Nebraskaland

January-February 2021 • Nebraskaland 39 Tip #1 - Nocturnal Blues When planning a late-season trip, the first thing I'll look at is the moon phase. Because of pressure, birds will tend to feed by the moon during late season and come out right before sunset. Particularly if it's cold, they'll sit most of the day and conserve energy before putting on the food bag. No matter if hunting field or water, birds that go nocturnal are almost impossible to hunt. Tip #2 - Moisture and Wind One of the best late-season hunts I had was on the Missouri River right before a snow event and arctic cold blast behind it. The day started with freezing rain and turned to all snow later in the day. In what I would later refer to as "survival mode," birds were in a frenzy to get food before it was covered up with ice and snow. You could literally stand up in the blind that day and they wouldn't flinch. Late-season birds can be yarded up in safe havens, so if you find a field they are using nearby and open water in that path, it can be money. If you're hunting big water, which is normally the case late in the year for us, wind can be your friend. Birds don't like to sit in open water with high wind, so they will peel off and head back into coves out of the wind. Note of caution here: Anything over 25 mph is not only dangerous for you, but also shooting birds can be challenging at best. Choose your spot wisely on days like that. Tip #3 - Southerly Reverse By late January, birds are anxious to get back to their breeding grounds. A warm up followed by a strong south wind can provide what us waterfowlers like to call a "reverse migration." With our weather patterns being very mild in the last decade, you can experience this as early as mid-January and as late as February as most goose seasons are still open. Timing is everything here, so watch the weather closely and be ready for some magnificent shooting if you hit it just right. Weather and Late-season Waterfowl A full moon rises while Canada geese loaf in an iced-over spot of water on the Platte River in February. PHOTO BY DOUG CARROLL By Todd Mills Nothing can impact a late-season waterfowl hunt like a weather change. When most hunters may be packing away their gear, I'm usually busy checking weather forecasts and looking for that perfect storm that can turn an ordinary late-season hunt into a barrel burner. During the month of January and early February, most birds have reached their wintering grounds. You'll no longer be waiting on a migration event, but instead packing on the miles scouting and waiting on the weather to get them out of their daily routine. By this time, they've seen it all and heard it all, so every advantage you can get needs to be jumped on. Normally, for me, it's a drastic weather event that can do that. Over the course of the 40 years that I have been chasing ducks and geese, the following three tips seem to have paid off the most. Of course, these are late-season waterfowl — so no theory is bullet proof. PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS

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