The pushover birds of Michigan's early goose-hunting season have learned quite a bit about being shot at by the time the late season arrives. Hunters now need to put out ultra-realistic spreads with many quality decoys to be successful. And good calling increases the chance for success. Photo by Tom Migdalski.

Michigan goose hunting basically goes the way that resident giant Canada goose populations go. This year it looks as though that trend is up, and waterfowlers can look forward to a banner season.

'The population of resident giant Canada geese appears to be up significantly this spring,' said goose specialist Dave Luukkonen of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 'Spring surveys placed the resident giant population at right around 219,000.' That figure is up from 184,000 posted last spring. The MDNR population goals for the resident giant Canada goose population in Michigan are between 175,000 and 225,000 spring breeders.

'The production this year was incredible,' revealed MDNR wildlife biologist Joe Robison, who works out of the Point Mouillee State Game Area office. Robison reported seeing big increases in the number of resident giant Canadas at Point Mouillee SGA. 'We were seeing an increase during our banding operations. We usually band between 400 and 600 geese during an entire season, and we've already banded 900 geese this year.'

Other MDNR officials who have been in the field this spring report similar increases around the state. It seems there were nesting pairs of giant Canadas just about everywhere. That bodes well for hunters this fall.

Goose Numbers Gaining Again
Michigan's population of resident giant Canada geese is again nearing its optimum level. Just a few years ago, when Michigan's giant Canada population dropped close to the lower end of the scale, resource managers opted to lower the daily limit on geese during the special early and late seasons from five to three geese. With goose populations again burgeoning, changes to increase Michigan's goose bag limits could be seen in a couple of years, Robison added.

Michigan waterfowlers rely heavily on the resident population of giant Canada geese. According to Robison, the goose harvest in Michigan is typically made up of 75 percent resident giant Canada geese; 21 percent are geese from the Mississippi Valley Population (MVP); another 3 percent are from the Southern James Bay Population (SJBP); and the balance is from the Tall Grass Prairie Population. During the 2005 season, the total goose harvest in Michigan was 189,039 birds. Michigan typically ranks in the top three states in the Mississippi Flyway for annual goose harvest. Without kill totals available at press time, wildlife officials estimate the harvest last season likely topped the 200,000 mark.

With a very stable to expanding population of resident giant Canada geese, Michigan goose seasons are set to take advantage of the local populations. Michigan waterfowlers again enjoyed an early goose season that targets resident geese, which in 2006 ran from Sept. 1-15 in the Middle and South zones and from Sept. 1-10 in the North Zone. Michigan waterfowlers also enjoyed a late season that ran from Dec. 31, 2006 through January 29, 2007 in the South Zone excluding the local GMUs.

At press time, neither the 2006 early goose-hunting season or late goose-hunting season had yet been set. Similar seasons are likely to be seen in 2007. Both seasons take advantage of burgeoning resident giant goose populations. Visit the MDNR's Web site at http://www.michigan.gov/dnr for this season's hunting dates from the 2007-2008 Michigan Waterfowl Hunting Guide, published in late summer.

The Early Season
Michigan's early September goose-hunting season is a ritual for many hunters and has become increasingly popular over the years. The season is an important tool for regulating localized goose numbers. Several reasons account for the popularity of the early season. The early season accounts for upward of 50 percent of the total harvest across all seasons, and hunter-success rates are high.

Just about anywhere in the Wolverine State can be a hotspot for Michigan goose hunters. Resident geese populate just about every pond, lake and stream -- even those that are far removed from traditional goose strongholds. The geese are usually very successful at bringing off a brood, and, when you have numerous family groups in a small area, the location can suddenly become a waterfowler's hotspot.