The problem was definitely concealment of the layout and the bed sheet. Kinda stuck out like a soar thumb on the ice. Not to mention they turn purple on the sun. I use white tyvek suits hunting winter geese and crows with great success. (geese are flat out stupid compared to crows!) if it had been me I would have hauled some brush on the ice and made a big pile to lay out behind.
Next time you hunt over ice drag a big log or 2 onto ice and prop one of them up to look like a log jam and hide behind that, it has always worked for me in the past. Or better yet if you don't know how the ice will hold pile up a bunch of branches and that should do the trick. Good hunting from Maryland!!
Hey Elliot - Geese see in UV. That's what Ben is referring to, those bed sheets have a tint to them for the geese due to the way they see. Snowmobile covers or regular layout snow covers would be something worth investing in if you're going to be hunting late season a lot. Been a fun season to watch so far!
When ice is as thick as you had, I've used my canoe to avoid having to cut the ice. I stand in the canoe and pole, never even crack the ice, when I get to the hole I can check depth from in the canoe. I think your little boats might even work better. Last year I used my big boat to just break in like I was the coast guard then made my own open water hole. That day we shot ducks in self defense. They REALLY wanted in.
Love your vids! You guys have to be one of the best waterfowling youtube channel in my eyes. I am a regular viewer and I can see you guys becoming big!! KEEP IT UP
3rd the motion, as I said a long time ago, this is real. The big names in the business should listen and take notes. Actually, they likely are watching. With subs growing every week, hard to say who is lurking out there.
someone may have mentioned this but if you had doused the sheets and let them freeze they would have reflected light similar to the ice. given the temps you had they would have froze in minutes. same principle as putting your layouts in the field you are going to hunt if you have ice or a hard frost the next morning.
I've got the same head lamp. I used to have a few Petzl headlamps, but I lost those throughout the years and when I went to get a replacement I couldn't pass up the deal on that headlamp. Keep up the good videos.
Now that I have watched more of the geese working here is my take . 1- The white you are using is to much contrast to the ice . It's very hard to match days old snow and ice . 2 - that hole in the ice is a touch to small .
Maybe If you guys stood in the water and put 10 or so full body's on the ice right around you they might not see you. I have done that with with ducks and it worked great!
Yes, you could see the fire through the camo netting early in the video. Also, the guy(s) laying on the ice were pretty obvious. Even Corn, sitting on the bank under three tiny twigs could have been a problem. I love going back and watching some of these old FDH videos.
love the videos guys big time waterfowler here in PA as far as those geese flaring white sheets cast uv and they see that from the sun hitting them. they work great in a field with snow after you dirty them up some. but good hunting man make piles and enjoy the time spent with family and friends
I had a terrible hunt today. Everything went wrong and I was by myself so there was nobody to blame haha Love the "real-ness" of your hunts. Makes me feel like I'm not the only one! Hope we can only finish the season on a strong note. God Bless
Nice hunt...curious of what size shot your using. Consider larger shot size, especially late season. We have been using BB or BBB This year.Drops them nice!
White bed sheets turn purple in the sun like that... Look into getting a snow cover of some sort. They are pretty cheap online and most of them fit all sizes of layout blinds
Freelance Duck Hunting the geese see it in purple.. Something about how the uv light reflects off. I'm not really sure, I just know it happened to us and I did some research on it and that's what a lot of people say?!
Freelance Duck Hunting Yes, I know Rodgers sporting goods sell a lot of them around $60. They have them in stock for all sorts of different layout blinds! Plus they are good quality we've had our covers 3-4 years and they still look great with no holes
They see ya. Put decoys around ya and on ya will help. Hard to fool when they've been living there and suddenly something is there they never seen. They looked pretty high too, like they might have been coming back from feeding. A lot easier to get the ones flying just above the ice when you're laying out. Just my $0.02 worth.
I watched a video a while back, and you said you only used improved cylinder chokes to hunt with. I think you could kill many more birds by investing in a extended range choke, and just because you use one doesn't mean you have to sky-bust. You will have cleaner kills on birds 30 yrds and in and you will have a much better chance at those birds 30+ when they just won't commit.
I don't want to shoot at birds within 20 yards with a full choke. The pattern is too small at that range and destroys the meat. I hunted teal with improved and have moved to modified once the mallards showed up. I bring all my chokes with me and will switch over the full if the situation dictates.
I'm with Corn, I don't like the ice walking.As for the waders melting, I can see the benefit to "Accidentally" melting the leg at knee height. -- >Gee guys, I can't go in and chop ice anymore, and, could one of you go fetch that bird for me?( :
haha, yeah that's a good idea! I tested the waders at the end of the hunt and they didnt leak. I think it just burt the top layer of material. I'll patch it and hope for the best!
