Anyone do it/ Wondered about guides, etc. Would like to go in the later part of season and more close to the north part of the area open.....

Starting to see a few around here never actually set up on them just a good ambush does the trick

I expected more of our crew to have done this and have an opinion on who, where, and when! lol.

Both Pierre and Huron, I’m sure among others cities in SD have good outfitters. My high school trap team members go out every spring and do pretty darn good. I have not made the spring trip with them. If it’s of interest to you send me a PM and I will call them to find out who they have been using.

I am interested each spring to read and follow the migration of the snows north. This year with the beautiful weather one doesn’t know at all what to expect timing wise.

Osky

They just headed south not very long ago but still sick birds dying along the way just not as many being left behind this season just keep that in mind.

This can be a tough one to answer with 100% accuracy, lots of variables in play on spring snow geese.

Timing is critical for good hunting, problem is the migration is impossible to predict. Last year was a late migration and a lot of the birds moved farther west then they normally do, this year is shaping up to possibly be a super early migration and we may see birds in Feb if these conditions hold. I hear birds are stacked up in Missouri right now and those guys are worried about them starting north soon.

Outfitters are also a big variable for several reasons. Many “fly by night” operators have popped up who are only interested in making a buck!!

Do your research, don’t hire the cheapest cause most of the time that is what you will get. I have seen several outfitters who guide for a year or two, build a bad reputation and fold only to show back up the next year under a new company name. They get their guides and buddies to post some big kill pics and write a good review and sucker some more people.

If I were looking for a guide find someone who is super flexible on where they will hunt, many of the good ones chase the migration trying to stay in the birds. You will also have to be flexible in your dates and travel plans as they can change from week to week.
Find a guide who is consistently scouting for new fields to move decoys into so you are hunting on the X more consistently. Many guides will lease a handful of fields in an area, put up a spread of decoys and run hunters thru the same blinds day after day. This works in peak mitigation and bad weather, but I’ve seen many times where guys don’t fire a shot.
This close to the start of the season most good guides are booked up already, as they usually have a long list of returning clients.
I won’t recommend a guide or company, but only that u do a ton of research before u book.

If you can’t be as flexible on dates you might want to look at hunting birds on the wintering grounds.

Thanks for the info guys. A friend and I have talked about going, and we both are doing as much homework as we can!

I had a whole flock fly over last week.

I used to chase snows in the spring ...
Montagamy Quebec .... on the St Lawrence ..
and Snows Unlimited in southern Illinois....

Always , lots of action , and a great time ..
Good luck

with record young produced last summer all things are lined up for a good spring hunt

Be careful with guides ,do your research . I got took one time in Kenneth Missouri for a two day hunt . We got there the day before after dark so we didn’t get a chance to ride around and look for feeds to see what was in the area so the next morning I knew we was in trouble after 3 hours and we never seen any or heard anything . It was supposed to be a 2 day hunt but it ended in 5 hours . If he would have called and told me that the migration had already passed through I would have rescheduled for the next year but he didn’t . When we left around 11.30 I told the kids that would be the most expensive breakfast they ever had , I was out $1800.00 with not ever an offer for a reschedule hunt next year. Lesson learned never again.

From what I saw last fall and have heard throughout the flyway is Avian Influenza has really done a number on the Juvi snows. Don’t know what percentage has been lost but it has to be a significant number. Adults don’t seem to be as affected.

6 of us are heading to NW MO Feb 24-25. This is my first trip. A couple of the guys have used this outfitter before and had decent hunts. They were behind the migration last year so they’re hoping to be on the front end this year.

Seems like spring season can be great or bust.
Weather/ snowmelt can change things almost overnight.
North Dakota would be my choice.

West Central Missouri and we had birds flying north yesterday - snows and Canadas heading back. With weather into the 50-60s the next two weeks, my guess would be its gonna happen in 2 weeks and birds will be mostly north of us in Missouri. I just pay attention to whats local.

I’ve hunted Missouri only- Burlington Junction, Maryville and Skidmoore. Results can be mixed based on how many birds are in the refuge- make sure your guide has long term leases as the most productive fields are managed by guides that have been around awhile. Seems subtle but a big difference between seeing birds and shooting birds. My last trip was 2021 with Show Me Snow Geese.

We’ve chased the white devils from Kansas to Saskatchewan. Done guided and freelanced.

Best spring success has been in South Dakota. Good luck with a guide. Good ones are booked in advance. Facebook hero’s are a dime a dozen. Might find a diamond in the rough in there but be careful. We’ve been burnt. Sorry can’t recommend anyone as have not gone guided in over 10 years.

Advice. Stay mobile. Watch the weather, particularly the snow line and open water. Snows love sheet water in feilds. Be prepared for longer shots. Feet down in the blocks is a special event and not most of the shooting. They can bug out fast.

Once the snow line gets into ND the birds seem to spread out more, east to west.

Good luck