Goose hunters get the ‘jewelry’ they covet

This is the way a goose hunt is supposed to unfold.

Hiding in layout blinds on private water near Smithville Lake, Tom Modin spots a flock of Canadas high in the sky on the horizon. He and fellow hunters Bill Atkinson, Chris Wolfenbarger and Lee Clark begin calling, and those black-and-white waterfowl steadily descend.

The geese circle the decoys once, then twice, craning their necks to spot anything out of the ordinary. Finally, they cup their wings, drop their landing gear and come in.

Shotgun blasts fill the air, and three of the geese fall. When Modin and his retriever, Rex, wade out to retrieve the geese, he finds that two of the birds were wearing “jewelry” — the bands that hunters covet.

Those bands were attached to the legs of the birds by wildlife biologists to keep track of their movement, information they receive when hunters report the band numbers to officials.

By the end of the morning, the hunters had seen wave after wave of Canada geese sweep down for a look at their decoys. They took nine of those big birds, four of them with bands. And they celebrated one of the best hunts they have experienced in years.

“It’s pretty rare to take one banded bird. But to take four in one hunt … that’s unbelievable,” Modin said. “That just doesn’t happen.”

Two of the birds were banded at a lake near Harrisonville in 2012, and two others were banded at Smithville Lake.

The birds were especially welcome to Wolfenbarger because he plans to use the meat to feed veterans involved in the Foundation for Exceptional Warriors. Wolfenbarger is a board member for that organization, which specializes in taking veterans hunting and fishing.

For Modin, the success didn’t come as a total surprise. He has hunted the Smithville Lake area for most of his 41 years and he knows how good the goose hunting can be.

Thousands of geese stop at Smithville Lake each year, and they often trade back and forth from the big water to smaller ponds in the area, especially the ones near grain fields such as this one.

“It can get real good if the smaller ponds start to freeze and this one still has open water,” Modin said. “That’s when the geese will just pack on here.”

But even before those winter days, the goose hunting can be outstanding on the ponds and small lakes near Smithville.

“The birds aren’t as pressured on this small water and they seem to work better,” Modin said. “I’ve had some great hunts here.”

This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 2:33 PM with the headline "Goose hunters get the ‘jewelry’ they covet."