When temperatures plummet, fields are covered in snow, and the big flocks of honkers push in, running traffic can be the best way to have consistent success. (Photo credit: Corey Mulhair.)
By Corey Mulhair
Big dark spreads, impeccable hides, and a cacophony of calling with skies full of birds; it’s late-season traffic hunting for honkers, and you may want to pull out all the stops. By now, the honkers are tough and growing weary as hunting season drives into winter. The birds roost in large groups on deep lakes with open water yet. Geese might fly half a mile to feed, or dozens of miles, often feeding for most of the day. They’ll likely wait longer than usual to leave the roost than they do earlier in the season, and sometimes will loaf or sleep in fields rather than return to water mid-day. It can be a brutal time of year to hunt them with the wind, cold, and snow, but for goose hunters, the suffering is welcomed and often rewarded with great working birds and plenty of empty shotgun shells and finished geese to pick up. Late-season traffic hunting for honkers is an experience every waterfowler should dabble in.
Running traffic can be a fantastic way to have success in the late season when birds are hungry and making those final pushes of the migration. (Photo credit: Corey Mulhair.) When birds are hungry and getting desperate for food in the late season, you don’t always have to be on the X. “Trafficking” is about setting a realistic trap in an area where the birds are going to be flying within visual and audial distances. It comes down to flight paths, decoy sets, hides, and calling. During the second half of the season, most hunters tend to subscribe to the notion that more decoys are better and that you should have two or three goose calls on the lanyard ready to go. A good hide is always key, and some motion with a flag when birds are two hundred or more yards out can be a real attention grabber.
FIND THE BIRDS As temperatures drop and day length shortens, Canada geese often fly from the roost later in the morning than we expect them to on their way to feed. Sometimes even two to three hours after sunrise, which makes for drawn-out hunt opportunities from the late morning to mid-day. Hunting for geese this time of year doesn’t always require an early morning wakeup, but scouting is still vital. Find their roosts, pattern flight lines, feeds, and pay attention to the way geese are working into live birds on the ground. Setting up under flight paths and around the surrounding fields in the areas they’ve been spending time in will allow you to put your skills to the test on these big late-season geese.
MAKING THE GAME PLAN Finding birds late in the year can mean some excellent hunting. The key is to learn the flight paths and where the geese are feeding. (Photo credit: Corey Mulhair.) The habits of late-season honkers can differ dramatically compared to early-season birds. They are much more social than their early-season selves, and because of that, hunting them requires a few changes in tactics. When large numbers of geese are roosted together you will often find that many leave the water and head off in the same direction, but they may feed in multiple fields, putting honker hunters in a favorable position to traffic birds. Unlike early season, these birds are vocal and responsive to skilled calling and can be convinced to take a good look at your decoy spread even if they have other plans for the day. Multiple people with calls in hand running different notes and making a medley of clucks and groans or moans imitate live birds and a large greedy feed, can be not only effective but exciting and rewarding. As always, pay attention to body language as they are flying- know when to back off the call and take note of sounds and sequences that don’t seem convincing.
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DECOY PLACEMENT Using bigger decoy spreads late in the season to run traffic can be an excellent way to pull the birds from the flight path and into your decoys. (Photo credit: Corey Mulhair.) When targeting late-season geese, it’s not a bad idea to dump the trailer and run big, loose spreads with multiple pockets for them to key in on. Goose flags in the hands of a few hunters can make a big difference, grabbing the attention of nearby birds in the air and simulating a group of geese active in a field can convince traffic birds that it’s the place to be. If birds are shorting you, landing outside of range, or are otherwise flaring and you’re losing shot opportunities on finishing geese, don’t be afraid of making some adjustments. I find that running a big block, something of a long oval or a stout rectangle works great for late-season birds, just make sure to leave a few open pockets for them to land in. On good traffic days, you’ll have chances to work large groups of thirty or forty birds, but often it will be smaller groups of eight to twelve, with singles, pairs, and small groups funneling in through the flight. It can be a steady stream of birds throughout a late morning hunt, so always be ready to get to work.
BLENDING IN If you’re lucky and the ground has a half foot of snow—or any snow really—it’s helpful to run snow covers on layouts and hunt inside of or on the edge of the decoys. Sparsely brush your snow covers to match your surroundings as you see them, and pile snow up around the bases to eliminate any hard edges. A-frame hides can be just as effective, and if a field edge or other edge is available. Try to blend in where it would be more natural than in the middle of the field. Again, smooth out your edges and make sure your tops are covered.
On bitter cold days, we like to set a spread around sunrise, get blinds dealt with, and then simply sit in our vehicles until birds start to fly, which may be 10 or 11 a.m. Getting the opportunity to traffic late-season honkers is one of the funnest waterfowl hunts someone could participate in, and you’ll learn critical lessons as you go. But when in doubt, find the roosts and flight paths, and go big with the decoy spread.
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