The document describes a waterfowl hunting trip in Saskatchewan, Canada. It discusses the group digging holes to hide in and waiting for snow geese to approach. When the geese crested a hill, the group ambushed them in a scene reminiscent of a Vietnam War movie. It then summarizes filling duck limits quickly and struggling to attract decoy-shy white geese in the afternoon, as is typical for hunts in Saskatchewan. The document provides details of the abundant waterfowl populations in the region and recommends hunting with an outfitter when visiting to locate birds efficiently.

1. Like grunts draped in white,
we sat in our foxholes, all of us crouch-
ing further and further down behind
super magnum snow goose shells.
The white geese had probably lined
us up miles out before someone in
our party excitedly whispered, “out
front, out front!” They didn’t waver
or circle or flare (until it was too
late), just kept coming on a string...
And there would be more from this
awesome Saskatchewan trip: banded
specklebellies, eagles attacking decoys
and tales of mass numbers of snow
geese spilling over from fields onto
the road.
But first, back to those foxholes: The
warm September sun beat down on us
while we laid in the cut peas, dozing
off before the white geese descended
on the giant field. Thousands of snows
had been feeding that morning in the
very same spot we were now set up.
I had seen it myself after an unbeliev-
able duck shoot—the big chip shot
every waterfowler anticipates when
heading up north—and was delighted
to help deploy a horse trailer full of
more than 40-dozen decoys for the
second time that day.
But as minutes turned into hours,
we became increasingly nervous. No
birds. Where the hell were all those
geese? Some specks and Canadas
were in the air, but you can’t shoot
them after noon until mid-October
in Sask. Host Charlie Holder of Sure
Shot brought in a few pairs of mallards
on his iconic Yentzen double-reed
for the fellas who hadn’t hit their
duck limits, and we scratched out a
few snows.
Then, The Flock did it. The whites
and blues were on the deck, dropping
and rising with the terrain of the
rolling prairie below, and just as they
approached, fell out of sight behind
the gentle slope we were tucked
against. When the geese crested, we
ambushed them. The whole scenario
was reminiscent of a scene from
Vietnam War movies—Marines dug
in, waiting to attack.
It was a typical afternoon hunt
for Sask. I had been to this awesome
agricultural paradise before, and the
second half of the day is reserved for
finishing off duck limits and trying to
fool decoy-shy white geese. Don’t get
me wrong; you can have an awesome
shoot. I’ve heard stories of guys fill-
ing the truck bed with snows. Slow
evening shoots have just been the
norm for me in Canada.
PRESENTED BY
Puddlers and dark geese cooperate like you’d expect in Canada,
but the fickle white birds can be as tough as back home
BY JOE GENZEL
SASKATCHEWANSnow-Driven
112 WILDFOWL Magazine | Equipment Issue 2015 wildfowlmag.com Equipment Issue 2015 | WILDFOWL Magazine 113wildfowlmag.com

2. Our guides had dug knee-deep holes
while we deployed the massive rig of
dark and white geese, rags, mallard
shells and old wooden duck silhouettes.
To hide, you donned a Tyvek jacket,
stepped in the hole and sat down on
the harvested grain, a thin butt pad
for some cushion. It was an incred-
ibly odd way to hunt, and not very
effective after the first 30 minutes of
shooting light, at least not for bigger
hunting parties. I can see it work-
ing for a couple guys, but when the
sun is shining on the faces of eight
hunters, birds are going to flare. But
that’s guided hunting in Canada over
a mix of new and near-death decoys
in shabby blinds. There are so many
birds around; it simply doesn’t matter.
Plus, how many times do you get to
kill a duck out of a freshly-dug hole
in the ground?
WHEN IT GOES DOWN
You won’t believe the amount of water
here at times. It can be like Arkansas
on steroids. We saw lakes that were
literally on the verge of extinction a
few years ago that were almost over-
spilling their banks last fall. Actually,
quite a bit of flooding occurred the
previous spring, and one of our guides
said the same town received five to six
inches of rain in about an hour twice
over a two-week period. But that’s the
duck factory for you when times are
good, and they certainly were in Sask.
There were puddlers on every body of
water. Specklebellies and Canadas are
in abundance too, but it’s the white
geese many have turned to chasing,
namely because there’s just so darn
many of them.
Opinions and estimates vary, but the
experts say there are between 15 and
25 million snows in North America.
It’s difficult to put an accurate figure
on such an abundant species, but
there are millions of lessers in the
Central Flyway and Sask in particular.
They were all over on this trip. On
the ride back to the airport, myself
and Steve Parrett of Nissan, who let
all of us put their Titan and Frontier
trucks to the test through rock-filled
pea fields all week (they passed), saw
thousands of snows loafing and fly-
ing on a large body of water. “That’s
nothing,” said our driver Riley. He told
us if we came back in late October,
that’s when it really goes down. At
one point last season, he was driving
to the southern part of the province
and the snows were blocking the road,
as in the fields were so packed with
birds, some spilled onto the highway.
