130 Northwest Sportsman AUGUST 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

let’s not even get into salmon fishing,

which is just now picking up a good

head o’ steam.

To the wingshooter, though –

waterfowler, upland bird hunter –

September is all about opportunity. A

fresh start. A new day. A new season.

A chance to shake off the cobwebs

that formed during the long period

of downtime, otherwise known as

summer. And we all know they do

indeed form. This month, Northwest

Sportsman takes a look at a quartet

of feathered offerings that come

available during September across

our region. So dust off that O/U. Find

your waders. Hose the mud off the

decoys. And for the love of Pete, quit

feeding that dog doughnuts!

You best lay off ’em, too, cause it’s

time. It’s here. It’s Opening Day.

HUNTING

EARLY GEESE

The major misconception about

September Canadas, henceforth

known as early geese, is that they’re

dumb. Really dumb. Which they can

be, but then again, I’ve seen bruiser

whitetails back in Iowa pull some

real head-scratchers. However, early

and dumb are not synonymous terms

when it comes to Canadas.

“A lot of these early geese,” says Bill

Saunders, “are still being led around

by Mom and Dad during September.”

A legend among the waterfowling

tribe, not only in the Northwest but

throughout the whole of the nation,

Saunders was, for whatever reason,

not walleye fishing on the Columbia

when I called, so he had a couple

minutes for my questions.

“Oh, I’ve seen them be stupid, but

I’ve also seen the juvies lock up, only

to get called off by Mom and Dad

before they have a chance to decoy,”

says the Tri-Cities-based call maker.

According to Saunders, decoying

early geese is one of the toughest

challenges about the September gig.

“Often,” he says, “they come off

the roost early, even in the dark. And

then they don’t want to land with

one another. The adults will actually

try to keep their broods away from

the other birds in the field.”

To combat this, Saunders suggests

two things.

“First, I run a lot smaller spreads

early than I do in, say, November.

Maybe 12 to 18 decoys; just a little

family unit. And then I set the blinds

knowing that the birds are going to

want to land 15 to 20 yards away

It’s hard to beat hunting in a T-shirt,

but that’s what the early bird seasons

offer. (JULIA JOHNSON)

COME

HUNT

WITH

ARROW RIDGE RANCH

w w w.a r r o w r i d g e r a n c h.co m

920-647-6078