I know of a place in Saskatchewan where on any given day, from the opening of the season to the end of the season I can hunt Canada, whitefronted, snow or Ross’ geese. While these various species migrate through the area at various times, it seems there is always at least one or more of these species of birds to hunt. In addition, I’ve had days when I’ve been able to harvest a bird of each type. That place is an area I call the Mighty “D”.

Setting The Scene
Lake Diefenbaker and the South Saskatchewan River that feeds this man made lake are located in south western Saskatchewan. The lake itself is 140 miles long and has close to 500 miles of shoreline. It was created during 1959 and 1967 when the Gardiner and Qu’Appelle dams were built on the South Saskatchewan River and at the intersection between the South Saskatchewan River and the Qu’Appelle River. This manmade waterbody is so big, that many including myself don’t really know where the Saskatchewan River stops and Lake Diefenbaker begins. Thus my Mighty D is the body of water from the Alberta border east to Elbow, south to the Qu’Appelle Dam and north to the Gardiner Dam and some of the tail waters towards Saskatoon. I also lump the multitude of grain fields and potholes in the surrounding area within this description.

The term mighty is not just based on the sheer size of the area and water body, it’s also based on the massive numbers of migrating waterfowl that stage on and near this water system. While the lake was originally created to control the waters of the South Saskatchewan River in order to generate power, hold water for irrigation and to prevent flooding, it created a unique and incredible waterfowl staging area that’s used annually by hundreds of thousands of migrating waterfowl.

During the spring and summer, water is stored in Lake Diefenbaker. During the fall and winter months, water is released from the lake. This controlled process creates prime waterfowling staging areas in the form of countless sandbars on the lake and sandbars and islands on the river portion. In addition, a 500 metre hunting restriction from the water’s edge for most of the hunting season adds an additional level of security to these sandy roosts, making for a waterfowl haven.

While sandbars, islands and cold deep water are safe places to roost, they offer very little in the way of food. Hence, the birds must leave the safety of their water sanctuaries and head out for the stubble fields to feed on cereal crops. Geese can be found feeding anywhere from a few hundred yards of the water to fifty plus miles from the water’s edge. In addition throughout the season, birds will find local marshes and smaller reservoirs to temporarily stage on.

When I first started hunting around the Mighty D, I found it very intimidating. There were vast amounts of territory to cover. There was and continues to be a 500 metre restriction for hunting within the water’s edge for most of the season and there are countless marshes, potholes, creeks and feeding areas scattered throughout this prime hunting hotspot.

However, over the years, I have experienced some prime hunting in and around the Mighty D. My success is a result of learning where to go for the various species, when to go and what tactics to use.

Whitefronts
I generally target whitefronts from early September through late October, as this is the prime time for these geese to arrive and stage on Lake Diefenbaker. At the peak of the migration, which occurs in early October, there are usually well in excess of one million whitefronts staging on Lake Diefenbaker. During most seasons, the vast majority of those birds typically roost on Galloway and Miry Bays. However, in wet years, whitefronts may also stage on smaller wetlands surrounding Diefenbaker.

Over the years, I’ve hunted on the north side of the lake near the communities of Kyle, Lacadena and Whitebear and on the south side near Abbey, Shakleton and Cabri. In most years, the hunting is equally good on both sides of the lake. However, in some years, the hunting can be better on one side or the other based on food conditions and/or surrounding wetland conditions. For example, if the south side had drought and poor crop production, the birds will tend to feed more on the north side than the south. Other crop factors, such as bumper crops, hailed out crops or a lack of pea, wheat or barely fields may dictate which side of the lake the birds will feed on. In addition, changes in wind direction and hunting pressure can also dictate where the whitefronts go to feed.