In the west, most of the hunting happens around expansive wetlands or large reservoirs and flooded grain fields. Sportsmen using big decoy spreads will often hunt day after day from the same spots. We have some resident birds in the far western counties, but when the push comes, most hunting is for the migrants.

A new approach on one of the WMAs in Kentucky's western tip may offer hunters better success this season. On the Boatwright WMA, south of Ballard, the KDFWR is going to start conducting daily blind drawings, rather than using an apply-in-advance system. In recent years, managers have noticed that fewer hunters who've gotten a reserved blind for a weekend hunt are showing up when they're supposed to.

Goose hunting isn't as predictable as it once was. These days, it takes a lot more scouting, thought and, in some cases, luck.

To offer more utilization of what are sometimes the best blinds on Boatwright, hunters can show up on the day they want to hunt, and be pretty much guaranteed a blind on this area. Drawings will be held during the season at the Ballard WMA lodge early each morning.

Remember, you have to supply your own decoys. Check with the KDFWR about that procedure, watch the weather -- and when it gets nasty to the north, head that way and give it a try.

In mid-west counties -- the Pennyroyal Coal Field region, for example -- hunting usually takes place around small lakes and ponds with smaller decoy spreads. Every day or two, hunters move from one location to another. If you don't, the birds will move somewhere else to avoid being shot at. Since resident giant geese are in the vicinity all year long, they wise up quickly, whereas migratory birds will usually come in "uneducated." They can be fooled more easily into using the same spot day in and day out. But it's usually a different flock of birds each day.

PEABODY WMA
Pritchert says that Peabody WMA, in the western coalfield region, is one of the best places to hook up with local birds, migrating giants, as well as migrating birds from the St. James Bay flyway population.

On the 60,000 or so acres within the Peabody public hunting boundaries, there is a boatload of ponds. Geese will use any of them, but you can't expect them to be on all of them. You'll have to spend time finding them. Just stay clear of the two or three refuge waters noted in the Kentucky Waterfowl Hunting Guide.

If a good winter storm hits to the north, and the waters remain open on Peabody, the area's ponds will sometimes be loaded with geese. This region offers pretty good food sources from farming activities -- another attractant to geese as they come down to escape adverse conditions.