Geese dekes on the water

[Robhuntandfish]

Is it worth getting a few geese floaters ?  I am thinking like 4 of them to hunt on our pond.  I have some half shells for land but was thinking of getting 4 floaters to see if we can draw them in better.  It seems like the geese have a better eye than ducks do and i know goose spreads often seem to be large.  Im not buying a bunch but thinking about a few.  Worth it? 

[Lawdwaz]

19 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Is it worth getting a few geese floaters ?  I am thinking like 4 of them to hunt on our pond.  I have some half shells for land but was thinking of getting 4 floaters to see if we can draw them in better.  It seems like the geese have a better eye than ducks do and i know goose spreads often seem to be large.  Im not buying a bunch but thinking about a few.  Worth it? 

I’d guess it couldn’t hurt?

All my planned goose hunting was done on land, not water.   Have killed some coming off water but usually they’re already there on the water in the morning then don’t come back till well past sundown.

[Bolt Action]

I've only ever hunted geese on a pond edge. I've only used floaters and geese came into them more often than not.

[Robhuntandfish]

47 minutes ago, Bolt Action said:

I've only ever hunted geese on a pond edge. I've only used floaters and geese came into them more often than not.

thats what we are going to do.  Hunt a pond edge in possible a couple of different places.  Thanks .  Weve been duck hunting and have them pass over high or close but not quite come in. When we are duck hunting i will just use duck decoys but want to give that early season in sept a try 

Edited January 24 by Robhuntandfish

[Robhuntandfish]

Geese floaters are damn expensive. 

[Lil zeek]

1 hour ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Geese floaters are damn expensive. 

It’s much cheaper to make your own lol!

[mowin]

@Lil zeek won't charge you much for some custom deeks. 

[Robhuntandfish]

20 minutes ago, Lil zeek said:

It’s much cheaper to make your own lol!

 

3 minutes ago, mowin said:

@Lil zeek won't charge you much for some custom deeks. 

Might have to commission @Lil zeekfor some!  

[CharlieNY]

When we hunt a large pond we put out full body and silhouette goose decoys in family groups on land on one side of the pond. Then we throw in 6 full body floaters close to the edge of the pond in front of the land decoys. This setup usually brings them right in to us and we stick with it. Here's a pic of my yellow lab Waylon and a pic of my son's black lab Gunner coming in to shore with a bird by our floating decoys on the edge of the pond. You can usually find floating goose decoys on Facebook Marketplace at a good price. Good luck.

[virgil]

Agree with Charlie.  We use a similar setup when we hunt small ponds.  And, from what i understand, goose floaters act as 'confidence dekes' for duck hunting.

[Bolt Action]

Agree with the above. I've used this setup with good success in Braddock Bay. I'll sit in the cat tails at the pond edge with 6-12 floaters in front of me (just depends on how much i want to carry..). I don't use any non floaters on land. This hasn't drawn in the high flying flocks, but worked well with the lower groups. Almost always had mallards fly into them as well. I haven't been out in a few years but would love to do it again. I actually picked up a field layout blind with the intent to hunt over a picked corn or bean field, but just haven't had a chance to use it yet.

[Bolt Action]

If you haven't hunted a water edge before, here's a really simple tip. I know it seems like common sense, but I learned the hard way. If you have birds fall over the water, have a plan to retrieve them. I thought waders would be enough in a shallow pond, but was wrong. I used a weighted treble hook thinking i could cast over the bird and snag it and reel it back in, but I couldn't quite make it happen. From them on, I always at least bring a kayak so I can paddle out if I need to.

[Robhuntandfish]

i got a bunch of shell dekes from @Doebuck1234 that I can use also.  But prob gonna pickup 4 floaters.  thanks all.  On the lookout for a field area to hunt in Sept too , gotta bang on some doors.  Would love to be out hunting in Sept. 

[Lawdwaz]

6 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

i got a bunch of shell dekes from @Doebuck1234 that I can use also.  But prob gonna pickup 4 floaters.  thanks all.  On the lookout for a field area to hunt in Sept too , gotta bang on some doors.  Would love to be out hunting in Sept. 

I bet you could cut out some pieces of foam and stuff them up under the shells and make floaters????

[Robhuntandfish]

11 minutes ago, Bolt Action said:

If you haven't hunted a water edge before, here's a really simple tip. I know it seems like common sense, but I learned the hard way. If you have birds fall over the water, have a plan to retrieve them. I thought waders would be enough in a shallow pond, but was wrong. I used a weighted treble hook thinking i could cast over the bird and snag it and reel it back in, but I couldn't quite make it happen. From them on, I always at least bring a kayak so I can paddle out if I need to.

For sure.   We bought a little boat last year and leave it at our hunting land.  Looking at picking up another.  Marketplace is great for buying these.  Bought the one in the video for $100.