GOOD GUNNING FOR GEESE SNOWS AND OTHER WHITES FLOCKING TO CALIFORNIA, ARIZONA.

Byline: Jim Niemiec Special to the Daily News

NILAND - Flights of snow and Ross' geese have started arriving in big numbers at the Wister Wildlife Refuge and Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge as the migration of northern birds head south to spend the winter.

There are more than 6,000 snow geese working fields at the Wister Wildlife Refuge and Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge, and the farmlands around Westmoreland are holding an estimated population of 10,000 white geese.

There also are a few small flocks of Canada geese winging over the southern end of the Imperial Valley. South of Blythe, in the Cibola Valley, on the California and Arizona sides of the Colorado River, populations of Canada geese are building daily as new flocks of northern birds target in on the huge Cibola National Wildlife Refuge.

There was an excellent hatch of white and dark geese this spring, and the flyways should offer up good gunning. The limit on dark geese for most shooting zones within the state and along the Colorado River has been increased to three birds this season, and this is a strong indicator wildlife biologists are comfortable with the number of birds using West Coast flyways.

Goose hunters will be allowed four white geese on the daily game strap this season, and the total bag limit is a mix of five geese.

Goose hunting traditionally peaks during the last weeks of December. Colder weather in the Great Basin and Columbia River Basin has started to move some birds out, and another freeze should send thousands of geese south.

Hunting is picking up for snow geese at Wister Wildlife Refuge for hunters setting up in the right field with a huge spread of decoys. Reports from the refuge indicate snow and Ross' geese are starting to move off the closed zone and have been working hunting sites T, U, W, Y15a, Y15b, 312b, 312c and 115b.

According to Adolpho Hernandez, wildlife specialist for the refuge, snow geese are moving around the refuge looking for new green fields, then heading for ponded fresh water. Big decoy spreads are required to attract big flocks of white geese and bring them into shotgun range.

Some waterfowlers have been having success setting up under established flyways and shooting at low-flying snows. The southeast corner of the Salton Sea always has been a good place to hunt snows, and there are more than 3,000 snow geese settling in on the fresh waterponds run by the Wilderness Club, which limits hunting pressure on the birds.

Canada geese have started to arrive on the Cibola National Wildlife Area, and shooting is expected to continue to improve daily as more birds arrive from the Great Basin. There are about 3,500 Canada geese on the refuge using a small lake as a resting spot while feeding in the closed zone.

Ultimate Guide Service and the Cibola Sportsman's Club, both located on the Arizona side of the river, offer public hunting packages. Rick Francis, of Ultimate Guide Service, believes the best hunting in Cibola Valley will occur immediately following the Dec. 15 full-moon phase.

Goose hunters need state and federal waterfowl stamps; those hunting in Cibola require a non-resident Arizona license and state waterfowl stamp, which can be purchased from the outfitter or online at hunt4geese.com.

Most waterfowlers going after geese will shoot 12-gauge, 3- or 3v-inch shells loaded with Federal copper plated BBs or T size Hevi-shot. Guides furnish blinds and decoys and can make arrangements for lodging.

When hunting on public refuges for snow geese, hunters are advised to bring at least a couple of hundred white decoys; when targeting Canada geese, a minimum of four dozen Big Foot decoys and a Final Approach layout blind is an effective way to get birds to commit to a spread with a little bit of calling.

For more information on hunting geese in Southern California or along the Colorado River, contact Wister Wildlife Refuge at [phone], San Jacinto Wildlife Refuge at [phone], Cibola National Wildlife Refuge at [phone], Ultimate Guide Service at [phone], Cibola Sportsman's Club at [phone] and Wilderness Unlimited at [phone].

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Max Berg, a regular at Wister Wildlife Refuge south of the Salton Sea, regular shows off a limit of white geese.

Jim Niemiec/Special to the Daily News