“There must’ve been a couple hundred
thousand,” he said.
If you decide to hunt Sask, and you
should, it’s best to go with an outfitter
or someone who has hunted there
before. The amount of miles you need
to cover for a productive hunt can be
overwhelming for a newbie. Plus there
is some competition from outfitters,
locals and hunters up from the states
just freelancing. If you don’t want to
pay outfitter fees, some places offer a
scout to locate fields. They show you
the way to the birds each morning
and afternoon, then it’s on you to set
the decoys and brush in the blinds.
If you’re a successful bird hunter at
home, you can go to Sask and do it
this way. It’s the best course of action
for guys on a budget.
Because there was so much rain last
year, the fields to the north (where we
stayed at legendary whitetail lodge
Northway Outfitters) were still just
being harvested. That meant the
birds were farther to the south, which
also meant a 90-minute drive to hunt
every day and 3 a.m. wake-up calls. If
I had been with group of buddies, we
might have buzzed by the southern
flocks and been scratching our heads
wondering where the ducks and geese
were; another reason to utilize an
outfitter or scout.
Also, if you’re going to bring a dog,
guns and ammo into Canada, make
sure you do the proper research. Look
The whites and blues
were on the deck, dropping and
rising with the rolling prairie.
up your local customs agent at the
nearest airport. They are a wealth
of knowledge, and will provide the
right forms.
CANADA RISING
The first morning was wrought with
anticipation, and we weren’t disap-
pointed. Snows barked from the night
roost on a nearby slough, sounding
off like hyenas. They were probably
laughing at us, because just after shoot-
ing light they all rose like a swarm
of locusts, flying high over myself,
buddy Jack Jameson of Beretta, Curtis
Arnold of Sure Shot and the rest of
the gang. Draped in white and butts
planted on the ground in those silly
foxholes, it must have looked like we
were all on the commode, absent the
Sunday paper.
But soon the action turned very
Canada-esque. Mallards and pintails
rushed the decoys as we swatted
mosquitoes. Our guide Walter kept
razzing us over our lackluster shooting:
“Wished I was the owner of that Hevi-
Shot, eh?” Walter had set the spinner
to our backs. I guess he thought the
ducks would cup out front on their
way to the motion. But with the wind
going from blustery to non-existent,
ducks whirred around the guns, forcing
us to turn and shoot directly into the
sun. I thought to myself, “Wish you’d
move that flapper, Walter, eh?” But we
limited on greenheads and pintails by
8 a.m., so it was hard to complain.
With such a quick duck limit, we
stuck around awhile for the geese.
Some Canadas, a few white geese and
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snow-driven saskatchewan
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3. five specks bit the dust. And speaking
of those beautiful bar-chested birds,
on Charlie’s first morning, before I
arrived, he was hunting next to the
great Phil Bourjally, who has probably
killed more birds than you or I ever
will. A family of three specks came
in. Being the southern gentlemen,
Holder let the esteemed outdoor writer
take the first poke. Phil hit a bird and
Charlie doubled—no one else fired.
They ran out, picked up the specks
and hustled back. After a few minutes,
the flights were on hold and Charlie
looked down: both of his birds were
banded! Both went on the wall too,
but having that experience with such
a respected man of waterfowl, well, I
was extremely jealous.
The last morning was just three
hunters, two guides and a couple
dozen GHG Canada shells. We set
up along a fencerow with the decoys
in front of us. It was really windy, at
least 25 mph on the ground, worse
for the birds in the air.
It was a Canada goose hunt, which
had me excited because I hunt them
quite a bit back in Illinois. Curtis
honked away at what were probably
local birds coming off nearby sloughs.
We only killed three, but there was
a pair of honkers far out, not even
looking at us, that we clucked and
moaned into the decoys. We rolled
them both with the help of dead-eye
WILDFOWL publisher Tom Weaver,
and then watched a young golden eagle
try and pick off one of our decoys.
There was a huge thump, and then
the bird soared right over all of us,
just inches away. Too cool.
A few more flocks landed far outside
the decoys, and I let some youthful
exuberance/impetuousness take over,
trying to use a high point in the giant
quarter-section to try and jump the
uncooperative birds. I bet you can
guess how my spot-and-stalk ended.
But the satisfaction of sucking two
big geese in, and killing them close
back-dropped by waves of wind-blown
wheat, well, that was the real thrill.
Another Canadian September can’t
come soon enough.
snow-driven saskatchewan
116 WILDFOWL Magazine | Equipment Issue 2015 wildfowlmag.com