Photo courtesy of R.E. Ilg

If you’ve been a goose hunter over the past five years, it’s been pretty obvious that in the Bluegrass State, your options for quality hunting have changed dramatically. To find good hunting at one time, all you’d have to say was “Go west, brother.”

Not anymore!
While the western tip of Kentucky still offers good goose hunting when conditions are favorable, in recent years the tables have turned to the point that more geese are now being harvested somewhere other than in the far western end of the state. The noticeable increase in resident geese across the Commonwealth has made goose hunting much more widespread than it was a decade ago.

“At first,” said Rocky Pritchert, waterfowl program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR), “you might think that the reason why the better goose hunting isn’t concentrated to the west anymore has to do with a loss of habitat, or some drastic change in migratory goose numbers. But that’s not the primary catalyst.

“The driving factor is actually more weather-related,” said the biologist. “And the portion of migratory birds that reach Kentucky aren’t having to come this far south to find what they need in the winter.

“When there was less good wintering grounds to our immediate north, and we got extended periods of really cold weather, we saw geese pour across the Ohio River and flock into our refuge areas in western Kentucky.

“Hunters had a lot more birds to work with. They were concentrated and most associated with our wildlife management areas like Ballard and the Sloughs wildlife management areas (WMAs) on the Ohio near Henderson.

“That pattern has changed,” said Pritchert. “And when you add in the upswing in resident birds getting established outside the western zone, it explains why we’re seeing more geese available in the mid-part of Kentucky so far this decade.”

Pritchert notes another trend that will interest hunters, besides the fact that goose hunting is becoming more popular in central and eastern Kentucky: This season, this past spring’s late freeze will likely have some negative impact on resident goose numbers this winter. (Continued)

“Hunters may recall that right at the latter part of the nesting season, we had a day or two that burned a lot of plants and tree blossoms, and also got some of our early hatches,” reports Pritchert. “Our counts later in the spring were down from normal, and we saw smaller broods in most areas.

“I suspect some of the flocks in local areas will be smaller this season,” he said. “Hunters who’ve located an established bunch of birds in past years may find a little tougher hunting this season.”

Despite the trend of fewer migrants coming in, the Ballard, Boatwright and Sloughs WMAs in west Kentucky still offer some of the better public land hunting this season -- and the best chances of quality hunting in the that region. All three offer some level of “Show up and hunt” opportunities. But on Ballard, this is done on a stand-by basis. That means if the hunters who have been drawn don’t show that morning, there will be a draw for substitute hunters.

The slightly less risky areas to get in on include the Boatwright WMA (also in Ballard County) and the Sloughs WMA. Both of these public areas offer walk-in hunting. At Boatwright, you need to check in first.

Unassigned blinds on portions of the Sloughs WMA are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Again, it’s best to check in with the WMA staff for details.

“We saw a bit of an increase in harvest on Ballard last season, mostly due to the relocating of some nuisance geese from other areas in the state,” Pritchert said. The biologist said that approach has continued this past summer, and hunters may see some extra birds again this year.