The joys of winter hunting

By DENNIS ANDERSON

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Even when you expect to break through ice, as Wendell Diller and I did one recent morning, the actual event, the breaking through, occurs unexpectedly. One second you’re on top, pushing a sled carrying a canoe, and the next second — whoosh — you’re knee deep or thigh deep or chest deep in freezing water.

The intent of our outing in the St. Croix River Valley in Wisconsin was to garner a Christmas goose or two. These birds, Canada geese, are warier now in late season than they were in September, and the conditions, for hunter and hunted alike, are harsher.

But prettier, too. On this Thursday morning, slender tree limbs long and short sparkled with hoar frost. And light, falling snow swirled atop the river ice, drawing a gauzy veil over the islands in the far distance, where we would hunt.

“It’s more peaceful hunting now, at this time of year,” Wendell said. “The other hunters are gone.”

Our plan was to push the sled carrying the canoe over ice to open water, where we would assemble ourselves in the canoe and paddle until we encountered ice again.

That sequence would be repeated until finally we found enough open water to set our decoys. We wore waders with belts drawn tightly around the tops to keep water out when we fell through.

Equipment used for December goose hunting over water is not much different from that used in September or October: decoys, guns, shells, life jackets, camouflage clothing.

The latter, at this time of year, is white, not brown or green.

We pushed the sled about five minutes before stopping to rest.

“I just don’t want a repeat of what happened the other day,” Wendell said.

Wendell hunted alone then. The river ice was precarious, not quite solid, not quite weak, and en route back from the hunt he was forced to tread water alongside the canoe during which time he tried in vain to find ice strong enough to support him. The trip took two hours.

“Two hours trying to get up on ice is a long time,” he said.

Ten minutes into our trip I fell through. But nearly as quickly I was on top of the ice again.

“The water is over your head up here,” Wendell said, pointing. “Hang on to the canoe.”

But the ice held, and soon enough we reached the water’s edge, where I clambered into the bow of the canoe, Wendell the stern. Hacking at the ice with aluminum paddles, we cajoled the small craft onto open water.

Then we paddled.

“We’re going to have to push deep upriver to find enough open water for the birds to land,” Wendell said.

At this latitude you needn’t gather too early to hunt Canada geese in winter. When it’s cold they like to sleep in, delaying their flights until 8:30 or 9 in the morning, or often later.

Which is good. Late-season hunting is fraught with enough problems without darkness adding to them.

“Look,” I said. “Swans.”

As we rounded a river bend, 10 of them or so, their feet as big as a woman’s hand, ran ahead of us as fast as they could, their big wings flapping. They wanted to be airborne in advance of our arrival.

“Let’s set up here,” Wendell said.

We arranged a dozen or so decoys, including three floaters. Then we assembled two of Wendell’s special long guns, both 12-gauge Winchesters with 7-foot-long barrels. Not quite silent but still very quiet, the guns cause minimal disturbance to man and beast alike.

Regrets accompanied my acknowledgment that I had brought no coffee or doughnuts. But we had guns, decoys, a goose call. Soon we also had geese in the air, some singles, some smaller flocks, some bigger.

We stood there a couple of hours and never really were cold. When no geese flew, we talked. When geese flew, we called and shot.

By late morning the temperature had risen hardly at all. Tree limbs were still coated with hoarfrost.

We loaded the canoe, vectored downstream, pushing and paddling the canoe. When we reached good ice, we lifted the canoe onto the sled and angled everything toward shore.

Next to the decoys and guns and white camouflage in the canoe were our Christmas geese.

“I really do like hunting at this time of year,” Wendell said.