and worrying Arkansas wheat farmers. In response, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission allows a liberal season with generous bag limits that typically runs from mid-October through much of April.
White-fronted geese have joined the flocks of snows in ever-increasing numbers. I remember back in the 1970s when we were mesmerized by the first small flocks of “specks” we saw. Only 2,000 to 3,000 wintered in the entire state then, but it’s now common to see hundreds, sometimes thousands, in a single field, with tens of thousands wintering near Stuttgart, Jonesboro, Wynne, Brinkley and other Delta towns.
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 goose hunters must turn to private lands for their bounty because that’s where most geese are concentrated.
Hiring 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. The hunter need not spend endless hours scouting, doing the legwork to gain hunting permission, and setting out and retrieving decoys. For a reasonable fee, reputable guides do all this.
Most Arkansas goose guides are concentrated around Stuttgart, and you can learn how to contact them by calling the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce at (870) 673-1602 or visiting their website, www.
stuttgartarkansas.org. It’s more difficult finding guides in the northeast Delta, but a Web search using the phrase “Arkansas goose hunting” will turn up many, and the Jonesboro, (870) 932-6691, jonesborochamber.org Cross County, (870) 238-2601, crosscountychamber.com;
and Brinkley, (870) 734-2262, brinkleychamber.com chambers of commerce can often provide leads on guide services available near those cities.
Despite the work involved, many hunters prefer hunting on their own. If you’re in that category, here are tips to get started.
First, scout and talk with landowners.com, Secure permission to hunt farms you think geese will use. 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 the owner will 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 the food is gone. If you have no luck hunting them on one area, you may get a better chance when they move to a new feeding site.
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 5 to 10 feet apart to create the appearance of a relaxed feeding flock. This spacing also leaves room for approaching geese to land.
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 Hunting Guidebook available at license dealers statewide, or visit the Game and Fish Commission website at www.agfc.com.