Spring Snow Goose migration produces hunting bonanza on Hudson Bay

Hunter with Snow Geese on Hudson Bay

by Kent Michie

Whether you’re an avid wing shooter or just getting started in this wonderful sport, there’s no better place to experience one of nature’s greatest goose migrations than Hudson Bay.

At Webber’s Lodges we offer an exceptional goose hunting package that not only includes breathtaking spring Snow Goose hunting on the Hudson Bay coast, but also the finest in lodging and meals.

A little history about the Snow Geese of Hudson Bay…  Since the ‘70s a population explosion of lesser snow geese in the James Bay and Hudson Bay area appears to have caused extensive damage to vegetation, and reduced some areas of coastal salt marshes to a desert-like landscape.  

A number of factors may have contributed to the dramatic increase in the snow goose population. Snow geese now feed mostly on agricultural waste grains and green plants when they are down south. This change in their traditional food source has boosted their survival rate and in turn led to changes to where they nest and live. Migration routes can also shift over time and result in changes in how the birds are distributed over immense areas.

The majority of the Snow Goose population will now nest north of and around the Hudson Bay area and use Hudson Bay itself as a staging area to begin their tremendous migration south. On their return flight back to the north in the spring to begin the life cycle anew, the geese again stage in the Hudson Bay area before dispersing out to build nests and renew the next generation of geese.

This concentration of snow geese around Hudson Bay in the spring is indescribable and must be experienced first hand.  The birds coming back north are eager for companionship and will decoy easily with small spreads of less than 100 decoys. These birds have not been shot at for quite some time and they are certainly not decoy shy or overcautious, which makes for some outrageous wing shooting.

With our liberal bag limits of 20 Snow Geese per day and 80 in procession, the sheer concentration of snows keeps your barrel hot and your shoulder sore.

Given Webber’s Lodges professional guides, countless birds, a comfortable, modern facility and fine dining, you will not want to leave.  We’d love to have you and a friend or family member join us for the goose hunting trip of a lifetime!

Happy Hunting!

After you tag out on your Manitoba Caribou hunt, what else is there to do?

Caribou hunting in Canada is becoming extremely popular, and the nice thing about it is that doesn’t take long to take a trophy bowboo for emailing.JPGbull or two. Five days is long enough. The question isn’t if you’ll tag out, but when, and the biggest challenge isn’t finding the caribou, it’s finding something to do after you tag out.

Quite often a whole caribou camp will have tagged out with two record book bulls after three days of hunting. Hunters often ask, after we shoot our two caribou what else is there to do in Northern Manitoba before the plane comes. Here are some other adventures that outfitters will offer to pass the time.

Trophy Canadian Fishing – Pike fishing in Manitoba is second to none, and with these Manitoba monsters often measuring near or above the 50-inch mark, it’s no wonder anglers travel such great distances to toss their line for the beasts. The northern lakes see absolutely no angling pressure for the rest of the year, and the caribou hunting season is only a few weeks long, which means only a few dozen fishermen or so are on these pristine lakes and rivers every year.

The cold northern Manitoba lakes are also famous for Lake Trout. The trout spawn in the fall in the shallows, and it’s at this tiJune 26 - 30 106.jpgme of year that you can expect excellent success on the fly rod. Fly fishing for lunker lakers or northern pike is truly the experience of a lifetime for any fly fishermen, beginner or expert.
 
The rivers in northern Manitoba are also teeming with Arctic Grayling, which can be caught in fast moving water on either fly rods or light spinning tackle.

Upland & Migratory Game Bird Hunting – If fishing isn’t of interest to you, there is always more hunting available. Snow Geese fly through northern Manitoba on their way from the nesting grounds north of the Arctic Circle, to the warmer climate in the south. A handful of decoys and some calling will bring in flocks of hundreds of these white birds.

You can also try your luck at jump shooting the Arctic Grouse or Ptarmigan. These northern birds are beautiful in September, as they are going through their color change from red and brown to brilliant white and they make an excellent addition to the any hunter’s bag. Mass of Snows.jpg

Gray Wolf – The north is full of Gray Wolves, and they can be hunted under the authority of any big game licence. As such, there are no tagging requirements. Hunters are reminded that the tag affixed to a big game licence must be used for that big game species, but that the licence number is all that is required to possess a wolf taken under the authority of that licence.

Black Bear – There seems to be more and more Black Bear in northern Manitoba every year. Most outfitters will either sell hunts for them as add-ons or offer combo hunts. Regardless of how you go about it, a life-size mount of a Manitoba black bear makes a great addition to any hunter’s trophy room.

Moose Hunting – Our Moose hunting in Manitoba is not very well known, but it is excellent!  Northern Manitoba outfitters have taken moose up to 66 inches. Every year hunters take moose in the 50- inch plus range. Again, many outfitters will offer combination hunts for moose, caribou, black bear and goose. The options are almost limitless. moose for emailing.JPG

Whether you’re looking for a trophy big game hunt, a waterfowl hunt, or the fly-in fishing trip of a lifetime, Northern Manitoba has the answer.

For more information on a Central Barren Ground Caribou hunt or any of the other exciting hunting and fishing adventures available in Manitoba, Canada, please contact Webber’s Lodges Toll Free at: 1 (888) WEBBERS or 1 (204) 377-5090. You can also e-mail us at: info@webberslodges.com

We look forward to hearing from you!

Spring Snow Goose Report from Manitoba Canada – Webber’s Lodges is ready for the hunt

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The snow is gone, ice is melting off the lakes in the southern provinces, ice fishing in Manitoba is over for another year. So what’s next? The answer, spring snow goose hunting!
 

For several weeks now, hunters have been out in many states blasting the snows. From Texas, all the way up to the Dakotas the snow geese are flying over head on their way to the northern nesting grounds north of the artic circle. Its official now, they have moved into southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Reports are coming in from other outfitters just north of the boarder saying that they are coming in waves. One farmer said that he saw the largest flock of snow geese that he has ever seen go over just days ago.
 

Snow is continuing to melt northwards in the two provinces and currently the snow line sits around Saskatoon, which is where the front line of the migration is staging, waiting for more snow to melt to continue the flight across Manitoba to the coastline of the Hudson Bay.
 

The geese will arrive at Nanuk Lodge in the first week of May, and we will be ready for them. With our first hunters on the ground on the 12th, we will have blinds ready and guns pointed as they pass over by the thousands. Nanuk Lodge will once again be the most extreme snow goose hunt in North America.spring-goose-hunting-webbers-lodges.JPG
 

For the lucky ones that make it past Nanuk, they will have to dodge pellets again at Dymond Lake. Located just north of Churchill, Manitoba our hunters at Dymond will have guns ready as the geese once again make their pass over our lodge. 
 

There will be lucky ones at both Nanuk and Dymond Lake that make it past the hunters, only because they have limited out for the day. Those snow geese will make it north to the nesting grounds, but will have to make the trip south in the fall, and I can guarantee you we will be ready for them.
 

Think you are up for this snow goose hunt of a lifetime? Give us a call today!