They can see you and the fire. They have better eyes than you do. If I can see the fire through the netting they can. You guys need snow camo if your going to be in plain view of the birds and no cover. A motorized auger would of worked better than the hammer and ax.
I love watching you guys. You are a Kansas version of me and my guys here in NC. You make the best of your situations with what you have at your disposal. Rock on and kill ducks!
Carl Snider White tyvek suits work great. When the snow comes in some situations for us in fields that's all we use! Crouch by whatever stubble or wheel line there is and the birds don't mind
Yes Carl, tyvek suits are very common among field hunters that want to hunt a field that has little cover. Of course they are usually running huge decoys spreads with snow goose decoys and sillosocks. A lot of the sock type decoys are made of tyvek.
Fumbles junior huh. Glad you could find a way to laugh about the misfortunes of melting your waders. That sucks though. Maybe if you tell them the story behind it they will hook you up.
Jantzen Moore that hole they had was huge lol. I've goose hunted on a water hole 10 feet big and they don't care. A lot of times they'll just land on the ice!
H Hey elliotYou have inspired me to get my own outdoor channel on youtube. Any advice? Its been dream of mine to maybe one day be hunting and fishing for a living. Would love to email with you to maybe help me get started. Im a michigander lol. Thanks man
In plain white surroundings you can't hide so close to your decoys, coming in the geese inspect the decoys and you guys hiding among them only gives you up! I would have hidden away from the decoys and used some motion decoy to maximize the diversion.. They seemed to be coming in from the right so I would have hidden on the left so while approaching their focus would be on the decoys. But then again, what do I know, never seen a canada goose with my bare eyes.. ;) Happy hunting guys instagram.com/hih_iceland_hunt/
+Heiðar Helgason we would have hidden in the left but we were nervous about walking on the ice that far out in the river. How's the hunting in Iceland?
Ok I see, well, can't win them all ;) Goose hunting season is over, the geese usually leave late october. The ducks stay but most of them move to the sea when the snow comes so we have to look for those holes in the rivers to find the others. But we have no bag limits so when we hit that X-spot it can be a lot of fun. Now I'm recovering after a shoulder surgery so you and other hunting channels are all the hunting I get :)
they seen a few things maybe fire smoke buddy sitting on the bank in the open and should probably get something retrieve your birds so they don't go to waste dog or boat or even try to walk around where the ice is maybe thicker it's against our hunting laws here in nova Scotia not to make every effort to get a downed bird should be careful
You guys have no clue what you are doing. This is not natural to geese at all. Geese have seen everything. You have to blend in with the elements. This birds are smart and get smarter each year.
The problem was definitely concealment of the layout and the bed sheet. Kinda stuck out like a soar thumb on the ice. Not to mention they turn purple on the sun. I use white tyvek suits hunting winter geese and crows with great success. (geese are flat out stupid compared to crows!) if it had been me I would have hauled some brush on the ice and made a big pile to lay out behind.
Next time you hunt over ice drag a big log or 2 onto ice and prop one of them up to look like a log jam and hide behind that, it has always worked for me in the past. Or better yet if you don't know how the ice will hold pile up a bunch of branches and that should do the trick. Good hunting from Maryland!!
Hey Elliot - Geese see in UV. That's what Ben is referring to, those bed sheets have a tint to them for the geese due to the way they see. Snowmobile covers or regular layout snow covers would be something worth investing in if you're going to be hunting late season a lot. Been a fun season to watch so far!
When ice is as thick as you had, I've used my canoe to avoid having to cut the ice. I stand in the canoe and pole, never even crack the ice, when I get to the hole I can check depth from in the canoe. I think your little boats might even work better.
Last year I used my big boat to just break in like I was the coast guard then made my own open water hole. That day we shot ducks in self defense. They REALLY wanted in.
Love your vids! You guys have to be one of the best waterfowling youtube channel in my eyes. I am a regular viewer and I can see you guys becoming big!! KEEP IT UP
Rampage Impact I completely agree with your statement!
3rd the motion, as I said a long time ago, this is real. The big names in the business should listen and take notes. Actually, they likely are watching. With subs growing every week, hard to say who is lurking out there.
gotta love when you can open up a hole and they start dropping in
someone may have mentioned this but if you had doused the sheets and let them freeze they would have reflected light similar to the ice. given the temps you had they would have froze in minutes. same principle as putting your layouts in the field you are going to hunt if you have ice or a hard frost the next morning.
I've got the same head lamp. I used to have a few Petzl headlamps, but I lost those throughout the years and when I went to get a replacement I couldn't pass up the deal on that headlamp. Keep up the good videos.
you could have tried standing in your trail with a sheet over you
Now that I have watched more of the geese working here is my take .
1- The white you are using is to much contrast to the ice . It's very hard to match days old snow and ice .
2 - that hole in the ice is a touch to small .
