CLEAR LAKE--Unseasonably warm, humid, and windy. Those words best describe the weather conditions for last week's two-day, early Canada goose season. Although people would have certainly preferred milder temperatures for the kick-off of this year's waterfowl season, most of the hunters who ventured afield were rewarded by finding good numbers of locally reared honkers. Success ranged from fair to excellent depending on where you hunted.

"I think that in northern Iowa people seemed to be more spread out this year which significantly reduced hunting pressure," said DNR Waterfowl Biologist, Guy Zenner.

"This was the first time that our two-day, September goose season was expanded to include the entire state, and people from central and southern Iowa may have stayed in their home areas to hunt."

"From what I'm hearing, overall hunter success was somewhat hit or miss," said Ducks Unlimited Senior Field Director, Rock Bridges. "I've talked to people who hunted in places like northern Iowa, Boone, and Cedar Falls. The stories were pretty much the same -- good success on Saturday, but poorer success on Sunday.

"I think a person needed to go to where the geese had been [used to] feeding to do the best," said Bridges. "It seemed like the geese were just making short trips out to feed and then going right back to the water. The geese weren't very noisy and they just weren't moving around much. The heat didn't help."

But in spite of the unseasonably warm temps, there were still plenty of benefits associated with the early, two-day goose hunt, says Bridges. The bonus season provided ample opportunities for Iowans to get into the field, and there appears to have been a good hunter turnout statewide. With more hunters spread out over a greater geographic area, there may also have been less impact on specific goose flocks -- particularly in north central Iowa. Reduced mortality on local flocks now will mean better goose hunting opportunities later in the season.

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