GOOSE HUNTING SEASON IS IN FULL BLOOM.

Byline: Jim Niemiec Special to the Daily News

NILAND - Flights of snow and Canada geese have started arriving in big numbers at refuges in Southern California as the migration of northern birds head south to spend the winter.

There are some 6,000 snow geese working fields at the Wister Wildlife Refuge and Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge. The farmlands around Westmoreland are easily holding more than 15,000 birds, San Jacinto Wildlife Refuge has seen good numbers of speckled-bellied geese arrive recently, Prado Basin has been a resting spot for smaller flocks of Canada geese and the Cibola Valley, both on the California and Arizona sides of the Colorado River, has a population of Canada geese that is building daily.

There was an excellent hatch of white and dark geese this spring, and the flyways should see good numbers of birds continue to build. The goose hunting season traditionally peaks during the first week of December. Colder weather in the Great Basin and Columbia River Basin has moved some birds out and with the next freeze thousands of geese should be winging their way into sunny Southern California.

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. Frank Theodoropoulos spends a lot of time scouting the refuge and reports that snow geese are finally starting to move off the closed zone and have been working hunting sites T, U, W, 312(b&c) and 115(b).

According to the veteran goose hunter, the best shooting in the morning has been south of the check station on Davis Road and to the north of the station during the evening flights. Big spreads of decoys are necessary to bring flocks of geese down into shotgun range for most groups with high reservation numbers, but some hunters have been having success in setting up under established flyways and pass shooting lower flying snows.

The southeastern corner of the Salton Sea has always been a good place to hunt snows and there are some 1,500 snow geese using the fresh water ponds on the Wilderness Club as resting areas. The green fields, grain crops and farming operations on the southwestern corner has attracted 10,000 birds.

More speckled-bellied geese are showing up at the San Jacinto Wildlife area near Perris and the first flights of the birds arrived in the valley last week. This refuge shoots a few specs during the season, but most Canada geese hunts take place on the area's private ranches and duck clubs. There are two guides who offer daily hunts in the big valley starting in late December when there is a huntable population of birds working grain fields.

Prado Basin is home to Raahauge's Duck Club and the Splatter S Duck Club and geese often stop over on ponds as they move around the old dairies in Chino and Norco. Raahauge's offers day hunts by advance reservation and the Splatter S Duck club sometimes has open blinds during the season.

Canada geese have started to arrive on the Cibola National Wildlife Area south of Blythe and shooting should continue to improve daily as more birds arrive from the Great Basin. There are about 5,000 Canada geese on the refuge using a new lake close to the Colorado River as a resting spot after feeding in the closed zone of the refuge.

Ultimate Guide Service and the Cibola Sportsman's Club have daily hunting packages for the general public. According to guide Rick Francis, of Ultimate Guide Service, there could be a major movement of honkers into the valley during the full moon phase this week.

``I would think that the valley will produce good shooting the first week of December and then perhaps peak by Christmas as the birds begin moving off the refuge looking for new places to feed as the population grows to around 15,000 geese,'' Francis said.

Goose hunters need both state and federal waterfowl stamps and those hunting in Cibola, a nonresident Arizona license and state waterfowl stamp can be purchased from the outfitter. Most waterfowlers going after Canada geese will shoot 3- or 3 1/2-inch shells loaded with BBB or T Hevi-shot. Guides furnish blinds, decoys and can make arrangements for lodging. When hunting on public refuges for snow geese make sure to bring at least 200 decoys and when targeting Canada geese a minimum of 48 Big Foot decoys and a Final Approach layout blind is usually an effective way to get these big geese to commit to your spread.

The daily bag limit on snow geese is three birds and, depending on the area hunted, the daily bag limit on Canada geese varies from two to three dark geese.