+spfldprepper that hole was their hole. It's where they had been sitting.
Enjoyed the adventure guys! Thanks for sharing.
Maybe If you guys stood in the water and put 10 or so full body's on the ice right around you they might not see you. I have done that with with ducks and it worked great!
+WA outdoorsman you couldn't see it because the camera malfunctioned. But Aden was standing in the water hiding by a decoy when he shot his 1 goose.
the fire and smoke? probably why they aint finishing
Yes, you could see the fire through the camo netting early in the video. Also, the guy(s) laying on the ice were pretty obvious. Even Corn, sitting on the bank under three tiny twigs could have been a problem. I love going back and watching some of these old FDH videos.
love the videos guys big time waterfowler here in PA as far as those geese flaring white sheets cast uv and they see that from the sun hitting them. they work great in a field with snow after you dirty them up some. but good hunting man make piles and enjoy the time spent with family and friends
I had a terrible hunt today. Everything went wrong and I was by myself so there was nobody to blame haha Love the "real-ness" of your hunts. Makes me feel like I'm not the only one! Hope we can only finish the season on a strong note. God Bless
i think they say that white sheets flare birds because they reflect uv light. actual snow camo is a special white.
I would try mudding those sheets in. They look a little too clean even to match snow and ice.
Nice hunt...curious of what size shot your using. Consider larger shot size, especially late season. We have been using BB or BBB This year.Drops them nice!
good shoot! always a plus when you don't get a big fat "goose" egg!
I agree with others, that they could see you--especially on the ice. Nice video, I've enjoyed being along for the hunt this season, through your vids.
thanks! Will have white suits for future hunts
White bed sheets turn purple in the sun like that... Look into getting a snow cover of some sort. They are pretty cheap online and most of them fit all sizes of layout blinds
+Ben Hunting they didn't look purple while we were out there ??
Freelance Duck Hunting the geese see it in purple.. Something about how the uv light reflects off. I'm not really sure, I just know it happened to us and I did some research on it and that's what a lot of people say?!
+Ben Hunting that would explain it! I was baffled! So there are special sheets you can buy?
Freelance Duck Hunting Yes, I know Rodgers sporting goods sell a lot of them around $60. They have them in stock for all sorts of different layout blinds! Plus they are good quality we've had our covers 3-4 years and they still look great with no holes
yep they definitely look purple gotta get white camouflaged not bedsheets we learned our lessons the hard way
They see ya. Put decoys around ya and on ya will help. Hard to fool when they've been living there and suddenly something is there they never seen. They looked pretty high too, like they might have been coming back from feeding. A lot easier to get the ones flying just above the ice when you're laying out. Just my $0.02 worth.
Thank you for the insight! It's always welcome!
Can u do a vid on how to clean a duck and how u cook them in gonna go duck hunting next year and wanna know how to clean them
that looks fun besides the cold lol golden boy and his golden mustache
+Simeon Witte the cold just makes it more of an adventure!
Ok well i just haven't seen that side of hunting yet but it still looks fun.
I watched a video a while back, and you said you only used improved cylinder chokes to hunt with. I think you could kill many more birds by investing in a extended range choke, and just because you use one doesn't mean you have to sky-bust. You will have cleaner kills on birds 30 yrds and in and you will have a much better chance at those birds 30+ when they just won't commit.
I don't want to shoot at birds within 20 yards with a full choke. The pattern is too small at that range and destroys the meat. I hunted teal with improved and have moved to modified once the mallards showed up. I bring all my chokes with me and will switch over the full if the situation dictates.
Nice hunting!!!!!!!
From Russia with love!!!!
What part of Russia? Any difficult gun control laws in Russia. Do you have bag limits?
I met a Russian girl once, she was definitely a 3 bag minimum. Is that what you meant by limit Carl?
You might be able to patch those waders with shoe goo
pvc pipe frame, build a square one, throw it over the ice then throw a white sheet over that boom geese in the bag
I'm with Corn, I don't like the ice walking.As for the waders melting, I can see the benefit to "Accidentally" melting the leg at knee height. -- >Gee guys, I can't go in and chop ice anymore, and, could one of you go fetch that bird for me?( :
haha, yeah that's a good idea! I tested the waders at the end of the hunt and they didnt leak. I think it just burt the top layer of material. I'll patch it and hope for the best!
I'm with red roof on that one.
That bed sheet is no bueno. Get a cheap layout with a snow covers. Also that fire may have been flaring some of those birds.
+Steve Chmiel man, I wish we had know the UV sheet thing. We
would have had a great shoot!!
I can't imagine why they wouldn't finish ...... The CAMPFIRE MAYBE???
They can see you and the fire. They have better eyes than you do. If I can see the fire through the netting they can. You guys need snow camo if your going to be in plain view of the birds and no cover. A motorized auger would of worked better than the hammer and ax.
We had a long haul to get to that spot. Not to mention we don't own an auger.
U might think i am crazy but it's uv colors ,went through the same thing ,trust me get some sent free u v soap to wash yalls white s and camo
Have they killed any bands
I love watching you guys. You are a Kansas version of me and my guys here in NC. You make the best of your situations with what you have at your disposal. Rock on and kill ducks!
Lot of posts about using bed sheets. Do whlte Tyvek suits work?
Carl Snider White tyvek suits work great. When the snow comes in some situations for us in fields that's all we use! Crouch by whatever stubble or wheel line there is and the birds don't mind
As long as you keep still and don't move
Carl Snider We used Tyvek suits for snow geese
Yes Carl, tyvek suits are very common among field hunters that want to hunt a field that has little cover. Of course they are usually running huge decoys spreads with snow goose decoys and sillosocks. A lot of the sock type decoys are made of tyvek.
You're talking about laying in a snow field though, correct Ben4?
If it was me I wouldn't have ran any decoys if they were stay in that hole
Fumbles junior huh. Glad you could find a way to laugh about the misfortunes of melting your waders. That sucks though. Maybe if you tell them the story behind it they will hook you up.
turns out they don't leak. We are thinking about cutting a patch out of an old dog vest and gorilla glueing it to the burn mark for protection.
That's a good reason to keep the old waders, to make a patch from the upper part, less work areas.
Yikes!
Horrible decisions from A to B...
Why didnt you just go get the wounded goose from the other side???
It looks like your hole is too small for more than 4 to land. Your best bet is gonna be a field.
+Jantzen Moore this was the hole 300+ geese had been sitting on. 2 weeks ago 2000+ were on an even smaller hole and we pulled them in just fine.
Jantzen Moore that hole they had was huge lol. I've goose hunted on a water hole 10 feet big and they don't care. A lot of times they'll just land on the ice!
Lose the white sheets they will flare everytime like other ppl said they glow like purple in the sun
White bed sheets turn purple in the sun
Put some goose shells or full bodies on the sheet
H
Hey elliotYou have inspired me to get my own outdoor channel on youtube. Any advice? Its been dream of mine to maybe one day be hunting and fishing for a living. Would love to email with you to maybe help me get started. Im a michigander lol. Thanks man
email me freelanceduckhunting@gmail.com
when does your guys season end?
+Armando end of January
I'm here in Atlantic Canada we just finished ours the end of December.
Armando ours ended the end of November
I think that dark goose season extends into Feb a little
You could of put all the decoys on one side of the hole to put the attention on the decoys and you hide on the other side
We were trying to avoid walking on other areas of ice we hadn't tested. We were a little nervous about falling through.
You guys should check out Hecs stealthsceen it really works! This should help you guys keep the birds from flaring
Check out hunters refuge and buy there brand of waders trust me they are awesome the 1600's are 169
In plain white surroundings you can't hide so close to your decoys, coming in the geese inspect the decoys and you guys hiding among them only gives you up!
I would have hidden away from the decoys and used some motion decoy to maximize the diversion.. They seemed to be coming in from the right so I would have hidden on the left so while approaching their focus would be on the decoys.
But then again, what do I know, never seen a canada goose with my bare eyes.. ;)
Happy hunting guys
instagram.com/hih_iceland_hunt/
+Heiðar Helgason we would have hidden in the left but we were nervous about walking on the ice that far out in the river. How's the hunting in Iceland?
Ok I see, well, can't win them all ;)
Goose hunting season is over, the geese usually leave late october. The ducks stay but most of them move to the sea when the snow comes so we have to look for those holes in the rivers to find the others.
But we have no bag limits so when we hit that X-spot it can be a lot of fun.
Now I'm recovering after a shoulder surgery so you and other hunting channels are all the hunting I get :)
Glad your watching! Hope to hear from you more in the future!
U should use GoPros
I might add one to what i'm doing next year but it will never be my main camera. I want to be able to zoom in and get close ups.
Freelance Duck Hunting oh I see but u can both shoot instead of only one person shooting using a GoPro
+Mike Gregorich outdoors we don't mind taking turns shooting. It's actually really fun.
they seen a few things maybe fire smoke buddy sitting on the bank in the open and should probably get something retrieve your birds so they don't go to waste dog or boat or even try to walk around where the ice is maybe thicker it's against our hunting laws here in nova Scotia not to make every effort to get a downed bird should be careful
+Adam Bowers in those conditions it would have been risking death to attempt retrieving that bird. It was simply out of the question.
2:16 instant rigor mortis
You guys have no clue what you are doing. This is not natural to geese at all. Geese have seen everything. You have to blend in with the elements. This birds are smart and get smarter each year.
Are u guys lds?
No, Non denominational
That's good to hear